Commissioners updated on GIS progress

The Hot Springs County Commissioners (HSCC) Board met on Tuesday, August 1 at the County Annex. Brian Clarkson and Maddie Ross of Ardurra gave the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) update and said they have worked on Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) documentation for the road maintenance applications. They also finalized the septic permit online database for 2022-1978 and they worked on verifying address locations and legal descriptions of septic permits from 2011 to 1978.

They also reported they received the NextGen 911 GIS layers from the Communications Supervisor, Monte McClain, at the Park County Sheriff’s Office. They identified 30 unique layers, including their emergency response point layer. They began work on replicating Park County’s NextGen 911 data design and identified 24 layers that need to be created or obtained. They began gathering publicly available data layers.

Regarding their anticipated work for the next period, they will begin work on the NextGen 911 layers and gather and process publicly available data. They will work with the Sheriff and Assessor to obtain the existing address point layer. Also, they will append data to the new data model.

They will also complete the distance to the nearest intersection analysis for road feature pop-ups in the Road Maintenance field application. They will begin scheduling meetings with the HSC department heads for GIS services discussions and continue to provide support for online applications while making minor edits to the Planner’s Application Home Page. 

Additionally, they will continue mapping land-use changes for Planner’s Land-Use Change application and obtain additional county road easement/ROW documents from Cody Stewart, begin mapping descriptions, and add to the Road & Bridge Department application. They will also train a new analyst, Nico Martinez, to temporarily take over GIS services work and continue working on SOP documentation.

Nate Messenger gave the FBO report and said they had 232 total recorded operations. This included three air ambulances and 12 aircraft overnight. There were three requests for hangar space. The hangar requests were two single-engine piston aircraft and one twin-engine piston aircraft.

Shane Rankin gave the Road & Bridge report and said they had a busy month, which included working on the re-gravel project on Buffalo Creek. They plan on wrapping that up in the next week.

John Dorman gave the Maintenance report and presented a request for approval of the Western States Fire Protection Co. Service Agreement Proposal for $425. This is an annual renewal agreement for the County Museum. The commissioners voted and passed the approval of the agreement. 

Barb Rice presented the Youth Alternatives report and said they have 17 total juveniles, which include 13 males and four females. They released three students last month and have had nine students in the classroom for their summer session, with three completing their work at the end of summer. Rice added that they want their students to succeed and if they can return to school, that is the best option. The commissioners agreed with that point of view. 

Bo Bowman gave the Planner’s report and said that the Land Use Planning Commission (LUPC) tabled the Maddox Minor Subdivision application at their July meeting. He said it is now untabled and will be revisited at the August 16 meeting at 6 p.m.

At that meeting, the Land Use Change request from Brad and Kate Mead, dba as Wyoming Whiskey, will also be discussed. Bowman added that there will be a replat of Lot 1 for the Shaffer Subdivision to be recorded.

Bowman also reported that there are less than 10 lots left unsold for the Red Rim Ranch subdivision and the roads need to get done. Bowman and the commissioners also discussed that the utilities are a “bigger concern” for that area. 

Regarding septic applications, there are about six to eight permits that await construction.

Bill Gordon gave the Emergency Management report and presented the TextMyGov service for discussion. This is a tool used in communication between government entities and citizens. Gordon said it’s a “good tool”. The cost is $5,250 for the first year, with $3,500 for ongoing use. The commissioner voted and passed the approval to use the service.

Terry Scholz Jr. of Weed and Pest presented a request for boundary changes that would allow those who are interested in being on the Weed and Pest board to do so. The commissioners voted and passed the approval of the boundary changes.

Cody Stewart from the County Assessor’s office presented the 2023 Mill Levies that only had a few changes. The commissioners voted and passed the approval of the 2023 Mill Levies. 

Dustin Spomer of Ardurra and Shane Rankin of Road & Bridge held a review with the commissioners of the Existing Black Mountain Road Budget and a discussion on the Final Construction Budget. They brought the Kirby #2 Gravel Pit subject as a possible local resource for gravel for the project and they wanted to bore pits in it to determine if it is viable. Chairman Tom Ryan said if it works out, it would be a “game changer.” The cost for this determination would be up to $18,000. The commissioners voted to modify the contract with this addition. 

The overall budget for the Black Mountain Road project is about $6.5 million.

In other business, the commissioners voted and passed the approval of the Facility Use Agreements for the Annex meeting room for both the NRPC and LUPC, and RFR #12 Big Horn Basin Nature and Discovery Center for $11,904.54, RFR #13 Black Mountain Road for $25,203.68, and the Annual Compensation Agreement and County MOU with the University of Wyoming Extension.