Valley of Fire automated fee collecting a huge bust

CARSON CITY -- An experiment in putting automatic fee collection machines at the entrances of the Valley of Fire State Park in Southern Nevada is turning into a near disaster.

Before the first one opened for business in January 1999, vandals destroyed it. The unit was returned to the manufacturer for repairs, but it has been 18 months and the job still isn't complete, says state Parks Administrator Wayne Perock.

The other two machines are out of service an estimated 50 percent of the time. To add to the problem, only 30 percent of the public, at best, follow the honor system in using the machines to gain a permit to enter the park. At worse, only 5 percent pay the fee, said Perock.

There is no estimate how much money is being lost because of the time the automatic teller machines are down, Perock said.

As a backup, envelopes are left at the entrances of the Valley of Fire for the person to pay the fee. But he said the compliance rate ranges still from 5 percent to 30 percent of those who pay in the honor system.

"The company that supplied the machines has not given good service," Perock told the legislative committee for the fundamental review of base budgets at its meeting Monday. The machines were purchased from Van Teck/Park Ur Self Inc. of Petaluma, Calif., for $16,000 each for two of the units and $10,000 for the third.

Van Teck then assigned the repair service to Pacific Parking Co. of Southern California. Perock said there are only three of these type machines in the Las Vegas area, and the record of repairs is poor because the technicians are located in the Los Angeles area.

Perock is planning to move one of the collection machines to Lake Tahoe, either Sand Harbor or Spooner State Park. There are more representatives of Van Teck closer to Northern Nevada.

But he added, "I wouldn't do business with this company again."

The machines accept credit cards or money. And they give change. But another problem, Perock said, is that the unit may not issue a permit after a person inserts the credit card. The individual may try four or five times to get the receipt to show he or she paid.

Each charge on the credit card adds up, resulting in some very unhappy customers, Perock said.

The legislative committee adopted the recommendation of its staff that the parks division explore alternatives for improved service and performance of the machines.

The only foolproof system, Perock said, was to station rangers at the entrances of parks. And that's what the division does during high visitor periods. And it also uses an honor system, leaving envelopes at the entrances for the public to pay.

In some cases, the charge may be $3 or $5, but the individual may enclose only $1 or not anything.

There are not gates at all park entrances to bar those who don't pay, Perock said.

The committee noted the park division has a backlog of $32.5 million in maintenance projects. And it suggested Perock look for alternate ways to pay for that.

Perock said he was reluctant to increase park fees. "Fees always look like a tax," he said. In the past 10 years, the fee collection statewide has risen from $750,000 to $1.8 million annually. He said he was "optimistic" there will be continued growth in the number of people using the parks.

The division studied the idea of privatizing some parks but that was discarded.

One bright spot, he said was a bill before Congress that would supply $4.5 million to $5 million to Nevada. Half of that would go to local governments. And the state would have to come up with matching money to get its share. "Matching (funds) will be a big challenge in Nevada," he said.

The committee also received a report from its staff that the state Division of Mental Health and Mental Retardation may be $700,000 in the hole because of its purchase of the new, more effective and safer drugs for patients.

The Legislature gave the division $1 million for this medication to help patients, but it has now spent $1.7 million.

Assemblyman John Marvel, R-Battle Mountain, said the lawmakers approved the improved medication to "cut down on the population" at the mental health centers.

Mike Torvinen, administrative service officer for the division, said the use of the drugs has deflected patients away from the centers in Las Vegas and Reno. The mental health facilities have not had to increase staff while serving more patients.

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