News you can use
News you can use
See more about Monday’s Park Board meeting in upcoming editions of Havre Daily News.
After a 45-minute discussion on the proposed mill levy to pay for building a new Beaver Lodge at Camp Kiwanis in Beaver Creek Park, the Hill County Park board decided to create a task force to get information out on exactly what the new lodge would be like.
Audience member Lowell Alcock said he wants to know what the new building would look like.
“I’m not going to give somebody a blank check,” he said.
Rose Cloninger, a representative of the cabin owners on the park, said the same.
“In my opinion, people need a visual on what it would look like,” she said, adding that the board can’t expect people to vote for it until they have something to go with on what it will be like.
The county has been working to try to repair the lodge, built in 1975, as it has developed more and more problems.
The Hill County Park Board was initially planning to pay for major renovations and upgrades at the current lodge, which has seen significant deterioration over the years, but after being denied a grant that would have paid for much of these upgrades and the revelation that the project would be much more expensive than anticipated, they opted instead to try to replace it.
As for the current lodge, local architect Becki Miller of 3 Point Architects, who worked on designs for the lodge upgrade before the shift toward replacing it, said in a writeup about the structure’s condition the lodge was constructed back in 1975, and was a great addition to the Kiwanis Camp as it allowed for a large meeting and dining area.
Unfortunately, the document says, the logs used to construct the wall are inadequate to support the load from the roof beams, thus causing movement in the log walls.
Beaver Creek Park Superintendent Chad Edgar said during Monday’s Park Board meeting that many of the logs in the lodge have rotted right through, to where he could easily break off ends and poke his fingers through logs in the structure.
In August, the Hill County Commission unanimously approved putting a levy on the November ballot so voters could vote on raising taxes to build a new lodge.
The levy would apply to all property owners in the county and would be for three mils, the equivalent of $4.05 a year on a property worth $100,000, a levy that would go away once the project was completed.
Edgar said at Monday’s meeting that repairing the building would be very difficult, and expensive, and probably would soon need repairs again.
“It’s almost too far gone,” he said.
Audience member Ted Solomon asked what the cost will be to maintain a new building.
Edgar said the maintenance cost should drop dramatically.
“Log buildings are a lot of maintenance, as I’ve found out,” he said. “… And its expensive.”
Board member Lou Hagener said he has heard from many people in the region about the issue — it is being discussed in the community — and he is hearing a fairly even split on whether people think the levy will pass or fail. He added that many people say they want to see what it would look like before they vote, and some have said they would not vote to build a metal building to replace the log structure, which is designed to resemble a steam boat such as what went up and down the Missouri River in the 1880s.
Hagener said he has a list of suggestions from people on what could be in the building, ranging from a fire place inside to having solar panels on the roof to help supply its power needs.
Solomon also asked what the building would look like, saying it is a beautiful area and the design should match and complement that beauty.
Board Chair Jeff Jensen said things need to be balanced — people may not want a metal building as the new lodge, but if something else is chosen, prices will skyrocket.
Alcock said one thing the board needs to show to the community is how much money the lodge brings — not just the fees to use the building but people coming to events, staying in town, shopping and eating.
Hill County Commissioner and Park Board Member Mark Peterson agreed. He said they need to get some kind of an idea of how much that brings in, and asked the community to help the commission and park board figure out an idea of the impact.
People at the meeting also said many options are available to beautify a metal building, including metal siding that looks like wood.
Comments also were made that the basic building could be built and added to as time goes on, including changing how it looks.
A major topic was making sure it was insulated and ready to run all year long.
“I want Chad having to mop that floor every week,” Peterson said. “I want that building used every week.”
“I figure it would be cool to have to plow (snow off) the road to the lodge because people are going to use it,” Edgar added.
Reader Comments(0)