Shaffer appointed to Travel and Tourism board

At the July 19, Hot Springs County Commissioners Board meeting held at the Annex building, the commissioners appointed Ryan Shaffer, owner of P6 pizza restaurant, to the Travel and Tourism board. 

The commissioners held an introductory Zoom meeting with Lily Griego, the Health and Human Services Regional Eight Director based in Denver. Griego addressed issues such as mental health and the suicide rates in Wyoming with work to raise awareness and assist in prevention help.

Griego also talked about getting children ages five and under vaccinations for Covid. Griego asked the commissioners about what kind of healthcare facilities we had in Hot Springs County. Commissioner Phil Scheel replied that they are “top notch.” Staffing issues and dental care were discussed. The commissioners also informed Griego that we have nursing homes and we are a retirement community. 

Shane Rankin of Road and Bridge, along with engineer Anthony Barnett, presented the Cottonwood Creek Culvert Repair final bid documents and a Notice to Proceed document for the commissioners to sign. The contract was awarded to CC&G Inc. The work is to be completed by October 1, commencing on July 20. The commissioners voted and passed approval to sign the documents.

County Clerk Becky Kersten presented Corrected Resolution 2202-06 and an Arcasearch Work Order Change Request #30148A. Both were voted on and passed approval by the commissioners. Regarding the Arcasearch documents, it is for $3,335 and will complete Phase 3 in the vault document scanning, but does not include public access programming. 

The commissioners held a discussion with Dean Waltz, the property owner where Las Fuentes was located. The property is on Arapahoe Street. Waltz expressed that the remains of the building are a health and safety hazard, with issues such as rats, black mold, and asbestos. Waltz reported that their insurance, Liberty Mutual, will take care of the property. There was discussion about the other adjacent properties and their possible demolition as well. 

Tricia McPhie and Jennifer Cheney presented three contracts or memorandum of understanding. One is for Public Health Prevention for $192,567. The second was for Prevention to support the Hot Springs County School District. The third was for Prevention to support Law Enforcement, both the Police and Sheriffs Office, for $4,320 each. The commissioners made individual motions, and all were voted upon and passed with approval.

The commissioners held a public hearing at 4 p.m. to take public comments on the 2022 Land Use Plan Revision.

The document was recommended to the Hot Springs County Commissioners by the Land Use Planning Commission on June 15 with their changes that mainly reflected, making short-term rental definitions more precise. They also removed the construction notice in their document.

One item that the commissioners discussed was the threshold of too many parking spots in a parking lot. The LUPC recommended 25, but after further conversation, the county commissioners change the number to 15. The document was previously updated in 2020. 

Chairman Tom Ryan opened the meeting for public comments and there were none after three calls. The commissioners voted and passed the approval of the updated Land Use Plan. Commissioner Phil Scheel said that he was happy to see that the document removed the county construction notice.