County commissioners handle full agenda

At the October 1 Hot Springs County Commissioners board meeting, the commissioners voted and passed the approval of the accounts payable warrant register for $557,185.60 and payroll for $220,621.95.

Ardurra’s Brian Clarkson and Maddie Ross gave the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) update and said regarding the work they completed, they ran automated parcel updates for the ArcGIS Online date. They met with Jerimie Kraushaar in Hot Springs County on September 9 to discuss NG9-1-1 data and GIS priorities for the Sheriff’s Department. On the same day, they also met Les Culliton to discuss direction for septic inspections on the Field Maps application and the relative elevation models’ application. 

Additionally, they drew and attributed 2024 septic permits, uploaded documents to AWS, and appended new permit locations to ArcGIS Online data. They made requested revisions to the Septic Permit Lookup App and received rural fire number documentation from the Assessor’s Office. 

Also, they continued adding NG9-1-1 data layers from publicly available data. They updated FDGC metadata for data layers and ensured compliance with Wyoming NG9-1-1 standards.

Regarding anticipated work for the next period, Ross reported they will update the ArcGIS Online parcels layer on the 1st and 3rd Monday of the month. They will draw and attribute 2024 septic permits and LUC tracts as necessary and will upload documents to AWS and append new information to ArcGIS Online data.

Additionally, they will fix email notifications for the Road & Bridge Maintenance application and make requested revisions to the LUC Lookup App. They will also begin work on the Septic Permit Inspection Field Maps App and Online Editor.

Ardurra will continue work on NG9-1-1 layers, including emergency response boundaries, road centerlines and address. They will coordinate with county staff to obtain additional required data and will coordinate with dispatch service providers to add layers into the county’s dispatch maps.

Nate Messenger gave the Fixed Base Operator (FBO) report and said they had 182 total recorded operations. Of those aircraft, there were four air ambulances, 13 aircraft overnight, and three requests for hangar use. Those requests included one Blackhawk helicopter, one Citation Latitude, and one single engine piston aircraft. A Citation Latitude has a wingspan of 72 feet, four inches, and a tail height of 20 feet, 11 inches.

Regarding fuel sales, they sold 1293.88 gallons of Avgas and 3204.3 gallons of jet fuel. Messenger said, “The month of September was better than the previous month. However, we are still falling short of traffic and fuel sales from 2023. All filters for the self-serve units are on order. City Service Valcon dropped the ball on ordering them from the supplies, so changing them will be pushed to next month. The filters in the trucks have been changed.”

Messenger continued and said, “The September 14 Fly In was a success. We had 20 aircraft show up, served 118 meals, and there were 24 model airplane pilots in attendance. We served biscuits and gravy with fruit bowls and gave away some door prizes. People really enjoy the model airplanes. There were several model jets that put on a good show.”

Messenger also said, “I attended the Wyoming Airport Coalition conference in Saratoga on September 18-19. Information was put out about leasing and uses of airport land not currently being used for airport operations. There was also a good discussion on grant assurances, especially pertaining to making sure hangars are being used to house airplanes and not storage units. I had some good discussion with our Ardurra folks about our hangar project.”

Shane Rankin gave the Road & Bridge report and said they had a “good month” where they were about done completing the fall blading. There were some complaints about dust. However, Rankin said, “I just keep telling people it’ll calm down once we get some moisture and it’ll settle in.”

Additionally, they hauled manure for the fairground and the work on the airport road continues. They have a culvert in for the approach. They needed to examine some of the area because there are fiber optic lines and other things there. Once they get the approach done, they will begin getting the road ready for work.

The commissioners and Rankin also discussed patching work. They also asked about the hot mix trailer and how it was going. Rankin replied, “Awesome! So good. It’s so nice compared to the old one.” The crew will try to get as much patched as they can before the weather turns.

John Dorman gave the Maintenance report and said they have a gator that isn’t running and a generator has issues. They are getting ready for the winter and blowing out sprinklers. They are also working on some heat pumps and loosening some compressors. They have a new heater in the sally port. The commissioners and Dorman also discussed further generator issues.

Stephanie Conrad gave the Emergency Management report and said, “I can say that I’m thankful we are again clear of fire. They’re having a pretty bad one up on Sheridan and one in Teton and Fremont County right now. There are not enough resources to go around because Idaho is on fire everywhere. I know in Fremont County and Teton County, they sent out a request for certain equipment or people to come help. We have type four engines, but we didn’t have anybody that could go with them to go over and help fight that fire. Hopefully they were able to get some export yesterday. But that’s what all of our smoke is coming from.”

Conrad also discussed the moose that appeared in town that day and Conrad believes it came because of the fire situation. Citizens saw the moose on 14th Street and also in the fairgrounds area.

Conrad reported that she spent some remaining grant money left over from a reward from 2022 to buy and replace batteries in the sirens and also for radio equipment. Conrad also attended the fall conference with the Wyoming Office of Homeland Security a couple of weeks ago. She was presented with her Wyoming emergency manager certificate, which typically takes people three to five years to get. Conrad said, “I was able to get it in less than a year, so I was happy about that.”

The commissioners and Conrad discussed the various giant fires in the state and the issues of getting federal designation for emergencies and the difficulties of getting fencing rebuilt and being reimbursable. Commissioner Phil Scheel discussed how cows are getting out and starving because there is no grass available to eat. Conrad also discussed the difficulties of different governmental agencies being able to work together.

Les Culliton gave the Planner/Project Manager report and said they have a possible septic failure in the Red Lane area. He said he went out and didn’t see any issues but was notified by DEQ. Culliton also received a copy of a certification of completion from South Thermopolis Water and Sewer District for Red River Ranch. They have completed one step in that process of the bond.

The Natural Resources Planning Committee held their meeting on September 11. The Hot Springs State Park Superintendent Chris Delay, was in attendance and gave an update on the colors on the terraces. Culliton said there is a big project coming to raise the boardwalk on the terraces. They do not know when that project will commence. 

Culliton also reported there were questions about where the state park was at with the concessionaire. They are still working on the contract with them and that there wasn’t any hold up because of the current lawsuit. Culliton said, “It’s continuing forward at this point.”

Culliton said that the Land Use Planning Commission (LUPC) met on September 18 but did not have a quorum. The applicant for the Devries Minor Subdivision and the LUPC will meet again on October 16 to try again. 

Regarding the fair building roof project, Culliton said they signed the contracts with DB Roofing out of Cheyenne to begin working some time between October 24-28, weather dependent. Also, regarding samples from the old airport, the researchers have not compiled a final report and they hope to have it completed by the end of October.

Barb Rice gave the Youth Alternative report and said they have 15 total juveniles, including seven females and eight males. They’ve had a busy month doing community service, which includes the back pack deliveries of about 40-60 bags per week, property cleanups, a fencing project, the Rummage and Pie sale, volunteered at the Fly In, and having a table at the Suicide Awareness walk. They also completed a four-part series at the Parent Information Center series which links parents to advocacy groups. 

For October, they are coordinating for the community Christmas baskets. They will participate in Midnight Madness. On October 3, they will travel to Cody and participate with the Wyoming Hunger Initiative to receive an award for their work in that project. 

Commissioner Phil Scheel added to the conversation about their work with Central Wyoming College and coming to the Common Ground building. They had put in a support letter for a block grant for some of the remodeling, making it ADA compliant, and to put in a fire suppression system in the building. There will be a meeting at Common Ground or also known as the Learning Center, on October 17 at 6 p.m. with some of the local stakeholders. This includes some electrical contractors who have apprentices, some personnel from the hospital and others.

Shawn Mohr gave the Prevention/Public Health update and said, “We’ve increased our numbers as far as vaccinations and all that kind of stuff. Partly because we’re going into flu season.” They will continue to do more flu and Covid vaccinations. They are also looking into doing rapid tests for the flu, Covid and Strep A. Mohr said that the state is on board to do them. The price for the rapid tests should be under $30 for all the different sets.

Mohr reported that he held an opioid task force meeting on September 30 that included the police, sheriff’s office, the hospital, and the Department of Health. Mohr also reached out to his counterparts in Washakie County, their numbers for opioids are slightly higher than Hot Springs County at 97%. Hot Springs County’s number is at 92% per capita, which is about double that the national averages. Mohr hopes with these partnerships that they can bring down those numbers.

Mohr will work with Jen Cheney of Prevention and Laura Budd of the Hospital foundation as well. There is some opioid funding available and they plan to spend it on billboards, posters, and social media to raise awareness. They also plan on using a hotline to provide further resources and answer questions and concerns. Additionally, Mohr discussed with commissioners the importance of disposing of old medications. The Law Enforcement Center has a bin for this need. 

Shurie Scheel, president of Thrive, presented a request for funds for their community surveys. She explained, “the intent is to use the results from that to create a community wide, like a master plan, sort of where multiple entities would have an input and then that would sort of drive Thrive’s decisions going forward.” The total expected costs for printing the surveys and distribution in the Independent Record was $560. The Thrive organization is composed of five different representatives in the community. After further discussion, the commissioners voted and passed the approval to find $280 to pay for the surveys. 

Cody Stewart of the Assessor’s Office presented as request for Approval of Rebate #4-24. This is for Parcel #7338 for tax year 2024 (District 100) for Grass Creek Energy for $188.85. The commissioners voted and passed the approval for accepting the rebate.

The commissioners held public hearings for the Liquor License Renewals of the LLL Company and SonRise Operations. There were no public comments given in either hearing. At the time of the meeting, County Clerk Becky Kersten said that SonRise Operations, owned by Doug Lindamood, had already provided proof of payment for the legal ads, but the LLL Company, owned by Carl Leyba, had not. The commissioners separately voted and passed the approval of the liquor licenses renewals, with contingency given to the LLL Company. The licenses were set to expire on October 5.

In other business, the commissioners voted and passed the approval of the Request for Payment, No. 27 for $11,785.94 for the Black Mountain Road project; the Request for Reimbursement No. 2 for $10,620 for Hangar Design; and the Appointment of Heather Jones to the Museum Board.