HAVRE, Mont. (NMB) – The Hill County Park Board convened at the County Courthouse on Monday evening for their regular monthly meeting.
The Board approved a request from Becky Miller to use $4,800 from the Capital Improvements fund to pay for engineering design and analysis for the project at the Lodge at Camp Kiwanis.
The Lodge was temporarily stabilized earlier this year in order to continue being open, but permanent fixes are needed in the near future. Preliminary work on the design showed that placing columns and footings on the beam next to the women’s bathroom would end up putting it out of compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Now that the funding request has been approved, they can move forward with plans on how to solve this bathroom issue. This could involve moving the bathrooms.
Friends of Beaver Creek Park have announced a contribution of around $14,000 for preliminary work.
The Board is working on coming up with other means of funding this project, which could include applying for grants and holding fundraisers.
In an ideal scenario, Miller says construction would begin next fall.
The Board also discussed whether to start looking at making additional improvements to the Lodge. Superintendent Chad Edgar said it will need to be decided whether they just want to stabilize the building, or want to improve it as well.
Upgrades could end up being made with respect to the plumbing and electrical systems and the kitchen and bathroom.
Shakespeare in the Park
Also at the meeting, the Board unanimously approved a request from Montana Actors’ Theatre (MAT) to perform the Shakespeare play Macbeth at Beaver Creek Park free of charge next summer.
The play would have three showings from August 26th-28th in the open field directly west of Lion’s Campground. Parking will be available near the site of the play, but arrangements for shuttles for transportation from Havre are being worked out. There will also be transportation via golf carts or other small vehicle from the Campground to the performance area for those unable to walk up the hill.
MAT plans to work with the Bear Paw Volunteer Fire Department to have a fire truck on site in case something were to go wrong. The lighting will be low wattage LED which does not create heat.
There will be food and drink sold at the event.
There will be every effort made to make the footprint of this event as small as possible, and MAT says they will clean up the space after the event.
MAT has its own comprehensive liability insurance.
Any changes to the project will be presented back to the Board for approval.
Also discussed at the meeting:
- The Board approved a priority checklist from the Lion’s Club with a list of possible steps to improve the Lion’s Campground. This includes placing new campsites around the pavilion. The Lion’s have said they will fund improvements, and will continue to remain in communication with the Board..
- Edgar says Park Usage remains slow and conditions remain “pretty dry,” although the recent snow has helped. He says there have been six total collisions between vehicles and cows since grazing season began after labor day. Grazing season runs through December 31st, but could come to an end sooner in parts of the park due to a lack of grass. The grass from Blackie Coulee to Quarter Gulch has been all used up, and there is moderate grass left from Quarter Gulch to Mooney Coulee. There is a bit of grass left at the south pasture and from Alkali to Lions.
