Forests, Parks & Recreation details FY26–27 capital projects, from forest‑road BMPs to park facilities

Danielle Fitzko, commissioner of the Department of Forests, Parks & Recreation, told the committee FPR’s FY27 capital priorities fall into three buckets: parks infrastructure and rehabilitation, public lands access infrastructure, and clean‑water forestry access road improvements (Section 10). She said FPR manages roughly 200,000 acres and 55 state parks and that the Section 10 line item for FY27 is proposed at $200,000 (the same as FY26) with additional general‑fund and federal matching anticipated.

Frank Spalding, parks project manager, described how FPR categorizes projects (regional small projects, major capital projects and an Emergency Wastewater Reserve) and how funds are distributed by region based on the ability to spend and execute projects. He highlighted a recently completed project that uses a pellet boiler and air‑source heat pumps to reduce fossil‑fuel heating at a maintenance facility and described the Groton maintenance shop project, a multi‑million‑dollar project matched with federal funds that includes both shop and wastewater components.

Fitzko explained FPR’s road erosion inventory and prioritization process for hydrologically connected forest roads, saying the department estimates $40–50 million of work is needed on forest roads statewide. She described how ARPA funds were used for 3‑acre rule projects at some parks and how FPR had to backfill certain ARPA projects with capital funds to meet federal encumbrance and spending deadlines.

Spalding also reviewed park facility priorities such as toilet and shower building replacements (citing an example renovation near $600,000), staff duplex conversions to increase seasonal housing capacity, cabin projects to diversify park offerings, and removal of derelict structures to reduce liabilities. He told members FPR had roughly $2.9 million remaining in the FY26 balance at the time of the presentation and had secured approximately $2.937 million in approved federal grant matches for projects already in the pipeline.

Committee members requested maps of targeted road segments, the expected number of miles to be treated in FY27 bundled contracts and more precise project cost and schedule information; agency staff agreed to follow up with maps and detailed figures and said they would bring the material back to the subcommittee and the full committee.