Tipi Retreat neighbors file petition for review of agency action

Martin G. Oravec and Gary A. Frazier (Petitioners), by and through their counsel, Parsons Behle & Latimer, have submitted a Petition for Review of Agency Action concerning actions taken by the Board of County Commissioners of Hot Springs County (Board) through two of its newly elected members. The action is pursuant to Rule 12, W.R.A.P., and Wyo. Stat. § 16-3-114. The document was filed on March 3 in the District Court of Hot Springs County.

The petition challenges the agencies action and states “The subject of this petition is well known to this court. It involves the same effort by Tipi Retreat, LLC (Tipi Retreat) and its members, Michele Stevens and Michael Stevens (Stevenses), to operate a commercial glamping resort on rural property located in Hot Springs County at issue in Civil No. 2022-3 (First Action) and Civil No. 2023-40 (Second Action). Petitioners were not parties to those actions, but now seek review of recent unlawful actions of the Board taken on February 4, 2025 through its two newly elected members, Paul Galovich and Bob Aguiar.

The document reads, “As the Court will recall, following a bench trial in the First Action, the court ordered Tipi Retreat to pay a $40,250 fine to the Board for its willful violations of Hot Springs County’s land use regulations, and enjoined Tipi Retreat and the Stevenses from operating an unapproved commercial campground on the agricultural-use property at issue. In the Second Action, this Court affirmed the Board’s denial of Tipi Retreat’s application for a change of land use (Application) that would permit the property at issue to be used for a commercial campground (Second Order). Notices of appeal were filed in connection with the First Action by both parties, but no appeal was docketed in the Wyoming Supreme Court and the appeals were recently dismissed. No appeal was taken from the Court’s Second Order. Accordingly, final orders have been entered in both the First Action and Second Action. Based on those orders, the Application has been denied and the glamping resort cannot lawfully continue to operate.”

The Petition then go on to allege, “However, following the last general election, Galovich and Aguiar were installed and have worked in concert with Tipi Retreat and the Stevenses to circumvent those orders. According to the Stevenses, in January 2025, the Tipi Retreat was given the opportunity for Remedy with new leadership. At the Board’s public meeting held on January 7, 2025, that new leadership (Galovich and Aguiar) voted to hold a public hearing on February 4, 2025 to provide a remedy for the Tipi Retreat.”

The third member of the Board, Commission Chair Tom Ryan, opposed the motion.

Thereafter, the Hot Springs County Planner and all five members of the Hot Springs County Planning Commission wrote to the Board voicing a variety of serious concerns and objections to the proposed remedial proceeding. The Petition states, “The letters cautioned that the new commissioners’ intent to fashion a remedy for the Tipi Retreat and the Stevenses was contrary to established procedures under the county’s land use plan, as well as this Court’s prior adjudications, and could expose the county to further litigation.”

According to the Petition, “Commissioners Galovich and Aguiar were unmoved. Indeed, by letter dated January 21, 2025, Commissioner Galovich claimed “falsely” that the County Planner and the Planning Commissioners were misrepresenting facts and the rulings of this Court. At a public meeting of the Board on January 21, 2025, Commission Chair Ryan attempted to correct Commissioner Galovich’s misunderstanding of this Court’s determinations and encouraged both new commissioners to reconsider the remedy hearing they had unilaterally scheduled. The new commissioners declined the suggestion.”

On February 4, 2025, less than thirty days after its scheduling, the remedy hearing proceeded. According to the Petition, “On information and belief, public notice of the meeting was not advertised, nor were any impacted landowners notified by mail. Notwithstanding the lack of proper notice, in advance of the meeting, numerous members of the public, including the Petitioners, expressed their written opposition to the new commissioners’ proposed actions in disregard of the required process and this Court’s prior adjudications.”

At the onset of the February 4, 2025, hearing, Commission Chair Ryan voiced his objection, stating he did not think the hearing was proper and recused himself from participation. According to the Petition, “Thereafter, numerous members of the public, including the Petitioners (Frazier in person, Oravec via Zoom in real time) and former and current county officials, voiced their opposition to the proceedings and the requested remedy.”

After closing the hearing to public comment, Commissioner Galovich identified the matter as 2021-03-Remedy and that it was “an opportunity to provide remedy.”

According to the Petition, Commissioners Galovich and Aguiar then presented absolute and relative checklists they had previously prepared which supported their approval of Tipi Retreat’s application. Stating that this being an opportunity to remedy to bring correction to the former application process that Judge Simpson declared as flawed, Commissioner Galovich moved to approve the application and to thereby change the use of approximately 60 acres from agricultural land use to commercial land use for the purpose of a 12 Tipi campground on 10 acres with the understanding that Hot Springs County and Michele and Michael Stevens/Tipi Retreat will pursue no further legal action against one another and impose no penalties and that the legal representatives of the parties would inform the Wyoming Supreme Court that a mutual resolution has been achieved.”

The new commissioners each voted in favor of the motion.

The Petition states, “On February 13, 2025, legal counsel for the Stevenses emailed a Settlement Agreement, Release & Waiver (Agreement) directly to the Board stating that the County Attorney, Jill Logan, had informed him that “she is was no longer involved in this matter due to a conflict of interest.”

Galovich and Aguiar had previously terminated the Board’s outside counsel representing the Board in the First and Second Actions.

On February 18, 2025, Commissioner Aguiar signed the Agreement, purportedly on behalf of the Board, states the Petition. Among other things, the Agreement purports to release the Stevenses and Tipi Retreat from all liability for their past violations of the county land use regulations as adjudicated by the Court in the First Action.

The Petition asserts, “The remedy purportedly granted by Commsioners Galovich and Aguiar on February 4, 2025 (as partially documented in the Agreement) is final agency action which has aggrieved and adversely affects Petitioners. Petitioners can establish particular harm based upon the challenged agency action and its specific impacts on them as reflected in the public record and as will be further articulated in Petitioners’ briefing. ”

Under Jurisdiction and Venue, the Petition states, “This Court has jurisdiction, and venue is proper in Hot Springs County under Wyo. Stat. § 16-3-114(a) in that: (i) the final agency action occurred in Hot Springs County County, and (ii) the real property affected by such action is located in Hot Springs County. In conformance with Rule 12.04, W.R.A.P., this petition has been filed within thirty (30) days of the unlawful agency action.”

The Petition wraps up with Issues of Law for Review and states, “The actions of Commissioners Galovich and Aguiar on behalf of the Board are (i) arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, egregious, and otherwise not in accordance with law; (ii) contrary to statutory jurisdiction and authority and thereby ultra vires; (iii) without observance of procedure required by law; and (iv) unsupported by substantial evidence. Under Rule 12.05, Wyo. R. App. P., Petitioners are entitled to an immediate stay of such actions pending the Court’s final determination.”

Approximately 100 pages of additional documentation, in Appendix 1-13, are included with the Petition for Review of Agency Action.

Notice of Special Meeting

Notice is hereby given that a Special Public Meeting regarding an executive session for litigation per W.S. 16-4-404(b) will be held on March 11, 2025, at 10 a.m. in the Commissioner Meeting Room at the Hot Springs County Annex located at 117 N 4th Street, Thermopolis. Any questions regarding this meeting should be directed to Connie Guntly, County Commissioners Administrative Assistant, 307-864-8040 or Becky Kersten, Hot Springs County Clerk, 307-864-3515.