Park Board discusses budget, projects and park conditions

As well as hearing a number of updates and requests for future conversations, the Hill County Park Board, at its monthly meeting Monday in the Hill County Courthouse Timmons Room, 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 along with a request to have funds moved to the capital improvement plan.

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 said has more precise language and should clear up confusion about how the system works in the future.

He said anyone with suggestions or questions should get in touch with him or Beaver Creek Park Superintendent Chad Edgar.

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 Edgar to purchase 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.

He said he’s been talking with the Fresno Chapter of Walleyes Unlimited to see if they’d be willing to make a donation to help cover the cost, but park board members said if that is unsuccessful they would make sure the cost is covered.

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 under $10,000 plus some additional installation costs. Edgar said Friends of Beaver Creek Park has offered $6,000 to the project.

The board also approved a request to ask the Hill County Commission for $31,000 in COVID-19 relief funds to cover that amount in lost revenue for the Beaver Lodge.

Board members also discussed the general operation of the park, which Edgar said is very busy, but the park is 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, have gone very smoothly, and the Bear Paw Marathon, which ran this past weekend went exceedingly well.

“I’ve heard nothing but positive about it,” board member Ursula Brese said.

Edgar also said the new outhouses at Marden Campground are almost completed.

Brese said Friends of Beaver Creek Park is still going strong with their ticket sales for the Save the Lodge Raffle, and they will be at the Great Northern Fair for all five days of it.

Hagener spent some time talking about his own observations on the park, which were pretty bleak given the ongoing drought.

He said he’d like to speak to the Grazing Committee about some of the concerns he sees in the coming year amid the ongoing dryness, saying the north pasture is in about the poorest shape he’s ever seen.

Board members also heard a number of requests for further conversations on a variety of subjects by Hagener for the next meeting, including one on how items are put on the agenda.

He said he’s made a number of agenda requests that haven’t been listed, and he’d like to talk about how that gets done.

He also asked to have a few cabin owners sent letters about issues he’s noticed with their properties but the board agreed that they should put it on the agenda for the next meeting so they have a chance to examine what Hagener is talking about.

The board also discussed putting up signs about the Adopt a Highway program and MDT Havre Division Maintenance Chief Jody Bachini said her department is responsible for making and putting up those signs and she’d be happy to get the ball rolling on that as long as board members let her know what is needed.

Hagener said he wasn’t opposed to the idea exactly, but questioned its purpose, raising concerns that there are too many signs on the road that are distracting.

Bachini and other board members said these signs would raise awareness of the program and hopefully inspire a few people to think about participating.