Park Board discusses budget, projects and park conditions

See a full story in Wednesday’s edition of Havre Daily News.

After hearing a number of updates and requests for future conversations, the Hill County Park Board approved the coming year’s budget and a number of projects and purchases.

Board Member Lou Hagener said the Finance and Planning Committee did a great job with the budget and the board approved it unanimously.

The board also approved a new application form for new requests for grazing allocations on the park, which they have been discussing for a few months.

Hagener also presented a draft of an application form for allocation transfers, which he says has more precise language and should clear up confusion about how the system works in the future.

The board decided to take a month to look at it and put it on the agenda for next month.

A request to have the Finance and Planning Committee examine fees on Beaver Creek Park was also put on the agenda for next month.

The board also approved Park Superintendent Chad Edgar purchasing two new, more tamper-resistant, payboxes, which Edgar said are being repeatedly broken into and require an upgrade.

Edgar said the new ones will be much more difficult to break into and will cost $1,970.

Board members also approved the construction of an entry kiosk which Edgar and the board had been discussing for years, contingent upon the Montana Department of Transportation’s approval.

The project would cost just less than $10,000 plus some additional installation costs and Edgar said Friends of Beaver Creek Park has offered $6,000 toward the project.

Board members also discussed the general operation of the park, which Edgar said is very busy, but still very dry despite recent precipitation.

He said despite still being short-staffed, Memorial Day weekend, as well as the beginning of summer in general has gone very smoothly, and the Bear Paw Marathon, which ran this past weekend, went exceedingly well.