Park board updated on work, projects, activity

The Hill County Park Board heard at its monthly meeting this week about a multitude of activity at or planned on Beaver Creek Park, including updates on improvements to camp sites.

The board approved a request from Railroad Pagers to move forward with adding electricity to the group’s campground on the park, with retired pager Jack Brady saying the group also would like eventually to pave a path to the bridge at the site to improve access, especially for people with disabilities.

Brady said the Pagers would pay for the work to install electricity and for the power bill.

“It may not be necessary but we thought it would be nice for larger groups,” he said.

Havre Boy Scout Corey Lloyd said his Eagle Scout project, to upgrade some abandoned camp sites, is proceeding and he is expecting to complete the work by the end of this summer.

He said his original plan was to create six to eight camp sites at the location, but he now is looking at five to seven to make a couple of larger sites, instead of several very small sites.

Rose Cloninger of the county park foundation and the Beaver Creek Park Cabin Owners Association told the board that Judi Gomke would like a formal notification that she and her family can move forward with establishing a memorial campground in honor of her husband, Mel Gomke, a former board member and cabin owner who died Sept. 9. The board directed park administrative assistant Aubrey Williams to send a letter to Gomke telling her she can move forward with the project.

Cloninger said she is still working on a survey for the cabin owners to complete to determine support for some proposed changes to rules in the cabin lease agreement.

Lou Hagener gave an update on his work on upgrading committees at the board.

Hagener said he has been talking to board members about how committees should operate and will bring back more suggestions to the board. He said one point made has been that the committees would be responsible to the park board. Another would be that steps would take three meetings — an issue would be brought up, then referred to a committee, the committee would report back and then the board would act.

He said another issue was lack of respect for the vision, mission and rules of the park. He said people are saying that most users of the park do not create problems, but rules need to be enforced on those who do not.

Another is that a committee could help put forth the rules and regulations of the park and how it is funded and operates and so on — some of the people he has spoken to say many local residents don’t seem to be familiar with those issues, Hagener said.

Beaver Creek Park Superintendent Chad Edgar said the use of the park has picked up steadily, especially at Camp Kiwanis, and that he is pleased with people’s compliance with the rules and regulations. He said he was especially happy with people not using fireworks on the park on Independence Day.

“It was very quiet in the park,” Edgar said.

He thanked Jack and Conrad Nystrom for welding the park’s backhoe when it broke down, and Russell Gregoire for donating some 30-gallon drums the park will use as trash containers.

On a down note, he reported some vandalism, saying someone tried to break into the locked pay box at Beaver Creek Reservoir, the lower lake, and while the perpetrators did not break into the box it required a new lock be installed.

Edgar said work has continued with repairs and upgrades, including repairing tables and mowing grass when the weather allows.

A new vault has been installed for the RV dump site, bringing the total to three, and a new outhouse has been installed at the Havre Police Protective Association campsite, he said.

Flood repair work is progressing slowly, he said, with the contractor on a busy schedule and weather not cooperating in the last few weeks.

Another upgrade is planned by the local Girl Scouts, Edgar added — the Hill County troops plan to work on repairing and remodeling the cabins at Camp Kiwanis, and likely will start prospecting businesses for sponsorships.

“This might be an ongoing, yearly thing for them,” Edgar said.