News you can use

Park board discusses budget, new rules, fees

The Hill County Park Board heard during its monthly meeting Monday a preview of the budget proposal and an update on Beaver Creek Park rules, as well as a discussion of setting up a reserve account and possibly setting some new fees for campers or RV dumping at Beaver Creek.

Beaver Creek Park Superintendent Chad Edgar gave the board his draft budget and asked them to review it to discuss in depth at the next board meeting.

The budget is due to go before the Hill County Commission for approval in June.

“I’d like some input on these budget items,” Edgar said.

Along with expenses like maintenance costs and employee wages, Edgar also presented several requests for consideration, with some higher priority than others.

“As it turns out we don’t get all of these things … they are just suggestions,” he said.

He said, for example, $12,000 would allow completion of a sprinkler system for the Camp Kiwanis area, which would be a nice improvement, but is not something that would have to be completed this year.

Other priorities, such as a trailer to use to supplement the dump trucks used by the park, are a higher priority — Edgar said he has some safety concerns about one of those trucks, and it may not last much longer. The trailer would be a cost-effective alternative to a new truck, he said.

He said another priority is buying another vault to use for an RV dump, to be set up with a second road preventing jamming up of people trying to use the dumps.

Hill County Commissioner Jeff LaVoi said he would like to see the board — and the county commission — look into setting up some kind of reserve for the park budget.

He noted that the county has worked to set up the park as a self-sustaining entity that doesn’t use tax revenues. Having a reserve could help with that.

Last year the grazing fees came in much higher than expected, he said. When revenue is higher than predicted, that could be set up in some kind of reserve fund to be used for expenses like the list of possible budget items Edgar presented, he said.

It also would help for years when revenue is less than what is expected, he added.

“If you can save money or generate more income you should be rewarded or that,” LaVoi said, adding that how such an account could be established still has to worked out.

“We’ve got to figure out a way to do it, if that is what you wanted to do,”

Board member Robbie Lucke said he thinks setting a reserve account is a good idea, and asked about a similar issue.

When the board raised rates on grazing leases last year, Lucke said, it discussed setting up a fund, using part of those fees, to use for grazing-specific items like maintaining the springs for watering cattle, or for putting in gates across the creek on cross fences that could be opened while cattle are not on the park.

He said he would like to see the board revisit that idea.

“I’d sure like to see it, because I think that’s really important,” he said.

He also said cabin owners have approached him to ask why the park uses barbed wire for the cross fences, which divide Beaver Creek into sections for cattle grazing, while they are prohibited from using barbed wire.

He said he believes the park should look into building some other kind of fence for the cross fences.

“I know it would be more expensive, but, after all, this is a park, not a pasture,” Lucke said.

He also commented on an issue that brought on a discussion of another issue — the use of RVs and trailers in the park.

Lucke said people pay their $30 for a Beaver Creek Park permit then leave their motor homes or campers parked all summer long. The board has raised rates including on cabin owners and grazers, but is doing nothing with the motor homes he said.

“I don’t think you should be putting in another RV dump. I think you should be taking the other two out,” he said.

Mariani said the board might want to consider starting to charge for use of the RV dump, or even start with a goodwill donation — have people donate to help maintain the service.

LaVoi said he believes the board needs to look at, perhaps starting next year, charging a fee for each use of the park for campers instead of allowing a yearlong fee with a park permit.

Edgar also presented the board with a draft of proposed upgrades for the park rules. He said he and board member Dave Wilson, also an employee of the park, went through and wrote the draft of suggested new rules.

He said most of the changes are clarifying and updating the rules, although three suggestions are for new rules. One of those is specifying camping at Beaver Creek is allowed at established campsites only, another is setting a speed limit for roads at campsites, another is that hunting on the park is prohibited, and another would set a speed limit for roads to and from camp sites.

Edgar asked the board to review the draft, and make suggestions and comments on the changes, and any other changes the board members might like to see, at the June board meeting to put into the next draft.

 

Reader Comments(0)