Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
During the Washakie County Commissioners meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 19, Jim Butterfield and County Attorney Anthony Barton spoke to the commissioners about dissolving the Cottonwood Grass Creek watershed improvement district (WID).
Butterfield said, “I’m here again to ask that the WID be dissolved. There’s no activity, and no future activity. Hot Springs County should have already dissolved, and if not, they will shortly, because their county commissioners approved to dissolve it. That’s over 80% of the watershed.” The WID was initially created in hopes of building a reservoir, but it was unable to be completed, said Butterfield.
According to Barton, the county commissioners had the power to dissolve by resolution without an election due to the inactivity presented by Butterfield.
The motion to dissolve the WID carried.
CAMPGROUND
REGULATIONS
APPROVED
After making a change for the sake of clearer language, interim county planner Mike Robinson had the drafted resolution regarding changes to campground regulations ready for the commissioners’ approval. Robinson told the commissioners that the changes will be effective Jan. 1, 2024, and that the changes will be accessible on the Washakie County website. He additionally said that he received no public comment on the revised regulations.
The motion to approve the new revised campground regulations carried.
FLOODPLAIN
DEVELOPMENT AND INSURANCE
According to Robinson, there is potential for monitoring floodplain development going forward, but there is currently no zoning and building permit process. Robinson said this means people could potentially build in the floodplain without the county knowing. He said, “It’s the county’s responsibility to manage and control development within the floodplain. So, making sure that we don’t increase velocities, cause flow problems and so forth.” Robinson said to the commissioners that they should maintain awareness of developments occurring in the floodplain going forward.
Robinson added that there are two residents in Washakie County that do have flood insurance and that, “those who have applied for and received floodplain insurance are protected, no matter how good a job we do on the floodplain administration side.”
OTHER BUSINESS
For the chip sealing project and bids, the commissioners are still waiting for confirmation on a second payment of Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund money before deciding upon a bid.
Building maintenance supervisor Ryan Casad said he made progress with the usage of PubWorks and made steps towards having the ability for people to submit work orders to Casad through the website.
Casad spoke with the commissioners about instances of miscommunication between himself, the commissioners and others regarding maintenance requests, so Casad and the commissioners are hopeful that this development would improve communication about maintenance requests and keep better track of projects.
The commissioners meeting went into executive/closed session to receive information that is considered confidential. Present were commissioners Aaron Anderson, Terry Wolf, Morgan Martinez, County Clerk Lily Rakness Parra and Barton.