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The 5th Penny Tax is coming up for approval by voters on election day. The Sun reached out to many of the municipalities to find out how the tax effects each community. Encampment "In Encampment the 5th penny tax represents about 27 percent of our income for general purposes," Doreen Harvey, Encampment town clerk/treasurer said. "It funds emergency services, police, fire, EMS, parks, recreation, streets and maintenance, and helps to provide funding through service contracts to our local... Full story
I was thinking a lot about this week’s column. Initially, with this edition of the newspaper coming out on Oct. 31, I thought about trying to write a spooky ghost story or examine why some of us love horror movies so much. Then I thought about writing something in regards to the recently arrested Florida man who mailed 12 packages to prominent politicians and activists. Instead, I have decided to focus on the importance of civics and voting with the general election being next Tuesday. Since s...
Editor, Election time is November 6th. I am writing to remind everyone how the dismal state Saratoga’s financial affairs came to be. The previous mayor had entered into a lawsuit with Randy Stevens that even the insurance company would no longer honor and left Saratoga financially vulnerable. Over a quarter million dollars was spent out of the reserves that I know of for sure. The current Mayor and Council are still paying on the remnants of this. The town is also financially responsible (court ordered) should that $70,000 wall ever fail c...
The Saratoga Town Council met at 6 p.m. on Oct. 16 at the Saratoga Town Hall. The beginning of the meeting was business as usual with council approving the agenda, the minutes for Oct. 2 and the financials that totaled $226,058.53. Correspondence from the Chamber of Commerce had a request for the closure of Bridge Street for the Halloween Walk from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 31. The council approved closing Bridge Street on both sides of the highway, but keeping 130 open with law...
The Valley Service Organization (VSO) is sponsoring the election forum for Saratoga mayoral and town council candidates at 6 p.m. tonight (Wednesday, Oct. 24) at the Platte Valley Community Center. Candidates expected to attend are mayoral candidates, Incumbent E. J. Glode and former Mayor John Zeiger, plus town council candidates, Incumbent Will Faust and challengers Jon Nelson and Bob Keel. Each candidate will be given a short time to introduce himself and his reasons for running, which will be followed by questions from VSO and the...
The Saratoga Airport Board, minus chairman Lance Grubb, heard updates from airport manager Bob Maddox on newly implemented landing fees as well as a report on the asbestos in the defunct terminal tower at Shively Airfield during their regularly scheduled meeting at 1 p.m. on Oct. 10 at the Saratoga Town Hall. There was also a brief update on the perennial issue of hangar leases. In Grubb’s absence, vice-chair Arlen Hughes ran the meeting. After making the decision to begin charging fees s...
During their regularly scheduled meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 9 at the Saratoga Town Hall, the Saratoga Planning Commission discussed several topics that have been brought to their attention recently. The topics discussed included inconsistent language in chapter 18.48, which regulates solar zoning, further discussion regarding grading and excavation and chapter 18.58, which will cover the permitting of recreational vehicle (RV) parks in Saratoga. The commission also approved a sign variance...
During the regularly scheduled meeting of the Carbon County Impact Joint Powers Board (CCIJPB) at 6 p.m. on Oct. 10 at Saratoga Town Hall, board member Roger Cox brought the issue of Old Baldy Club (OBC) and water and sewer billing back up for discussion. The joint powers board also discussed the possibility of rate increases with sewer billing to help pay back the loan for the recently completed lagoon project. Treasurer Russ Waldner and board member Dave Christman were absent during the...
The Saratoga Town Council met at 6 p.m. on Oct. 2 at the Saratoga Town Hall. Council member Steve Wilcoxson was not present. The agenda and minutes from Sept.18 were approved as were financials in the amount of $180,226.46. Candidate Withdrawal Mayor Ed Glode read an election withdrawal letter from Kim Hytrek who decided, for personal reasons, to withdraw from the general election as town council candidate. Correspondence from the Local Government Liability Pool board asked the town to put...
It’s hard to advocate for a tax. Much less two. However, we at the Saratoga Sun feel that both the One Percent Sales and Use Tax (also known as the 5th Penny Tax) and the Two Percent Lodging Tax should overwhelmingly be passed once again. Fifth Penny It is not often a state with a small population has an opportunity to fund infrastructure improvement or vital services with a good portion of out-of-state monies. Roughly a third of the One Percent Sales and Use Tax is paid by visitors to Carbon County. Honestly, this sales tax goes largely u...
The Saratoga Town Council met at 6 p.m. on Sept. 18 at the Saratoga Town Hall. Council member Jenny Lou Garland was not in attendance, but the rest of the council was at the meeting. It was business as usual as the agenda and minutes from the Sept. 4 council meeting were approved, along with the financials totaling $108,043.00. Mayor Ed Glode read the correspondence and the reason Garland was not present became apparent. Resignation “I have a letter here which I am disappointed in and I am n...
During their regularly scheduled meeting at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 13, the Riverside Town Council heard from Helen Weiland, their representative on South Central Wyoming Emergency Medical Services (SCWEMS), about upcoming changes for the service area including the organization signing a contract with Classic Air Medical. The council also heard from Marilyn Godfrey, the Riverside representative on the Carbon County Visitors Council (CCVC), and Leslie Jefferson, CCVC Executive Director....
The Hanna Town Council met at 6 p.m. on Sept. 11 at the Hanna Town Hall. Traci Fowler, council member, was absent. After saying the pledge of allegiance, Tony Poulos asked for a two minute silence for the victims of 9/11. Once the commemorative silence was over, it was business as usual. The agenda and minutes from the Aug. 14 meeting were quickly approved. The Carbon County Council of Governments is coming to Hanna on Sept. 19. Dinner is served at these meetings and Lois Buchanan was selected...
Hangar leases and landing fees were the top topics of discussion during the regularly scheduled meeting of the Saratoga Airport Board at 1 p.m. on Sept. 12 at the Saratoga Town Hall and was attended by multiple hangar owners. The perpetual issue of hangar leases has been one discussed over several years and by multiple incarnations of the board. It was noted by town council member Richard Raymer, who represents the town on the airport board, at the Aug. 7 town council meeting that current fixed...
The Corbett Medical Foundation (Foundation), named for former Valley doctor Ray A. Corbett, was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) in September of 1993 and set their bylaws in January of 1994. The Foundation was started to remove both fund raising and dispersement burdens from the governing body of the Town of Saratoga. Mission Statement Generally stated, the mission statement of the Foundation was set to respond to the critical medical needs of the Carbon County School District No. 2 (CCSD2) area....
The September meeting of the Encampment Town Council at 7 p.m. on Sept. 13 at the Encampment Town Hall was relatively short, a total of 40 minutes, with the exception of the executive session entered into near the end of the meeting. During the regularly scheduled meeting, members of the town council approved a new representative on the Upper Platte River Solid Waste Disposal District (UPRSWDD), made a decision concerning Encampment’s Economic Development Corporation (EDC) account and d...
Ordinance 847, written to regulate mobile home parks within Saratoga, came back before the Saratoga Planning Commission during their regularly scheduled meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 11 at the Saratoga Town Hall. The ordinance, which rewrites several sections of Title 18, came back to the planning commission following the Saratoga Town Council meeting on Sept. 4 (Front page, Sept. 12, 2018 Saratoga Sun, “Dirt, doctor discussed”). The commission also discussed making changes to 15.04.100 of the m...
The September meeting of the Carbon County Impact Joint Powers Board (CCIJPB) was a somber one, taking place just a week after the untimely passing of JPB Chairman Donnie Price. Beginning shortly after 6 p.m. on Sept. 12 at the Saratoga Town Hall, vice-chairman Craig Kopasz lead the meeting after saying a few words about Price. “First off, I want to say something about Donnie. It was just a horrible accident and, honestly, it’s just awful. I know a lot of people here were close with him and he...
When a business has burned through nearly half a million dollars and is still not on track, it is normally time to rethink that particular business model. This is the case the with the Platte Valley Medical Clinic (Clinic). Since August 2017 the Clinic has gone through $499,228 in subsidies and more has been requested. Most of those costs are normal business costs for a clinic. A $5,000 moving allowance and a $10,000 signing bonus are normal in recruiting a new doctor. Some costs do not make...
The Saratoga Town Council met at 6 p.m. on Tuesday at the Saratoga Town Hall and was short one council member, Richard Raymer, who was away at the scene of an accident on Highway 130. The agenda, minutes and financials were approved in the early moments of the meeting. The bills came to a total of $153,747.12. Craig Kopasz, Engineering Associates, came before the council to explain his letter to the town. He said the town of Hanna had some projects going and would like to get 1,000 unit yards of...
Many interesting things happened during the 2018 primary elections, among them were a handful of municipal races that saw people running as write-in candidates. According to Wyoming Statute 22-23-307, a write-in candidate in the primary election needs a minimum of three votes to be able to advance to the general election. In the case of multiple candidates, the one who receives the most write-in votes advances to the general election. Following the June 1 filing deadline for candidates, two...
The Saratoga Town Council met at 6 p.m. on Aug. 21 at the Saratoga Town Hall with all the council attending. It was business as usual with the approval of the minutes for the meeting on Aug. 7 and agenda. The financials were approved in the sum of $112,413.74. Saratoga Mayor Ed Glode went over correspondence from Platte Valley Community Center (PVCC) and the Carbon County Visitors Council. The annual PVCC fundraiser on Sept. 8 and is named Bon Voyage, being themed on travel, many of auctions...
Cell phone coverage, depending on the person asked, is spotty at best in the Platte Valley. Saratoga, Encampment and Riverside are “Union Wireless Country” as they are the predominant provider in the area. On the horizon is the possibility of coverage for other, and more nationally known, providers such as T-Mobile. The horizon that the towers are proposed to be constructed on, however, is not to everyone’s liking. Skyway Towers is a Florida-based communications tower construction company and i...
Concerns over a proposed tower to be constructed by Skyway Towers, LLC were expressed during the Encampment Town Council meeting on Aug. 9 at the Encampment Town Hall. The communication tower is projected to stand approximately 310 feet tall which will require Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lighting on the tower. Following a public notice in the Saratoga Sun on July 18, Cindy Hamilton, Encampment Town Council member, sent a request as a private citizen for an environmental review to be...
Following a tense exchange of words between David and Tasha Worthington and council member Richard Raymer during the Aug. 7 Saratoga Town Council meeting, it was expected that the ongoing issues of hangar leases would top discussions at the Saratoga Airport Board on Aug. 8. When the board met at 1 p.m. at the Saratoga Town Hall the next day, however, discussion of the hangar leases and definitions was limited—with the only mention of the leases being about correspondence received from hangar o...