Title 25 services discussed with county commissioners

The Hot Springs County Commissioners covered a wide variety of subjects during their meeting on Tuesday, from grizzly delisting to upcoming grants.

Emergency Management Director Bill Gordon told the commissioners the latest round of Homeland Security grants have been announced and the county has until April 1, 2017 to come up with a project or projects to apply for.

The monies will not actually be available until Sept. 1, 2017, but the county can apply for up to three grants during this allocation period.

Gordon suggested that radio replacement might be a good project to consider.

Not long ago, Gordon researched what the costs would be for replacing radios for emergency personnel, including the sheriff’s office, fire and search and rescue. That total was in the neighborhood of $275,000.

While a single grant of that size is not probable, Gordon suggested each of the agencies could apply separately for the radios they need at a smaller cost, which would mean at least some of the equipment they need could be replaced.

The commissioners signed a grant application requesting repayment for the installation of the new fueling system at the airport at a cost of $356,675.

The fueling system includes two above-ground 10,000 gallon tanks for Jet A fuel and Avgas, a self-service card reader, piping, truck off-load system and other miscellaneous items needed to meet Wyoming DEQ and State Fire Marshall rules and regulations.

The grant, if awarded, would be a 90/6/4 matching grant with the FAA share being $300,000. There is a possibility that a big chunk of Hot Springs County’s share could be covered by the sale of the job trailer from the airport site.

The job trailer bid was awarded on Tuesday as well, going to Diamond Point Construction for a final price of $15,000.

The Town of Kirby approached the commissioners last month, requesting a transfer of State Lands and Investment Board (SLIB) monies to the town for a storage tank supply line.

The commissioners approved the transfer this week of $97,959. The Town of Kirby already had a match in place of $61,236 to cover the replacement of a two-inch supply line for the town’s storage tank, several valves and concrete storage vault.

The tank will no longer fill at an adequate rate due to changes in the pressure provided by the water supplier.

A letter on behalf of the county commissioners is being sent to the Montana State Ecological Services Office, the Grizzly Bear Recovery Program at the University of Montana, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Senators Enzi and Barrasso, Congresswoman Lummis and Governor Matt Mead supporting the delisting of the grizzly bear.

The commissioners fully support the return of management of the Yellowstone grizzly bear to the state of Wyoming and the efforts to restore the bear’s population to healthy levels.

A lengthy discussion on the Title 25 Lighthouse project in Washakie County was another part of the meeting Tuesday, with the commissioners agreeing putting money into another county was not in our best interest.

The Lighthouse is a facility Hot Springs County can use to place Title 25 patients if needed, rather than taking them to the Wyoming Behavioral Institue (WBI) in Casper.

Lighthouse is wanting to expand their facility and asking all the counties that use their services to “pitch in” equal amounts of funding for the expansion.

According to County Attorney Jerry Williams, Hot Springs County uses the facility less than any of the other counties in the area, and therefore, doesn’t believe the commissioners should consider an equal funding contribution is fair.

The commissioners agreed, saying the $100,000 expansion by Lighthouse is a great thing, however, putting money into another county’s facility is not a good idea.

Title 25 patients can be held anywhere from 48 hours up to 10 days and there is a cost to the county to hold them.

Currently, there is no place in Hot Springs County for more than a 48-hour hold, and often, patients must be transferred either to WBI or Lighthouse for several days. We have no local facility for psychological evaluation, either.

Cost-wise, Lighthouse is the cheaper alternative, costing $325 per day, compared to $670 per day at WBI.

The commissioners determined they needed more input from the other counties on their thoughts before making a final decision.