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Wow! It’s October! Where has the time gone? Here’s your news roundup for the busy week of October 6th, 2024; this is a rather lengthy post so get comfy and let’s get started!
Tuesday, October 8th was a busy day at Star Valley Ranch Town Hall. Coffee with the Mayor got things underway at 9am followed by a Town Council work session at 10am. Here’s a link to the agenda along with a few notes from the meeting:
The Town engineer continues to work with the Town of Star Valley Ranch (TSVR) Public Works Department (PWD) to determine the causes of water loss in the culinary water system. The Town engineer will also be reaching out to the Environmental Protection Agency to facilitate cessation of water system chlorination so that the town can resume total coliform bacteria testing. Results of the latter will factor into whether or not the town can permanently stop chlorinating its water.
The Town Administrator provided an update on town operations and noted employee morale is good with many projects getting completed around town.
The Council discussed the recent proposal put forward by a resident to flag golf carts, ATVs, etc. to better facilitate identification of those vehicles. The Mayor noted a previous Council had drafted such an ordinance, however, it was never brought forward. The Mayor will forward the latter document to the Council for consideration.
Also on Tuesday TSVR’s Municipal Court was held at 2pm upstairs at Town Hall. A total of five cases were on the docket to include two violations for operating a short-term rental (STR) property without a permit, one citation for a dog at-large and another for a barking dog, and finally a fireworks violation.
At 7pm on Tuesday the Town Council held their regular monthly meeting at Town Hall. Here’s a link to the meeting packet and you can also watch the entire meeting here on the town’s YouTube channel. The meeting was well-attended. Here are a few highlights:
During the public comment portion of the agenda a resident advocated for improved bear-wise practices within the municipality. Her comments were spurred by the recent black-bear activity around town (see Other news and notes below for more on this subject).
The main event of the evening, however, was the first reading of the proposed Animal ordinance update that, if approved, would allow up to four chickens (or four ducks) to be kept on residential property within town. Thirteen residents made public comments during the discussion portion of this agenda item. And, three of the four councilmen in attendance also made public statements. Once the discussion period closed, the Council voted on the proposed Animal ordinance update.
The outcome: two votes yea and two votes nay with one councilman absent. As a majority vote is required to move an ordinance forward to a second reading, this tie vote resulted in the proposed Animal ordinance update being defeated.
On Wednesday October 9th at 2pm a pre-construction meeting was held at Town Hall to discuss the Middle Branch Bridge replacement project. Receipt of the pre-fabricated box culvert is not expected until the end of November (or early December). With this timeline, the current schedule calls for excavation and removal of the old structure beginning in mid-November. Finger-crossed that Mother Nature doesn’t spoil the plan! Stay tuned!
Also on Wednesday, the TSVR Planning and Zoning Board (P&Z) met at Town Hall. The P&Z Board approved one new single-family home (SFH) permit, one deck permit, and one permit for a SFH addition. The board also discussed the need for a special hearing to discuss the property at 50 White Pine which is currently under a stop-work order. The latter will be scheduled next month.
Thursday, October 10th the rescheduled TSVR Finance Advisory Board (FAB) meeting was held at Town Hall. Here’s a link to the meeting agenda. Note the FAB has lost a couple of members in recent months to include their chairman. This meeting sought to get things back on track and also to elect a new chairman.
Other news and notes from the week:
It seems Ranchy bear (the black bear that was raiding residential garbage cans earlier in the month) was successfully trapped by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) last weekend. It’s my understanding the bear was relocated by WGFD.
Thank you C. Van Straten for sharing this screen capture of a mountain lion checking out the bear trap near her property earlier this month! Wow! As I mentioned earlier in this post, Ranchy bear’s escapades have sparked conversations within town on the need for better bear-wise practices by residents. To read more about the latter, I’ll direct you to the WGFD’s “Living in Bear Country” webpage. While there is currently no requirement (via ordinance) for bear-resistant trash containers in town, if you are inclined to be out-in-front of the issue, you can also talk with you local garbage collection service to determine if they offer bear-resistant trashcans. And, here are a couple of other resources if you want to learn more about potential options:
JH Bear Solutions is a Jackson-based nonprofit that helps with free or reduced cost bear-resistant garbage cans.
Kodiak Products makes bear-resistant garbage cans and has some great information on their website.
A look at a bear-resistant garbage can from JH Bear Solutions. [Note the above links are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of products or services offered.]
Besides the exploits of Ranchy Bear we’ve also had reports of a bull moose on the Cedar Creek Golf Course this week. Check it out!
Photo credit to SVRA Supporter as posted on Facebook this week. Here’s an update from Jester’s Legacy (recall we reported on Jester’s tragic death earlier this year in this SVR News Roundup post): “As a reminder for those in Wyoming, furbearer season starts October 1st and goes through April 30th, with some exceptions. Please be alert and be aware. Traps could be anywhere! Remember, predator traps can be set year round. Senator Dockstader and staff have taken on the task of filing and numbering the bill(s) and have been working hard with Jason Hunter, WGFD and others on the draft language for the 2025 legislative session. We will keep you posted.” Thank you for the update Becky!
And, on Wednesday and Thursday this past week paving was completed on Vista Drive from the intersection at Vista West to Cedar Creek Drive. At least Vista isn’t all gravel now!
Here’s a look at next week’s calendar items:
Monday, October 14th the TSVR Town Hall will be closed in observance of the Columbus Day holiday.
Tuesday, October 15th at 6pm the TSVR Roads Advisory Board (RAB) will meet at Town Hall. [Note this is the rescheduled RAB meeting date for October.]
Also on Tuesday, October 15th at 6pm the Star Valley Ranch Association (SVRA) Board of Directors (BoD) will hold a workshop at Cedar Creek Center.
Thursday, October 17th at 7pm the SVRA BoD will hold their regular monthly meeting at Cedar Creek Center.
Last but not least, in case you missed it earlier this week, I’ve added a November 5th General Election post to Election 2024 section of Close to Home 307 to give you as much information as possible about candidates you’ll find on your November ballot. Click the image below to access this post if you haven’t already perused it. And, know that I’ll continue to update the November 5th General Election post as information comes in from candidates.
Final thoughts—from the weather forecast it looks like we might be in for some cooler weather and precipitation later next week—finally! I sure hope so as it is super-dry out there. In the meantime, I wanted to share these beautiful fall colors photos from one of my readers! Thanks Deb!
That’s all for today! Thank you for reading. If you have Star Valley Ranch news or photographs to share please drop me an email at close2home307@gmail.com. And, if you find this weekly email useful, please invite your neighbors, family, and friends to check out Close to Home 307. Your support and feedback is very much appreciated!
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