The Niobrara Board of County Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, at 9:03a.m. Those present were Chairman Patrick Wade, Vice-Chair Elaine Griffith, Commissioner Jeb Hanson, and County Clerk Becky L. Freeman.
Chairman Wade led in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Road and Bridge- Engineer Brian Wakefield with BenchMark of Torrington, joined the meeting and discussed the 2024 Road Rehabilitation Project. He said that after the contractor places signage, the project should be complete.
He said that gravel stockpile measurements had been performed and would provide a report soon.
Foreman Thomas said he and his crew are busy performing spot graveling on various roads and said more work needs to be done on Kirtley Road. Chairman Wade informed Mr. Thomas that he has received compliments on the work that has been performed so far on Kirtley.
County Attorney- Attorney Anne Wasserburger met with the Commissioners and discussed county business. She noted the engagement letter with Porter, Muirhead, Cornia, and Howard to perform the County’s audit was in order and could be signed.
She discussed the Community Juvenile Services grant and said the CJS Board needs to decide in which direction they wish to proceed as far as trying to get the program running. She noted that the current coordinator had resigned. She said that unofficially, most board members are in favor of posting the job opening and entering into the agreement with the Wyoming Dept. of Family Services.
She also discussed the lawsuit filed by the Equality State Policy Center against Niobrara County Clerk Becky L. Freeman in her official capacity as County Clerk, the additional 22 Wyoming County Clerks, and Secretary of State Chuck Gray by the Equality State Policy Center regarding HB156, that went into effect July 1, 2025, which now requires citizens to provide proof of 30-day Wyoming residency and proof of citizenship.
Elected Officials and Dept. Heads- Sheriff Randy Starkey said they have been busy and said the inmate that previously damaged the booking room has done more damage to the cell.
Kellie Chichester met with the Commissioners and introduced Lauren Faurie, the new 4-H Youth Educator. She also noted that fair entry dates are rapidly approaching. She noted that Isaiah Richardson has submitted his letter of resignation, and she said she will be looking for office help soon.
Assessor Teri Stephens said county field reviews are complete, and they will now begin reviewing properties in Manville.
Regional Public Health Nurse Supervisor Melanie Pearce reported that Wyoming Health Fairs will launch Monthly Community Wellness Screenings in Lusk in partnership with Niobrara County Public Health on the third Wednesday of every month beginning July16th.
She said the public health nurse has three new maternal child health clients.
Public Health Response Coordinator Monica Wilcox said she had finished last quarter’s deliverables and conducted a Chem Pack tabletop exercise.
Emergency Management Coordinator James Santistevan said he has been busy with the severe weather in the county. He said he had heard from the Director of Wyoming Office of Homeland Security that future grants are in question.
Vice-Chair Griffith said that they are looking for new doors for the courthouse as well as window coverings for the Commissioners, Treasurer’s, and Clerk’s offices, as well as the second-floor landing.
Letter of Engagement- Vice-Chair Griffith moved to sign the letter of engagement with Porter, Muirhead, Cornia, and Howard to conduct the FY 2025 audit for the county and its component units. 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 June 17, 2025, meeting.
Leslie Stewart met with the Commissioners and the group discussed activities held at the old jail during alumni weekend. She said several people toured the facility. There were also comments suggesting keeping the old jail and using the upstairs as an Air BNB or some other function.
The group next discussed the asbestos and lead remediation. Ms. Stewart will contact the company that conducted the original sampling to gather information on who might provide such services. She said that whether the jail remains or is torn down, the remediation must take place.
Payroll and the following vouchers were approved for payment: Bills are listed in the following format: Vendor- Department- Description- Amount- June Payroll- $144,297.71, Aflac- Various- Supplemental insurance- $6,438.11, Allbright’s True Value- Various- Supplies, parts- $255.48, Alsco- Various- Supplies, shop towels, coveralls, floor mats- $434.71, Anne Wasserburger- Various- Supplies- $667.23, BAM Document Destruction & Recycling LLC- Sheriff- Supplies- $146.90, Barnes Law, LLC.- Clerk of Court- Court appointed attorney- $36.00, BenchMark of Torrington- County Road Fund- Road Rehab Project Engineering fees- $517.75, Black Hills Chemical & Janitorial- Facilities- Supplies- $220.93, Black Hills Energy- Various- Utilities- $629.04, Budd-Falan Law Offices- Commissioners- Legal review- $351.00, Canon Financial Services- General County- Copier Service Agreements- $330.00, Center for Internet Security, Inc.- General County- IT Expense- $1,320.00, CenturyLink- Various- Telephones- $1,506.95, CenturyLink Business Services- Various- Telephones- $73.09, Chantry Filener- General County- IT Expense- $777.98, Connecting Point Computer Centers- Various- Copier service agreements- $152.34, Converse County- General County- IT expense- $400.00, Converse County Public Health- Public Health- Vaccines- $4,640.00; Cory Wilcox- Coroner- Deputy Coroner & assistance w/ cases- $450.00, Decker’s Market- Various- Supplies- $96.70, Delta Dental of WY- Various- Dental insurance- $864.90, Dennis C. Meier- Circuit Court Magistrate- Office rent- $1,000.00, Dooley Oil Inc.- Nebraska- Road & Bridge- Oil- $2,236.31, Double A Properties, LLC.- Various- Office rent- $1,500.00, Empower Trust Company, LLC.- General Co.- Deferred Compensation- $20,865.00, Frank Parts Co.- Road & Bridge- Parts- $305.26, Fusion Cloud Service- Various- Telephones- $1,224.39, Geographic Innovations- Various- Professional mapping services- $1,500.00, GreatAmerica Financial Services- Sheriff- Copier service agreement- $103.00, Hiway Brake & Alignment- Sheriff- Vehicle repairs- $305.62, Honey Badger Towing & Recovery, LLC.- Sheriff- Abandoned vehicles- $265.00, Jameson Cleaning & Maintenance- Facilities- Fairgrounds & public health building cleaning contracts, fairgrounds event booking contract- $9,072.50, Jeffery R. White- Facilities- Tree removal- $250.00, Kellie Chichester- Extension- Travel expense- $267.40, Lexie Painter- Extension- Contract labor- Fair board bookkeeping- $600.00, Long Building Technologies- Facilities- Bldg./equip mtnc.- $1,635.85, Lusk Herald- General County- Publications- $1,085.78, Lusk State Bank- General Co.- Payroll taxes- $41,896.44, Melanie Pearce- PH Response Coordinator Grant- Travel expense- $26.89, Mergers Marketing, Inc.- Detention- Supplies- $100.00, Michelle Kremers- Various- Travel expense- $81.90, Mobius Communications Company- Facilities- Equipment repairs- $230.00, Monica Wilcox- PH Response Coordinator Grant-Travel expense- $175.000, NCIC Inmate Communications- Detention- NCIC Tablets- $211.32, Niobrara County Hospital District- Various- Inmate medical & 1% Option tax- $19,818.25, Niobrara County Library- General County- Reimburse for deferred comp.- $1,500.00, Niobrara County Public Health- Prevention Grant- Indirect costs- $561.61, Niobrara County Weed & Pest Control Dist.- Facilities- Supplies- $124.00, Niobrara Electric Association- Various- Radio tower electricity- $61.84, Office Depot- Various- Supplies- $1,570.67, Operation Parent- Prevention Grant- Prevention Service Implementation- $3,447.70, Pier Funeral Home- Coroner- Supplies- $498.33, Pomp's Tire Service, Inc.- Road & Bridge- Tires- $2,460.80, Port53 Technologies, Inc.- Various- Computer expense- $8,187.26, Rawhide Drug- Detention- Inmate medical- $117.52, Smith Psychological Services- Dispatch- Employee medical- $400.00, Swanson Services Corp.- Detention- Inmate commissary account- $345.55, Thomson Reuters-West- County Attorney- Law library- $163.13, Town of Lusk- Various- County share of annual School Resource Officer contract, utilities- $20,704.15, Traci Bruegger- Facilities- CH, Library, Justice Center cleaning contract- $4,300.00, Tyler Technologies- Treasurer- Computer expense- $82.69, University of WY Extension- Extension- Co quarterly share of 4-H educator salary & UW car expense- $5,698.60, Verizon Wireless- Various- Phones, base charge $494.19, Visa- Various- New equipment, supplies, travel expense, postage, commissary account, maintenance, IT & computer expense, computer software- $9,081.28, Vision Service Plan- Various- Vision Insurance- $428.37, Visionary Broadband- Various- IT expense- $469.14, Westco- Road & Bridge- Fuel- $4,671.73, Wex Bank- Road & Bridge- Fuel- $1,332.15, WY Enterprise Technology Services- General County- IT expense- $87.75, WYDOT Financial Services- Various- Fuel, supplies- $7,971.24, Wyo Lawn & Tree- Facilities- Lawn care, $204.00, Wyoming County Assessors’ Association- Assessor- Dues, registration fee- $265.00, Wyoming Dept. of Workforce Services- General County- Quarterly Worker’s Comp- $6,539.72, Wyoming Educators’ Benefit Trust- Co Admin- Health & life insurance- $29,513.58, Wyoming Lawn Sprinklers- Various- Sprinkler system maintenance- $748.43, Wyoming Machinery Company- Road & Bridge- Parts- $18,607.09, Wyoming Network, Inc.- General County- IT expense- $200.00, Wyoming Women’s Center- Detention- Inmate Meals- $2,146.00, Xerox Corp.- Co admin- Copier service agreement- $127.72, June Total- $402,473.97
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 12:19 p.m.
NIOBRARA COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
Patrick Wade, Chairman
Attest:
Becky L. Freeman, County Clerk
Public Notice No. 6269 published in The Lusk Herald on July 23, 2025.
