Many residents in the Saddle Mountain subdivisions of Montana City may not realize there is a county park in their neighborhood. Amy Teegarden is trying to change that.
Teegarden has been leading a series of introductory meetings during July and August, providing local residents a history of the park and asking for their support in working with Jefferson County to keep it maintained.
The park, located at the intersection of Ruby Mountain Road and Grassy Mountain Road, was established in 1978 as the first subdivision was constructed. “Under Montana state law,” Teegarden explains, “the contractors who build sub-divisions of certain sizes must set aside a certain portion of the area for parks.”
Saddle Mountain Park opened with about 18.6 acres, offering picnic tables, basketball courts, and a pavilion area sheltered from the elements. With the completion of the two more subdivisions in 1997, another 8.7 acres were added. The park boasts several trails linking hikers and bicycles to main roads in the neighborhood, and a trail leading into Bureau of Land Management property.
Teegarden said about 20 people attended her first meeting, July 16. Seven residents came to a meeting on Aug. 12; a final gathering is scheduled for Aug. 14 at 6:30 p.m. at the park.
After living in the area for 25 years, Teegarden said she had fond memories of using the park and enjoying big gatherings in the pavilion. She was saddened a few years ago when she walked through the park and noticed the deterioration that had occurred. Weeds were as high as her waist, and many were noxious species. A baseball field was no longer visible amid the overgrowth. A small storage building on the premises had been broken into and vandalized. Also vandalized was a small memorial stone, placed during the 1978 park dedication but now riddled with bullet holes and bent by unsuccessful attempts to remove the memorial plate from the stone. Picnic tables and the pavilion roof had suffered poorly under Montana weather.
Teegarden took photos of the deterioration in 2022, and approached Jefferson County Parks and Trails, offering to serve as the liaison between the county and residents. The county agreed, and committed to making improvements. It cleaned up and repaired the storage building, outfitting it with a sturdy door and lock. The grass has been mowed several times this year and the weeds sprayed, Teegarden says. The base paths on the ball field have re-emerged, and the pavilion has a new roof and side panels.
County Grant Coordinator Leah Lewis said that a grant from the American Plan Rescue Act (ARPA) has funded work to mow and bag the grass area around the baseball field and picnic area, and for two heavy-duty fixed basketball hoops that have been ordered and “will be installed as soon as possible.”
Mike Korn, a member of the County Parks, Recreation and Trails Commission said he couldn’t explain how the park had been forgotten. “When Amy brought this to our attention a few years ago, we didn’t even know if the county owned it,” he said. “As soon as we confirmed that, we started doing some basic maintenance like mowing and fixing up the buildings.”
Korn said changing demographics may have played a role in misplacing the park. “It’s really a nice piece of land. They used to have soccer and baseball games there. But the kids grew up and some moved away, and I guess it just didn’t get used anymore.”
Teegarden hopes the public meetings will raise awareness of the park. She plans to meet this fall with those who express interest and can contribute to maintaining the park, aiming to bring the ideas that emerge back to county officials.
She admits that the county doesn’t have much money for residential parks; the amount allocated in the 2023-2024 budget for parks totaled just $400. “But,” she says, “there’s other ways.”
