Park board waits to move on with business

Decisions are hanging in the air as the Hill County Park Board waits for answers from various groups and entities before conducting further business.

During a special meeting Feb. 22, the park board agreed to send a cabin lease draft to the county attorney for review. During Monday night's meeting in the Timmons Room of the county courthouse, Beaver Creek Park Secretary Aubrey Williams read to those in the room Deputy Hill County Attorney Karen Alley's responses to some of the questions raised during the special meeting.

Alley says in her response changing the language in one of the lease sections to specify that the proposed rule refers to exterior dimensions would clarify things. A second question asks whether a board resolution could supersede the lease ordinance, to which Alley responds that amending the lease by resolution would be confusing. Instead, the deputy attorney says, it would be better to amend the ordinance as a whole.

A third concern raised by the board regards some cabin owners' concern that some of the proposed changes, should they be implemented, would put them out of compliance. Alley said the board should probably honor those prior approvals.

Williams said the board is still waiting on any response from somebody in the county attorney's office regarding question from cabin owner Todd Hanson.

Hanson, who was not present Monday, had said during the special meeting that the draft should be reviewed to see if it would work as a binding legal document because it only lists obligations on one side. While the draft lists the obligations of the people leasing the cabins, it lists no obligations of the park or park board, he had said.

Hanson had also suggested that, especially after severe flooding in recent years, the heavy snow this year and the East Fork Fire that burned in the Bear Paw Mountains including on the park, the agreement should include the park's responsibility for maintaining and repairing roads and providing access to the cabins.

Another issue he and other cabin owners had discussed was damage caused by grazing cattle. The lease could include the park's responsibility in helping people pay for repairs, potentially out of the revenue from the cattle leasing, he said.

The next step is to hear back from the Hill County Attorney Jessica Cole-Hodgkinson with feedback on revisions, after which it will be sent to the rules and regulations committee.

Another list of recommendations will be sent to the rules and regulations committee, this proposed set of rules regarding the Rotary Falls trailhead that's been spearheaded by the Havre Trails group.

The board recommends that while parking in the fishing access site would be free, access to the Rotary hiking trail would require a park permit. The Park Board, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and representatives of the Havre Trails Club plan on meeting to tidy up the collaborative details. The other recommendations that will be discussed in the meeting will be whether to allow use of the Rotary Falls Hiking Trail with either a Beaver Creek Park permit or a fishing access site overnight camping permit.

Fee changes are on their way.

A $5 annual park permit increase is in the works, which will increase the price of an annual park permit from $50 to $55. The $5 increase would also apply to the golden pass, bringing it up to $35.

The proposed increase, Park Superintendent Chad Edgar said, was determined by averaging how much park permits have increased over a prolonged period of years. Also recommended is to do away with out-of-county rates.

As for cabin rates, Lee Morse presented two options. A base rate of $400 with an increase of 3 percent every two years, or a base rate of $400 with an increase of 1.5 percent every year.

Hay recommendations were set at DNRC rates, which prompted a conversation between Morse, board members, and Lou Hagener about the wide range of hay rates around the state and some of the controversy regarding that.

Edgar asked the board to begin considering the purchase of a plow to attach to one of the park trucks. The plow he has now, Edgar said, is small and requires a lot of hours to get anything done. The ones he's looked at would cost between $7,000 and $8,000. A larger plow would help him be more efficient and would help create access to users during times of heavy snow.

Before adjourning, board member Renelle Braaten handed out a sheet to board members and the present commissioners - Mike Wendland and Diane McLean - to help explain why a natural resource committee is needed.

Braaten has been trying to convince board members to form such a committee for many of the last meetings. Many have said they are opposed to the idea of another committee.

Braaten says a committee of diverse users with natural resources interests and expertise would benefit the park. She had said in a previous meeting, that expecting Edgar to research every natural resource issue is asking a lot.

Objections have included the notion that the grazing and haying committee already accomplishes what Braaten described for the committee she proposes. Others have said there are enough committees already and forming another one would require too much time.

In the letter given to members Monday, Braaten rebukes that notion, saying that having a natural resources committee is meant to reduce the need for work and time on behalf of board members, commissioners and Edgar because it would bring in new people with expertise.