The Friends of Knox Farm State Park, Inc. hosted New York State Commissioner of Parks Rose H. Harvey at its annual meeting last week, where members heard the commissioner speak about the general outlook of New York State's public park system.

No new developments were outlined for Knox Farm State Park or the other parks around the state, but Harvey gave here thoughts on the immediate past and how the public system has to move forward.

Harvey described the entire state park system as the fifth largest in the country and the second most visited, with 57 million people a year visiting the many state parks. Within that entire system, one billion dollars worth of infrastructure repairs are needed, she said.

"There is a backlog only money will solve," Harvey told the Friends of Knox Farm State Park, Inc. "In the best of times, we would buy property over fixing the infrastructure (at the parks). That is not criticism but they never got it even in the best of times."

The idea is to make sure that the parks, including Knox Farm State Park, remain open, but in a way that focuses on the core values. Harvey told the East Aurora Advertiser that Knox Farm State Park is a passive park, conducive to walking or cross-country skiing or walks hosted by the Audubon Society.

"But what to do with the buildings and the mansion? We are still trying to figure that out," she said.

There are several options, such as support from the friends groups, like the one that formed at Knox Farm State Park several years ago.

There is a lot of help from our friends groups," Harvey said, referring to organizations around the state.

The current goal is to find a mix of public and private support.

Another speaker at the meeing, Eric Kulleseid, who is the director at the Alliance for New York State Parks, talked about the necessity of finding such funds. He said that the Friends of Knox Farm State Park group needs to search out both business and government help with capital projects. "If we sit around and wait, we will be in trouble," Kulleseid said.

There is a partnership between the state and the Town of Aurora to help mow some of the fields and handle the permit process for groups that want to use the park.

Aurora Recreation Director, and Friends of Knox Farm State Park, Inc. member Peggy Cooke said there were several efforts in place to increase usage within the equestrian area, and that a recent cross-country invitational had ten schools coming to the park and paying for usage.

Kullesied also talked about a dedicated fund for all parks systems, which could be established through a disposable plastic bag tax, with the added benefit of keeping those bags out of ladfillls. There is some sponsorship of such a bill within the state lagislature, but it has not gone to a vote at this time.

Seymour Knox IV, who is the president of the Friends of Knox Farm State Park, Inc., said the group is looking at all of its options, trying to think outside the box, to make sure the park remains a viable and a useful center for the community.

The group has 115 members, (now 160), is seeking more who want to help. For mor information, visit www.friendsofknowpark.org.