Verde Park is not closed, nor is sledding banned.

Toby Hazelbaker, who became the Great Falls Park and Recreation Director in April, told City Commissioners during their Oct. 20 meeting that the sign recently posted in Verde Park was a unilateral decision by the parks manager who “out of a good heart…wanted to keep the public safe.”

The sign came from past practice of limiting sledding in city parks based on past incidents of injuries and concern for litigation.

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Hazelbaker said the sign was misleading and has since been removed.

In an Oct. 20 memo to commissioners, Hazelbaker wrote that “the history of sledding around town and specifically in public parks is overshadowed by a number of injuries at the popular Overlook Park hill that had one such case turn litigious and end up in the Montana Supreme Court.”

That case centered on a November 1995 incident when a 15-year-old went sledding in Overlook Park and was injured when she ran into a safety net the city had installed to cushion sledders who failed to stop on their own, according to court documents.

The suit alleged that the city negligently operated and maintained the sledding hill in unsafe conditions and didn’t warn users of known dangers.

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The city prevailed in that case, determining that the city was immune from a negligence claim under Montana’s 1995 Recreational Use Act, which stated that a person using property, including that owned or leased by a public entity, for recreation purposes, with or without permission, “does so without any assurance from the landowner that the property is safe for any purpose if the person does not give a valuable consideration to the landowner in exchange for the recreational use of the property. The landowner owes the person no duty of care with respect to the condition of the property, except that the landowner is liable to the person for any injury to person or property for an act or omission that constitutes willful or wanton misconduct,” according to the state’s high court 2024 decision.

In that case, the city also proved it had reviewed the sledding conditions and risk mitigation options, eventually installing the safety net.

Hazelbaker wrote in his memo that Overlook Park was eventually closed to sledding since safety couldn’t be guaranteed and there were more injuries on the steep hill with an abrupt stop at fencing and railroad tracks.

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Seasonal signage and fencing are installed at Overlook Park to dissuade sledders, Hazelbak wrote, sending more sledders to Verde Park, where similar crashes and injuries have occurred.

Last winter, a child veered off the side of the hill and collided with snow fencing that had been installed on the west side per the city streets division request, and needed 113 stitches in his face and scalp, Hazelaker wrote.

Park and Rec staff checked with the city legal office and “it was deemed a waiting game to see if litigation would be pursued by the injured party’s family – it was not,” Hazelbaker wrote, and the city park manager felt another “Overlook Park situation was looming the longer Verde Park was open to sledding, so he instructed his staff to post signage this year informing the public of the closure. Sledding is a beloved tradition that Park and Recreation would like to see continue, but the steep nature of the public’s favorite hills, as well as the uncontrolled nature of the activity, may open the city to liability. There aren’t great alternatives to Verde and Overlook parks as sledding venues are concerned – other parks are too flat, have much shorter hills, or have obstacles that increase risk. The public does, however, still find their way out on snowy days to small hills in Sandill and Warden Parks, as examples.”

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In his Oct. 20 memo, Hazelbaker wrote that staff was seeking guidance on whether sledding should be prohibited or allowed citywide, or limited to certain areas.

“The latter choice seems the best of both worlds, with Verde being the best choice, though not a perfect one. If [the] commission chooses to keep Verde Park or other locations open for sledding, an intensive risk and legal review should be engaged as to the types of controls, protections and liabilities the city would be responsible for,” Hazelbaker wrote.

“I apologize that a unilateral decision from my staff caused such concern,” Hazelbaker told commissioners during the Oct. 20 meeting and asked them for further guidance.

Commissioner Rick Tryon said they needed to have more discussion about litigation potential at a work session and whether the city’s insurance carrier has requirements for posting signs.

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He said he had questions he’d like answered before making any decisions on sledding.

Tryon said current city policy prohibits sledding, to which City Manager Greg Doyon said there’s nothing in city code prohibiting sledding nor assigning it to certain areas.

Tryon asked if they needed a citywide policy on sledding.

Doyon said they didn’t need to overcomplicate the issue and can let people sled, but need to be aware of their liability exposure.

“If sledding is the most serious thing people are concerned about, I’ll take it,” Doyon said.

Even if the city posted that sledding is prohibited, people would do it anyway and the city could still be sued, he said.

“The reality is that you can’t prevent everything,” Doyon said, but he didn’t think the public understood the impact of lawsuits against the city, which can be expensive if the city’s insurance doesn’t cover it, or, if it does, the cost may come back through increased rates.

“Nobody wants to hear that they just want to have fun,” Doyon said. “Reacting because something was said on social media is not a good way to do public policy.”

Mayor Cory Reeves said he thought the city had a policy for sledding and wanted to keep Flag Hill, which is Overlook Park, off limits for sledding, as has been the case for years.

Doyon reiterated that it wasn’t in city code and wasn’t aware of any adopted department policy regarding sledding, but was aware of past practice to post ‘no sledding’ due to previous incidents.

Tryon said that “sometimes it surprises me what we don’t think is or should be a big deal actually is to a lot of people,” and thought it wasn’t just sledding, but “goes to sort of an overbearing city government that people have a concern about.”

He said he didn’t think it’s a big deal, but that a lot of people do.

Tryon said he’s taken his grandkids sledding in Verde Park.

Reeves said he was fine with letting people sled in the park and staff could figure out the safety risks and liability issues.

Commissioner Casey Schreiner said he thought it was fine to sled.

Tryon said he was fine with the status quo, which was allowing sledding in Verde Park as long as the public understood that if someone got hurt and the city was sued, “they’re gonna pay for any litigation. As long as there’s an understanding there on that, then I’m fine with let ’em slide.”

In his memo, Hazelbaker wrote that in discussion of sledding liabilities, it was compared to the skate park and how the city received ongoing insurance certification for that facility with no major concerns.

“At first glance, most people rate a skate park as more dangerous than a sledding hill, but statistically, sledding is more dangerous,” Hazelbaker wrote in his Oct. 20 memo, but did not include statistical data for the claim.

The skate park is a purpose-built, controlled environment, he wrote, rather than the low entry barrier for sledding in uncontrolled snow and weather conditions.