Boys & Girls Club finishes construction of bus garage

As part of the Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Line's strategic plan for 2017, the club has completed building a bus garage and is providing daily bus service for children.

"Just, really, being able to know that we are serving the ones that need us most," HELP Committee and Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Line Executive Director Krista Solomon said.

Solomon said the club built the bus garage to better maintain its bus and increase the bus' use.

The club has had the bus for a number of years, she said, and with the club implementing daily bus service, it was important to shield the bus from winter and summer weather conditions.

Club Director Tim Brurud said buses are a big investment. If anything was to happen to it, it could cost a lot to replace the bus. With the garage they are able to keep the bus safe and out of the elements and make sure that every day it is ready to go.

Previously, the bus was used strictly for field trips and taking children to youth teen conferences, Solomon said. But after holding a few meetings at Hillview Apartments and Oakwood Village Apartments the club found that daily bus use was needed for some of their club members.

One of the most common things they heard during these meetings was that some children lacked transportation home and that lack of transportation was the main barrier for some children's involvement in the club, she said. Solomon said that all of the children have transportation to the Boys & Girls Club because of the involvement of Havre Public Schools.

Brurud said that the partnership with Havre Public Schools plays a big role with the Boys & Girls Club.

"One of the keys to the success of our club is the partnership with Havre Public Schools and them busing kids; that is how all the kids get here," he said. "... Without them providing that transportation we would not have nearly the success we have now."

He said the club is only dipping its toe in transportation so far, the club had to develop forms and policies for the daily bus system prior to it running.

The bus currently makes one stop to the Hillview Apartments, he said. He added that the club does not know know when it will expand its bus services. However the staff plans to re-evaluate the system this summer and put together a plan for next year.

"We'll just look and see what the need is and that will direct what we do," Brurud said.

It really depends how the club will expand, he said. Originally the club planned to have a stop at both Oakwood Village and Hillview, but recently the club began plans to open a second site at Oakwood. The construction of the second site will be part of the renovation of Oakwood Village, which will be done by Affiliated Developers Inc.

Brurud said it is exciting because the club will be able to serve more kids.

"We know that there are more kids that need help after school and could benefit from this program," he said.

With the bus system, people will be able to rely on the club to get their children home every day, he said.

The club averages approximately 210 children a day, he said, and currently the bus system runs five children to the Hillview stop.

The kids love to ride the bus, Brurud said. They sit up front and talk to the bus drivers.

In addition to the children enjoying the bus, the parents' reactions are positive as well, he said.

"We're removing another barrier to club participation," he said.

Solomon said that during the summers the club pays North Central Montana Transit to pick up and drop off children, so the Boys & Girls Club bus will not be running at that time. Instead, the bus will be able to be used for taking children on field trips.

Solomon said that the garage was built by Clausen and Sons. The project began around Thanksgiving last year and essentially was completed in the last two weeks.

The building is a steel frame, insulated metal structure, she said, with an electric-powered garage door and lights to be installed within the next couple of weeks.

The project cost approximately $50,000, she said. She added that they would not have been able to complete the project so quickly without sponsors and donors.

Sponsors and donors paid for the entirety of the project, she said, with a private family foundation donating half of the entire cost.

"We ended up being able to do it much quicker than we thought we could," she said.