County Board appointments

The Hot Springs County Commissioners made several board appointments at their June 16 meeting, received an update from GDA Engineers on the fuel system for the new airport, discussed the grand opening of the airport and met again with Frank Robbins and members of the Set Free Church regarding issues in the jail.

The commissioners reviewed applications they received for several openings on various county boards before making final decisions on whom to appoint.

For the Big Horn Basin Nature and Discovery Center Joint Powers Board, the commissioners appointed Peter Coggi.

Josh Conrad and Breez Daniels were appointed to the hospital board while Barb Vietti and Jennifer Paris were appointed to the library board.

Phyllis Baker will be on the museum board and Richard Tudor will be the newest member of the Travel and Tourism board.

One of the things the commissioners have struggled with over the years is having enough people apply for the different board positions. This time, however, they had plenty of applicants.

Commission chair Brad Basse noted the large number of applicants this time and expressed appreciation on behalf of the commissioners for the public’s interest in serving.

“There were many qualified applicants for all of the boards,” Basse said. “I encourage those who were not selected this time to reapply when future openings happen.”

Jeremy Gilb with GDA Engineers discussed a couple of possible funding methods for a fuel system for the new airport.

Originally it was thought the system from the current airport could be moved to the new location, however, it was discovered there were issues with the current system that would make it unsafe to move to the new airport.

A new system is expected to cost in the neighborhood of $300,000 if both aviation gas and jet fuel are provided for customers.

A loan from the Wyoming Department of Transportation could be applied for with a five percent interest rate.

Another option would be a loan through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which carries a 3.5% interest rate.

Either of the options would require a revenue generation plan as part of the application process, so Gilt will work with JT Aviation to collect the data required as well as look into the required timelines for application with each entity.

An exact date has not been set, but a grand opening for the new airport will happen sometime in late fall.

With that in mind, a one hundred percent, no match grant is available through the aeronautics division of WYDOT that would cover $5,000 of eligible expenses for the grand opening.

The commissioners approved an application for the state aid.

In May, Frank Robbins and members of the Set Free Church approached the commissioners with complaints about not being allowed to minister to those who sought their religious guidance in the detention center.

At that time, the commissioners suggested Robbins talk with sheriff Lou Falgoust in an attempt to come to an understanding regarding visitation and other issues.

Robbins and Falgoust did meet, and Robbins thanked the commissioners for their support with the issue during last week’s meeting.

He indicated the visitation issues have apparently been successfully worked out and a plan is in the works regarding some of the other issues.

Robbins presented the county with a significant donation during the meeting toward facility improvements from the members of the church.

The commissioners expressed their thanks for the generous contribution as well as Robbins’ work toward getting things ironed out.