St. Regis Park Board seeks members
Spring baseball season is just wrapping up, but several other summer events that are held at the St. Regis Community Park are just around the corner, the sooner the town is able to reestablish its Park Board, the more effective it will be in serving the local families, visitors, and businesses. (Amy Quinlivan/Mineral Independent)
A thriving community cannot function without a strong foundation of both leaders and volunteers. And that is something the St. Regis Community Park Board has been in search of for some time now, new members to step up and take on the task of serving on the town’s park board.
County Commissioner and St. Regis resident, Duane Simons explained the parks situation, “It’s evidently been running without a board for quite some time, without alerting the Commissioners.” Without a formal committee in place to manage needed park projects, repairs, and yearly maintenance the sprawling outdoor space is prone to fall into disrepair. Simons added the parks impact on the community, “Would likely have better potential with a board.”
The sprawling green landscape of the St. Regis Community Park consists of two baseball fields, three event pavilions, a concession stand, some small play structure areas, a memorial garden and gazebo as well as an unkempt walking path at the edge of the forest. The pond at the park saw recent upgrades with two new fishing docks and renovations done to the fencing along the pond’s perimeter.
Every year families watch their children play little league and soccer on its fields, and each May the ever-popular Memorial Day Flea Market is held on the grounds of the St. Regis Community Park. It hosts Easter egg hunts, softball tournaments, and the fourth of July festivities each summer. But lately when area residents inquire about event rentals for the park’s spaces for happenings like weddings, or birthdays, people have been unsure of where to turn.
Local officials were alerted regarding the towns beloved recreational site needing improved oversight. Simons said, “The Commissioners were recently made aware of the defunct St Regis Park Board and have stepped in to oversee until a new Board is appointed,” In the meantime he added, “The Commissioners have been taking the role of overseeing the park.”
The Park Board runs separate from any other group in the town, it has its own set of bylaws and guidelines on how it is operated, or at least it has in the past. Three positions are needing to be filled for the St. Regis Community Park Board to get up and running again. In addition to the county representatives handling the parks business, former commissioner and St. Regis native Judy Stang has offered to take part in the board. She noted however, “I said I'd apply but without two more, it will just stay on the commissioners."
Stang offered, “I don’t mind budgets and meetings, this committee takes care of projects, the hard part is finding other people willing to join who don’t already have forty thousand other things they are doing.”
And just like many other local entities searching for new members Simons agreed it all comes down to helpful hands. He stated, “It’s just a lack of willing people.”
These three positions have been advertised and applications can be picked up through the county Commissioner’s Administrative Assistant, Dawn Terrill at 406-822-3537 or dterrill@co.mineral.mt.us. Simons mentioned, “There are no guarantees if there are multiple applications, it’s possible discernment by the Commissioners would be exercised if there are more applicants than positions.”
Some community rumblings of potential playground improvements bounced around last year, but without someone to spearhead such a project the ideas faded out. The St. Regis Park playground area is rather small and limited for the generous space that park grounds provide, it could really use some expansions and updating. And to pursue those kinds of enhancements it would be crucial to have a park committee in place. Simons concurred, “A board would be instrumental in these types of upgrades.”
For those interested in volunteering or wanting more information on what is involved in being a park board member Simons noted, “Well, I would think that just like any other volunteer board you could set your meetings to the board members liking, and as far as our workload we haven’t had to do much so far we just bought a much-needed lawnmower, the old one was about 20 years old.” Lawn maintenance is important with the busy summer months ahead, and the Flea Market just a week away, for now the commissioners will continue to oversee the St. Regis Community Park until a new board can be reestablished.