Fair building roof discussed

At the October 19 Hot Springs County Commissioners meeting held at the Annex building, Bo Bowman presented the finalized O’Rourke Subdivision survey map for signing. The commissioners voted and approved to add the signatures of Chairman Tom Ryan and Clerk Becky Kersten.

Billie Jo Norsworthy, representing the Hot Springs County Fair Board, was present to discuss the fair building roof. The roof has five spots where leaking is occurring. Some of the insulation is wet and heavy, dripping out water.

Commissioner Phil Scheel explained that some roof leaks are where some air condition units are on curved surfaces. Scheel went on that there was some discussion and planning for some time on the matter. Chairman Ryan said they thought they were proceeding and now do they have a plan? Commissioner Jack Baird said that work was supposed to be going forward.

The commissioners told Norsworthy that Thane Magelky of QC10 Architects LLC had been working with the county and this project. County maintenance supervisor Les Culliton will help Norsworthy and the fair board get things continued moving forward.

Karen Slocum presented a request from a Family Heritage insurance agent. The agent wanted to set up a meeting with county employees to discuss their products and options. Chairman Ryan denied the request and said it was up to the employees to seek out their insurance needs. 

County Assessor Dan Webber discussed that he had spoke with a representative of Merit, describing the transition to monthly payments and wanted to see if they were still on board. Webber told the representative that the county was on board with the new payment system. Additionally, the representative wanted to know if Webber knew about the 13-month repayment of work done in 2021 and in the second half of 2020 production and they were under the impression there was 2-3% discount if they were to pay that in full right now.

Chairman Ryan said that he had not heard about that. Commissioner Scheel said he had heard of the process, but it was not in the bill that passed. The commissioners expressed that being paid in full now is welcomed, but they are not in a position to offer a discount. 

Micky Shober, Gay Woodhouse and Guy Cameron gave a presentation about the Cowboy Skills Games. Shober explained that Cowboy Skills do a lot for the people of Wyoming where they give 5% of their profits to the state. Cowboy Skills works with eight operators in the state that make sure the game machines are in compliance, following state law and also county or city rules and ordinances. They also work with law enforcement to ensure no users under 21 years old play the games or monitor for other illegal activity. 

Chairman Ryan expressed to them that they don’t want to play favorites with them or other gaming establishments. Ryan said they try to stay neutral, such as their relationship with the horse racing gaming entities. 

These skill-based amusement games are found in bars, taverns, fraternal organizations, and truck stops.