County commissioners hear reports at meeting

At the August 6 Hot Springs County Commissioners board meeting, Chairman Tom Ryan was not present. Therefore, Vice Chairman Phil Scheel suspended the normal Robert’s Rules of Order so that he and Commissioner Paul Galovich could conduct business. 

In all separate actions, the commissioners voted and passed the approval to ratify the accounts payable warrant register for $24,869.36, a second warrant for $641,661.40, and payroll for $227,006.32. Vice Chairman Scheel recused himself from a payment to Tumbleweed Propane for $791.20.

Brian Clarkson and Maddie Ross of Ardurra gave the Geographical Information System (GIS) report and said they downloaded and processed FEMA LiDAR data for the relative elevation model of the Big Horn River and they completed the relative elevation model analysis.

Ross also said they revised the public and internal LUC Lookup application at the Planner’s request and they removed LUC archive tracts from the public application. They added an archive tab to the internal dashboard. Also, they updated parcel data on ArcGIS Online and created a fully automatic Python script to update the parcel data on ArcGIS Online.

Additionally, Ross and Clarkson said they created NG911 data layers from publicly available data and they created FDGC metadata for data layers and ensured compliance with Wyoming’s NG911 standards.

Regarding anticipated work for the next period, Ross said they will draw and attribute 2024 septic permits, upload documents to AWS, and append new permit locations to AGOL data. Also, they will continue to work on NG911 layers, gather and process publicly available data, and coordinate with county staff to obtain additional required data. They will also append the address point layer to NG9-1-1 data models and will continue to provide support for online applications.

Nate Messenger gave the Fixed Based Operator (FBO) report and said they had 218 total recorded operations. This included three air ambulances, 13 aircraft overnight, and four requests for hangar space. The hangar requests were three single-engine piston aircrafts and one Cessna Citation jet.

Regarding fuel sales, they sold 2660.29 gallons of Avgas and 1999.73 of jet fuel. Messenger said, “The month of July was good out at the airport. Traffic was about the same as this month last year, fuel sales were slightly lower. We picked up many airplanes, stopping for fuel on their way to Air Venture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.”

Messenger continued and said, “Greg Hampshire with WYDOT Aeronautics was out on July 30 to perform the FAA 5010 inspection. This inspection happens every three years and covers all manner of safety items such as lights, pavement condition, pavement edge drops, and airport information that the FAA publishes, such as services offered and based aircraft.”

Messenger added, “The Fly-In will be held on September 14. The WYDOT grant should be in BLACKCAT, ready to be signed. In the month of August, we will have mosquito spraying operations, usually one or two nights, and we will get the annual inspections done on the fire extinguishers.”

Shane Rankin gave the Road & Bridge report and said, “July was a good month. We stayed pretty busy.” They continue to do work on the access road to the old airport. This is part of the plan to reuse the asphalt from the old runway to be used in the Black Mountain Road project. They also re-graveled Cowboy Mine Road. Mowing has been ongoing throughout the county however, their tractor is down. They are waiting for a part to finish things up. 

Rankin added they had pit inspections with the BLM and the DEQ, which “everything went well and was in order.” Rankin said that county planner Les Culliton did much work in getting the stormwater prevention plan set up and in place, which also had no concerns from the BLM or the DEQ.

The commissioners and Rankin also held a discussion about one of their generators and its use. 

John Dorman gave the Maintenance report and said the exhaust fan has been installed in the intake bathroom and they are looking into installing a paper towel dispenser. They have a cover put in for a storage room for the Sheriff’s office. Dorman also discussed a pipe that had collapsed and a generator that wasn’t working. 

Vice Chair Scheel also discussed with Dorman the potential non-need for a switch that would save them a large amount of money. Part of the issue was whether the switch needed was single or three phases. 

The commissioners voted and passed the approval to accept the resignation of museum board member Dean King. They also voted and passed the approval to schedule a special meeting on August 12 at 8 a.m. for the Black Mountain Road project. This will be a brief meeting regarding bids on the project.

Les Culliton gave the Planner/Project Manager report and said he has created a resource manual for contractors for installing septic systems. Culliton said that he has found many contractors who don’t know the DEQ rules for septics. 

Culliton also said he is working with the DEQ on two potential violations in the county, one is regarding a holding tank and the other a leach field, both not having permits. 

Next, Culliton asked a question of the commissioners and noted that County Attorney Jill Logan wasn’t available at the time, but inquired as a county planner, “What right do I have to go on a private property with septic for inspections?” The County Attorney Deputy Kelly Owen was present and said that they would provide an answer. Culliton added he wanted to look into it so that he “doesn’t step out of bounds.”

Culliton reported that he and the BLM and DEQ inspected six gravel pits and that “everything looks good.” 

The old airport has had more soil samplings done and there will be results in late September. Regarding 1518 Arapahoe, there were asbestos samples taken and they are waiting to hear about them. Regarding the fair building roof, Culliton and the commissioner discussed three potentially different products to use to stop leaks. There are three bids pending on this. Culliton expressed great concern about activities on the roof because some of the potential products would use silicon and could get torn up from boots stepping on them on the roof.

Sheriff Jerimie Kraushaar presented a request to use Opioid Abatement Funding for the installation and use of a monitoring system in the detention center using radar technology that detects presence, heart rate, blood pressure, and other matters. These technologies would be used in the detox rooms and the padded rooms for individuals who might be under the influence of drugs. The devices are HIPPA-compliant and FDA-cleared.

The overall cost for the devices is about $24,600. Sheriff Kraushaar said that these monitoring devices potentially can save lives because they can be alerted of a possible medication condition for the inmate. The commissioners voted and passed the approval for the Sheriff to apply to use the grant funding for the technology. 

Jacqueline Wells, Regional Nurse Supervisor, presented to the commissioner Shawn Mohr as the new Office Nurse Manager at the Public Health building. Mohr has been a nurse since 2015 and has worked in public safety in the fire department in Georgia, and public health. He has also been an EMT paramedic and has a military background. The commissioners welcomed Mohr to his new position. Mohr and Wells also said they are in the process of trying to find an additional nurse to bring to their team. Dr. Venron Miller was also present and said, “We’re really blessed” and that Mohr is “qualified. I’m just delighted to welcome you.” 

In other business, the commissioners voted and passed the approval of the WY Airports Improvement Program, Certificate of State Grant-in-Aid, 2024 Aviation Encouragement for $2,500; the Agreement for Responsibilities and Receipt and Distribution of Payments Between Wyoming Department of Family Services, Child Support Program and Hot Springs County Clerk of District Court, Effective Upon Full Execution through June 30, 2026; a Request for Reimbursement #6 for $442.50, Seal Coat and Mark Pavement Project at the Airport; the Release Request for Qualification Addendum #1 for the Airport Engineering Services; the Release for Qualifications, Engineering Services for the Former Airport Re-Use Project (Wyoming Business Council Grant); the Request for Payment #25 for $14,899.30 for the Black Mountain Road Project; the Request for Reimbursement #21 for $1,470.59 for the Big Horn Basin Nature and Discovery Center TAP Project.