Letter to the Editor - Park board chair committee comments misguided

Editor,

This comment has to do with the article about the April 3 Hill County Park Board meeting that was published in the April 5 edition of Havre Daily News. I was unable to attend that particular meeting, but going off the article, I was a little surprised and a bit confused to read about the committee “revision” plan. It seems to me the committees are a great tool to help the board make good decisions and that is what they were originally designed to be. Maybe they just need to be better run, more clear on the item(s) to be addressed/discussed, more consistent and respected by the board. Maybe they need better focus and direction from the board. There are supposed to be people on these committees with expertise in that particular area and on the items that need research and discussion.

The other thing I noticed was that there was no mention of doing anything with the third committee, which is the Grazing Committee. This is the committee that really needs the most “fixing” in my opinion. That committee is supposed to have no more than three ranchers on it and it has six. That should be addressed for sure, as that is a conflict of interest, not to mention contrary to the Policies and Procedures for Grazing and Haying. Fix what you have in place so it works better and as intended.

And one more thing … since when is public opinion not welcome in the management of Beaver Creek Park or for that matter, during commissioners’ meetings? This is beginning to sound like a common theme with some of the commissioners. How does that coincide with being a democracy and allowing the pubic to participate? We all need to remember that Beaver Creek Park is owned by the residents of Hill County and the commissioners are working for us.

Renelle Braaten

Havre