Fridays with the mayor

Mayor Ed Glode said he

came away from the River

Restoration meeting last

week with a good feeling.

A sentiment that both Jeff

Streeter with Trout Unlimited

and Joe Parsons

with the Saratoga-Encampment-

Rawlins Conservation

District (SERCD) echoed.

Committees were formed

to go forward with the long

term project while considering

short-term options.

The plan has two different

concepts that the committee

is considering, Glode said.

In the meantime, Glode is

still weighing options on a

short-term fix. The committee

plans to meet again in

March.

Currently, the river restoration

is roughly estimated

to cost between $3.2 and

$4.8 million. Streeter is on

the fundraising committee

and will seek grants to help

with those costs.

Bill Patton, who says

he works best behind the

scenes, is doing the footwork

visiting with land-owners

that will be affected by the

restoration.

The town of Saratoga will

be notifying land-owners by

mail or email in the next few

weeks.

Glode’s plan for a temporary

fix will hopefully alleviate

any chance of flooding.

Glode said the way the river

is now, a snowpack like the

one in 2011 could prove

to be catastrophic. He has

concerns about the safety

of the people who would be

affected.

Glode responded to questions

including why the town

has an engineer, yet hires an

engineering firm.

Glode said it benefits the

town to have a public works

employee who has an engineering

education, but

even with the engineering

background he doesn’t have

the time to engineer every

project that requires it and

still manage the streets and

water projects at the same

time.

A concern about the walking

bridge abutting private

property was brought up

to the Saratoga Sun. Glode

said the town has been in

contact with the land-owner

and the town has agreed to

build a fence to protect it

from people “running back

and forth” on the property

when crossing the bridge.

The lawsuit involving former

treasurer Lynda Healey

and the town of Saratoga is

in the hands of the Local

Government and Liability

Pool (LPLG). “We are waiting

to hear back from them

on what the status of that

is,” Glode said.

Glode encourages people

who have questions to contact

him on his cell phone at

307-329-3313.

The Saratoga Sun will

continue to take questions

for the mayor anonymously.