Retirement, roads and turbines

At the Carbon County Commissioners meeting on September 20, 2022, Sheriff Archie Royal asked to recognize Becky George’s 17 years of service to Carbon County Sheriff’s office. She is retiring. The Commissioners expressed their gratitude for her years of hard work.

Leah Nation’s resignation was also regretfully accepted by the Commissioners.

Road and Bridge Superintendent, Kandis Fritz, presented bids that were received for motor grader prices. Wyoming Machinery’s bid, with trade in, for two machines was the lowest bid at $677,405.93.The Board authorized Fritz to begin work on the financing and accept the quote for Wyoming Machinery. The cost of the machinery will come out of the road fund.

Fritz also met with WYDOT about the paving going on near Elk Mountain on Hwy 72. She asked permission to work with the successful contractor to get an estimate on getting a 4” overlay and chip seal on Bar Hill. The Commissioners gave Fritz permission to do so. The contractor will also be in Baggs/Dixon near Snake River spur on Highway 70.

Buildings and Grounds Superintendent, Mike Newbrough, submitted bids he had received for the demolition and removal of home located at 222 W. Pine Street, Rawlins. A motion was made to use Hayes Construction for the demolition which was approved. Fritz said that Road and Bridge would be able to take the left over concrete to use in other places.

Newbrough asked for permission to proceed with updating the lighting in the Interim Justice Center, Senior Center, Fire station, Maintenance Shops, Museum and 3rd floor Carbon Building to LED. The Commissioners asked for more information concerning manpower hours and scheduling.

Emergency Manager, Lenny Layman, of the Office of Emergency Management (OEM), reported to the Board that as of this week Memorial Hospital of Carbon County (MHCC) is on the AlertSense system for all their internal communications. This makes the entire working group accessible by the OEM.

Layman also reports that the city of Rawlins will now be using the salamander system for all of their internal badging, which will make it easier to identify employees.

Gwynn Bartlett, Carbon County Clerk, reported that after almost two years, all of the county’s land records dating back from 1873 have been digitized and will be available online and at the clerk’s office within the week.

Commissioner Sue Jones reported that the BOCCC is being asked by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for comment on one wind turbine in the Boswell Springs project. Wind turbine #52 exceeds the height standards. It is 555 feet above ground level, which means it is too high. It is only 12 miles east of the Medicine Bow airport. The Commissioners agreed that because small aircraft are used in that area, the height of the turbine was not acceptable. Jones will send an email to the FAA.

Grid United Director, Hoe C. Tran, gave a presentation concerning the Copper Basin Intertie Project. The Intertie project would create a 92 mile long, high voltage line that goes from Carbon County over to the Laramie River plant. Approximately 16 miles of the line would traverse through Carbon County. The eventual goal is to tie high voltage transmission lines together in order to create a high voltage electron highway.

The next Board of Carbon County Commissioners meeting will be October 4 at 9 a.m. in Rawlins.

Carbon County Commissioners meeting at a glance

-A contract for chip sealing on County Road 700 was approved.

-A contractor will fix the culvert on County Road 15.

-Road and Bridge is working with the City of Rawlins to fix the washout on the 401.

-The master sales agreement, with ComTech for text to 911, was approved and signed.

-Repair on walk-in freezer at the jail was approved.

-Upgrade on fire panel at the multiplex was approved.

-KnovaSolutions statement of work that will do a population risk assessment for the county was approved for Chairman’s signature.

-Encampment Opera House rental agreement was approved and signed.

-A variance for the City of Rawlins to build an attached garage was approved.

-Bucking Horse and Rider use agreement was approved and signed.

Board Appointments

-Travis Harding and Diana Cobb, three year terms for the Baggs Solid Waste District Board.

-Lisa Engstrom was appointed to the Memorial Hospital Carbon County Board.

-Sue Jones was reappointed to the Upper North Platte Valley Solid Waste District Board.

-Adelaide Myers was appointed to the Carbon County Library Board.

Planning and Zoning

-Cases 2022-13, 2022-14 and 2022-15, minor sub use #2022-04 and minor sub case #2022-05 were accepted and approved by the Commissioners.