Siebrasse, Keeley appointed to Hill County Park Board

In a series of unanimous votes, the Hill County Commission approved a number of actions at its weekly business meeting Thursday, from board appointments to grant applications.

The commission appointed Nick Siebrasse and Shawn Keeley to the Hill County Park Board for 3-year terms after an interview process that apparently made for a difficult choice.

They will take the place of Steve Mariani and Renelle Braaten.

Braaten said this morning that Mariani decided to retire, but she had applied to continue in her position.

“I am not at all shocked to not be selected,” she said. “What they are looking for is status quo. Change is not on their agenda and I am always open to change as you will miss the chance to grow and perhaps find a better solution. It's how I run my business and my life.”

Hill County commissioners Mark Peterson and Diane McLean, who are members of the park board, both said during the meeting that a number of highly qualified people applied.

“This was an extremely tough group to pick from,” Peterson said.

“It really kinda came to drawing names out of a hat, nearly,” McLean said.

The commission also approved a contract from the Parks Department with CardConnect that will allow the department to receive credit card payments at Beaver Creek Park. The contract had been previously approved, but a signing mistake required that it be reviewed.

Later in the meeting, the commission also approved a sub-grant application from the North Central Region Juvenile Detention Center in Cascade county. Peterson said the grant serves to offset expenses for housing juveniles from Hill County, and that Cascade will not have to raise fees after receiving this grant.

“We get a greater return by letting them keep this grant in house to offset our expenses,” he said.

The commission also voted to once again give the funds obtained from the Earmark Alcohol Tax to Bullhook Community Health Center, but Hill County Commissioner Mike Wendland said he’s still concerned about not receiving regular reports from the organization.

The commission also voted to approve an EDA Application Letter of Approval from Bear Paw Development Corp. for the Left Bank, Right Bank Levee System Improvement Project. This letter authorizes Bear Paw Development to work on and submit the application for the grant, expediting the process significantly.

“I think time is of the essence here, and this would allow that application to go in swiftly,” Bear Paw Director of Community Development Lisa Moisey said.

Wendland said he hopes this action will bring this long-running project closer to completion.

“We’ve been working on the Milk River Levee System for some time now, hopefully this brings it one step closer to getting work done,” he said.

During the meeting, the commission also discussed a Treasure State Endowment Program Grant Application for RSID 21, also to be completed by Bear Paw Development.

They also voted to set up a public hearing on the matter prior to its approval. The hearing will likely be through GoToMeeting sometime between June 8-10.

Finally, they voted to approve a health insurance flex plan for county employees through Sentinel Benefit Financial Group with no increase in cost.

“We’re pretty happy for what has happened with this company that we have been with,” McLean said.