[DISCLAIMER: The “SVR News Roundup” is the personal newsletter of the author and is not an official publication of the Town of Star Valley Ranch or the Star Valley Ranch Association. The SVR News Roundup provides a weekly summary of publicly available information and also occasionally includes opinion and commentary by the author.]
Ranch news was fairly light over the past seven day. That said, here’s your roundup for the week of May 18th, 2025:
Tuesday, May 20th at 4:30pm the Town of Star Valley Ranch (TSVR) Water Utility Board (WUB) met at Town Hall. Here’s a link to the agenda. While I was not able to attend this meeting in person, I did watch a video recording of the entire proceeding after the fact. One item of note is the WUB seems poised to recommend a $2 water rate increase to the Town Council for the upcoming 2025-2026 budget year. The increase would affect both metered and non-metered lots. The WUB plans to meet again next week to review the latest iteration of the Town budget and potentially offer additional recommendations prior to the third reading in June.
On Wednesday, May 21st at 1pm the TSVR Finance Advisory Board (FAB) met at Town Hall. Alas, there is no agenda posted for this meeting. While I did not attend, I did receive feedback that the FAB does not recommend any water rate increases for the new budget year. Guess we’ll have to see how all that shakes out!
Other news and notes for the week:
Firewise 2025 is underway! Note this year there will be two Firewise pick-ups in Town, the first is next week and the other will be later this year in the fall (dates to be announced). Residents began piling brush and tree trimmings during the past week and the Town will conduct pick-ups on May 27th and the 28th.
Firewise USA is a national program created to address the risks to homes and communities from wildfire in the Wildland/Urban Interface (WUI). It encourages local community-based solutions for wildfire safety, with the goal of reducing home ignitions due to wildfire.
Thanks to everyone who participates as keeping your property free of dead timber and other natural fuels helps make our community a safer place to live!
Graphic courtesy of Firewise USA. There was a brief road closure at Hardman Road and Butte Drive during the week due to Water Improvement Project 2023 with traffic detoured onto Middle Branch Drive.
The Star Valley Ranch Association (SVRA) Cedar Creek Swimming Pool opened on Friday, May 23rd. A change this season from prior seasons as the pool is now considered a private swimming pool meaning only SVRA members and their guests are allowed. While the general public is still welcome, purchase of an annual swim membership is required. Have questions? Please call the SVRA Office at (307) 883-2669.
Here are calendar items for next week:
Tuesday, May 27th at 4:30pm the TSVR WUB will meet at Town Hall.
Wednesday, May 28th will be kind of busy at Town Hall with the following meetings scheduled:
TSVR Travel & Tourism Board will meet at 2pm
TSVR Planning Commission will meet at 5pm
Town Council will conduct a work session at 6pm
Final thoughts—What a gorgeous holiday weekend! I spent most of the weekend outside in the yard, garden, and greenhouse. The latter is really coming on strong! Check out the photo below. While I’m definitely still learning what to do and what not to do when it comes to greenhouse growing—so far, so good. I am a bit worried about July and August when we’ll get our highest temperatures and I’ll certainly have to work on keeping the air moving in the greenhouse to try and avoid it getting too darn hot in there. Fingers-crossed! I hope all of you had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend and that you were able to take advantage of the beautiful outdoors. Until next time, have a great week!
Thank you for being a subscriber and I hope you enjoyed the read! If you have Ranch news or photographs to share, please send them my way via email to 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 are very appreciated!
Want to customize your Close to Home 307 subscription and the number of emails you receive each week? Please click this About page link and scroll mid-way down the page to learn how to update your settings.