County GSI update presented at meeting

Chairman Tom Ryan was absent at the February 6 Hot Springs County Commissioners board meeting. Vice Chair Phil Scheel presided over the meeting and disposed of Robert’s Rules of Order in order to conduct business with Commissioner Paul Galovich.

Ardurra’s Brian Clarkson and Maddie Ross provided the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) update and said they provided an Open Data Tutorial to new HSC County Planner Les Culliton. They had an in-person meeting with Culliton and discussed existing applications and ideas for future GIS services. Also, they provided Culliton with a list of “Incomplete” and DEQ septic permits to help locate missing permit information.

Additionally Ross said they updated parcels on AGOL and started an online application for Culliton to categorize parcels by their land-use versus tax classification. They also continued working on Airport Applications, reviewed ALP data and applications, and added new land-use change tracts to the Land-Use Change Lookup App.

Regarding anticipated work for the next period, Ross said they will continue drawing and attributing land use change tracts and add new land-use change tracts to the Land-Use Change Lookup App. Also, they will finalize County Road LiDAR Applications and begin work on NextGen 911 layers. They will gather and process publicly available data. They will work with the Sheriff and Assessor to obtain the existing address point layer and append data to the new data model.

Ross added, they will continue to provide support for online application and obtain additional county road easement/right of way documents from Cody Stewart, begin mapping descriptions, and add to the Road & Bridge Department application. 

The commissioners and Ardurra will meet in person during a work session on April 1 at 1 p.m. to have an update on the GIS applications.

Nate Messeger gave the FBO report for the Hot Springs County Airport and said they had 162 total recorded operations. Of those operations there were eight air ambulances, three aircraft overnight. There were four requests for hangar space, two King Air C90s for the day, one Beech Queen Air to melt ice off, and one King Air 350 for a couple nights in March.

Regarding fuel sales, Messenger said they sold 1182.54 gallons of Avgas and 400 gallons of jet fuel. Messenger added, “Poor fuel sales this month. The cold snap did not help us. The cold week was hard on our utilities. Commissioner Scheel came out and looked at the heating units in the SRE building. When it gets below zero, they run constantly. They are dual stage burners, and he thought the North one was maybe not putting out on the high side. He also suggested more insulation, many one inch foil backed foam up the walls to reflect some of the heat.”

Messenger also said, “UPS flew some freight in for a couple of days. Bemidji Aviation came in twice because of surplus freight on the daily run into Riverton. Key Lime Air, the contractor that makes the daily run to Riverton and Cody, landed to off load because the ceiling was too low to get into Riverton.”

Shane Rankin gave the Road & Bridge report and said January was “a quiet month” and that some of his staff was sick. However, they were able to plow snow when necessary and equipment maintenance has been ongoing. Rankin also said that their new oil burner is running. The annual state reports have been completed and turned in. The commissioners and Rankin discussed the amount of loads of gravel they transferred from the pit. Rankin explained about the reports about gravel that “it’s not based on yards but how much time we spent in the pit. We average 10 minutes per trip and we give them a total of how many hours we were working in the pit over the last year.

The commissioners and Rankin also discussed the asphalt patching through a haul trailer and a dedicated truck, which would cost approximately $60,000 versus buying a fully loaded asphalt machine for $250,000. Rankin said the trailer and truck option is “a much better option.”

The commissioners also voted and passed the ratification of an amendment to the Ardurra Agreement for $2,800 for the Access Road to the Former Airport. 

John Dorman gave the Maintenance report and provided a change order for the detention center’s ADA intake shower construction for $30,724. It will take five to six weeks for the materials to come in. The commissioners voted and passed the approval of the change order. Dorman also said that work on the plumbing in the detention center is still going on.

Barb Rice gave the Youth Alternatives report and said that they have nine juveniles, which include six males and three females. They are working on finding funding for the skate park. Rice also said they canceled the January Live! At 25 meetings and are uncertain if the February meeting will happen. They hope to meet in March. Rice said that her activity is limited due to health matters. However, she said “Things are going well for the students.”

Les Culliton gave the Planner/Project Manager report and presented a Request for Ratification of an Updated Bureau of Land Management Right of Way, Federal Land Policy and Management Act, for the Black Mountain Road Project. He also presented a Request for Ratification of Bureau of Land Management for the Kirby Pit #2 Staging Area Application for the Black Mountain Project. The commissioners voted and passed the approval of both separately.

Regarding the Planner’s office, Culliton said on February 20 at the next commissioner’s meeting there will be two applications that were recommended by the Land Use Planning Commission. They are Jeffrey Powell for a Land Use Change and Minor Subdivision and Daniel and Leila Porath for a Land Use Change, from Agricultural to Commercial for short-term rental of cabins.

Culliton also said that he has not had any final septic permits yet but is fielding about three at the time. He also reported that he met with Ardurra’s Maddie Ross about GIS and they discussed many related items. One thing that was discussed was to have GIS distinguish land use classifications versus the classification set by the County Assessor’s office, which are different things. 

The commissioners and Culliton also discussed the 518 Arapahoe property and its testing for asbestos. That property situation is ongoing and they continue to work on it.

Tricia McPhie gave the Prevention/Public Health update and said they will have Prevention training in February regarding suicide matter. It will occur on February 21 from 12 noon until 1 p.m., headed by Jen Cheney. McPhie said, “The goal is to start doing more of those more consistently.” Also, the next coalition meeting is on February 14.

McPhie also said she is going to some job fairs to recruit a nurse to work in Hot Springs County. She is also working with Meri Ann Dorman of the Chamber of Commerce to help bring people to the community, not just jobs.

In other business, the commissioners voted and passed the approval of a Clarification to the Hangar Lot Ground Lease Agreement which includes a name change; a Facility Use Application for the Annex Meeting Room for the Democratic Monthly Meetings; a Facility Use Application for the Annex Meeting Room for the Democratic Party Convention on April 6; a Request for Payment No. 19 for $16,322.24 for the Black Mountain Road Project; a Request for Reimbursement No. 18 for $2,588.64 for the Big Horn Basin Nature Discovery Center; the Appointment of Jake Agar as Weed and Pest Director due to Unexpired Team; and the Request for Reimbursement No. 5 fr $7,133.20 for the Airport Seal Coat and Mark Project.