A bill that would allow cities to include wholly surrounded county parks in annexations is being closely tracked by Flathead County parks officials.

“This is a land grab,” Flathead County Parks and Recreation Director Jed Fisher told the commissioners this week. “We have assets in these parks, and if we just turn them over to a city, there is no income or revenue for the county.”

State law already allows cities to take over county roads and rights of way that are surrounded by property being annexed. The proposed House Bill 183, introduced by Rep. Forrest Mandeville, R-Columbus, includes parks in annexation laws.

The bill already has passed a third reading and has been transmitted to the Senate. Fisher said he will testify against the legislation if directed to do so by the commissioners.

“If we’ve put capital improvements into a park, we need the option of being able to decide whether to turn it over to a city or sell it,” Fisher said. “We shouldn’t be dictated by annexation what our county goals are for our parks. We shouldn’t be just giving our assets away.”

Flathead County owns 75 parks and maintains about 35 of them.

If the bill passes, several county parks could be vulnerable to annexation. Fisher pointed to Green Acres on South Woodland Avenue, Hillcrest Park on Whitefish Stage Road and Vetville Park in Columbia Falls.

The biggest potential loss would be the Conrad Complex, Fisher said, if Kalispell one day annexes Evergreen. The county gets $120,000 in income from that park annually, and that money goes a long way in the county’s park budget.

“I’m not anti-city; I’m pro-county,” Fisher stated. “We need to keep our income going to take care of our parks. To give something away isn’t in my management plan.”

Fisher said the county Park Board also opposes the bill.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.