The County Commissioners’ meeting was called to order on July 6, 2021, at 9:05 a.m. with Chairman Patrick H. Wade, Vice-Chairman John Midkiff, Commissioner Elaine Griffith, and County Clerk Becky L. Freeman present.
Chairman Wade led in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Road and Bridge- Foreman Fred Thomas met with the Commissioners and updated them on road and bridge business.
He said that engineers from BenchMark of Torrington measured the County’s gravel stockpiles and he is now waiting to hear from them on the quantity of rock.
He also visited with them regarding the state easements. They said they had not received any updates.
He said some of the crew is spot graveling parts of Wasserburger Road.
Dead End Road signs were put up on Shane Road. He noted that there are many county road signs knocked down throughout the county as a result of people running them over.
Chairman Wade asked if he had gotten the millings put down in the Niobrara Addition and he said he had.
Old Business- Commissioner Griffith said that the historical information sign for the courthouse has been ordered and a location for placement needs to be decided.
She said there was not anything new to report on the American Rescue Plan.
The group also discussed the Natural Resource Management Plan update. The end of the public comment period is July 23, 2021.
24-Hour Malt Beverage Permits- Commissioner Griffith moved to approve two 24-hour malt beverage permits for Linda Broyles to sell malt beverages at the Ranch Rodeo being held July 30 and 31, 2021, with the conditions that malt beverages cannot be sold or dispensed from within the food truck because there is no provision in Wyoming Statutes authorizing the sale of malt beverages from within a mobile catering unit. Vice-Chairman Midkiff seconded, motion carried.
Elected Officials and Dept. Heads- Emergency Management Coordinator James Santistevan discussed grants and said that Niobrara County was tentatively awarded $30,000 out of the $60,000 requested to purchase a backup generator for the courthouse and secondary Emergency Operations Center.
Sheriff Cary Gill said there were currently four inmates housed at the jail and that dispatch is down one employee.
Treasurer Keri Thompson said she and her staff are busy working on fiscal year-end processes and preparing for the upcoming tax sale and audit.
UW Extension Education Kellie Chichester said they are busy preparing for fair week. She would like to request 40 hours of comp time for the administrative assistant during county fair. Chairman Wade said that comp time during fair is an understandable request and the Commissioners authorized up to 40 hours.
Clerk of Court Chrisanna Lund said it is business as usual in her office. She has an association meeting in Casper and there are no jury trials scheduled at this time.
Assessor Teri Stephens said she has association meetings as well. She said the field listers have completed their property reviews in the country and are working in Manville right now.
Commissioner Griffith updated the group about the historical information sign and Vice-Chairman Midkiff asked Sheriff Gill if the pickups were running okay and Sheriff Gill said they were.
Chairman Wade updated everyone on the public meeting regarding the Natural Resource Policy Update.
County Attorney- Attorney Anne Wasserburger met with the Commissioners and discussed county business. She discussed housing of juvenile offenders and the difficulty she has encountered trying to get a facility to house them. She said that the County had a contract with Natrona County Juvenile Detention Center, but they will not house our juveniles if there is any kind of medical matter or if they are a violent offender.
Pursuant to statutes, juveniles must be kept separated from sight and sound of adult offenders. Chairman Wade asked Sheriff Gill if he thought there was any way to convert one of the jail cells for that purpose and Sheriff Gill was unsure at this time, but would investigate the matter.
Executive Session- Vice-Chairman Midkiff moved to enter into Executive Session at 11:20 a.m. to hear complaints or charges against a professional person pursuant to WSS 16-4-405 a(ii). Commissioner Griffith seconded, motion carried.
Vice-Chairman Midkiff moved to leave executive session at 11:48 a.m. Commissioner Griffith seconded motion carried. There was no action taken.
Road Crossing Permits- Commissioner Griffith moved to approve road permits for Niobrara Electric Association to cross portions of 20 Mile and K Field Roads to install a 3 phase underground 25KV powerline. Vice-Chairman Midkiff seconded, motion carried.
Matt Grant with New York Life met with the Commissioners and gave a presentation on voluntary group benefits for employees. Teri Stephens and Keri Thompson were also present.
WY Dept. of Transportation- Mark Ayen, Calvin Goddard, Jeff Goetz, Mark Williams, and Chad Agaard with WYDOT met with the Commissioners and Road and Bridge Foreman Fred Thomas and gave their annual State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) presentation for 2022-2027. Town of Lusk Mayor Doug Lytle was also present.
Mr. Ayan discussed their goals and guiding principles.
He noted that the rest areas, which were previously closed, and had been reopened for the summer, would remain open until September, then will close again. He said there might be a way to fund keeping the rest areas open, but WYDOT will not know until the end of July.
Commissioner Griffith thanked WYDOT for reopening the Lusk rest area.
Foreman Thomas said there were some road signs missing on the Highway 20 East Road project and it was noted that the project is not quite done.
Mr. Thomas also asked about purchasing millings from WYDOT from the 2023 US Hwy 85 road project. Mr. Ayan said he would give them to the county if there were any remaining.
Transfer of Fairgrounds, Library, Courthouse (FLC) Operations and Maintenance (O & M) Funds- Commissioner Griffith moved to amend the motion made at the June 15, 2021 meeting authorizing the County Treasurer to transfer $32,021 from the FLC O & M account to the general county fund account for the county’s required match for the Wyoming Business Council and Wyoming Energy Authority grants, which funded upgrades to the fairgrounds auditorium renovations to authorize the County Treasurer to transfer $34,404.07 for the above stated purpose. Vice-Chairman Midkiff seconded, motion carried.
UW Annual Compensation Agreement – Vice-Chairman Midkiff moved to approve the Annual Compensation Agreement between Niobrara County and the University of Wyoming for the 4-H Director position. Commissioner Griffith seconded, motion carried. The County will contribute $24,822.00 annually to the University of Wyoming Extension, payable quarterly in the amount of $6.205.50.
Consent Agenda- Vice-Chairman Midkiff moved to approve the consent agenda. Commissioner Griffith seconded, motion carried. Items on the consent agenda were the minutes of the June 15, 2021 meeting, the June 21, 2021 special meeting, receipts for June from the County Clerk for $4,612.52, the Sheriff for $570.25, the Clerk of District Court for $696.50, and from Public Health Nursing for $564.69, and a notice of valuation change on Kaiser-Francis Oil Company from the 2018 tax year, resulting in tax roll supplement for Niobrara County in the amount of $1,244.35.
The Commissioners denied payment to Civil Air Patrol magazime for $195.00 pursuant to Commissioner Directive 21-01.
Payroll and the following vouchers were approved for payment:
3 Sister’s Truck Stop- Fuel- 137.42, Aflac- Supplemental insurance- 6341.25, Allbright’s True Value Hardware- Supplies, maintenance- 157.44, Alsco- Shop towels & coveralls- 517.30, Anne Wasserburger- Reimburse for supplies- 272.60, Axon Enterprise, Inc.- New equipment- 3397.98, BAM Document Destruction & Recycling, LLC.- Document shredding- 217.40, Barnes Law, LLC.- Court appointed attorney- 391.10, Becky Blackburn- Reimburse for supplies- 70.72, Becky L. Freeman- Travel expense- 165.76, Black Hills Chemical & Janitorial- Cleaning supplies for fairgrounds and courthouse- 1689.73, Black Hills Energy- Utilities- 620.55, Blue Cross Blue Shield of WY- Health insurance premiums- 18325.00, Blue Line Custom Vinyls- Decals & installation for SO vehicles- 400.00, Body Builders Body Shop- Equipment repairs- 160.00, Boldon Welding & Repair, LLC.- Equipment repairs- 81.25, Boulder County Sheriff’s Office- Service of Subpoena- 21.20, C & H Tire & Trailer Repair, LLC.- Tires & vehicle repairs- 1578.48, Canon Financial Services, Inc.- Copier service agreement- 334.45, Century Link- Telephone- 1417.28, Century Link Business Service- Telephone- 85.27, Connecting Point Computer Centers- Copier service agreements- 352.69, Cory Wilcox- Deputy coroner stipend- 100.00, Decker’s Market- Supplies- 11.17, Delta Dental of WY- Supplemental insurance- 1085.90, Dennis C. Meier- Office rent- 1000.00, Double A Properties, LLC.- Office rent- 1000.00, Falen Law Offices- Natural resource plan updates- 3391.88, Frank Parts Company- Parts- 386.98, Fusion Cloud Services, LLC.- Telephone- 851.73, Geographic Innovations- Professional mapping- 1300.00, Great-West Trust Company, LLC.- Deferred Compensation- 17895.00, GreatAmerica Financial Svcs.- Copier service agreements- 232.00, Hiway Brake & Alignment- Vehicle repairs- 1718.32, Hometown Country- Bldg/Equip maintenance- 95.00, Honnen Equipment Co.- Parts- 318.72, Jameson Cleaning & Maintenance, LLC.- Fairgrounds cleaning contract- 6800.00, Jub Jub, Inc.- I T Expense- 220.00, Katie Krein- Prevention grant- 136.76, Ken Brown- Court appointed attorney- 30.00, Long Building Technologies, Inc.- Building/Equip maintenance- 1179.75, Lori Himes- Mileage/lister- 50.08, Lusk Herald- Publications (Covid vaccination ads, abandoned vehicle sale, minutes)- 3094.59, MasterCard- Supplies, postage, telephone mileage, subscription, computer expense, travel expense- 2389.04, Matthew Bender & Co., Inc.- Supplies- 431.61, New Jersey Family Support Payment Center- Child support order- 819.00, Niobrara County Circuit Court- Garnishment- 486.78, Niobrara County Hospital District- 1% Option Tax- 11686.63, Niobrara County Library- Library deferred compensation- 1725.00, Niobrara County Public Health- Indirect costs for Prevention Grant mgmt.- 254.46, Niobrara Electric Association- Electrical expense for radio tower- 50.99, Office Depot- Supplies, new equipment- 479.19, Pier Funeral Home- Indigent burial (unclaimed remains)- 5400.00, Roetman Enterprises, LLC. –Justice center maintenance- 89.00, Sashanna Miller- Inmate medical- 1400.00, Swanson Services Corp.- Commissary account- 28.10, Tara Berg- Fremont Co. Assessor- Dues, travel expense- 245.00, Thomson Reuters-West- Law library- 159.14, Timberline Services, Inc.- Pay request 2 for 2020 Winter Road Rehab Project- 50482.33, Torrington Office Supply- Supplies- 104.88, Town of Lusk- Utilities- 2437.35, Traci Bruegger- Courthouse, Library, Justice Center cleaning contract- 4500.00, Tyler Technologies- Computer expense-1990.00, UW College of Ag & Natural Resources- UW car expense- 846.00, Valley Motor Supply- Parts- 803.28, Verizon Wireless- Phones, I T expense- 280.43, Vision Service Plan- Supplemental insurance- 417.12, Visionary Broadband- I T Expense- 438.07, WEBT- Life insurance premium- 202.50, Westco- Dyed diesel- 7397.14, Whitaker Oil- Fuel- 4033.68, WY Dept. of Workforce Services- Quarterly workers comp payment- 11,255.60, WY Enterprise Technology Services- I T expense- 46.91, Wyoming Lawn Sprinklers- Maintenance- 191.90, Wyoming Network, Inc.- I T expense- 200.00, Wyoming Peace Officers’ Association- Schools- 150.00, Wyoming Women’s Center- Inmate meals- 1064.28, Xerox Corporation- Copier service agreement- 147.31 ACCOUNTS PAYABLE: 190265.47
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned.
NIOBRARA COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
Patrick Wade, Chairman
Attest:
Becky L. Freeman, County Clerk
Public Notice No. 5658. Published in The Lusk Herald on July 28, 2021.
