Here’s a news update from the last week of August at Star Valley Ranch:
Monday, August 28th at 10am the Star Valley Ranch Town Council conducted a work session at Town Hall. Two primary agenda items included a video teleconference with the Kemmerer, Wyoming City Manager (to get an overview of the city manager municipal organization structure) and establishing a Travel & Tourism Board for the Town of Star Valley Ranch (TSVR). The latter driven by the fact that the Lincoln County Treasurer is currently holding $36,000 in lodging taxes already collected for TSVR. Wyoming State Statutes provide guidance on how municipalities can spend lodging tax funds and having a Travel & Tourism Board is one of the requirements. Mayor Buyers discussed this new board in her September TSVR Newsletter memo.
On Tuesday, August 29th, the Town conducted a pre-bid meeting for the Water Improvement Project 2023 (WIP 2023). The bid notice for WIP 2023 can be found under Public Notices at this Star Valley Independent link [refer to pages 18A and 19A]. Bids for WIP 2023 are due to the Town Clerk on September 7th at 2pm.
Wednesday August 30th the Town announced for public bid a request for proposal seeking professional contracted snow removal services for TSVR Town Hall, the First Response Center, and Plats 4 and 5 (including Brambleberry Drive, Barberry Way, Brushwood Drive, Holly Drive, Lilac Drive, Sage Way, Scrub Oak Drive, and Tumbleweed Lane). The bid notice will repeat on September 6th and 13th and can be seen at this link [refer to page 21A].
Thursday August 31st the Town conducted bid openings for two upcoming infrastructure projects—replacement of the Green Canyon tank liner and the 2023 Road Project. The 2023 Road Project includes chip-seal on Alpine Way and Ridgecrest Drive, and asphalt on Brambleberry Drive. Qualified bids were received for both projects and the Town engineer is currently verifying all bid information before any potential contract awards are made.
Saturday September 2nd the TSVR held its final regularly scheduled Farmers Market of the season at the First Response Center. The event was well-attended and patrons enjoyed many local and regional products such as fruits, cheeses, yogurt, milk, butter and produce. Vendors also offered specialty dog biscuits, coffees, crafts, and more. While the September 2nd date was the last planned Farmers Market of the season, there is some chatter about a potential pop-up Market or two during the fall or even perhaps during the winter seasons—stay tuned!
Here are a few more news-worthy items from this past week:
On Thursday, August 31st, the Town sent out an alert stating that residents in the area of Star Peaks, Green Canyon Drive, Vista East and surrounding areas might experience low-water pressure.
On Friday, September 1st, at close to 9pm, another alert was issued by the Town notifying residents of further low water pressure or “no water pressure” circumstances for northern areas of the Town.
It is our understanding that a water leak on Thursday followed by a pump failure on Friday night were the events underpinning these alerts.
On Saturday, September 2nd, at about 2pm a third alert was issued by the Town asking residents from Vista Drive and north to conserve water and keep water usage to necessary functions only.
Both the Friday and Saturday alert notices also advised resident that bottled water would be available at Town Hall and could also be delivered on request.
As of the publication of this news post, these water pressure advisories are still in place and repair of the affected pump will most likely not be completed until after the long holiday weekend due to availability of required parts.
Calendar items are pretty thin for next week but here are a few:
Monday, September 4th is the last day the Star Valley Ranch Association pool on Cedar Creek Drive will be open (weather permitting).
Wow, summer was super-short this season wasn’t it…
Also Monday, September 4th, the TSVR Town Hall will be closed in observance of the Labor Day holiday.
Thursday, September 7th at 2pm, bid openings for the TSVR WIP 2023 project will be conducted at Town Hall.
Lastly, along with these weekly Star Valley Ranch news reports, I also post on this Close to Home 307 website previously published columns I’ve written for the Star Valley Independent (SVI). These SVI columns also appear in the newspaper under the moniker “Close to Home” and are all about life at Star Valley Ranch. You can find my most recently posted newspaper column on this website here.
Thank you for reading! And, don’t be shy about sending your thoughts, comments, and tips about Ranch happenings for use as potential future content on Close to Home 307. You can reach me by email at: close2home307@gmail.com
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