Board hears that Beaver Creek Park revenue up

The Hill County Park Board met Monday evening and discussed the park's budget, inspection policies and park conditions as well as voting to delay their officer election and approve the installation of spring tanks on Beaver Creek Park.

Beaver Creek Park Superintendent Chad Edgar said the parks' revenue is looking very good this year and even after adding some funds to the capital improvement budget and setting aside the money required by law, they still have a $43,000 surplus.

Edgar said he did have some requests for the coming year, including a wage increase or mileage allowance for park employees to offset their often long and expensive commutes, which he said is making hiring difficult.

He said practically everyone who ends up working at the park ends up enjoying the work and he never gets complaints, except when it comes to the commute.

Park employees often have to travel 40 or more miles a day just to get to work and that was a significant expense even before gas prices started rising in recent years.

If they copy the county's model of mileage reimbursement for their commutes, he said, that would be a significant amount of money, but they could also just raise the wages a bit to offset the cost.

Board members said they've also heard the cost of commuting can be difficult to manage.

Edgar said this is a problem that needs to be solved or they are going to continue having trouble finding workers, which means the park can't be properly maintained.

He said he can't do it all on his own, he needs employees.

After some discussion about what would be the most workable solution Edgar said he also wants to establish a new position at the park to help him supervise workers.

He said it's difficult to cover the park on his own and he needs help.

He also asked for funds to repair the railing and deck at the office which is in serious disrepair and an awning for one of the buildings, as he's having trouble dealing with snow every winter there.

The board also approved a number of cabin ownership transfers, but this prompted an argument over inspections and compliance after board member Lou Hagener raised concerns about a number of the properties.

All of them were approved unanimously, but Hagener said one lot was oversized and another had an outhouse that was concerningly close to a water channel and he wanted both to be examined.

Board members and an audience member objected to the idea of penalizing the people having a cabin transferred to them for cabins that have been passed inspection for 15 years with these issues never coming up.

Park Board Chair Jeff Jensen said a lot of these cabins have been unchanged for years and said if the board is going to adopt more stringent policies for inspections and compliance than there needs to be a policy to grandfather in the properties.

Park Board member and Hill County Commissioner Mark Peterson agreed.

Jensen said he understands where Hagener is coming from with his concerns but he doesn't feel cabin owners should be punished for things that have changed after years and years of inspections.

Jensen said the particular cabin with the outhouse shows no indication that it is going to fail anytime soon so it's not like there's an immediate danger.

The board also approved the installation of spring tanks on the park at the request of their grazing committee.

Edgar said the committee was discussing the idea of putting a cross fence in the park, one that has been discussed on-and-off by the board and committee for years now, to prevent environmentally destructive overgrazing in certain areas in the park.

He said one of the potential alternatives to the fence, which has seen a great deal of opposition from cabin owners and grazers, is to install water tanks that will hopefully lure livestock away from the problem areas.

He said the committee recommended the park at least try this before installing a fence, a recommendation the board approved.

The board also voted to delay their election of officers until potential new board members are seated.

Board member and Hill County Commissioner Sheri Williams said they have letters of interest from people interested in being on the board, so it might be worth it to delay the election.

Hagener said some of the sitting board members, himself included, are up for reappointment soon as well.

Peterson said officers are supposed to be elected by the existing board, but after some discussion the board voted to delay the election.

The board also discussed a recent proposal to alter or combine some of their committees, with Jensen saying that its getting increasingly difficult to find members for them and they meet so rarely that it may be more efficient to combine some of them.

Hagener said he disagrees and thinks the committees should continue as they have.

He said he thinks board members should be actively trying to recruit people from the community to be on the committees instead of just announcing vacancies and waiting, which may help fill them up.

During the meeting Jensen also gave an update on the efforts to construct a new Beaver Lodge at Camp Kiwanis.

He said they will be meeting with a pair of architectural firms today to discuss designs for the lodge and he has a series of questions for them including an estimate on price.

He said both firms have great credentials and he trusts both will do a great job, but price is going to be a big factor in the decision.

At the end of the meeting Edgar gave an update on park conditions, saying the past month has been very busy with solid park usage over Memorial Day weekend.

He said conditions are wet and the vegetation is doing very well overall, but there are a few areas that are still having difficulty growing, most notably Rotary Hill, which he said the grazing committee is monitoring.

He said he recently gave some of the park's scrap metal to a welding class at Montana State University-Northern and he wanted to thank Northern professors Chuck Terry and Jason Tanner for the gate they recently made for the park.

Edgar said the kiosk for the north end of the park has arrived but they are still installing the informational panels.