Commissioners comment on solid waste district

During the May 4 Hot Springs County Commissioners meeting, Chairman Tom Ryan addressed an email from the Independent Record asking for comment on a solid waste district proposal and working with the Thermopolis Town Council.

Ryan said, “They (the town) were wanting the county to create a solid waste district or the residents of the town would have to pay a lot more money, which we are very aware of. We’re not really opposed to a solid waste district and when we had discussion with the Town, they thought that we could start a solid waste district just by a vote with the commissioners which is true but you can’t have funding for that organization without a vote of the people. So you can’t go out and get mills for a solid waste district without a vote of the people.” 

Ryan continued and said, “The commissioners didn’t really feel like in an off-election year that we would have any success in getting additional bills passed for a solid waste district. I feel like we would have a lot better chance doing it during a regular election cycle, plus we wouldn’t have to stand the expense of another election. That’s kind of where we’re at. We’re not opposed to a solid waste district. It would have been nice, I think, if you’re gonna have a solid waste district that they were involved in the selection of a transfer station and a site and all those things because they’re going to have to take what’s left.”

Commissioner Jack Baird said, “I think there’s other places that money could be saved.”

Ryan said, “One of things we offered was water and the Town declined that. They spend $750,000 treating water so we could have probably saved some of that.”

Commissioner Phil Scheel said, “I am not opposed to the idea of a solid waste district. I am not sure if I would support a solid waste district. I believe that would be widely echoed around the county. We had a hell of a time passing a hospital district. I don’t think the people of Hot Springs County are willing. I’m assuming that the folks of Hot Springs County are not willing to spend the amount of money on a solid waste district as they are on a healthcare facility.”

Shane Rankin gave his Road and Bridge report and said that blading of roads continues as normal, with some needing to be redone because of the recent rain. They also have installed a new lift in their shop to perform maintenance on their vehicles. Rankin noted there is a sinkhole behind the courthouse parking lot and that they filled it. They burned some slash piles in a pit.

During Rankin’s report, a Landowner/Conservation District Agreement for Water Quality Monitoring Actives document was proposed. The commissioners were concerned about whether they were supposed to sign it as they were not land owners. After some discussion, they decided to table the document and seek further clarification by looking at previous minutes. 

Les Culliton presented his monthly maintenance report and said that the Annex roof is still leaking and they need to capture photos to figure out where it is coming from.

Regarding the annual Long contract, the commissioners passed a motion and signed changing the term to be from May to May instead of starting on January 1. The amount on the contract is $10,728 and is up about $1,200 from last year. 

Also, for working with Long, Culliton proposed an upgrade at the courthouse and Annex BMS system to a web-based one that notifies when things go wrong. Currently Culliton’s computer is using Windows 95 and to properly communicate with the utilities system he would need current technology.

The cost to upgrade the computer and utilities for the courthouse would be about $17,000 and Public Health would be about $48,000. The reason Public Health costs more is that the components there would need to be replaced to be compatible with the software as their current ones are controlled by the Johnson brand. Long and Johnson are incompatible as both use their own proprietary software and system components. 

The commissioners passed a motion for a Kone proposal to replace some rollers at the elevator at the courthouse for $14,314 under the emergency expenditures category.

Culliton said that the Law Enforcement Center had a backup generator battery fail. It does not have a maintainer and Culliton recommended installing one. They also need to replace a failed coolant heater as the current heart is no longer available.

There was a question about an invoice to pay for the Library’s flag light that failed. Jadeco installed a new fixture for $231. The commissioners said that this is the Library’s responsibility as it would fall under their budget.

Culliton said that he has put new tires on a Chevy truck. The commissioners informed Culliton about the Road and Bridge department has a new lift and that they could potentially service them as well. 

Culliton reported that the Annex’s backup generator has failed to carry a load during an exercise and it appears to be a fuel system issue. He will review the manual and see if this is something that will show up in the controller diagnostic screen.

County Planner Bo Bowman presented himself to the commissioners and they discussed the recent ad and press release that required the public to notify them about constructions. The commissioners said that they received some blowback from the public. But Bowman said no one had called him directly yet and he said he was expecting to hear from people.

They decided to make a course correction and change the form’s name to a “construction notice” and eliminate any language of a “permit”.

Bowman simply wants to receive a heads up for any construction about to take place and to make sure the public knows that the notice would not hold up construction progress.

Chairman Tom Ryan said their biggest concern is septic tanks and land use and finding out about them after the fact. He said, “We want to stop that,” and they do not want to deal with hypothetical situations. Their plan for the construction notice is to “get the horse in front of the cart.”

Bowman predicted that it would take about one year for the public to get fully up to speed with this change. People who want to construct structures of sheds, greenhouses, and other utility structures with only one floor level; and portable structures such as skid sheds and moveable carports are all exempt and do not need to fill out the notice.

In the Youth Alternative report, Barb Rice gave her statistical updates of how many youths are currently involved in their program. Rice said they recently brought on board a math tutor, Ryan Mosser, a junior, who is helping struggling younger kids and they meet three days a week. Rice said with his help their grades have significantly improved. Rice also said they have a counselor in training who could be a good role model and provide support to the kids. Right now Rice said they are “hanging in there until school ends.”

County Health Nurse Tricia McPhie presented a contract for their annual Public Health Preparedness and Response for the amount of $56,000. The contract would allow them to hire a coordinator. The commissioners voted and passed the contract. McPhie also reported that they are partnering with the Chamber of Commerce and DFS in a community baby shower and with the Chamber in their scavenger hunt. Prevention also partnered with law enforcement and Lights On with their drug awareness night at the middle school and had 71 participants. 

Brian Clarkson of T-O Engineers gave a GIS report and said that with the county’s GIS point of contact Cody Stewart out on maternity leave, they should train additional people within each department in the county. Clarkson reported that he met with department heads including Road & Bridge, the Clerk’s office, the County Planner and the Sheriff’s Department. In those meetings they determined if and what kind of data the GIS system could benefit them and meet their needs. 

GIS is a mapping system and database that collects images and documents and allows accuracy in mapping to be applied with those files. For example, maps and survey information can be tied to deeds of lands and also their histories. 

Clarkson also mentioned a new technology called LiDAR topography. Before LiDAR the government had scanned terrain with elevation mapping and models at a detail resolution where one pixel equals about 33 feet. This doesn’t allow high resolution mapping and their images wouldn’t see ditches or ravines, etc. However, LiDAR has a resolution of about two feet per pixel and can penetrate tree foliage which allows terrain mapping in forests. 

To help the county get up to speed and spread the knowledge of GIS with multiple departments training and their various software licenses, Clarkson presented an estimated fee total of $70,200. This training would start with in-person one-on-one training and then virtual or remote training later. They want to have multiple people knowledgeable of the system and also that each department can focus on their specific department needs.

In other business, the commissioner passed a motion to reappoint Randy Waller to the NRPC. They also passed an engagement letter for their audit performed by Koerwitz, Michel, Wright & Associates. For the 2021 Wildland Fire Management Annual Operating Plan, the commissioner passed to sign the agreement. They ratified and approved sections #8 and #9 for the HSG Master plan. They passed to sign a consent for conveyance for the Board of Control for Kit and Trenda Moore and Frank and Karen Robbins. The commissioners passed and ratified the final RFR, a Courthouse Security Grant for $9,000. For the Sheriff’s department they passed a USDA Community Facilities Grant Assurances where they promised to properly send the money in the amount $58,000. Additionally, they passed the 20-21 Wellness contract for the Wyoming Health Fair.