County signs new Conrad Complex deal
Batter up.
Flathead County and the Conrad Memorial Cemetery Board have reached a new agreement to keep the Conrad Complex in play for at least another five years.
After months of negotiations, the two parties have agreed to a five-year lease.
After the current contract runs out in September 2009, the county will pay $15,000 for the first year with a 2 percent increase each year thereafter.
For nearly 40 years the county has been paying about $1 per year for the 27-acre site east of Woodland Park, which now holds seven ball fields.
The Cemetery Board has demanded amounts ranging from $20,000 to nearly $40,000 per year, based on comparisons with lease rates paid for Kalispell's Kidsports facility.
Kidsports is a 134-acre parcel with more than 22 fields.
The Park Board originally countered with a $5,000-per-year offer, which the Cemetery Board rejected.
Parks and Recreation Director Jed Fisher said users of the complex will have to pay an additional $5 to $15 each to help cover the cost of the lease agreement.
"We feel it's very affordable," Fisher said.
Adult softball teams currently pay $650 to $800 per team to play at Conrad, and that money covers basic utility costs.
"We didn't want to come to the taxpayers for additional money, but [the complex] is so good for so many people," Fisher said. "We felt it was in everybody's best interest to get something worked out."
The county has spent tens of thousands of dollars to build up the complex, and returning the property back to its original state by removing the fields would have cost close to $100,000.
County Commissioner Dale Lauman said he was disappointed the cemetery would charge that much per year, but he understood that the board needed to get something out of the deal after decades of not making any money on the property.
The commissioners voted unanimously Monday to sign the lease.
The agreement is a relief to hundreds of families who use the complex each summer. The Flathead High School Bravettes also use the site for home games. In return, Kalispell Public Schools give the county use of school gymnasiums for other recreation programs.
If both sides hadn't come to an agreement, the county would have begun tearing down the complex this fall, which would have severely hindered next year's recreation opportunities at the site.
Fisher said that signing the new deal was more intelligent than trying to build a new complex somewhere else. To build one ball field costs about $70,000, and that doesn't include concessions or restroom facilities.
Major improvements to the complex such as new concession stands or adding fields, however, will stop. Fisher said his department will keep the ball fields looking good, but the extensive upgrade projects of the past will end.
"I think it was a very equitable deal," Fisher said. "This is a far better way. It was good that we came to some meeting of the minds."
Reporter Michael Richeson may be reached at 758-4459 or by e-mail at mricheson@dailyinterlake.com