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The Carbon County Council of Governments (CCCOG) met via Zoom on January 13. The board usually meets every two months on the third Wednesday, but this meeting was scheduled a week early. All municipalities of CCCOG were in attendance with the exception of Medicine Bow and Sinclair. In September 2020, Baggs mayor Anna Marie Waldron had asked if any municipality knew of a grant writer. Former Platte Valley Chamber of Commerce CEO Stacy Crimmins’ name was mentioned as a possibility. Crimmins has s...
While the weather seems to be almost unseasonably warm right now, temperatures are expected to drop in the next week or two and bring snow with them. For some, this means it will be the perfect time to catch some fresh powder on their snowmobile or snow shoe in the Snowy Range or the Sierra Madres. For others, it will be the perfect time to work on their golf swing. Saratoga is no stranger to people brainstorming winter events that can bring in a crowd. For 38 years, the Saratoga/Platte Valley C...
Safety and aesthetics were the top concerns raised by the Saratoga Town Council in regards to a proposed bulk propane storage facility south of town during their January 19 meeting. The facility, which will be constructed and operated by Blakeman Propane, is just outside town limits on property owned by Arthur Ingleby. Due to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Town of Saratoga and Carbon County approved on July 2, 2019, however, the county is required to solicit comments from the...
Saratoga Town Council At A Glance Appoint of Legal Counsel • Mayor Creed James appointed Sundahl, Powers, Kapp & Martin as legal counsel with unanimous approval from town council. Saratoga Town Clerk • Town council approved contract of $50 per hour at 10 hours per week for Pam Paulsen to aid treasurer and assistant clerk/treasurer. Department of Public Works • Two payments of $25,900 to Bob Ruwart Motors for two new trucks for the water and sewer department using impact assistance funds appro...
It has been several months since the Carbon County Visitors Council (CCVC) has met in person but, on January 20, the board met at Firewater Public House in Saratoga. In addition to the board members meeting face-to-face, the city of Rawlins sent Mary-Pat Whitfield to be their representative. The city has not had a representative since June 30, 2018. Whitfield has been a resident of Rawlins for 42 years and has worked with museums in the city. CCVC Medicine Bow representative Sharon Kahl resigned from the board because she was elected to the...
The, currently, two member Saratoga Planning Commission had a gas during their January 12 meeting as they discussed, among other things, the proposed location for Blakeman Propane’s bulk propane storage facility south of Saratoga. With no council representative at the moment, newly-seated Councilmember Ben Spaulding and newly-appointed Mayor Creed James sat in the audience to provide their input. Along with the propane facility, the planning commission also discussed a potential zone change for...
For the past several months, the wastewater treatment plant north of Saratoga has been dealing with something of a mystery. The enigma was first raised by Director of Public Works Jon Winter during the January 5 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council and again during the January 13 meeting of the Saratoga-Carbon County Impact Joint Powers Board (SCCIJPB). According to Winter, the wastewater lagoon north of town had seen high levels of biochemical oxygen demand in the effluent of the lagoon since M...
While a run-off election in Georgia was determining who would gain control of the United States Senate on January 5, the Saratoga Town Council was finding their own direction during their first meeting of 2021 as they swore in new council members and a new mayor. Transfer of Powers As the final actions of Councilmember Judy Welton and Councilmember D'Ron Campbell, the Saratoga Town Council went through the customary approval of the minutes, agenda and paying of the bills prior to the oath of...
While the Town of Saratoga will start the year with someone in the mayor’s seat, the Saratoga Town Council is also moving forward with replacing both their legal counsel and their town clerk. Both topics were discussed during the January 5 meeting of the governing body. Legal Proposals As was reported previously (see “New year, new everything” on page 2 of the January 6 Saratoga Sun), following a publication of Request for Proposals (RFPs) the Town of Saratoga had received five letters of intere...
*Update* At the January 5 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council, Creed James was appointed to fill the mayoral vacancy. While many people may be hoping for change in 2021, one of the entities in Carbon County that will be seeing the most change is Saratoga Town Council. The governing body will be facing plenty of changes as of its meeting on January 5. Mayoral Vacancy From August 18 to December 31, the Town of Saratoga operated without a mayor following the resignation of John Zeiger....
What does the future of Saratoga look like and who will have a hand in shaping that future? This has been a question that has weighed on my mind in recent years, especially as we see continued growth both here in Saratoga and throughout the Valley. While the agriculture and timber industries were long the leading economic drivers for the area, and still employ a number of people, the tourism industry has become one of the major parts of our economy. Of course, who wouldn’t want to come here? I,...
The Carbon County Visitors Council (CCVC) met by teleconference on December 16 with all representatives present. The agenda and minutes from the November 18 meeting was quickly approved CCVC CEO Leslie Jefferson went over the treasurer’s report. The board approved the financials. The board approved the 10 percent distribution from lodging taxes collected to the communities and Carbon County in the amount of $5,618.08. The lodging tax collected for the month of November actually represents f...
After nearly five months without a mayor, the Saratoga Town Council has finally appointed a member of the governing body to fill the vacancy. On January 5, recently elected council member Creed James was appointed just minutes after being sworn in to the town council. The vote to appoint James passed 3-0-1 with James abstaining from the vote. The appointment of James as mayor comes after two meetings in which both he, Councilmember Ben Spaulding and Lindy Glode, a former Carbon County Commission...
At the final meeting of 2020 of the Saratoga Town Council, held on December 15, Councilmember Jon Nelson continued to express his frustration and concern with payments to James Childress, the third-party accountant originally engaged by the governing body in September 2019. Over $8,000 The concerns from Nelson came early in the meeting, as Saratoga Town Treasurer Sammy Flohr read the accounts payable for the council. Among those accounts was an invoice from Childress Accounting and Consulting...
As the governing body of Saratoga faces rapidly approaching deadlines related to the audit of Fiscal Year 2019/2020, the Saratoga Town Council discussed a re-engagement with James Childress of Childress Accounting and Consulting during their December 15 meeting. While no formal action was taken on the engagement letters from Childress, much of the discussion was haunted by the specter of interfund overhead allocations. Such allocations have faced vocal opposition from Councilmember Jon Nelson...
In the age of the internet and social media, branding is everything. Wyoming, as a state, is fairly easy to brand. Attractions such as Old Faithful and the Grand Tetons are internationally recognized and, in recent years, residents have come to use the state's area code, 307, as an identifier. Branding a county, meanwhile, is a little more difficult. Danny Burau, owner of Firewater Public House (Firewater) in Saratoga, has decided to work towards that goal with the opening of County 6 Clothing C...
“It is time to move forward in a positive manner. The Town of Saratoga has had too much conflict.” During the December 15 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council, the governing body was addressed by former Carbon County Commissioner and Saratoga resident Lindy Glode as she voiced her support to appoint Councilmember D’Ron Campbell to the mayoral vacancy. As was reported previously (see “Choice or lack of options?” on page 5 of the December 9 Saratoga Sun), two motions to make an appointme...
As 2020 comes to a close for the Town of Saratoga, the Saratoga Town Council will be entering the new year without a mayor, town clerk, legal counsel and potentially without an accounting firm to perform their audit. This revelation came about during the December 15 meeting of the governing body as the municipality stares down and will likely fail to meet a December 31 deadline to submit an F66 form to the Wyoming Department of Audit. In emails sent by Mayor Pro-Tem Bob Keel to the rest of the...
Albert Einstein once said “Time is an illusion” and I don’t think those words have ever been truer than in 2020. With only one week left in the year, I’m still having trouble wrapping my head around the fact that it isn’t March or April. Indeed, after March 13–a Friday–it seems as if all time just became a little more fluid. Time has passed so quickly, yet so slowly, this year that I almost forgot that next week will be my three year anniversary with the Saratoga Sun. That’s right, January 2 wil...
As various sections of municipal infrastructure age and need to be replaced, the Saratoga-Carbon County Impact Joint Powers Board (SCCIJPB) is looking everywhere for potential revenue sources. One of those sources is the money owed to the Town of Saratoga from delinquent water and sewer users. During their December 9 meeting, the SCCIJPB discussed the delinquent accounts—some only 60 days past due and others more than three years in arrears—and how best to collect on them. On the night of the me...
When the Saratoga Planning Commission meets in January, it will be unclear as to how many members the advisory board will have. While, according to Saratoga Municipal Code, the planning commission should be composed of seven members, it has struggled to retain that number and has even, at times, struggled to maintain a quorum according to its own bylaws. During the December 8 meeting of the Saratoga Planning Commission, Commissioner Tom Westring reminded the few in attendance that Chairman Jim...
During their final meeting of 2020, the Saratoga Planning Commission discussed a variety of topics ranging from the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Town of Saratoga and Carbon County to the final authority of special use permits. Three of the four current members of the planning commission were in attendance on December 8 and, even while addressing continued concerns from Ellie Dana-Raymer regarding the new Memorial Hospital of Carbon County (MHCC) clinic, the meeting concluded in...
The Upper Platte River Solid Waste Disposal District (UPRSWDD) met on December 2 at the Platte Valley Community Center to discuss ongoing matters involving the landfill. After site reports and discussion of ongoing billing issues, the board met with Mayor Pro-Tem Bob Keel to address the James Childress report. The report was criticized in the town council meeting the day before, and this trend continued to the landfill board meeting. Keel started by discussing Childress’s overview of the r...
The Hanna Town Council met at 6:30 p.m. on December 8 at the Hanna Town Hall for their regularly scheduled meeting. Council members Jayson Nordquist, Sam Sikes and Mayor Lois Buchanan were present in person and council member Linda Schisel was in attendance by phone. Councilmember Tracy Fowler was absent. Buchanan started with the High Country Joint Powers Board (see Hanna Landfill Closed on page 1 of the December 9 Saratoga Sun). She informed the council that the landfill was successfully...
“After the investigation and reading the documentation … it’s the finding of my office that there is no criminal conduct. So, we have declined criminal charges.” It has been more than a year since the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office seized a hard drive used by Saratoga Town Clerk Suzie Cox from Saratoga Town Hall. On December 1, Carbon County Attorney Ashley Mayfield-Davis appeared before the Saratoga Town Council to inform them that the investigation into the hard drive was not only complete,...