Hot Springs County Commissioners handle full agenda

At the May 7 Hot Springs County Commissioners board meeting held at the Annex building, the commissioners voted and passed the approval of the accounts payable warrant register for $547,304.19 and payroll for $205,985.11.

Brian Clarkson and Maddie Ross of Ardurra gave the Geographic Information System (GIS) report and said they reviewed the seven responses from the Department Head Survey where they gathered information on how GIS can be further implemented for the county’s use. So far, GIS has been mainly used for exterior data collection and database management, such as for Road & Bridge and the Planner’s Office. During their discussion, they brainstormed uses for interior work in areas such as the courthouse or the maintenance department. These ideas and their discussion would be used to draft and review Ardurra’s Scope of Work for 2024-25. 

County Attorney Jill Logan held a discussion about having an All County Attorney’s Representative. The various prosecuting attorneys across the state are seeking the legislature to create a position for someone to represent them, not for just lobbying purposes, but to make their jobs more efficient. Other entities, such as county commissioners, already have their own representative. There are future conversations about dues for this representation, whether it would be the same for each county to be scaled for counties based on population. Chairman Tom Ryan voiced support for the effort. 

Shane Rankin gave the Road & Bridge report, and they have been blading roads and finishing maintenance on their winter equipment. Their new patch trailer is ready for use, but they are waiting on the weather to dry up. Rankin also said that they have a new hire who started on April 18. Regarding the county’s Trailblazer vehicle, it needs a new windshield and the check engine light is on. The costs to fix are $350 and $200, respectively. The commissioners gave their blessings for Rankin to have those matters fixed.

Dusty Spomer of Ardurra was present and gave an update on the Black Mountain Road project. They have made progress that included a categorical exclusion, which is the environmental procedure they had to go through with the BLM. They now have full clearance on that. Spomer added that they have some early signs of bidding in 2024 and that prices have dropped in some of the major categories, such as oil. They also discussed chip sealing and that they submitted their application for the Federal Lands Access Program (FLAP) grant for about $3.5 million. The commissioners reviewed the FLAP documents and voted, passing approval of the Ratification of the application. 

John Dorman gave the Maintenance report and said they have some options for a flagpole at the Senior Center now that items are finally in stock. The range of prices is from $4,200 to $7,000 all based on different colors. Dorman also said the intake bathroom has had much work done with only the fixtures remaining. Regarding the Senior Center’s exterior walls, the stucco work will begin soon. 

Barb Rice gave the Youth Alternatives report and said that she has 11 juveniles from Hot Springs County, which include five males and six females. There are also three other juveniles from Washakie County they are helping. Rice discussed their involvement with Prevention’s “Let’s Taco Bout It” event on May 1. There were 19 people from Youth Alternatives who participated along and some family members attended as well. Rice also said they are doing many community service projects, such as food delivery, cleaning, helping with the community meal. Rice also expresses the need to buy a lawn mower to do work. 

Les Culliton gave the Planner/Project Manager report and said they published their first Spring Reminder in the Independent Record and completed two septic applications in April. They held the Natural Resources Planning Committee on May 8 and there are positions in it they seek to fill. On April 17, they held a work session for the Land Use Planning Commission. For the LUPC’s May 15 meeting, they don’t have any applications and will hold another work session.

Regarding GIS and the Planner’s office, Culliton said that he had been working with Ardurra’s Maddie Ross. They learned there are a lot of old documents that need to be put on the archive level so that more recent documents can be found easier.

Tricia McPhie gave the Prevention/Public Health report and said that May is the month of Mental Health Awareness. McPhie discussed their “Let’s Taco Bout It” event with Jen Cheney. There were about 300 servings of tacos from We Got Your Six Portions. The event was held next door to the Broadway Bakery and near the flagpole. McPhie added that Prevention is doing a mental health action on May 16. They also will have a mental health fitness challenge where those who register can sign up to walk. So far, they had 136 people sign up. The last day to register is May 13. Participants will turn into their logs tracking their moving and on July 1 they will have prizes and awards. McPhie also said that they partnered with the Self-Healing Community Grant funding that they were awarded last year. The next Prevention meeting will be on May 29 at Common Ground at 10 a.m. until 12 p.m.

E Clampus Vitus’s President Kris Vickery and Vice President Ben Jackson of the South Pass Chapter #1867 presented themselves to the commissioners. They requested to dedicate a plaque to the Town of Gebo for Historical Significance. Vickery and Jackson read a statement recognizing the history of Gego and its people. They wanted to get permission to place the plaque at the Gebo cemetery. Chairman Tom Ryan said that they do not have jurisdiction over the Gebo location. After some discussion, they determined that Vickery and Jackson should inquire of the BLM for this request. The commissioners responded in favor of the idea, and Commissioner Paul Galovich discussed his family origins of Gebo and how the miners from all sorts of countries worked hard together and supported each other and their families. The commissioners held a discussion about the Wyoming Energy Authority and the WYLite Program Energy Audit. They are required to have an audit prior to apply for a grant of up to $50,000 with a 10% county match. The funds would be used to add insulation to the Snow Removal Equipment building at the county airport. The insulation would help bring down heating costs and would conserve energy. The deadline for the application is May 31. The commissioners voted and passed the approval to pursue the grant, starting with getting the audit completed. 

County Clerk Becky Kersten presented a request for the Approval of Resolution No. 2024-07, Adopting Official Voting Districts and Precincts for Hot Springs County. The commissioners voted and passed the approval of the request.

Nate Messenger gave the Fixed Base Operator (FBO) report and said they had 164 total recorded operations. Of those aircraft there were two air ambulances, and they had five aircraft overnight. There was one request for a hangar for a Cessna 182. Regarding fuel sales, they sold 1914.74 gallons of Avgas and 916.68 gallons of jet fuel. Messenger said, “Traffic and jet fuel; sales were low again this month compared to this month last year, 192 operations and 2400 gallons of jet fuel sold. Wyoming Department Environmental Quality Storage tank Program inspector will be here on May 13 for a compliance check. I do not foresee any issues. A TSA representative wants to do a facility inspection sometime this month. We have never had anyone from the TSA here, so I do not know what to expect.”

In other business, the commissioners received two applications for their single opening in the Travel and Tourism board. The board voted and unanimously passed approval to appoint Angie Guyon to the tourism board. The only other applicant was Sherman Shelton.

Also, the commissioners voted and passed the approval of the ratification of Nomination of Magistrate for Judge Robert E. Skar for the Circuit Court of the Fifth Judicial District of Hot Springs County. Judge Skar will work as a part-time judge to be used in timely needs.

The commissioners voted and passed the approval of a Facility Use Agreement for Wyoming Health Fairs Monthly Blood Draws. They will use the meeting room in the Annex building every Third Thursday, starting on June 20 at 6 a.m. until 11 a.m. 

The commissioners also voted and passed the approval of a Request for Reimbursement #7 for the Final Seal Coat & Payment Marks for $195; and a Request for Payment #22 for the Black Mountain Road Project for $10,906.65; and the Ratification of the Decision to Renew Companion Life/Summer RE as the County’s Health Insurance Medical Stop Loss Provider; and the Request for Approval of Facility Use Agreement for the Hot Springs County Rural Water Joint Powers Board in the meeting room of the Annex building for May 22.