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It’s roundup time after a very busy seven days on the Ranch! I’ll do my best to be brief in summarizing all the events for the week of May 12th, 2024—here we go!
At Town Hall Coffee with the Mayor got the week up and running at 9am on Tuesday, May 14th followed by a Town of Star Valley Ranch (TSVR) Town Council work session at 10am. Here’s a link to the agenda as well as a few notes:
There was discussion of monthly water loss from the Town’s water system. There are currently two main line leaks one on Last Chance Drive and another at the Pressure Reducing Valve (PRV) that services Plats 4 and 5. [Note the Plat 4/5 leak is being addressed on Tuesday, May 21st and per the Town email residents should prepare for a water outage that day.]
Public Works is moving ahead with road grading around town with some roads to be re-capped and drainage issues to be addressed. HK Contractors will also begin staging equipment in early June to begin the paving project on Brambleberry Drive.
And, a refresh of the Town website will be coming soon—hurray!
Also on Tuesday, May 14th TSVR Municipal Court was conducted at Town Hall.
There was an interesting case where a contractor who was ticketed for parking on a town road presented photos depicting the lack of signage to warn folks of this local regulation. As it turns out, the gentleman was correct as it seems some of the previously posted “no-parking” signage was recently removed to correct erroneous information. The judge threw out the man’s citation. Once the sign information is corrected I expect we’ll see those go back up quite soon.
Tuesday evening at 7pm the regular monthly Town Council meeting was held at Town Hall. The meeting was very well attended by residents. You can find the meeting packet here and also review the video-recording here. Here are some notes:
Special guests at the meeting included local Senator Dan Dockstader, Lincoln County Commissioners Chief of Staff Stephen Allen, and Mid-Valley Fire District Fire Chief Ted Jenkins. Chief Jenkins spoke about the upcoming All Fire Day event to be held at Star Valley Ranch and on the state trust land adjacent to town. [I’ll talk about this event a bit later in this post.]
A good portion of the meeting was taking up by public comment during the public hearing on the liquor license applied for by The Grill, LLC (intended for use at the new Pizza Shack by Cedar Creek pool). The Council ultimately voted to approve issuance of the license.
The Council also approved resolutions for questions on a Special Purpose Excise Tax (6th Penny) and Lodging Tax to appear on the November general election ballot. More information to follow in the coming months on both of these ballot initiatives.
The Council also approved the second reading of its Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2024-2025. During the comment period prior to the vote, a resident requested more detailed information on the town budget. The Mayor indicated additional budget details will be posted on the town website.
Wednesday, May 15th the TSVR Travel and Tourism (T&T) Board met at Town Hall. Here’s a link to the agenda. The Board discussed a number of topics to include use of existing lodging tax funds to enhance the TSVR Farmers Market this summer and other events later in the year that may require collaboration with the Star Valley Ranch Association (SVRA). (Minutes from the T&T Board’s inaugural meeting in February as well as draft minutes from this month’s meeting should be posted to the town website next week.)
Thursday, May 16th at 7pm the SVRA Board of Directors (BoD) conducted their regular monthly meeting at Cedar Creek Center. You can view the meeting agenda here. This meeting was packed! I counted 22 people on Zoom with another 70 to 80 residents attending in-person. Here are a couple of notes.
The BoD approved a new operating policy titled “By-Law Review and Revision” that denotes use of the Wyoming Non-Profit Corporation Act as its primary governance document.
BoD election packets have been mailed (I received mine yesterday).
And as a final note, unfortunately, a major portion of the evening was spent once again plowing ground already vigorously turned-over at previous BoD meetings. I am not going to elaborate further on this portion of the meeting.
On Saturday, May 18th All Fire Day training was conducted at Star Valley Ranch. Sponsored by the Alpine Area Wildfire Protection Coalition (AAWPC) this training involved the Bridger-Teton National Forest (BTNF) fire resources, partners from the Caribou-Targhee National Forest, other area interagency partners, and our local volunteer firefighters from Mid-Valley, Thayne, Alpine, and Afton. Read the BTNF press release here.
There was also a Spring Craft Fair held at the SVRA Barn on Saturday. An abundance of locally made soaps, artwork, candles, jewelry, and more were for sale!
One additional news item for the week—here’s an update on the efforts of Jester’s Legacy (see previous reporting on this topic in the SVR News Roundups from the weeks of February 18th, February 25th and March 24th).
Last month on April 17th, the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission (WGFC) met to consider trapping reforms proposed by Jester’s Legacy (watch a recording of the meeting here with comments from Jester’s Legacy members occurring at the 1:14-1:20 hour mark). As an outcome of this meeting, the WGFC will create proposals for public review; the two topics put forward by Jester’s Legacy (mandatory trapper education and implementation of setback regulations) will require legislative action. Our three Star Valley legislators (Senator Dan Dockstader, Representative Andrew Byron and Representative Lane Allred) are supportive of these proposals according to Jester’s Legacy. If you would like to learn more or find out how you might be able to help, please reach out to Jester’s Legacy at this email address: jesterslegacy1020@gmail.com
Next week looks a little less chock-block with the following calendar items:
Tuesday, May 21st at 2pm the TSVR Natural Resources Board will meet at Town Hall.
Wednesday, May 22nd at 5pm the TSVR Planning and Zoning Board will meet at Town Hall.
Last but not least, you still have time to file as a candidate for one of two open TSVR Council Seats! The filing period runs through May 31st. Here’s a link to the Municipal Offices Application for Nomination form. If you have questions about running for Town Council, please contact the Town Clerk. Thanks!
Final thoughts—beautiful weather out there all weekend although it appears we are in for a bit of wet-weather next week. Hopefully that all clears out before Memorial Day weekend which is coming up quick!
That’s all for today—Thank you for reading! Please invite your neighbors, family, and friends to check out Close to Home 307. Your support and feedback is very much appreciated! Email me anytime at: close2home307@gmail.com
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