Summer deputy warden position created for Beaver Creek Park

During its business meeting Thursday, the Hill County Commission approved the creation of a part-time seasonal Beaver Creek Park deputy warden position for the busy summer months in the park, which cabin owner Lou Hagener said he appreciated.

“I think that’s long-overdue to support activities that are going on in the park,” Hagener said.

The commission also approved a right-of-way-lease for Mount Royal in the Sweet Grass Hills that site owners in the area would need in order to use the private road to access to Mount Royal.

Hagener did not take issue with the right-of-way-lease, but did criticize the commission because it was listed in the agenda as a right-of-way-lease for Mount Otis in the Bear Paw Mountains, which he had to call around about only to find that it doesn’t exist.

He also took issue with an agenda sent to the Havre Daily News indicating that a meeting of the Hill County Park Board would take place Monday, which he said prompted phone calls to him from people wanting to know what happened, despite the meeting not being held.

He said he’s concerned that so many mistakes are making it into public announcements like this and said it seems to be becoming more and more common.

“I’d ask for a little more diligence in reviewing and proofreading news releases that go from the commission to the newspaper,” he said.

The commission also approved contracts with aging services and approved working on surveillance-related issues at the Hill County Detention Center and Hill County Courthouse.

The first of the contracts was with Missoula Aging Services, which agreed to continue its efforts to educate and empower seniors to resist health care fraud, by trying to heighten awareness about the issue and provide prevention training.

The second was a contract between the Hill County Council on Aging and the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation’s Senior Program, a contract that will continue the organizations’ efforts to provide nutrition services to the elderly on the reservation with a cost limit of $36,000 over the next year.

The renewal of both contracts was unanimously approved.

“It’s important that we do what we can for our senior citizens whether they live in the city of Havre, our rural communities or the reservation,” said Hill County Commissioner Mark Peterson.

Hill County Commissioner Diane McLean said the Council on Aging does good work in all three of those communities and the commission will continue to support their efforts.

The commissioners also heard a request from Hill County Sheriff Jamie Ross for the installation of more cameras in the Hill County Detention Center.

His request said everyone is grateful for the ongoing upgrades to the building’s security but there are still a few gaps in their surveillance he would like to see patched.

The commission unanimously approved this request as well, with Hill County Commissioner Jake Strissel saying that increased coverage will help ensure the safety of inmates and staff.

After being briefly interrupted by a fire drill, the commission also discussed new signs for the Hill County Courthouse, signs notifying the public that the building has its own surveillance.

Peterson suggested the commission look at the legal requirements for where and how many signs are needed before proceeding and the issue was subsequently tabled.

The commissioners also voted unanimously to take under advisement a bid from James Carney Construction in Malta to crush and stockpile approximately 21,000 tons of gravel to be used for maintaining western Hill County roads.

The bid was for a total of $77,000 and was given to Hill County Road Supervisor Jim Bedwell for review.

The commission also discussed a bid it received for the media cart that they have been working to put together, featuring a smart TV and computer which Peterson said can be used for trainings and virtual meetings.

The commission also mentioned that a number of positions on local boards remain open, including two on the Zoning Board of Adjustments, one on the Mount Royal TV Board, Council on Aging Advisory Board, Great Northern Fair Board, Compensation Board and Cemetery Board, as well as three on the City-County Planning Board, four on the Unified Refuse Disposal Board, five on the Hill County Planning Board and Mosquito District Board, and six on the H. Earl Clack Memorial Museum Board.