Commissioners vote on multiple items

At the June 21  Hot Springs County Commissioners meeting held at the Annex building, the commissioners voted and approved a contract presented by Tricia McPhie between the Wyoming Department of Health, Public Health Division, and Hot Springs County for $57,000.

The commissioners voted and approved two agreements, which include the Landfill Agreement for one year, and the Joint Law Enforcement Agreement Review for two years. 

The commissioners also voted and approved a scholarship renewal for Hayden Little as part of the Board of County Commissioners. The money is provided by the state legislature and operates through the University of Wyoming. Chairman Tom Ryan and the other commissioners noted that hardly any other student who had received the scholarship ever renewed it.

Shane Rankin from Road and Bridge presented the USFS Shoshone Forest Cooperative Road Agreement. This is a request from the United States Forest Service in a grant where the county blades the Grass Creek Road at the end of the county line. The amount is $8,000. The commissioners voted and passed the approval of the grant.

The commissioners then address some board vacancies at both the Library Board and the Museum Board. Both entities had two openings each. The commissioners appointed John O’Byrne and Pamela Lozier to the Library Board and Dean King and Cynthia Garbin to the Museum Board. 

Next, there were multiple agreements presented, and all were voted on and passed approval. They were the 2022 GIS Services Agreement/Scope of Work with T-O Engineers for $80,000; three agreements with NAVAID Maintenance for $5,769 each; the ES&S Maintenance/License/Support Agreement for $44,725 over five years.

County Clerk Becky Kersten noted about the Election Systems and Services (ES&S) agreement that the equipment used in the election does not contain modems. The technician opened the machines and showed Kersten there were no modems. Also, there is no internet access or any wireless connections with the devices.

The commissioners held a discussion about a letter from them to Wyoming Association of Risk Management (WARM) insurance, which states that Hot Springs County wishes to remain a member of WARM. The letter also states that the county rescinds its withdrawal from WARM. The end result of the discussion, the commissioners voted and approved to send the letter as is. Chairman Ryan also wanted to know from WARM how much money they are going to pay the county so they can fit the amount into the budget for the next year.

The Wyoming Congressional Tour will occur in August and the county commissioners were presented with a memorandum of understanding of the event. The commissioners voted and approved to send $25,000 for the tour. Chairman Ryan held a discussion about the tour to explain some of the planning involved and a rough itinerary. There will be 10 congressional staffers from Washington D.C., five Republicans, and five Democrats coming. The tour will allow the staffers to view Wyoming and experience the many features the state presents for informational or educational purposes. Chairman Ryan commented that there were “stories of people changing their minds” about Wyoming. 

Regarding the Black Mountain Road Project for the emergency culvert repair, the commissioners voted and approved the EPA eDMR Subscriber agreement and the weekly construction progress/inspection report. These documents appointed Troy Nelson from T-O Engineers to file weekly reports on behalf of Chairman Ryan and the county.