A quieter week here at Star Valley Ranch, here are your news updates:
Wednesday, January 24th the Town of Star Valley Ranch (TSVR) Planning & Zoning (P&Z) Board conducted a work session and regular meeting at Town Hall. You can find the draft meeting minutes here.
There were three plat/lot combinations and/or property line adjustments as well as one new single-family home (SFH) permit all of which were approved.
Additionally two recently expired SFH permits came before the board for re-issuance. The discussion got a little heated during this portion of the meeting as some of the homeowners and construction company personnel in attendance were frustrated by the difficulty in being able to complete ongoing home build projects within the current two-year SFH permit timeframe.
On Thursday, January 25th I participated in the Lincoln County Commissioners All-Cities Meeting at the Afton Civic Center. The TSVR Town Clerk and Councilwoman Merrill also attended. Discussion topics focused on economic development and county planning. The All-Cities Meeting will likely become a quarterly event going forward. Here are a couple of notes of interest:
Sales tax revenues were up across the county in 2023 and according to Commissioner Connelly, this trend is expected to continue in 2024.
As sales tax revenues are distributed by population, this is good news for TSVR as we are currently the third largest town in Lincoln County (just behind Afton and Kemmerer).
The Commissioners emphasized the term One Lincoln County frequently during this meeting. The latter in reference to the divergent economies of the northern and southern portions of the county and how competing for funding at the state-level is often most successful when more municipalities band together.
The meeting participants also discussed a comprehensive economic development strategy for the county and what that might look like going forward.
On Friday, January 26th, Rod Jensen, Bank of Star Valley (BoSV) Founder, President and CEO, presented the 2023 Star Valley Economic and Demographic Review during a Star Valley Chamber of Commerce luncheon at Gather on 89. If you’ve never taken a look at this local annual review I recommend you do so as it is packed full of useful economic and regional growth information [click the title link in the previous sentence to access the report on the BoSV website]. As an example, below is a graphic (compiled from data found in the 2023 review) depicting the increase in total SVR homes since 2012 with an overlay of the number of new SFH permits issued during the same time period. According to the 2023 review, SVR had the second highest population growth in Wyoming during calendar year 2023 at 3.3% and will likely exceed Afton’s population by the next census. You can also read more about the BoSV presentation and 2023 report in this Star Valley Independent news story.
Growth in number of SFHs at SVR since 2012. Yellow line overlay shows number of SFH permits issued during those same years. Other news notes for the week:
The TSVR Coat Drive is headed into its final week with donation boxes located at Town Hall. Donations are being accepted (Monday through Thursday only) until February 1st and coat distribution will occur on Saturday, February 3rd from 11am to 1pm, upstairs at Town Hall.
The response from Ranch residents as well as the surrounding community has been truly amazing! Town Hall is practically bursting at the seams with warm-weather-wear donations! Check out this photo! Way to go people!
Coat Drive donations as of January 24th 2024 at SVR Town Hall.
As the Pole Barn Poll from the January 7th SVR News Roundup post remains open—I thought folks would appreciate an update on where the voting stands. Check out the image below for poll results as of today. And, if you haven’t already voted, click here to access the poll and add your opinion (you’ll find the poll midway down the page). We’ll keep the poll open for a while yet just to see where it takes us.
The SVR Trail Crew continues to keep the Cedar Creek Trail open for snowshoeing. Thank you Trail Crew! Lots of moose activity too in recent days according to the Trail Crew Facebook page—so, stay frosty out there!
[Photo courtesy of the SVR Trail Crew Facebook page.] Note the Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center avalanche advisory is currently issued as “Considerable” danger for the Greys River area.
Only a couple of calendar items for next week as follows:
Thursday, February 1st at 7pm, the Star Ranch Valley Association Board of Directors (BoD) will hold a special meeting at the Cedar Creek Center as an opportunity to discuss recent events and changes within the BoD.
Saturday, February 3rd from 11am to 1pm, coat distribution from the Coat Drive will be conducted upstairs at Town Hall.
Final thoughts—looks like we are in for a bit of a weather warm-up during the upcoming week. Stay safe in your travels and we’ll see what Mother Nature has in store for us as February rolls in.
That’s all for now and thank you very much for reading! Your support and feedback is appreciated! Please invite your neighbors, family, and friends to check out Close to Home 307 if you think they’d find the content useful. And, feel free to reach out to me anytime at: close2home307@gmail.com