Encampment talks golf and water

The Encampment Town Council discussed the “Cow Pie Open” golf tournament and Encampment Emergency Water Connection Project at its most recent town council meeting last week.

Jim McKinney spoke with the council about financial support for the the 18th annual Encampment/Riverside Cow Pie Open on June 1. The local golf tourney takes place at a cow pasture, and buckets serving as course holes are set in the ground 140 yards apart from each other. The event features a barbecue, custom-made shirts and $900 in prize money, including $500 for a hole-in-one on a certain hole.

The town council approved giving $500 to support the tournament.

“Last year we raised $3,000 for the Encampment/Riverside medical fund, and for this year’s beneficiary we chose the USA Wrestling team, which has a charter out of Saratoga and both Saratoga and Encampment kids who wrestle for the program,” McKinney said. “We have several sponsors from Saratoga and are trying to spread the money around to people we feel need it, or who approach us and ask us about it. Last year we also got several golfers from Saratoga down here for it.”

Gary Steele, employee for PMPC Civil Engineers in Saratoga, spoke about progress and next steps for the Encampment Emergency Water Connection Project. He presented a diagram of the project and mentioned that it would be advertised for bids today, April 17. Bids are then due May 7, and the project would be awarded May 9, with construction expected to begin sometime in the summer.

For a cost and budget update, Steele announced that the project was given a total of $150,000 for funding, and that $112,000 was an anticipated probable construction cost. Design engineering was anticipated to cost $10,000, while construction engineering was anticipated for $11,000. Contingency for the project was anticipated at $17,000.

Encampment Town Maintenance Operator Ben Tiezen was also approved for a $1 merit raise to be added to his hourly wage by the council, in honor of him passing his “Level 2 Test.” The council also approved advertisement for a full-time law enforcement officer, who is post-certified for Wyoming, as well as for seasonal parks department employees. Applications for the positions were set to be due by 5 p.m. on May 6.

An advertisement for an on-call emergency assistance employee, to help the public works department, was also approved. A $25-an-hour temporary rate was set for the wage.