Park board discusses weeds, new website, lodge

The Hill County Park Board held lengthy discussions concerning weeds invading Beaver Creek Park and a new website dedicated to the park and Beaver Lodge.

Conrad Nystrom of the Hill County Conservation District expressed to the board that he has noticed a lot of weeds such as houndstongue growing in abundance in Beaver Creek Park. He proposed that his group be allowed to remove the weeds.

“It’s really become an issue the last few years. There have been several weeds that have been imported,” he said. “It’s an ongoing problem.”

Nystrom also said the weeds are mostly along the creek and that the removal process would “pretty much (be) a hand operation.”

“The park does have a responsibility, I think, to try to control those weeds,” he added.

The board collectively agreed to send a letter granting permission for Nystrom’s group to move forward with the weed removal process.

Beaver Creek Park Superintendent, Chad Edgar said a new website has been made dedicated to the park, http://BCpark.org.

“It’s really informational. You can pull up any campground and it tells you what’s in it, it throws some pictures at you and then it gives you some calendars (for booking),” he said. “We are going to be starting reservations online in about mid-January.”

Becki Miller of 3 Point Architects Inc. addressed the assessment done of Beaver Lodge. Miller said the building was built in the 1970s and that it is deteriorating, such as the hollow logs in the structure.

“Is it worth putting more money into it when it’s a building we’re never going to be able to completely fix?” she said. “Even if we attempt to stabilize it, there’s no guarantee that it is going to work just because there are so many unknowns.”

Miller added that the cost to build a new building would be a minimum of $1 million, however, she thinks this would be a project the community would support.

“It obviously (was the location of) countless family reunions, weddings …,” she said. “It’s a project that has a definite need.”

The board discussed various ways to solve this issue such as salvaging the building while building another building.

Hill County commissioner, Mark Peterson, encouraged the board to start brainstorming about what the next step should be.

“That’s going to be the key question: What can we afford? What is the community, the county wanting to spend on this?” he said.

The next park board meeting is scheduled for Feb. 2.