Williams County Parks Committee members approved minutes from the Feb. 18 meeting and heard staff updates on a youth fishing derby, park master-plan work and several site-specific projects during a regular meeting.

Committee business opened with a motion to approve the minutes from Feb. 18, which passed on a roll-call vote with members Barry, Brad, Steve, Corey, Beau, Shanda and Chris voting yes.

The meeting then moved to operations updates. Jeremy (parks staff) gave a recap of a recent fishing derby that he described as a strong family event: "We had good weather, not great weather. We had a hundred and over a 20 kids participate," he said, adding that "the majority, I would say, 80% were 8 and under." Jeremy said the event ran 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. this year, compared with previous years that ended around 2 p.m., and that every child received a bucket, a fishing pole, bait and a T-shirt; additional small prizes were distributed to participants. He credited the Williston United Sportsman's group and multiple sponsors for volunteer support and prizes, and said a KX news story about the event was shared on social media.

On the master plan and construction front, Jeremy reported that site work will resume in early April and that project managers changed contractors after earlier work with Western Excavating did not meet expectations. "They canceled that contract and signed a contract with 3 Forks to finish it out," he said, adding that 3 Forks had already visited the site and planned to mobilize April 1. Two smaller shelters have already been installed, he said.

Jeremy said Lookout Park is "close to done" but still requires a water connection for the sprinkler system before it can open. He said staff are planning small grand-opening events: one at Cote D'Oreille the Thursday before Memorial Day and another at Lookout Park the Thursday before that, and that specific dates and times would be emailed to committee members.

Blacktail Dam remains in the bidding phase. Jeremy said a bidders' informational meeting held the previous day drew roughly 10 attendees representing various trades; bids are currently out. On related operations for Blacktail, Jeremy said he has discussed expanding primitive (boondock) camping sites with the county health department and that the department had concerns focused on toilets and water availability. Jeremy said staff told the health department they would provide porta-potties as needed and that the project team (architect and contractor Jay Dunn) understands the need to secure an alternate water source for campers once portions of the campground are closed.

On safety and seasonal operations, Jeremy said deployment of lake buoys at Epping Springbrook Dam will be delayed until sustained above-freezing temperatures avoid battery damage. He said the buoys use solar-charged batteries and staff will deploy them without external contractors while remaining in phone contact with the buoy vendor for support. Staffing updates noted four of six seasonal workers from last year have confirmed their return, two additional candidates are being interviewed and one worker will not return.

There were no additional formal actions taken beyond approval of the minutes. The committee set its next meeting for April 15 and adjourned at 9:09 a.m.