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Here’s your news roundup for the week of November 10th, 2024:
Tuesday, November 12th was a busy day at Town Hall for the Town of Star Valley Ranch (TSVR) beginning with Coffee with the Mayor at 9am. A Town Council work session followed at 10am. Here’s a link to the work session agenda along with a few notes:
Earlier this year TSVR purchased Lot 37 in Plat 22 (I reported on the rationale behind the Town’s purchase of this property in the June 23rd SVR New Roundup). The Town is now beginning to work through options for disposition or use of this property. One consideration is to establish an auxiliary Public Works Department (PWD) location at the site to help facilitate improved service-levels on Town roads. My understanding is a public meeting will be held before any plans for the property are finalized.
The Town Administrator and PWD Director provided an update on the investigation into water loss within the municipal water system. While no single smoking-gun cause has been identified to date, leakage at the pressure reduction valve serving Plats 4 and 5 along with incorrect flow-meter readings are likely factors contributing to the overall water loss problem.
The Town Council reviewed the agenda and ordinances to be presented during the regular Council meeting that evening. Note a new ordinance was planned for introduction to eliminate the Roads Advisory Board from Town organizations.
Also, on Tuesday at 2pm TSVR Municipal Court was held upstairs at Town Hall. The docket was short with two cases—one to adjudicate a citation for barking dogs and the other regarding citations issued for fireworks at a short-term rental property.
To close out the day, at 7pm Tuesday evening the regular Town Council Meeting for the month of November was held at Town Hall. Here is a link to the meeting packet and you can also watch a video recording here on the Town’s YouTube page. Here are a couple of notes from what was a fairly benign meeting:
A representative from Jones Simkins presented an overview of the draft Report on the Audit of Financial Statements for the TSVR fiscal year ending June 30th, 2024. No deficiencies or material weaknesses were identified by the audit firm.
All ordinances presented for reading were approved by the Town Council.
Wednesday, November 13th, at 5pm the TSVR Planning and Zoning (P&Z) Board met at Town Hall. There were only three items on the agenda all of which were approved by the P&Z Board (one single-family home (SFH) permit, one fence permit, and one recommendation for approval of a lot combination that will be presented to the Town Council in December). There was also one other SFH permit presented to the P&Z Board prior to the meeting’s adjournment which they agreed to consider. This second SFH permit was also conditionally approved (pending submission of final documentation to the Town Building Official).
Other news and notes from the week:
In this week’s Star Valley Independent (SVI) newspaper there was a front-page story describing how the recent death of famed Grizzly Bear 399 is prompting renewed discussions on human-bear conflicts which are on the rise as a result of grizzly bear territory expansion. The article also includes mention of our own recently euthanized Ranchy Bear as an example of the dire consequences for bears when they become habituated to human foods.
Also, in this week’s SVI, another story highlighted a new canine training course that can teach your dog aversion to certain scents—a skill that could save its life! The course developed by Star Valley Ranch dog trainer Mike Parmley, is the result of his efforts to help dog lovers avoid the tragedy that befell Becky Barber last February, when her beloved Bull Terrier Jester was killed after getting caught in a beaver trap along Swift Creek Canyon Road.
If you are interested in future classes, visit Mike Parmley’s business website, www.rattlesnakealert.com, or email Mike at mike@swimatbarleys.com.
If you would like to follow the work of Jester’s Legacy, a grassroots group formed in the wake of Jester’s death advocating for trapping reforms, you can email jesterslegacy1020@gmail.com. Jester’s Legacy can also help you with information on future scent-aversion classes.
Mike Parmley working with English Bull Terrier Kaia on scent-aversion. [Photo courtesy of the Rattlesnake Alert Facebook page.] Lastly—my understanding is we should finally start seeing work getting underway before the end of the month (weather permitting) on replacement of the Middle Branch Bridge!
Please stay tuned and I’ll continue to provide updates as they become available. Thanks Star Valley Ranch for your patience on this project!
Here are calendar items for next week:
Monday, November 18th from 5pm to 7pm the Wyoming Game and Fish Department will hold a Mule Deer Community Conversation at the Thayne Community Center.
Local wildlife biologists and game wardens will be available to discuss various aspects of mule deer management and conservation.
Tuesday, November 19th at 6pm the Town Public Calendar shows the TSVR Roads Advisory Board will meet at Town Hall.
Also on Tuesday, November 19th at 6pm the Star Valley Ranch Association (SVRA) Board of Directors (BoD) will hold a workshop at Cedar Creek Center.
Note the SVRA BoD will finalize the 2025 Operating Budget this week. You can find the latest budget documents here.
Thursday, November 21st at 12:30pm the TSVR Water Utility Board will meet at Town Hall.
Also, Thursday, November 21st at 2pm the TSVR Natural Resources Board will meet at Town Hall.
Thursday evening, November 21st at 7pm the SVRA BoD will hold their regular monthly meeting at Cedar Creek Center.
Final thoughts—we got a little snow this week with a bit more on the way according to the weather forecast I just took a peek at. The white stuff seems to be coming along in dribs and drabs so far, rather like the slow start of last year’s winter season. Can’t say I’m complaining about that too much. My husband did bust out the snow-blower over the weekend though, just because he could. And to be fair, it’s better to make sure the Honda HSS724A will fire up now before finding out it won’t after we get a real serious snowfall in the coming weeks. Know what I mean! In the meantime, stay warm and cozy folks!
That’s all for today—hope you enjoyed the read. And thank you for being a subscriber! 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 are very much appreciated!
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