HAVRE, Mont. (NMB) – The Hill County Park Board convened for their regular monthly meeting on Monday and approved a handful of agenda items, including the preliminary budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
The budget includes a projected $240,600 in expenses and $224,690.16 in revenue. The estimated revenue features a 15 percent cut in projected money brought in from cattle grazing due to the ongoing drought. Park Superintendent Chad Edgar said that the north end of the park is in very poor condition, while the south end could be more forgiving when it comes to grazing season.
It is unclear if there will be any haying at all at the park this upcoming fiscal year, and Edgar said that is a conversation the grazing committee needs to have.
The budgets is a preliminary estimate and will fluctuate as conditions change.
Also at the meeting, the Board approved the wording of applications for new grazers and for those wishing to transfer their grazing allotment. The hope is for this to make the process of how grazing allotments are distributed more transparent and so that there are official records.
Pay Boxes and a Kiosk
Another action taken was the approval of a request from Edgar to purchase and install two new, sturdier and more secure pay boxes.
This comes after Edgar says one of the current boxes was recently broken into and damaged. He says after he went out to fix it, the box was again tampered with a short time later.
He says the boxes, made by Hard Rock Ranger, will be delivered and purchased at a total cost of $1,970. Edgar says that the Park will find a way to fund the purchase of the boxes, whether that be through donations or another method.
The Board also approved a request to purchase and have delivered a kiosk. The estimated cost is just under $10,000, and it will also cost a few thousand dollars to be installed, according to Edgar. Friends of Beaver Creek Park has already committed about $6,000 towards this project.
