[Want to modify the number of weekly emails you receive? Find out how at the end of this post.]
The month is flying by! Here’s your roundup for the week of November 17th, 2024:
Tuesday, November 19th at 6pm, according to the public calendar, the Town of Star Valley Ranch (TSVR) Roads Advisory Board was scheduled to meet at Town Hall. Alas, they did not.
Also on Tuesday, November 19th at 6pm the Star Valley Ranch Association (SVRA) Board of Directors (BoD) held a workshop at Cedar Creek Center in preparation for their regular meeting later in the week. Here’s a link to the agenda. The workshop was lightly attended (I participated via Zoom which is a great option if you’ve never tried it).
Thursday, November 21st at 12:30pm the TSVR Water Utility Board met at Town Hall. You can review the agenda here. A portion of the meeting was devoted to continuing investigation into the causes of water loss from the Town’s municipal water system.
Also, on Thursday, at 2pm the TSVR Natural Resources Board met at Town Hall. Here’s a link to the meeting agenda. Of note, the Town’s Firewise application was approved.
This week the SVR Trail Crew also reported on local trail conditions which can be “quite variable this time of year depending on the trail, elevation, aspect, and changing weather!” Trail conditions were further described as mixed and any intrepid hikers should be prepared for the possibility of needing either spikes or snowshoes in some locations.
Thursday evening, November 21st at 7pm the SVRA BoD held their regular monthly meeting at Cedar Creek Center. Here’s a link to the agenda along with some notes.
The homeowner involved with removal of trees on SVRA property near the pond on Aspen Hills Golf Course made public comment about the incident and apologized to members for what he described as an all-around miscommunication.
The SVRA’s Green Canyon water project is well underway and will be at the intersection of Green Canyon Drive and Vista East Drive by the end of the week with installation of concrete vaults expected next week.
Concrete vaults await installation at the intersection of Green Canyon Drive and Vista East Drive. The SVRA BoD reported they have recently obtained a legal opinion from their attorneys regarding the operation of short-term rental (STR) properties at the Ranch. In brief, the attorneys provided a response noting the existing Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (DCC&Rs) appear to prohibit the operation of STRs, however, due to ongoing national litigation and uncertain outcomes, they recommend an addendum to the DCC&Rs to specifically address STRs.
The next opportunity to attempt an update of the DCC&Rs occurs in 2032.
Discussions about upcoming winter recreation opportunities on the Ranch provided information that all 18 holes of the Cedar Creek Golf Course will be groomed for cross-country skiing this year. Yeah!
The SVRA BoD voted unanimously to approve the 2025 SVRA Operating Budget. You can find the final budget documents on this page. Additionally, 2025 assessments will increase at a uniform rate of 3.22%.
It was also noted that no assessment fees are used to fund the golf courses.
Lastly, and sadly, recently elected Director Fred Lamming announced his resignation from the BoD. Fred stated he regretted stepping-down, however, the need to focus more time on his company (which is currently in transition) was necessary.
Following Fred’s resignation, the SVRA BoD voted to appoint former BoD member Carolyn Thacker to serve out the reminder of his term.
Other news and notes from the week:
I’ve noticed over the past couple of weeks in the Star Valley Independent (SVI) newspaper there have been a number of legal notices published by the SVRA for non-payment of annual assessment fees.
If you’re curious you can read this week’s SVI public notices at this link (the SVRA notices appear on pages 16A and 17A).
For those who may not have heard, here’s an update on the outcome of the recently circulated petition seeking a moratorium on the building of storage units in Lincoln County (initiated in response to a mega-storage complex project in Etna identified by the Lincoln County Planning & Zoning Commission as file 111-CUP-24).
The Lincoln County Commissioners (LCC) met on Wednesday, November 13th at 10am and ultimately denied approval of file 111-CUP-24. Note the LCC did not take any action on the petition itself asking for a county-wide moratorium on the building of storage units.
I spoke with the LCC Chief of Staff, Stephen Allen, earlier this week who noted there is an appeal process the 111-CUP-24 developers can follow if they so choose. You can also visit the petition website at this link for additional information on next steps if you are interested in staying involved.
It does appear there was some minor activity at the Middle Branch Bridge this past week with removal of the concrete barricades that have be in place for the past two years. I’ll continue to keep you posted on Middle Branch Bridge project developments.
Middle Branch Bridge progress?
Lastly—as we live along the Bridger-Teton National Forest boundary, large carnivore sightings in parts of the Ranch are always a possibility. That said it does seem to me during this time of year, when the mule deer are moving around in search of forage, that mountain lion sightings become even more likely. And, right on queue, here’s a video shared by one of our residents of a visitor he recently had in his driveway! Here big kitty, kitty . . .
Thanks to the Ranch resident who shared the above footage! It was Thanksgiving week last year when my husband and I had our own driveway mountain lion show! After being blessed to witness this amazing spectacle, some of you may recall I made and shared a short-film of the event on Close to Home 307. For newer subscribers who are interested and have not seen my little video, click the following link to watch “Five Days of Mountain Lions”.
With the Thanksgiving holiday, there’s not much in the way of calendar items to note for next week:
Wednesday, November 27th, the SVRA office will close at noon and will reopen on Monday, December 2nd.
The TSVR Town Hall will be closed Thursday, November 28th in observance of Thanksgiving Day and will reopen on Monday, December 2nd.
Final thoughts—hard to believe Thanksgiving Day is upon us! This year certainly has gone by in a hurry! Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. Something about all the wonderful food and camaraderie as well as time spent with family and friends plus tripping over the little dog who just can’t stop himself from hoovering around the kitchen floor! Fun times! And with that, I do wish all of you a most wonderful Thanksgiving Day whether you’re staying in town or enjoying time away with loved ones. Travel safe if you’re on the road and when you get back there will most likely be more snow on the ground here at the Ranch! Cheers!
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!
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.