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Editor, It is frustrating to read your article concerning the Saratoga Town Council’s concern for finding housing for the recruits for the police department. As the Sun pointed out in a June article, the master plan of 2016 listed affordable housing to be an issue that needs to be addressed. At the June planning commission meeting the need for the town to address the housing issue was raised, and the body language of the Mayor told of his disgust at the fact the issue was raised. Only now has the town council even addressed the need of a...
The Carbon County Council of Governments (CCCOG) held a special meeting on August 18 at the newly renovated Carbon Building - Courthouse Annex. The meeting was a continued discussion from the July 21 regularly scheduled meeting (see "More expensive, more stringent" on page 6 of the July 28 Saratoga Sun). Carbon County Fire Chief John Rutherford had come before CCCOG to make a case the county should consider creating a fire district. In that meeting, Rutherford said he believed if Carbon County h...
Like an exposed nerve, the recently unveiled drug issue in Saratoga doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon. Despite only having three full-time officers, the Saratoga Police Department continues to make drug-related arrests as they search for housing for more officers. K9 Sergeant Justin Brown, attending in place of Police Chief Ken Lehr, provided the Saratoga Town Council with an update at their August 17 meeting. Drugs and fishing holes Two weeks prior, during the August 3 meeting of the...
Last year, Yvonne Johnson was hired as the executive director of the Carbon County Economic Development Corporation (CCEDC). Since then, she has traveled around the county visiting as many municipalities as possible. On August 17, Johnson made her first appearance before the Saratoga Town Council. Her visit came just days before the CCEDC’s Black Ties & Boots event held at the Platte Valley Community Center in Saratoga. For the past three fiscal years, the contribution to the CCEDC has been ques...
On Friday evening, the Carbon County Economic Development Corporation (CCEDC) hosted their event, Black Ties & Boots, at the Platte Valley Community Center in Saratoga. In line with its mission of economic development, the event was a fundraiser to benefit new business startups in Carbon County. Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon was the featured speaker, but was not the only one to speak at the event. The featured speaker was Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon. Gordon was not the only speaker. The first...
by Micky Jones Passions ran high at the Encampment Town Council meeting on August 12 as the governing body heard two proposals regarding a lease for the Encampment Mill. First on the agenda at the council meeting was Meriwether Timber, represented by Lela Konecny who informed the council of her 25 years experience in the lumber industry. At the July 8 meeting, the Saratoga resident had appeared before the council but was asked by Councilmember Stas Banach to return with an actual proposal....
The old Wyoming adage “Whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting” seemed especially true during the August 12 meeting of the Encampment Town Council. Both the Encampment Town Council and Encampment residents are preparing for the September 14 meeting of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC), when the county commissioners will hold a public hearing on the highly debated Planned Unit Development (PUD) for Green Mountain at Brush Creek Ranch. It wasn’t just Encampment’s source...
From final to preliminary subdivision plans, tenant storage and nuisance properties the Saratoga Planning Commission does not appear as if it will slow down anytime soon. Mike Lamprecht served as chairman with the absence of Tom Westring during the August 10 meeting. First on the agenda was notification of a subdivision around the Whistle Pig Saloon south of Saratoga to carve out the lot on paper from the surrounding land. Additionally, the planning commission was notified of cabins which will...
The Riverside Town Council tackled projects for Rick Martin Memorial Park at their August 12 meeting. The discussion began as Makenzie Rakness introduced playground equipment plans, complete with pricing options, to Mayor Leroy Stephenson and fellow council members. The plans included images of different setup options of new play equipment. The playground equipment ranged in price from $28,000 to $50,000 with council members debating what the surface of the play area will be. From wood chips to...
Though tensions seem to have eased between the Saratoga Town Council and the Saratoga-Carbon County Impact Joint Powers Board (SCCIJPB) compared to where they were over a year ago, the joint powers board is still keeping an eye on proceedings with the Town of Saratoga. During the August 11 meeting of the SCCIJPB, Chairman Richard Raymer led discussion in regards to the administrative fee charged by the Town to the joint powers board. Board members also discussed the ongoing review of the...
“In the short time I’ve worked here, I’ve had over 25 drug arrests. I don’t know how many shifts that is (but) I average one a night, some nights I average two drug arrests.” Less than two months after joining the Saratoga Police Department, new officer Justin Brown had sobering news for the Saratoga Town Council on August 3. With a background in both military and paramilitary, Brown was hired by the governing body following months of private and public discussions with Chief Ken Lehr about the...
The Town of Saratoga is in search of a full-time recreation director following the resignation of Lisa Burton on August 3. Mayor Creed James read an email from Burton, who was not in attendance, announcing her resignation as recreation director at the August 3 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council. Burton’s resignation comes as the governing body continues its search for a treasurer and a planning and zoning officer. Burton bids farewell When James read the email from Burton announcing her r...
In the past two years, Saratoga has experienced three significant gas events which have required the presence of emergency responders. At the July 20 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council, representatives from Black Hills Energy were in attendance to explain their policy regarding emergency gas events. The most recent one was a gas meter strike in June of this year, which resulted in a shelter-in-place notification through Carbon County’s AlertSense program. In November 2019, two gas leaks result...
Saratoga may not be getting a new recreational vehicle (RV) park after all. Jimmy and Jamie Campbell, owners of JaJaCa Properties, have been attempting to build an RV park along Wyoming Highway 130 but have faced several roadblocks along the way. At the June Saratoga Planning Commission meeting, they were attempting to make RV parks a permitted use under Highway Business (see “Deal or no deal” on page 1 of the June 16 Saratoga Sun). After the July meeting, it seems JaJaCa Properties has thr...
“We’re going to clean up this ordinance, we’re going to make everything abundantly clear as to what the rules are and you guys better follow them from now on. Got it? Agreed?” Apparent frustration from the Saratoga Town Council in regards to music events at The Yard was encapsulated by Councilmember Jon Nelson in a stern comment to Cindy Bloomquist and Chris Shannon, owners of the music venue. The comment came during discussion over a late-submitted special events application for The WHAT Thing,...
Less than a year after an ordinance to amend Saratoga Municipal Code regulating specially permitted events failed on first reading it appears changes may be coming yet again. At the July 20 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council, Councilmember Jon Nelson discussed potential minor changes to Chapter 5.30. The apparent catalyst for those changes is The Yard, a music venue owned by Saratoga residents Cindy Bloomquist and Chris Shannon. Shannon, in recent meetings of the Saratoga Planning Commission,...
While discussion of the Green Mountain zone change dominated the conversation at the July 8 Encampment Town Council meeting, it didn’t completely hog the spotlight. During the meeting, Saratoga resident Lela Konecny spoke to the council regarding a lease on the lumber mill at Grand Encampment Business Park. Konecny gave a presentation as a representative of Meriwether Timber. The lease on the mill is currently owned by TNT Forest Products. TNT currently has no business license, having been a...
The July 12 public hearing for the Green Mountain ski area zone change was packed full of citizens voicing their concerns for the development. Representatives from Brush Creek Ranch presented their case to the Carbon County Planning Commission for a zone amendment from Residential to Planned Unit Development (PUD). While the majority of public comments were about water concerns, there also appeared to be an underlying culture war sentiment in regards to the application. The hearing began with...
Little more than a year after being told the Town of Saratoga was “in a pickle”, the Saratoga Town Council made three motions at their July 6 meeting to correct years of miscoded expenditures. The most recent action by the governing body—at the recommendation of third-party accountant Stuart Webster—appears to conclude more than two years of questions surrounding the Town of Saratoga’s finances originally asked by Councilmember Jon Nelson. In June 2020, those questions led to the announcem...
WHATFest, an annual Wyoming music festival, will be returning to the Platte Valley, albeit in a limited form. During the July 6 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council, The Yard co-owner Chris Shannon appeared before the governing body to inform them of a music event which would take place at his venue on July 24. “I thought, since there was a meeting I should just run down here and let you guys know because the last time we were together, Councilman (Ron) Hutchins thought despite the need for a p...
Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series of articles on the Green Mountain ski area. On July 12, representatives from Brush Creek Ranch will appear before the Carbon County Planning Commission in regards to a zone amendment for the Green Mountain ski area from Residential to Planned United Development (PUD). The public hearing comes almost 20 years to the day after the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) approved a previous zone amendment for all of Section 36 of Township 14 N...
Over a decade of history converged at the June 8 Saratoga Planning Commission meeting. Chris Shannon, co-owner of The Yard music venue, attended the meeting to voice his concerns about the definition of resort and the current zoning of The Yard. These issues have been expressed before (see “And the party never ends” on page 1 of the June 30 Saratoga Sun and “Resort definition questioned again” on page 3 of the June 30 Saratoga Sun). Shannon stated resort zoning comes with a list of accesso...
The history of a local music venue known as The Yard is long and fraught, and may be gaining a new chapter this summer. The Yard, owned by Chris Shannon and Cindy Bloomquist, is located across from the Angus England American Legion Post 54 on Southeast River Street in Saratoga. One of the first major incidents with music in the Valley occurred at the July 6, 2010 Saratoga Town Council meeting. In the meeting, members of the town came before the council to ask why a musical festival at Veterans...
Editor’s note: This is the first in a series on the Green Mountain ski area. When Brush Creek Ranch purchased the Green Mountain Ski Area in June 2019, many residents in Encampment and Riverside assumed, or perhaps feared, the luxury resort would develop the 620-acre property. A public notice in the June 16 Saratoga Sun seemed to confirm those assumptions with the announcement of a public hearing on July 12 for a zone change from residential to a planned unit development (PUD). Along with the z...
The Saratoga Hot Springs Resort (previously known as the Saratoga Resort and Spa) has had a convoluted history with zoning. Additionally, the history of retail business zoning seemingly goes hand in hand with the history of the resort. When the retail business zone was first established, there was no language for many types of businesses under retail business. This included resorts, as the business was established before zoning districts were introduced in the 1980s. For much of its lifespan,...