Cooler temperatures this past week make it clear the fall season is nearly upon us. Lots of events this past week at the Ranch. Here’s a rundown:
Monday, September 11th the Town of Star Valley Ranch (TSVR) Water Utility Board (WUB) was scheduled to hold their monthly meeting at Town Hall. A quorum was not present; therefore, the meeting was cancelled.
Tuesday, September 12th was a busy day at Town Hall. From 9am to 11am “Coffee with the Mayor” was held.
There has been some confusion lately regarding the start time for this meeting. The TSVR public calendar shows the meeting starting at 9am, however, there may have been erroneous information provided about the meeting start time which led to residents arriving at both 9am and 10am. Going forward, to clarify “Coffee with the Mayor” starts a 9am.
Also on Tuesday, September 12th, at 2pm the Town Council conducted a work session at Town Hall. You can find the agenda here. Key takeaways included:
Proposed changes to the bond schedule to increase fines for discharging fireworks, and failure to obtain and post building permits.
After a review of water project loans and water rates (led by the TSVR Finance Board Chairman) and following much discussion, the Council decided to align future water rate changes with the Town budget cycle. (Statutorily, see W.S. 16-4-125, the budget year for Wyoming municipalities runs from 1 July to 30 June.) The Town usually begins work on the next year’s budget in February in order to have enough time to approve the new budget by July 1st. A citizen group will be convened in the interim to review rates and make recommendations to the Council for consideration during the 2024-2025 budget development process. Note that this will be a change from the existing water rate setting process that up to now has implemented increases in January of each year.
At 7pm on Tuesday evening, September 12th, the Town Council held their regularly scheduled monthly meeting at Town Hall. You can find the complete Council packet here and also see video of the entire meeting at this link. Note that the Lincoln County Sheriff, Shane Johnson, was in attendance at the Council meeting and spoke to residents about various concerns to include traffic, fireworks, patrolling, and short-term rental property calls. Two other newsworthy items from the Town Council Meeting include the following:
The Council approved a base bid amount of $416,915 from H.K. Contractors, Inc. for the 2023 Road Project (comprising chip-seal on Alpine Way and Ridgecrest Drive, and asphalt on Brambleberry Drive). The Council also authorized Mayor Buyers to sign the appropriate contractual documents.
The Council approved a base bid amount of $885,742 from Avail Valley Construction, LLC for Water Improvement Project 2023 and authorized Mayor Buyers to sign the appropriate contractual documents.
On Wednesday, September 13th at 5pm the TSVR Planning & Zoning Board met at Town Hall to conduct the first of two scheduled meetings for the month. The very full agenda for this meeting can be found here.
Some other news items and thoughts for the week:
A new National Forest access sign was installed by Public Works on Vista Drive just east of the Ranch Center South pull-out. The sign will assist Bridger-Teton National Forest visitors in finding the various trailheads that originate from within the Ranch.
Efforts are underway to establish a future standalone U.S. Post Office facility at Star Valley Ranch. (Don’t get too excited as this is going to be a long row to hoe!) I did, however, recently reach out to our state Senator Dan Dockstader for some assistance with this task. And, on Tuesday, September 12th, Senator Dockstader had a meeting scheduled with the office of Wyoming’s U.S. Senator Lummis to broach the topic. I’ll keep you posted on any progress in future weekly news emails.
As I alluded to at the beginning of this week’s email, fall is definitely in the air although the autumnal equinox doesn’t actually hit the calendar until the 23rd of September. In the meantime, I’m sure you’ve all noticed an uptick in critter activity. Lots of migrating birds and mule deer seem to be everywhere! Please be careful and keep your eyes open for these beautiful animals as you’re out and about on our Ranch roadways. Thanks!
Lastly, here’s a look at calendar items for next week:
Tuesday, September 19th at 6pm the Star Valley Ranch Association (SVRA) will conduct a Board of Management workshop at Cedar Creek Center.
Thursday, September 21st at 7pm the SVRA will hold their monthly Board of Management meeting at Cedar Creek Center.
Thanks for reading and please share the Close to Home 307 website with your Ranch friends and neighbors. Reach me by email at: close2home307@gmail.com
Have a great week!