Commissioners give nod to GIS system

The Hot Springs County Commissioners held their second meeting for the month of July on Tuesday afternoon, hearing a report from Main Street Thermopolis President Suzanne Samelson.

Samelson talked about the things Main Street has accomplished over the last few months, including the new flower beds near the flag pole downtown, new trash cans for downtown are being decided upon, and last week, the National President of Main Street was in town and members of the local group took her on a tour of our downtown area.

Main Street has also already set the date for next year’s Brewfest for Saturday, June 6.

With the 2020 Census on the horizon, local coordinator Judy Carswell told the commissioners they have had their first committee meeting to get things going in Hot Springs County.

The group has created a Facebook page filled with information on the upcoming census as well as a listing of job openings with the census that are right here in town.

The group will meet again in September and are planning on having census booths set up at local events with information about the census and what it can mean for our county as far as federal funding is concerned.

Carswell asked if the commissioners could put a link on the county’s webpage to the census page so people can find all the pertinent information.

The commissioners signed a contract with T-O Engineers to create the GIS system that will allow the public to access maps and other information for the county.

The commissioners want to be able to review the system along the way, adding or subtracting items that they feel are beneficial to the public. In addition, they want to look at some kind of security for the system that will keep personal information private as much as possible.

The system will be a boon to various agencies as well, such as the sheriff’s department, search and rescue and the fire department once it is up and running. It will allow people from those agencies to access maps of even the remotest areas of the county in order to create a plan of action or find a specific place in the case of an emergency.

In other business, the commissioners approved a contract for the County Health Officer, Dr. Vernon Miller, for another four years and signed a child support enforcement agreement with the District Court.