Ten Sleep council meets Tuesday

TEN SLEEP – The Ten Sleep Town Council will meet Tuesday at 7 p.m. to hear regular department reports and get an update on the town’s ongoing U.S. Department of Agriculture project to upgrade the town’s lagoon.

Going forward, Mayor Jack Haggerty recommends that the town use tax revenues to replace sidewalks and gutters, and make the town’s sewage lagoon more efficient.

The town would like to implement a Green Energy Plan to transition to lagoon to some solar power, to offset costs and ultimately save money.

On Jan. 16, the Washakie County Commission originally facilitated a meeting with entities currently covered under Joint Resolution 315, which splits one-cent sales tax funds, along with new parties interested in becoming sales tax recipients, in light of the state’s waning budget.

Voters most recently supported the general purpose optional one-cent tax in 2014 with 64 percent of Washakie County voters in favor. The current tax will be collected through June 30, 2019.

Currently, the majority of the tax goes to the city of Worland, followed by the Worland Community Center Complex, town of Ten Sleep and then Worland and Ten Sleep senior citizen centers and Crisis Prevention and Response Center.

Voters in November will decide if the one-cent general purpose tax is continued. A resolution from the county and the Worland and Ten Sleep councils must be approved in August to get the tax question on the ballot.

Mayor Haggerty has expressed that the tax revenue would go toward ongoing town projects.

In other business, the town will report plans for the October 14 Hunter Fest, and have third reading concerning annexed land.

The .789-acre property, known as the James Anderson annexation, is located on the east boundary of town limits, north of Highway 16. The property, intended for eventual annexation, has already been prepared with sewage and water infrastructure stubbed up to the property line.

As there was no public opposition to the annexation, the town introduced Ordinance No. 215 for first reading, but will amend before final adoption in November.

The ordinance states that the property meets all requirements for annexation, including being adjacent to town, and exhibiting all the characteristics of a “natural, geographical, economic and social part” of annexation.

The proposed annexation is located just east of Willow Street, along the town boundary to the north.

Tuesday’s meeting will be held at the Ten Sleep town hall. All meetings are open to the public.