COVID-19 command team update

The COVID-19 Incident Command team of Dr. Vernon Miller, Emergency Management Coordinator Bill Gordon and Mary Gordon, Public Health Response Coordinator met with the Hot Springs County Commissioners to discuss where we are with the pandemic.

Events or businesses need to submit an exception if there are portions that are not going to be able to be done with the state and county requirements currently in place.

The team discussed plans and exception forms, letting the commissioners know they are available on the Hot Springs County website. You do not need to search for the forms they will automatically pop up.

They went further, saying they are more than happy to help with interpreting the orders if someone is confused. Additionally, not everyone holding an event will be required to put in a complete plan.

Dr. Miller said if people already have an event planned that doesn’t break the rules, they don’t have to ask for permission. However, people are more than welcome to submit their plan for review and Miller can give you additional ideas and guidance to keep everyone safe.

“We’ve had about 12 cases with no deaths in Hot Springs County,” Miller said. “Surrounding counties have been hit much harder. There is still a lot of potential for spreading.

“We’re glad we’re keeping things to a slow trickle rather than a flood. People need to understand there is no date for when this is going to be over. We’re finding out now that not everyone who has the antibodies is safe now, either. Herd immunity and vaccines are going to be the only way out of this.”

Miller went on to say we cannot shut things down forever, but we do need to be considerate of others and their health and safety. If we can be as careful and thoughtful of each other, avoid large crowds and so forth, we can decrease the spread of this and have it eventually dissipate. If not, we’re going to find ourselves in the same place as Florida and Texas.

Maintenance Supervisor Anthony Fruciano told the commissioners there were a lot of high temperature alarms that were going off in the annex over the holiday weekend. He spent a lot of time trying to get something done to level things out with little success.

The technicians with the company that installed the system have already been to take a look and it appears there is something with the main boards that run the system that has been burned out, probably due to a power surge.

Unfortunately it’s going to be a big job to correct, $15,800 plus another $10,000 for the board. He is still working on crunching numbers to see if there is a cheaper, easier way to fix it. The company is also researching if there is a work-around for the issue.

Hot Springs County Airport’s FBO, Nate Messenger, says the numbers at the airport for the month of June are down from last year at the same time, however, he believes its due to a mixture of COVID-19 and a downturn in the economy.

There were 160 recorded operations at the airport for the month, including four air ambulances.

The runway was closed for about four days recently as the seal coat and paint project was completed. Overall, Messenger is pleased with the work they did even though the caused some damage to ground power units. They did replace and rewire at their own expense.

A new card reader is finally up and running at the airport so now pilots can pay for their fuel using a credit card. It is available 24 hours, so they may purchase fuel even after hours if they happen to make a stop.

A bit of repair is going to have to be done to the stone base of the airport sign next to the highway.

Due to moisture this winter, some of the base is beginning to crumble and stones are falling off. The commissioners told him who to call in order to get it repaired properly.

The commissioners also extended Messenger’s contract at the FBO for another two years.

According to Hot Springs County Planner, Bo Bowman, the Land Use Planning Board will not be meeting during July, instead, waiting until August when they hold the public hearing on the new land use plan.

Copies of the plan are available on the county’s website as well as hard copies at both the courthouse and the library.

Bowman brought a preliminary plat on behalf of Dave and Cindi Denton for approval by the commissioners.

The Denton’s are proposing a subdivision plat to adjust the original plat, which was approved in 2012. The lots in question are addressed as 382 and 384 Buffalo Creek Road.

The proposal had been approved earlier by the Land Use Planning Board with no conditions of approval, so it moved to the commissioners for their signature.

The commissioners unanimously approved the proposed plat.

They also signed an extension agreement for the landfill with the Town of Thermopolis and agreement extension for the Joint Law Enforcement Center.

After once again hitting a brick wall with the Wyoming Association of Risk Management (WARM) with regards to the Hot Springs County Library roof, the commissioners told the WARM representative they will be shopping for new insurance next year.

The commissioners have been going rounds with WARM for an entire year regarding the roof, with WARM only wanting to replace a membrane roof while the commissioners have pointed out an upgraded roof would save money in the long run.

Every few years the library roof has needed replaced because of the material (membrane) and the commissioners would like to see an upgraded roof that would last 10 or more years. It would not only save the county money but the insurance company as well.

The insurance representative said they would make an adjustment to what they will reimburse the county for if they find what the commissioners say is there – saturated insulation.

Vice Chairman Tom Ryan said they would like to have a WARM representative here when they start the tear off so they can see exactly what is going on. This whole situation has left a bad taste in the mouths of the commissioners and they are fed up with the lack of customer service the company has provided.