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Here’s your Ranch news roundup for the busy week of September 8th, 2024:
Tuesday, September 10th got the week rolling at 9am with a lightly attended Coffee with the Mayor at Town Hall. Next up, the Town of Star Valley Ranch (TSVR) Town Council conducted a work session at 10am. Here’s a link to the work session agenda along with a few notes of interest from the meeting:
Some of the sidewalk concrete at Town Hall has to be re-poured as it did not cure properly the first time around.
The Town of Thayne will conduct an Open house to provide information on the Sixth Penny Tax initiative on September 18th from 6pm to 8pm and has invited other Star Valley municipalities to participate.
The Town of Star Valley Ranch intends to participate.
Work on Water Improvement Project (WIP) 2023 continues. Once WIP 2023 winds down for the year, TSVR may be in a position to stop chlorinating the water system and test the water quality in accordance with its previous agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Test results would factor into future EPA chlorination requirements for the town.
Also on Tuesday September 10th at 2pm the TSVR Municipal Court was held upstairs at Town Hall. The docket included two violations for operating a Short-term rental without a permit (both no-shows), one open-fire citation, one building a deck without a permit citation (bench warrant to be issued), and an unleashed dog citation (bench warrant to be issued).
To close out Tuesday, the Town Council conducted their regular monthly meeting at 7pm. Here’s a link to the meeting packet and you can also watch a video of the meeting proceedings here. Public comment at the meeting included one resident opposed to an ordinance update to allow chickens, four residents who commented in favor of an ordinance update to allow chickens, and one resident who wanted more information about TSVR’s Sixth Penny Tax initiative.
Wednesday, September 11th at 5pm the TSVR Planning and Zoning (P&Z) Board met at Town Hall. Unfortunately, no agenda is posted for this meeting. However, I can tell you (as I attended this meeting) the P&Z Board approved two new single-family home permits, approved an accessory building permit, and tabled a structural modification permit.
Thursday, September 12th at 7pm a Town-Hall style meeting was held at Cedar Creek Center with participation from the TSVR Town Council, Star Valley Ranch Association (SVRA) Board of Directors (BoD), and the Lincoln County Sheriff. The purpose of the meeting was to provide information on the jurisdictional responsibilities of each entity—with a focus on safety—and provide an opportunity for residents to ask questions. Here is a link to the meeting agenda. [Note: I could not find a video recording of this meeting online although participation was also available via SVRA’s Zoom capability.] Here are a couple of notes:
I attended this meeting in person and my overall impression was it went fairly well, although there were a few uncomfortable and heated moments which, fortunately, were handled deftly by the TSVR Town Administrator who was functioning as a moderator (along with Patty Judge of the SVRA BoD).
Resident questions were primarily focused on speeding on town roads, trespass on private property (residential and SVRA), as well as underage drivers on town roads.
Many of the above mentioned queries were directed to Sheriff Shane Johnson given that the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office is responsible for enforcement of state traffic code as well as criminal trespass complaints.
Saturday September 7th the TSVR Ranch Rendezvous Market took place in the Town Hall parking lot. Along with the Ranch Rendezvous Market produce and dairy booth, there were eleven other vendors on site to include Wyo’Pa Hoagie Wagon, Alpen Lights, WyominWove, All Arts Matter, Compton in the Art House, Juan Valencia homemade tamales, Rae Rae’s Jams, Star Valley Coffee Roasters, Strawberry Creek Sourdough, Sweet Poppins, and Blue Ribbon Barn. Foot traffic was good and an abundance of delicious and creative items were available for patrons.
There are only two more Saturday dates for the Ranch Rendezvous Market, September 21st and September 28th, so don’t let your chance to visit the market get away before the season ends!
Other news and notes from the week:
The TSVR Public Works Department got started on clearing overhanging trees and shrubbery from town roadways this week in preparation for winter snow plowing. This hasn’t been done in a few years so it’s a fairly substantial project. The work is expected to continue into next week. If you have any concerns on work being done in your area, please call Town Hall. Thanks for your understanding!
Here’s an update on where things stand with the chicken poll. As of the writing of this post, it’s still a dead-heat with 44% for and 44% against along with 13% in need of more information.
You can still cast your vote in the chicken poll by visiting the SVR News Roundup from the week of August 25th—cluck here and scroll to the bottom of the page.
And, lastly—a quick update from last week’s SVR News Roundup post to relay the TSVR Water Utility Board (WUB) meeting was not held on September 5th and has been rescheduled to later in the month (see calendar items below).
Here’s a look at next week’s calendar items:
Tuesday, September 17th at 6pm the SVRA Board of Directors (BoD) will conduct at workshop at Cedar Creek Center.
Also on Tuesday at 7pm you won’t want to miss the “Meet the Candidates" event at the SVRA Barn. This is your opportunity to learn more about the folks running for the two open TSVR Council seats. Duke Dance from Star Valley Independent Media will moderate and will also provide audience members with the ability to text in questions during the event. See you there!
Wednesday, September 18th from 6pm to 8pm there will be a Sixth Penny Tax Open House in Thayne, Wyoming (I think this event is at the Thayne Community Center). TSVR will participate in the event and plans to have information available on their Sixth Penny Tax initiative plans.
Thursday, September 19th at 1pm the TSVR WUB will meet at Town Hall.
Also on Thursday, September 19th at 7pm the SVRA BoD will conduct their regular monthly meeting at Cedar Creek Center.
Saturday, September 21st from 8am to 11am the Ranch Rendezvous Market will be held in the Town Hall parking lot. Only one more Ranch Rendezvous Market to go after this date and then the season will be at an end so please stop by if you haven’t done so already!
Final thoughts—I’ve seen a lot of Dusky Grouse lately. Driving home from Town Hall the other day I saw two along Muddy String and then another group of three a bit further along. From what I understand in the fall and early winter, Duskies tend to congregate into larger groups of birds similar to other types of prairie grouse. The Dusky Grouse is a large chicken-like bird with a short bill, short, strong legs, and a medium-length tail that can be fanned into a semicircle. We have a lot of them here roaming wild on the Ranch and in the springtime they can be pretty territorial as I can attest to after my encounter with a Dusky I nicknamed Nutjob a couple of years ago (you can read more about that here if you like). Kind of interesting given the current conversation being had about domestic chickens in town. For now, I’ll ask that you keep your eyes open for these chunky grouse when driving around Town and please try not to run one over!
And, here’s what a Dusky Grouse hen sounds like, decidedly chicken-like in my opinion! [Audio file courtesy of the website xeno-canto.]
That’s all for today! Thank you for reading. If you have Star Valley Ranch news 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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