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Draft parks master plan endorses Canton Lane and Centerville concepts; board removes priority table and coordinates with trails groups
Summary
The Parks and Recreation Board reviewed a working draft of the master plan April 30, agreed to pursue Concept 3 for Canton Lane and Concept 2 for Centerville as preferred planning options while retaining flexibility, removed a priority spreadsheet from the draft, and discussed trails coordination and grant opportunities with local trail partners.
The Broadwater County Parks and Recreation Board reviewed a working draft of the county parks master plan April 30, endorsing Concept 3 for Canton Lane and Concept 2 for the Centerville property as the most-desired park designs for further exploration while emphasizing that the master plan remain flexible to future changes.
Board members and the consultant on the line said the draft would be used to support grant applications and public outreach. "After the public was able to voice their opinions and the data was analyzed by Parks and Rec board, it was decided for planning purposes Concept number 3 for Canton Lane and Concept number 2 for the Centerville property would be the most desired park designs the county should explore," the consultant said during the meeting.
Board members explicitly removed a proposed priority table and schedule-of-improvements spreadsheet from the working draft, citing uncertainty about costs and the risk of locking projects into a ranked order before grant opportunities materialize. "I think that's a unanimous decision to cut that out," one board member said while the consultant confirmed the change.
The board discussed specific features and constraints tied to both concepts. On Canton Lane the draft preserves 40 acres of golf-course open space for flexible use as walking trails or temporary practice fields until or unless any future golf-course expansion occurs; several members noted the golf-course expansion would require significant private investment and is not guaranteed. On Centerville, members noted Concept 2 as preferred by public input but also observed that the rifle/pistol range lease runs for four more years and the board does not control lease renewal decisions.
Trails and river access emerged as a connected topic. Board members reported a recent meeting with local trail stakeholders, including Al Kristofferson and volunteers from the Southwest Montana Mountain Bikers Association; participants plan to produce GIS trail mapping to aid grant applications. Carol Hatfield, a volunteer on the trails effort, said a mountain biking representative will digitize the trail network and provide GIS for grant applications.
The board also discussed water-trail connectivity on the Missouri River, including continuity from Toston to Townsend and linkage with the Headwaters Paddlers Group's existing route. Board members flagged Bureau of Land Management concerns about concentrated trailhead facilities like Copper City and said the preferred strategy may be to emphasize trail connectivity rather than concentrated facilities on BLM land.
Why this matters: The master plan is intended to be a tool for communities and grant seekers; its design choices and supporting language affect which projects receive funding and how community groups coordinate maintenance and use.
Next steps: The consultant and staff will remove the priority table, add flexible language about future changes to designs tied to external leases or private expansion, and compile board comments for the working draft. The plan will ultimately be presented to the county commissioners for approval.
