County negotiates on Red Vista Village II development

Ten Sleep developer Cole Smith and his attorney David Clark attended the Washakie County Commissioner meeting on Tuesday, with the intention of attaining final plat approval for Red Vista Village II.

However, according to Interim Washakie County Planner and head of the Planning Commission Mike Robinson, the county planning commission declined approval of Smith’s development agreement at a commission meeting on Monday, March 4.

The planning commission’s approval of the development agreement was a necessary step for the county commissioners to approve of the final plat during their meeting, resulting in a lack of approval in both the development agreement and final plat for Red Vista Village II.

The development agreement would have given Smith 18 months to complete the installation of a septic system for his plots.

Robinson said that the 18-month time frame was determined by state

statute.

Smith said during the planning commission meeting and at the commissioner meeting said that the installation of the system would realistically only take two weeks.

Rather than signing the development agreement, Robinson said on behalf of the planning commission, “The thought process was, ‘Go ahead and complete [the work], and go for final plat because to do otherwise, is to expose the county to the potential of having to finish the subdivision at some point if something were to come up.’” Robinson added that because of the 18-month timeframe, buyers could purchase a lot and not have septic service for nearly two years.

However, Smith explained that even though the work would only take two weeks, current conditions and frost do not allow for the work to be completed now and not likely for the next few weeks. Smith said he will have to wait weeks until he can complete the work and if he needs to wait for final plat approval during that duration, it will have significant impacts on his business and profits.

Smith said a major concern of his is that he needs to make a construction loan payment on May 1. In order to make this payment, Smith said he needs to start selling lots but cannot do so until he has final plat approval.

“If I have to wait a month or a month and a half to start advertising, I could lose a good part of my market. So there’s all these things that you guys don’t have to deal with that I have to think about to make this happen,” said Smith.

The options for the commissioners were to overrule the planning commissions decision and approve of the development agreement during the meeting, so the planning commission could then review the final plat, or to suggest that Smith and Clark revise their development agreement and take it back to the planning commission seeking approval.

The idea of revising the agreement and requiring the septic system to be installed by the summer season rather than 18 months was considered, and eventually suggested to be done by Commission Chairman Aaron Anderson. This request seemed reasonable, considering the short amount of time it would take for the system to be installed once conditions allow for it. Anderson noted that he felt better about this decision rather than overruling the choice made by a volunteer board.

Making a sooner deadline for the work, “reduces the whole risk period and I think it serves the potential buyers better,” said Robinson.

As suggested by Anderson, Clark and Smith will send a letter to the planning commission, requesting them to hold a special meeting on March 18 so they may review the revised development agreement with a shorter time frame, which would allow for the commissioners to review the plat at their next meeting on March 19.

OTHER BUSINESS

New building maintenance manager Breck Buer began work on March 4, and has been working with former manager Tom Schmeltzer to learn about county maintenance operations.

Ambulance center project manager Schmeltzer said that the sprinkler system is nearly installed in the building on North Road 11 and a water tap was in the process of being installed.

County road and bridge superintendent Stuart Bower said that the department has been working on road grading during the window of good operating conditions, and that continuing to grade and hauling gravel would be a focus moving forward as conditions allow for it.