County commissioners hear variety of monthly reports

At the April 2 Hot Springs County Commissioners board meeting, the commissioners voted and passed the approval of the warrant register for $564,742/71 and the payroll for $200,342.07. Both Chairman Tom Ryan and Commissioner Phil Scheel recused themselves from a portion of the financial statements.

Ardurra’s Brian Clarkson and Maddie Ross gave the Geographic Information System (GIS) update and said they finished drawing and attributing land-use change tracts and added 43 new land-use change tracts to the Land-Use Change Lookup App. They provided HSC Planner Les Culliton with a list of seven remaining LUC tracts and requested more information. Additionally, they received 2023 septic permit documents from Culliton and they processed and uploaded PDF files to AWS cloud storage.

Ross also began researching NextGen 911 data model requirements and worked on updating county road geometry, added LiDAR elevations to County Road Centerlines, and made additions to the LiDAR Experience Application.

Regarding anticipated work for the next period, Ross said they will begin drawing and attributing septic permits and add new permit locations to the Septic Permit Lookup App. They also will review ALP data and applications and possibly add additional ALP sheets to online applications. Additionally, they will continue working on County Road LiDAR Applications and complete a slope analysis for each county road.

Also, they will continue to work on NextGen 911 layers and gather and process publicly available data. Ardurra will work with the county’s Sheriff and Assessor to obtain the existing address point layer and append data to the new data model. They will also continue to provide support for online applications.

Clarkson and Ross will meet with the commissioners at the April 16 meeting to show how they can access GIS, show what they have been working on, and to review any questions. Chairman Ryan also said they will discuss which GIS date will be for public access versus internal use. 

Commissioner Scheel said he was looking forward to the meeting and, “It is just awesome I think how much of a system that we have built with your Ardurra’s help for so many different ways that we can use it at the county level and the public can use it.” 

Ardurra and Hot Springs County have been working on the GIS system for about five to six years now, with it originally being used for Road & Bridge. However, as the app developed, they continued to find expanding uses for the data and provide it to the public, as well as making the different county departments more efficient in their workflows and data collections. 

Stephanie Conrad gave the Emergency Management report and said the Bureau of Reclamation has increased the river’s flow to 1,500 cubic feet per second. Conrad also said she has been working closely with a faith-based organization to help provide training, awareness, and preparedness to their group of people. Conrad expressed that they potentially could branch out to other faith-based organizations from this experience. 

Conrad also attended the spring coordinator’s meeting in Casper for the Wyoming Office of Homeland Security. There she received a Threat Liaison Officer certification and took a class from the Wyoming Information Analysis team. Also at the Casper meeting, Conrad attended the Wyoming All Hazards Association meeting and received her emergency manager orientation certification. Additionally, Conrad was nominated and voted to be the Area 3 Representative for the state. 

The commissioners and Conrad also discussed plans for notifying the public about the river’s flow rate. Conrad will place in the Independent Record color code notification about how high the flow rate is on a weekly basis. Also, Conrad will place signs at the board docks to notify the public. 

Conrad also discussed they have about $14,000 left under a grant she is working on getting reimbursement for. She added, “I’m finding about $9,000 that we, I think we, can get reimbursed for. If that does happen, is it possible for me to get that put back into my budget?” The commissioners said they could potentially work it into the next budget, which is coming soon, and work with County Clerk Becky Kersten on the matter.

Nate Messenger gave the Fixed Base Operator (FBO) report for the county airport and said they had 168 total recorded operations. Of those, two aircraft were air ambulances, and there were 10 aircraft overnight here. There were two requests for a hangar, both single-engine piston aircraft. Messenger said, “A King Air 350 came in that had called requesting hangar space last month. They dropped off passengers and departed to return to pick up a few days later.”

Regarding fuel sales, they sold 1044.59 gallons of Avgas and 801.4 gallons of jet fuel. Messenger continued and said, “Traffic is picking up, however, we are seeing about half the volume of large aircraft traffic and jet fuel sales that we had at this time last year. Small aircraft traffic is about the same with an increase in overnights.’”

Messenger also said, “I completed the Operators’ Annual Inspection on the fuel system for the State DEQ. I believe in 2025 we will have to do the sump/catch basin testing again. I replaced the parking cubs in the handicapped parking spaces. The old ones were crumbling and falling apart. I had to replace the SCR block in the PAPI control box for runway 5. I am starting to get the tractors and mowing equipment ready for the summer. I may request tires for the International Tractor 1566 in the 24-25 budget. They are in rough shape, and I have no idea how old they are.”

John Dorman, Jr. gave the Maintenance report and said the intake bathroom in the detention center had been destroyed and they had been working on the plumbing and the walls.

Shane Rankin gave the Road & Bridge report and said in March they bladed roads when the weather permitted and performed equipment maintenance. Also, the ordered patching truck and trailer were delivered. They removed the old fuel from the old generator.

The commissioners also voted and passed the approval, separately, the Approach Agreements for County Road 75 and Lane 7. Both applicants had paid all the expenses for the agreements. 

Barb Rice gave the Youth Alternatives report and said they have nine juveniles, which included five males and four females. Rice also said two juveniles enrolled in counseling. Rice added that one participant had a mental health evaluation, and another had a substance abuse evaluation. 

Rice added, “Our mental health situation and the numbers are just really large” and that it “correlates to cell phones” and that they are linked to suicide rates.

The commissioners and Rice discussed the different resources available to Youth Alternatives. They include but are not limited to WorkForce Services, the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, Public Health and Prevention, and the 211 Phone Service.

Rice continued the discussion about suicide rates and said that nationwide there has been a 130% spike in suicides among young women and teenage girls. Rice said, “We need to do a better job.”

Les Culliton gave the Planner/Project Manager report and said they will put in the Independent Record a spring reminder for having a construction notice before any activity begins. However, Culliton requested that this notice be given once a month in the newspapers for greater visibility and communication. Chairman Ryan replied, “That would be great.” During further discussion,

Commissioner Scheel said that the previous version of a “permit” was not well received by members of the public and they deemed it “invasive.” There have been previous versions of this notice and times the request has been pulled and then put back in. 

Culliton also said the DEQ requests the county to have a stormwater pollution prevention plan for Road & Bridge and the gravel pull. Culliton and Rankin will work together on this afterward.

Culliton and the commissioners, along with County Attorney Jill Logan, discussed the idea of the Land Use Planning Commission (LUPC) implementing a conditional use for properties with a timeframe involved. The land use classification would be changed after a certain deadline. Logan said this is not a new idea and that other jurisdictions have used this as an option for applications. The LUPC will discuss this in the future.

Tricia McPhie and Jen Cheney gave the Prevention/Public Health update and said they held a suicide prevention class in February. They plan to continue to offer the class to the community as well. Cheney added they are working on bringing in a guest speaker next month to educate the stakeholders and community about high-potency marijuana and the concerns surrounding that.

Cheney also said they are hosting a state training for Sources of Strength in August. At this time, they have 35 rooms reserved at the Hot Springs Hotel, where the training will be.

Cheney said, “Our coalition is looking forward to next month, which is National Mental Health Awareness Month. And we’ve got some fun things planned for the community, and we’re hoping to just get as many people as possible in the community, participating in our activities and having these conversations surrounding mental health.” 

Cheney asked if the commissioners would sign a proclamation to declare May as Mental Health Awareness Month in Hot Springs County. Chairman Ryan replied, “We don’t normally sign proclamations, but, Prevention is something that directly falls under what the county is doing. And mainly we have a Prevention program that flows through the county.” Cheney said she would leave some documents for the commissioners to think about the request.

Additionally, Cheney said they are finishing up their current grant which will end on June 30 and they are working on their new community needs assessment and work plan for the upcoming grant. The funding will start on July 1. 

McPhie asked the commissioners for permission to put up a rolling digital sign on the exterior of the Annex Building. McPhie said that they have the funding and there would be no cost to the county. The sign would be used to better help identify the Public Health building and communicate to the public in case there is an emergency or other important information. The commissioners agreed to have the sign installed.

Also, the commissioners voted and passed the approval for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Grant Application, which is a pass-through of $20,000. The TANF funds would go to the High Country Counseling Center.

The commissioners and McPhie discussed the recent outbreak of measles in Chicago and vaccination issues related to it. McPhie said that they offer vaccines for measles.

Heather Love of Weed and Pest presented a request from the commissioners for a second mill for funding. This is a regular annual request. Love discussed spraying for mosquitoes and testing for the West Nile Virus. Last year they sprayed over 1,600 acres. The commissioners voted and passed the approval to grant the second mill. 

Jackie Dorothy, Director of the Travel & Tourism Board, discussed with commissioners the coming resolution on the ballot to continue the lodging tax initiative for a total of 7%. The statewide lodging tax is 5%. Hot Springs County will receive 2% of the state lodging tax and can ask for an additional local lodging tax of 2% for a total of 4%. This tax is not paid by local residents of Hot Springs County. It is collected from tourists who book rooms at hotels, motels, Airbnb’s, Vrbo’s, or other short-term lodgings. The taxing revenue is then used for tourism marketing in Hot Springs County.

The commissioners asked Dorothy about getting a financial breakdown of the lodging tax so they could compare it from hotels and motels to short-term rentals. Dorothy replied that they had wanted to do that breakdown for a long time but couldn’t, as that data isn’t available and that the numbers can be delayed from one to three months. However, Dorothy said they have data that shows their monthly lodging tax deposit, which shows their historical trends and record-breaking months.

Jeb Schenck, Joe Moon, and Shurie Scheel, representing the Big Horn Basic Nature & Discovery Center (BHBNDC) presented a request for a letter of support for their TAP Grant for construction on their site. The grant is for $520,000 and includes a 9.51% match. Schenck said that they have approximately $41,000 already raised for the match and would do a fundraiser to reach the $49,450 total needed. The BHBNDC board applied for this grant in the previous year but did not get awarded. Chairman Ryan is on the TAP board and has to recuse himself from it for this local application. Chairman Ryan said that last year the BHBNDC was very close to getting awarded, but the TAP resources ran out. The commissioners voted and passed the approval to sign the letter of support.

The commissioners also reviewed the Bureau of Land Management Federal Land Policy Management Draw of Right of Way Permits. They also discussed the Federal Lands Access Program (FLAP). If the county is awarded the FLAP, they may be able to do the full construction work on the Black Mountain Road project. This would be a combination of the CRIP and FLAP grants funding. Chairman Ryan said he is “hopeful” for the FLAP grant to be awarded.

In other business, the commissioners voted and passed the approval of the Request for Reimbursement #5, Seal Coat and Mark Pavement Project for the Airport for $7,133.20 and for the Request for Payment #21, Black Mountain Road Project for $20,366.15.