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Here’s your rundown of Ranch happenings for the week of February 2nd, 2025:
Tuesday, February 4th at 10am, the Town of Star Valley Ranch (TSVR) held a Special Meeting at Town Hall to swear in the new mayor and councilman, and appoint a new municipal judge. Here’s a link to the agenda. The Star Valley Independent (SVI) published this story on Wednesday covering the swearing in ceremony. A video recording of the entire meeting is also available on the TSVR YouTube channel at this link. A short work session was also held; here are a few notes:
The Council discussed the Mountain Estates development (on the east side of Muddy String Road just north of Prater Canyon Road). The question of access from the development onto Vista West Drive is still pending. The Council opted to defer any decision (to allow or deny) this access until after the Lincoln County Commissioners meeting scheduled for February 5th (when the Commissioners are expected to approve or deny the Amended Mountain Estates Master Plan).
The Council also plans to continue gathering information and assessing the pros and cons of the neighboring Mountain Estates development. A preliminary assessment by the Town Engineer on road impacts to Vista West Drive has been received by the Council, however, there are additional considerations to investigate such as the potential alternative of a crash/emergency gate in lieu of direct road access from the development.
As a Town we are highly sensitive to the threat of wildfire due to our proximity to the Bridger-Teton National Forest. The Town Council takes the safety of residents very seriously and the latter warrants a thorough review and discussion by the Council. A public meeting on the topic of Mountain Estates (date TBD for now) is planned so that the Town Council can share all information learned with residents before making any decisions.
The Council recommended revisions be made to the Lodging Tax Grant Application received from the Star Valley Ranch Association (SVRA). The Council will reconsider the application once it has been resubmitted.
Also on Tuesday at 6pm, it’s my understanding the TSVR Roads Advisory Board met at Town Hall. This was a late addition to the Town public calendar (made on Monday I believe) and unfortunately, as of today’s publication time, there is no agenda on the Town website.
Wednesday, February 5th at 10am, a Lincoln County Commission Planning and Development meeting was held in Kemmerer (I participated via a video link in Afton). The Mountain Estates development was the key agenda item of interest for TSVR. The outcome of this meeting was conditional approval of the Amended Master Plan Application for Mountain Estates by the Lincoln County Commissioners (LCC). What does this mean you might ask?
This approved Amended Mountain Estates Master Plan reduces the overall density of the development (a good thing).
The LCC approval also included 17 Conditions of Approval all of which must still be met by the developer.
Condition of Approval #7 (approval/agreement with TSVR for access to Vista West Drive) was revised to coincide with the developer's proposed project phasing. I.e., the developer must provide a copy of approval (or agreement) for access (or emergency ingress/egress) from Star Valley Ranch prior to the final plat of the Phase 2 Schedule; the Phase 2 Townhome Schedule is 2026, while the Phase 2 Single-Family Schedule has a start date of 2029.
Thursday, February 6th at 7pm, the Ranch’s new winter recreation club, Fresh Tracks, met at Cedar Creek Center. While I was unable to attend, Fred Lamming was kind enough to send me the following notes from the meeting:
The meeting was well attended. Hockey, ice-skating, skiing, sledding, and snowmobiling were all represented with interested people.
The club’s charter "Fresh Tracks at Star Valley Ranch" is now official as reported by the SVRA General Manager.
Near-term activities include ordering more poly-poles to help delineate skiing from snowmobiling (and marking off some private land borders), purchasing doggie bag stations for pet waste disposal around the winter recreation area, and constructing a donation box for those interested in helping out the club’s efforts.
Fresh Tracks is also excited to be planning its first nine-hole activity. Details are still in the works, however, the idea is along the lines of a Poker Run-type race event where participants can walk, snowshoe, or ski race to certain hole locations, pick up a playing card, and at the end ultimately see how they have faired in the Poker Game. More details will be forthcoming, so stay tuned! Thanks Fred!
Other news and notes for the week:
On Thursday TSVR published an update to the town website on the results of a recent theft investigation. Unfortunately, a former employee was convicted of stealing from our town. You can read the full update from the town here.
On Friday, the SVRA sent out their weekly email update to members. I was disappointed to read that SVRA Board of Director (BoD) workshops (usually held the Tuesday before regular BoD meetings) will no longer be open to the public. Additionally, while it wasn’t exactly clear in the email, it seems that member comments on new or old business during the Thursday regular BoD meetings will need to be placed on the agenda in advance by emailing the SVRA General Manager. I do not know with certainty what has prompted this change.
Here are calendar items for next week:
Tuesday, February 11th has the following schedule of events:
Coffee with the Mayor, 9am at Town Hall
Town Council Work Session, 10am at Town Hall.
TSVR Municipal Court, 2pm, upstairs at Town Hall
Town Council Meeting, 7pm at Town Hall.
Wednesday, February 12th at 5pm the TSVR Planning Commission will meet at Town Hall.
Final thoughts—What an odd weather-week it has been. First there was snow, then ice fog (that really is a thing), then rain along with temperatures well-above freezing (causing lots of melty goodness), and then finally by the end of the week we were back down to freezing temperatures again with another round of snow. What month is it again? I can’t say I’m too upset about the meteorological rollercoaster, although in general, I don’t like rollercoasters. I think all the rollicking weather had the little guy (in the photos below) really confused too. My husband noticed this short-tailed weasel (referred to in its white winter coat as an ermine) racing back and forth in our front yard, diving into the snow, disappearing, and then reappearing to scamper around madly again. Don’t worry little fella, it’s mid-February and spring is just around the corner! At least I hope it is! Have a good week!
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