Board OKs higher Beaver Creek Park fees

The Hill County Park Board at its monthly meeting Monday in Havre approved raising fees on Beaver Creek Park from 2014 through 2016.

The split vote came near the end of a two-hour meeting with lengthy discussion and attempts — some successful — to amend the recommendations of a committee that had worked on setting fees, including a successful amendment to keep local fees for a four-county area rather than just Hill County and an unsuccessful attempt to reduce the fee increases.

“The first thing I want to do is thank all of you (on the committee) who actually did this,” Board Chair Steve Mariani said at the beginning of the discussion.

Board member Robbie Lucke, who was on that fee committee, said the group included park board members, ranchers who graze cattle on the park, cabin owners, other users of the park and Hill County Commissioners.

While no one on the committee, including himself, was pleased with all of the proposed changes, most of the final decisions were supported unanimously or nearly so, he said.

He added that the diverse group on the committee brought a breath of fresh air and new ideas to the discussion.

“It was a great committee working on a really tough issue,” he said.

The three-year changes leave several fees increased in 2012 the same in 2014, then increases them for 2015-2016. That included cabin leases, which will remain $350 a year for next year then increase to $400 annually for 2015-16.

The fee for grazing cattle, generally allowed from the day after Labor Day until the first of the next year, the single largest source of revenue for the park, will remain at $11 a month per animal unit in 2014 and increase to $12 a month for 2015-2016.

The fee charged for haying grass on the park will go from $12 a ton to $15 a ton from 2014-16.

The cost for buying a one-day permit — people only can use the park after buying a permit — went from $7 to $10 for 2014-16, with an annual permit jumping from $30 to $50 for in-county residents and $40 to $75 for out-of-county residents.

One of the amendments which passed allows residents of Blaine, Chouteau and Liberty counties, which all border Hill County, to pay in-county fee rates. That amendment was proposed by board member Renelle Braaten after audience member Blanche Kellam, a Blaine County resident, said many people from neighboring counties spend money in Havre and Hill County and regularly use the park.

After Mariani and Hill County Commissioner Jeff LaVoi both endorsed a comment from audience member Jeff Hagener about some parks giving a senior citizen discount, the board approved an amendment proposed by board member June Grabofsky to keep the current prices for permits — $7 for a one-day permit and $30 and $45 for annual permits — in place for people 65 and older.

The price for reserving sites on the park went from $50 to $75 for in-county residents and $50 to $100 for out-of-county residents. Youth groups can continue to reserve sites for free.

The price for reserving Camp Kiwanis and the Beaver Lodge, aside from youth-group reservations, went from $500 to $700 for one day and from $400 a day for multiple days to $600 a day for multiple days. The cost for youth groups to reserve that site remains at $300 a day.

The fee to reserve the chapel at Camp Kiwanis, recently re-opened after extensive repairs, was kept at $100.

Several people in the audience — 16 people attended the meeting in addition to the board members and park staff members — spoke out about concerns of some or all of the proposals before the discussion, and also made comments during the actual debate of the proposal.

The motions to amend the proposal were made after Lucke moved the board approve the entire proposed fee changes as submitted by the fee committee.

Board member Larry Kinsella said he wanted to see a different rate structure and made a motion to amend the proposal. Kinsella proposed raising site reservations to $75 for everyone, rather than charging $100 for out-of-county residents and proposed smaller annual permit fees, going to $40 for in-county and $65 for out-of-county. Kinsella also moved the increase for Camp Kiwanis be $100 a day rather than $200 a day, and the haying fee go from $12 a ton to $14 a ton rather than $15 a ton.

Kinsella’s proposal died when no one seconded his motion before it was declared dead.

The board also approved, on a split vote, including a park use permit in the grazing fees starting next year. Lucke said the committee discussed allowing people who pay to graze their cattle on the park use the park, which already was included for cabin owners.