Park Board keeps Mariani and Kinsella as chair, vice chair

Editor's note: This version corrects several items were misreported in the original edition including about the reorganization of the board, bids to replace fences, that cabins were repaired due to snow damage and that the Beaver Creek Park assistant to the superintendent had reported the board Planning and Finance Committee had tabled several items which they had not.

Monday night the Hill County Park Board voted to keep Steve Mariani as chair and Larry Kinsella as vice chair, while both missed the meeting in approved absences, well discussed old and new business including the East Fork Fire update, fee recommendations from the Finance and Planning Committee and a new Emergency Notification Policy. The board also heard from representatives from the Finance and Planning Committee, the Cabin Owners Association and Friends of Beaver Creek Park.

The board heard from Hill County resident Lou Hagener as he read a complaint about the re-appointment and restructuring of the board. The complaint said that some members are not eligible because of a conflict of interest because they or their companies had entered into contracts with the park.

The board declined to comment on that issue and sent it to the commissioners and county attorney for action.

Hagener also showed a PowerPoint presentation on “Economic Consideration for Beaver Creek Park of Discontinuing Haying the Park.”

In the presentation, Hagener said that research has said that nutrients are lost by haying and it costs money to put these nutrients back into the environment.

Hagener added that haying impacts bird habitats. Discontinuing haying will also give cattle more grazing area, he said.

Beaver Creek Superintendent Chad Edgar then gave an update on the East Fork Fire grant and damage.

“We were given a grant for anything pertaining to the East Fork Fire,” he said.

Edgar said that they would like to use the grant to repair the fence that burned down. He received estimates from two contractors on the price of replacing and fixing the fence.

“There is a big difference between the two bids,” he said.

To totally replace, one contractor bid $106,765, and another bid $49,368.  To repair as needed, the first contractor bid $85,220, and the second bid $22,100.  The Board voted to approve Contractor B’s bid of $22,100 to repair the fence

The board discussed full replacement of the fence, at a significantly higher price, but Edgar said some parts and locations of the fence were not completely destroyed and repairing it should work without full replacement.

After sharing the bids, the board unanimously approved a lower bid of $22,100 to repair the fence.

Edgar said that park usage has increased since the snow melted and there have been some campers and hikers. Cleanup is almost done, he said, the outhouses are almost cleaned and repairs have been completed on snow damaged poles and work continues to replace siding on the Kiwanis cabins. At this point, four of the seven cabins that will be resided are completed and the park hopes to budget to reside the last six cabins next fiscal year.

Edgar also presented the board members with the budget draft and request that the Finance and Planning Committee had drafted and asked them to look over it so it could be voted on at the June meeting.

A community member pointed out that the proposed budget, $250,900, was larger than the estimated revenue of $225,298.

Edgar said that only 70 to 90 percent of the yearly budget is usually used and the park cash is above what it is required to retain so the money is there if the park needs it.

Edgar reported the Planning and Finance Committee decided it would not re-examine fees at Camp Kiwanis and reserved campgrounds until its next meeting, likely in August.

The board examined haying fees on the park, discussing that the proposal to use rates set by the Montana Department of Natural Resources is $20 a ton this year, $5 more than the current Beaver Creek fee of $15 a ton.

Board member Tony Reum, who acted as chair in the absence of Mariani and Kinsella, said that he wasn’t sure the park board should follow the DNRC proposed rate.

“I think $20 is a little high,” he added.

Reum made a motion to increase the rate by $2, instead, to make it $17. The motion was passed by the board.

County Commissioner Mark Peterson updated the board about the new emergency notification system, CodeRED. Peterson said that this is a very important tool as the county can draw boundaries on who gets the alert based on where the emergency is.

He added that when they last tested the notification system, they found that not many area residents had registered.

“We need to encourage people to sign up,” he said. “Only the police department and sheriff’s office can send the alert, and residents can sign up by going to the website of the Havre Police Department.”

The Cabin Owners Association representative said that they have talked to owners about signing up to get their weeds sprayed and they will also be having a road cleanup today.

Board member Ursula Brese, who is also with of Friends of Beaver Creek Park, said the group that was formed to help support the park is not having any fundraisers this year, but its members would like to do a barbecue and afternoon of activities with a free-will donation.

The meeting ended with the monthly claims being approved by the board.