Burrows land use change approved

At the June 6 Hot Springs County Commissioners board meeting, Chairman Tom Ryan held a public hearing regarding the Burrows Land Use Change application. Derrick Burrows has requested a land use change from the Agricultural land use category to the Commercial land use category, for 8.2 acres, to allow a 12-unit tent (teepee) campground. He proposes to erect up to twelve teepees on wooden platforms, to be marketed as short-term rentals.

The subject property is an 8.2-acre property located in the southwest quarter of the northeast quarter of Section 25, Township 43N, Range 95W. Fronting on the west side of Hwy 20 N, it is addressed as 191 Hwy 20 N.  

The applicant proposes to construct up to twelve wooden teepee platforms and erect up to twelve canvas teepees for short-term lodging use. The campground would have no running water, but the teepees would have electric lights and natural gas heaters. Portable toilets would be provided near the parking lot. At this time, there are no shower facilities onsite, and the applicant would provide customers with daily memberships to Hellie’s Tepee Spa (1.7 miles away, at Hot Springs State Park) for access to showers and thermal pools.  

The teepee campground would be located in the southeast corner of the property, on a gently sloping grass area bordered by the bluff above the highway, the applicant’s shop building on the west, and a steep drainage gully on the north. This campground area amounts to approximately 4.3 acres. Or roughly one-half the area of the subject property.  

Each rental teepee would have a base diameter of 18 ft. (2 to 3 occupants) to 22 ft. (2 to 5 occupants). They would be approximately 15 to 18 feet in height and are constructed of fire-retardant canvas on wood poles.  

The applicant proposes to bring electrical service to the property, possibly by boring under the highway. At this time, there is no domestic water present, and water would be hauled to the campground. The applicant hopes to construct a toilet/shower facility on the premises at some future time, once domestic water is made available.  

On May 17, the Land Use Planning Commission voted and passed approval to recommend the application to the Hot Springs County Commissioners with 12 conditions. 

Chairman Ryan opened the meeting for public comments. Citizen Kelly Strampe asked for clarification if this application was for Michael and Michele Stevens and their tipi retreat property. The commissioners replied that the application is for landowner Derrick Burrows. Citizen Hubert McAlister then made a statement in support of the application. There were no other public comments.

Commissioner Phil Scheel asked Burrows about solid waste management issues and wanted to make sure trash was hauled and there would be fire prevention. There was also a discussion about WYDOT and the approval of commercial access. Burrows said there is simply a formality involved with WYDOT and that they are waiting for the commissioners to make a designation. 

The commissioners went through their checklists and did not find any errors in their absolutes. After further discussion, the commissioners voted and passed the approval for the Burrows application to grant the land use change from agricultural to commercial. 

Ardurra engineers Brian Clarkson and Maddie Ross provided the Geographic Information System (GIS) update and said they have purchased 1,000 ArcGIS Online storage credits and provided support by phone to the Road & Bridge department for their maintenance dashboard, field application, and editor application. They also added coordinate information to road feature pop-ups in the Road Maintenance field application for use with One Call. Additionally, Ardurra made edits to the Road & Bridge Application Home Page and attributed the septic permit online GIS database from 2021 to 1985.

Regarding Ardurra’s anticipated work for the next period, Ross said that they will finish attributing the septic permit information in the GIS database and verify the address location and legal descriptions of septic permits from 2011 to 1978. They will add ‘distance’ to the nearest intersection to road feature pop-ups in the Road Maintenance field application for use with One Call. Additionally, they will work with Communications Supervisor Monte McClain at the Park County Sheriff’s Office to obtain their emergency response layer. This layer will be used as a data design template for the Hot Springs County emergency response point layer. Also, Ardurra will continue to provide support for online applications and mapping land-use changes for the Planner’s Land-Use Change application. Finally, they will obtain additional county road easement/right of way documents from Cody Stewart, begin mapping descriptions, and add to the Road & Bridge Department application.

Nate Messenger gave the FBO report and said they had 166 total recorded operations at the county airport for May. Of those, there were three air ambulances with 10 aircraft overnight. There were two requests for hangar space. Regarding fuel sales, they sold 1,415.27 gallons of Avgas and 2,596.55 gallons of jet fuel. Messenger added, “The month of May was good out at the airport. Traffic was down slightly with fewer training flights occurring out there. Fishing traffic is increasing. Fuel sales were up a bit to reflect that.”

Messenger continued and said, “As you know, the WYDOT Aeronautics Board of Commissioners toured the airport. It gave us a good chance to update them on needs and wants. I think we received some positive feedback from them. I have been busy mowing, trying to keep up with the weed growth.”

Shane Rankin gave the Road & Bridge report and said they had a busy month where they performed cattle guard cleaning, sterilized for weeds, replaced a couple of culverts, and bladed when they could when there wasn’t rain. 

Rankin presented a right-of-way permit and a temporary road closure application for Merit Energy for work to be done on Hamilton Dome Road. They plan to cut the road and put a sleeve in for an oil and gas pipeline. The cut will be about eight to nine feet deep. The road will be closed for approximately four hours and another route is possible. Rankin added that work will “not be a big issue.” The commissioners voted and passed the approval of both the right-of-way permit and the road closure. 

John Dorman gave the Maintenance report and submitted the LONG Service Agreement Renewal for $10,728, a 12-month contract. The commissioners voted and passed the approval to sign the contract. 

Tricia McPhie of Public Health and Prevention presented three contracts. The first was for the County Health Officer Agreement for $10,000. The second was for the Public Health Preparedness and Response Unit Agreement for $84,000. The third was for the Public Health Office Mutual Aid Protocol During Disaster or Public Health Emergency Response. The commissioners voted and passed the approvals of the three contracts separately. 

Regarding Prevention, McPhie said they are continuing their Loss Team training where they will have psychological first aid training next. If there is anyone in the community who wants to receive the training, McPhie said that they can contact Jen Cheney. 

McPhie also reported that they had the Let’s Taco Bout It event in Bicentennial Park on May 22. They had about 75 people attend and gave away a significant amount of materials. 

Also, McPhie said the Prevention Coalition is coordinating with the school district to bring a national speaker, Josh Varner, in the fall to speak to students, school staff, and the community present on trauma and how to support one another. The speaking date is to be determined. 

Prevention’s next meeting will be on August 9 as they are taking off the summer break. 

Chairman Tom Ryan gave an update about the recent Wyoming County Commissioners Association meeting in Douglas on May 23. The various county commissioners met to discuss and approve their budget for the next year. Ryan explained the value of their membership and the organization’s legislative successes. Governor Bill Gordon, U.S. Senators John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis, and U.S. Representative Harriet Hageman were in attendance either in person or spoke virtually. Ryan said the meetings were “very productive” and provided “nice one-on-one interaction.” 

Bo Bowman gave the Planner’s report and said that the Natural Resources Planning Committee will meet on June 14 to discuss a new topic. The Land Use Planning Commission will meet on June 21 to discuss an application. The application is from Reese Ramsey, dba an Outdoor Adventures, LLC. He has requested approval of a land use change from agricultural to commercial for an approximately 13 acre portion of a 30 acre parcel to establish a fishing lodge and four guest cabins. The location of the property fronts on the east side of Fish Hood Road, south of Wakely Road and contains a residence addressed as 491 Fish Hook Road.

Bowman mention that there is a vacancy on the Land Use Planning Commission with Larry Olsen exiting.  

Bowman also discussed with the commissioners about a new Bureau of Land Management (BLM) rule about grazing, which could consider a BLM lease as a conservation lease that would prevent grazing for ranchers on those lands. The commissioners said they are opposed to the new rule as it would directly affect the business of local ranchers and others. The commissioners voted and passed the approval to direct Bowman to write an official letter in opposition to the new BLM rule. 

Bill Gordon gave the Emergency Management report and said the Bureau of Recreation is monitoring release from Boysen Dam. 

Gordon reported that Anchor Dam’s water elevation has been up a foot a day for the last four days. Gordon said that the water there will be a “nice irrigation supply” and that the water is a “rain-driven influence versus snow runoff”. According to Gordon, there is an enormous amount of water in the atmosphere and there could be concerns about flash flooding. He added that there should be “situation awareness” for the public if they are around drainages in the fields. 

Gordon also submitted his letter of resignation to the commissioners effective July 28.

The commissioners and Gordon held a lengthy conversation about what to do regarding finding his replacement. They weighed the pros and cons of resourcing someone local or from law enforcement or looking outside Hot Springs County. Gordon said he would assist in training the next person. Gordon’s position had been technically a part-time position, but he worked much more, spending time beyond a full-time position. Therefore, Gordon advocated that his replacement should be given a full-time position. Additionally, Gordon emphasized the importance of his relationship as the Emergency Manager with the National Weather Service, as he worked closely with them. 

The commissioners thanked Gordon for his service. Chairman Ryan added, “I think also you’ve done a great job setting the bar. All the plans are up to snuff. The new person has a good roadmap to help them along.”

The commissioners voted and passed the approval to accept Gordon’s letter of resignation. 

County Attorney Jill Logan presented a Resolution for Appointment of a Special Prosecutor regarding the recent officer-involved shooting. Chairman Ryan explained that “the county attorney works very closely with both the police and the sheriff’s department, and she didn’t feel like it was appropriate for her to take that information that comes from DCI and make decisions on that.” Ryan added that a prosecutor from Sweetwater County will take on the case.

In other business, the commissioners voted and passed the approval of the Facility Use Application for the Annex building, for RFR #10, the Big Horn Basin Nature and Discovery Center Tap Grant for $3,721.38, for RFR #11, the Black Mountain Road Project for $41,153.74, and the Wyoming CLASS Investment Agreement.