Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
WORLAND – The Washakie County Commission met Tuesday for a busy morning session to hear department reports, and heard from Library Board member Terry Livingston on options moving forward to relocate the Washakie County Library from its current location, 1019 Coburn Avenue in Worland, the former Worland Hospital complex.
The library received funding through the one cent tax from 2008 – 2012, generating the library $1 million, which was originally intended to build a new facility. According to the Washakie County Library options report, published on Dec. 10, 2009, the cost to build a stand-alone facility would cost approximately $2,931,075.
In an effort to work within the budget appropriated, the commission is entertaining suggestions from the board toward moving the library, possibly to Big Horn Avenue.
Livingston presented the option of purchasing vacant storefront property downtown, and Commissioner Fred Frandson suggested the now-abandoned Kerby Theater as an option.
On Sept. 14, 2015, the City of Worland deemed the property a “dangerous structure” and it was condemned. Built in 1938 of native brick, the Kerby Theater served Washakie County’s entertainment needs well through the war years, up until the mid-1970s.
Featuring 5,000 square feet of theater space and a 920 square foot balcony, the Kerby also housed a candy store and barber shop. Over the years, the building has played host to cafes, stores, and an antique mall, before finally being abandoned by the current owner.
County Attorney John Worrall pointed out that the repairs to the building to bring it up to code might exceed the budget for a new library, and that he would have to research whether or not the measure would require a public hearing before moving forward, on any decision.
The target size of the new library space would be approximately 15,000 square feet.
COUNTY ROADS
After much feedback on a recommendation to limit traffic on two county roads, commissioners announced Tuesday that the plan had been modified and they were no longer looking at policing the roads with a separate ordinance.
Previously, the commission discussed a plan to restrict two heavily-trafficked county roads to local-only traffic.
The two roads in question, Washakie Ten and the Lower Nowood Road west of Ten Sleep, have seen much recent damage due to heavy out-of-state and semi-truck traffic, and residents have expressed their concerns to the commission regarding high rates of speed along those roads.
“We take federal funding to maintain the bridges along those roads, so they are public and so we can’t restrict traffic on them,” explained Frandson.
Instead, the commission will place “caution” signs at the entrances to the roads, and suggest alternate route information for travelers.
As explained by Commissioner Aaron Anderson, the roads in question were never built to handle highway-level truck traffic, but the county doesn’t want to impede local business traffic either.
EXPANDED SPACE
Building and Maintenance Supervisor Tom Schmeltzer updated the commission on a plan to renovate the ladies restroom at the county Search and Rescue building into an autopsy room for the county Coroner’s Office.
The men’s room at the facility would become unisex, and Schmeltzer reported that all the plumbing was already in place to support an autopsy facility.
LIQUOR LICENSES
The commission approved annual liquor licenses for county businesses including Big Horn Ski Lodge, Red Reflet Ranch, Asian Cuisine Restaurant and Ten Sleep Brewing Company.