The Niobrara Board of County Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, April 1, 2025, at 9:02 a.m. Those present were Chairman Patrick Wade, Vice-Chair Elaine Griffith, Commissioner Jeb Hanson, and County Clerk Becky L. Freeman. Members of the audience included Sheriff Randy Starkey, and Brandie Collins with the Lusk Herald.
Chairman Wade led in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Mineral Mining General Permit Renewal Form- Commissioner Hanson moved to approve a five (5) year permit renewal for the Wasserburger pit run gravel pit and the Wilson pit run gravel pit for $1,000.00 each. Vice-Chair Griffith seconded, and the motion carried.
Old Business- There was nothing new to report on the old jail or the Community Juvenile Services Board.
County Attorney- Deputy County Attorney Doyle Davies met with the Commissioners and discussed the Wyoming Child and Family Development funding request. WYCFD is requesting a property tax waiver and $1,000.00 in funding for the upcoming fiscal year. They also submitted an agreement to be signed by the Commissioners, however, corrections need to be made to the agreement before the Commissioners agree to sign.
Elected Officials and Department Heads- Sheriff Randy Starkey said his office is busy, and with the onset of calving season, deputies are out patrolling rural areas more.
Emergency Manager James Santistevan provided an update on a meeting he attended in Cheyenne for Emergency Management Coordinators.
Regional Public Health Nurse Melanie Pearce said the new public health nurse administrative assistant started today. She also noted that the COVID-19 Vaccination Outreach grant was terminated early due to federal cuts nationwide. She said the County was not affected as much as other counties because we had less funding remaining.
Public Health Response Coordinator Monica Wilcox updated the Commissioners on a tabletop exercise she will be conducting on April 24.
Extension Educator Kellie Chichester said they have a call scheduled with Visionary Broadband to get clearer numbers for budgeting purposes for the installation of equipment for internet.
Assessor Teri Stephens said Notices of Values will be mailed out next week. She said she submitted an article to the Lusk Herald letting the public know about the new property tax laws that will go into effect in July.
She said that her office will need a newer vehicle for site inspections as the one they currently use is not as reliable as it used to be and is over 17 years old.
Amendment One to the Preparedness and Response Unit Grant- Melanie Pearce and Monica Wilcox both spoke about the amendment to the existing grant stating that the change is to add quarters three and four to the grant. All other terms of the grant remain the same.
Vice-Chair Griffith moved to sign Amendment One to the Preparedness and Response Unit grant. Commissioner Hanson seconded, and the motion carried.
Consent Agenda- Commissioner Hanson moved to approve the consent agenda. Vice-Chair Griffith seconded, and the motion carried. Items on the consent agenda were the minutes of the March 18, 2025, meeting.
Payroll and the following vouchers were approved for payment: Bills are listed in the following format: Vendor- Department- Description- Amount- March Payroll- $144,072.81, 14 County Tire- Various- Vehicle repairs- $936.80, Absolute Solutions- Emergency Mgmt.- Radio repair- $145.00, Aflac- Various- Supplemental insurance- $7,798.71, Allbright’s True Value- Road & Bridge- Parts- $183.60, Alsco- Various- Supplies, shop towels, coveralls, floor mats- $276.58, Anne Wasserburger- County Attorney- Supplies- $143.69, Black Hills Chemical & Janitorial- Various- Supplies- $142.68, Black Hills Energy- Various- Utilities- $2,254.04, Body Builders Body Shop- Sheriff- Vehicle repairs- $129.00, Boldon Diesel Service, LLC.- Road & Bridge- Equipment repairs- $1,055.84, Boldon Welding & Repair, LLC.- Road & Bridge- Equipment repairs- $259.48, Budd-Falen Law Offices- Commissioners- Legal review of Land Use Plan- $1,558.00, Canon Financial Services- General County- Copier Service Agreements- $380.00, Casper Medical Imaging, PC- Detention- Inmate medical- $172.93, CenturyLink- Various- Telephones- $1,488.37, CenturyLink Business Services- Various- Telephones- $91.48, Connecting Point Computer Centers- Various- Copier service agreements- $188.69, Converse County Public Health- Public Health- Vaccines- $1,029.62, Cory Wilcox- Coroner- Monthly stipend- $150.00, Delta Dental of WY- Various- Dental insurance- $864.90, Decker’s Market- Various- Inmate medical, supplies- $32.34, Dennis C. Meier- Circuit Court Magistrate- Office rent- $1,000.00, Double A Properties, LLC.- Various- Office rent- $1,500.00, Empower Trust Company, LLC.- General Co.- Deferred Compensation- $20,290.00, Floyd’s Truck Center, Inc.- Road & Bridge- Equipment repairs- $612.94, Frank Parts Co.- Road & Bridge- Equipment repairs, parts- $357.24, Fusion Cloud Service- Various- Telephones- $1,259.12, Geographic Innovations- Various- Professional mapping services, county maps- $2,025.00, GreatAmerica Financial Services- Sheriff- Copier service agreement- $103.00, Hiway Brake & Alignment- Sheriff- Vehicle repairs- $210.59, Hometown Country- Sheriff- Uniforms- $226.00, Honey Badger Towing & Recovery, LLC.- Sheriff- Abandoned Vehicles- $345.00, Jameson Cleaning & Maintenance- Facilities- Fairgrounds & public health building cleaning contracts, fairgrounds event booking contract- $9,410.00, Jub Jub, Inc.- General County- IT expense- $125.00, Kassidy Miller- Prevention Grant- IT expense- $40.00, Ken Brown- Clerk of Court- Court appointed attorney fees- $516.00, Lexie Painter- Extension- Contract labor- Fair board bookkeeping- $600.00, Lusk Herald- General County- Publications- $2,185.49, Lusk State Bank- General Co.- Payroll taxes- $40,756.04, Madison Rut- Detention- Inmate medical- $1,000.00, Michelle Kremers- Public Health Vaccination Grant- Supplies- $77.70, NCIC Inmate Communications- Detention- NCIC Tablets- $225.77, Niobrara County Assessor- Assessor- County Maps- $225.00, Niobrara County High School- Extension- Supplies- $61.00, Niobrara County Hospital District- Various- Feb. & March 1% Option tax, inmate medical- $46,373.67, Niobrara County Library- General County- Reimburse for deferred comp- $1,500.00, Niobrara County Public Health- Prevention Grant- Indirect costs- $269.70, Niobrara Electric Association- Various- Radio tower electricity- $60.67, Office of State Lands & Investments- Various- Annual State land lease payment for radio tower- $1,092.28, Office of the State Public Defender- Clerk of Court- Co. share of public defender expenses- $10,306.22, Porter, Muirhead, Cornia, & Howard- General County- County audit expense- $35,515.00, Rawhide Drug- Detention- Inmate medical- $360.44, Rawhide Fabrication- Extension- Equipment repair- $120.00, Steve’s Truck & Equipment- Road & Bridge- Equipment repairs- $425.00 Swanson Services Corp.- Detention- Inmate commissary account- $405.99, Thomson Reuters-West- County Attorney- Law library- $194.75, Town of Lusk- Various- Utilities- $3,303.59, Traci Bruegger- Facilities- CH, Library, Justice Center cleaning contract- $4,300.00, Verizon Wireless- Various- Phones, base charge $454.42, Visa- Various- Ammunition, computer expense, dues, new equipment, schools, supplies, travel expense, postage, commissary account, IT expense- $2,285.08, Vision Service Plan- Various- Vision Insurance- $428.37, Visionary Broadband- Various- IT expense- $469.14, WDEQ/SQD- County Road Fund- Gravel pit permit renewals- $2,000.00, Westco- Road & Bridge- Fuel- $2,851.89, Inc.- Wex Bank- Road & Bridge- Fuel- $1,073.63, WY Dept. of Health, Public Health Lab- Public Health- Medical supplies- $70.00, WYDOT- Financial Services- Sheriff- Fuel- $1,696.64, Wyoming Behavioral Institute- General County- Involuntary commitment- $2,262.00, Wyoming Child & Family Development- General County- FY25 Funding request- $1,000.00, Wyoming Educators’ Benefit Trust- Co Admin- Health & life insurance- $26,067.51, Wyoming County Treasurer’s Association- Treasurer- Dues- $200.00, Wyoming Machinery Company- Road & Bridge- Equipment repairs, parts- $1,283.91, Wyoming Network, Inc.- General County- IT expense- $200.00, Wyoming Women’s Center- Detention- Inmate Meals- $2,245.65, Xerox Corp.- Co admin- Copier service agreement- $127.87, March Total- $395,531.56
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 11:31 a.m.
NIOBRARA COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
Patrick Wade, Chairman
Attest:
Becky L. Freeman, County Clerk
Public Notice No. 6229 published in The Lusk Herald on April 23, 2025.
