The Niobrara Board of County Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, September 2, 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.
Chairman Wade led in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Road and Bridge- Foreman Fred Thomas met with the Commissioners and said the ten loads of millings from WYDOT’s Hwy 85 road project were hauled to Manville by the county, and in partial payment for the trucking, Manville traded loads of dirt they had available.
He also said millings were hauled to Boner Road were placed around the new fire hall.
The Commissioners discussed the letter they received from the Office of State Lands & Investments concerning easements for county roads established before January 1, 2025, on state or school lands. Vice-Chair Griffith said she would collaborate with Foreman Thomas on this project if he wanted help.
Road Crossing Permits- Vice-Chair Griffith moved to approve a petition from Hilltop Ranch, LLC., to cross V-5 Hilltop Road (E1/2SE1/4 of Sec. 30, and SE1/4SW1/4 of Sec. 17, T35N, R65W) to lay and construct a 1¼” poly pipe water line for a livestock tank, and two petitions from Bayne Ranches, LLC., to cross Wilson Road (SESW Section 27, T40N, R61W) and Cheyenne River Road (SESE Sec. 17, T40N, R61W) to install 2” HDPE water pipelines for livestock water conveyance. Commissioner Hanson seconded, and the motion carried.
County Attorney- Attorney Anne Wasserburger met with the Commissioners and they discussed an opioid settlement agreement she would like them to authorize her to sign on behalf of Niobrara County.
Opioid Settlement Agreement- Vice-Chair Griffith moved to authorize the County Attorney to sign the opioid settlement agreement on behalf of Niobrara County. Commissioner Hanson seconded, and the motion carried.
Elected Officials & Department Heads- Sheriff Randy Starkey said his office is staying busy and they are finishing summer traffic enforcement.
Public Health Response Coordinator Monica Wilcox reported that public health had twelve people participate in the last blood draw, and they are preparing for the upcoming flu season. She said they are applying for funding through the AAA car seat program.
She said that the Prevention Specialist Kassidy Miller is conducting a life skills program at the high school, and she is starting a mentoring program.
Emergency Management Coordinator James Santistevan said he needs to begin revisions to the THIRA plan and will be enlisting assistance from the Commissioners and others this month. He anticipates having it completed by mid-October.
Clerk of Court Chrisanna Lund said she is waiting on a quote for new cameras for the courtroom.
Assessor Teri Stephens said the CAMA system has been converted to the Cloud, and it went well. She also discussed upcoming education classes she and her staff will need to attend.
Leslie Stewart and Greg Starck met with the Commissioners and discussed the old jail. Ms. Stewart said she had visited with three contractors about the asbestos and lead removal. She said they want to know our plans for the jail, but that will not be known until costs are determined.
A few ideas were discussed for the old jail, among them removing the porch and the garage as they are not original to the building, renovating the first floor to rent or make it a museum, demolishing the whole building, or demolishing the building and leaving the cell blocks and making a small park. While these ideas are preliminary, whatever is decided, the asbestos must be removed before proceeding.
The group thought getting quotes for asbestos abatement is the first step. Mr. Starck said he would put a bid packet together.
Sheriff Starkey and the Commissioners discussed retired rehire contributions. If the rehire opts to continue receiving their pension, the employee can no longer contribute to the plan, so the county must pay the employee and employer portions to fill the gap created by the rehire continuing to receive their pension. There is an option for the county to have the employee reimburse the county for their share of the retirement, but Sheriff Starkey advocated against this option because the employee has law enforcement experience and there was no down time to send them to the academy. He felt the benefits of this employee’s experience outweighed the cost to the county.
Vice-Chair Griffith moved to continue to pay the retired rehire’s contribution to the Wyoming Retirement System as well as the county’s match. 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 August 19, 2025, meeting and tax roll supplements on Western American Resources totaling $20,381.70 and on Synergy Offshore, LLC. for $656.26.
Payroll and the following vouchers were approved for payment: Bills are listed in the following format: Vendor- Department- Description- Amount- August Payroll- $154,617.39, Aflac- Various- Supplemental insurance- $6,438.11, Allbright’s True Value- Various- Supplies, parts- 140.52, Alsco- Various- Supplies, shop towels, coveralls, floor mats- $386.09, Anne Wasserburger- County Attorney- Supplies- $103.45, BAM Document Destruction & Recycling, LLC.,- Various- Shredding- $442.00, Barnes Law, LLC.- Clerk of Court- Court appointed attorney- $110.20, BenchMark of Torrington, P.C.- County Road Fund- Engineering fees- $6,807.00, Benzel Pest Control- Justice Center- Pest control- 97.92, Black Hills Chemical & Janitorial- Facilities- Supplies- $551.83, Black Hills Energy- Various- Utilities- $316.48, Canon Financial Services- General County- Copier Service Agreements- $330.00, CenturyLink- Various- Telephones- $1,559.71, CenturyLink Business Services- Various- Telephones- $89.91, CNA Surety- General County- Bond- $200.00, Connecting Point Computer Centers- Various- Copier service agreements- $522.23, Cory Wilcox- Coroner- Deputy Coroner & assistance with cases- $450.00, Crimson Fire Protection- Various- Bldg./equip. mtnc.- $251.00, Dean Travis Gaukel- Facilities- Radio install in vehicle- $400.00, Delta Dental of WY- Various- Dental insurance- $931.80, 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- $23,565.00, Frank Parts Co.- Road & Bridge- Equipment repairs, parts- $2,441.64, Fusion Cloud Service- Various- Telephones- $1,212.63, Garretson Design- Facilities- Window treatments for Comm. & Treas. offices- $4,579.00, Geographic Innovations- Various- Professional mapping services, travel expense- $2,345.88, GreatAmerica Financial Services- Sheriff- Copier service agreement- $103.00, Herren Brothers True Value- Road & Bridge- Parts- $427.99, Hiway Brake & Alignment- Sheriff- Vehicle repairs- $159.89, Honey Badger Towing & Recovery, LLC.- Sheriff- Abandoned vehicles- $217.00, Jameson Cleaning & Maintenance- Facilities- Fairgrounds & public health building cleaning contracts, fairgrounds event booking contract- $9,560.00, Kassidy Miller- Prevention grant- Travel expense, operational supports- $155.00, Kelly Dean- Sheriff- Travel expense- $39.50, Ken Brown- Clerk of District Court- Court appointed attorney- $276.00, Lauren Faurie- Extension- Travel expense- $42.96, Lexie Painter- Extension- Contract labor- Fair board bookkeeping- $600.00, Long Building Technologies- Facilities- Justice center maintenance- $560.00, Lusk State Bank- General Co.- Payroll taxes- $46,556.79, Mark C. Hardee Law office, P.C.- Clerk of Court- Court appointed attorney- $458.20, Michelle Kremers- Public Health- Travel expense- $14.70, Natrona County Circuit Court- Garnishment- $846.21, NCIC Inmate Communications- Detention- NCIC Tablets- $99.09, Niobrara County 4-H Council- Extension- Supplies- $541.00, Niobrara County Hospital District- 1% Option tax- $29,753.69, Niobrara County Library- Reimburse for deferred comp.- $2,900.00, Niobrara County Public Health- Prevention Grant- Indirect costs- $400.26, Niobrara County Sheriff- Sheriff- New equipment- $2.00, Niobrara Electric Association- Various- Radio tower electricity- $61.74, Pier Funeral Home- Coroner- Supplies- $141.12, Pomp’s Tire Service, Inc.- Road & Bridge- Tires- $3,783.44, Roetman Enterprises, LLC.- Facilities- Weed control at PHN office- $85.00, Safe Life Defense- Sheriff- New equipment- $729.10, Schindler Elevator Corp.- Facilities- Quarterly maintenance- $1,573.68, Swanson Services Corp.- Detention- Inmate commissary account- $331.23, Teri Stephens- Assessor- Travel expense- $163.80, The Master’s Touch, LLC.- Treasurer- Mailing service- $271.73, Thomson Reuters-West- County Attorney- Law library- $163.13, Town of Lusk- Various- Utilities- $3,255.94, Traci Bruegger- Facilities- CH, Library, Justice Center cleaning contract- $4,300.00, Tug Coffman- Coroner- Coroner case assist- $100.00, Tyler Technologies- Treasurer- Computer expense- $82.69, Verizon Wireless- Various- Phones, base charge- $345.58, Visa- Various- New equipment, supplies, travel expense, postage, schools, maintenance, IT & computer expense, computer software- $8,155.30, Vision Service Plan- Various- Vision Insurance- $494.46, Visionary Broadband- Various- IT expense- $469.14, Westco- Road & Bridge- Fuel- $4,156.62, Wolfcom Enterprises- Sheriff- New equipment- $202.80, WY Dept. of Health- Public Health- Co. quarterly share of public health nurse salary- $9,114.34, WY Enterprise Technology Services- General County- IT expense- $71.01, Wyoming Assoc. of County Officers- County Clerk- Dues- $275.00, Wyoming Educators’ Benefit Trust- General County- Health & life insurance- $30,497.08, Wyoming Enterprise Technology Services- Various- Computer expense - $71.01, WYDOT- Financial Services- Sheriff- Fuel- $2,666.55, Wyoming Machinery Company- Road & Bridge- Parts- $368.81, Wyoming Network, Inc.- General County- IT expense- $200.00, Wyoming Retirement System- General County- Law enforcement retirement- $18,139.50, Wyoming Women’s Center- Detention- Inmate Meals- $1,480.00, Xerox Corp.- Co admin- Copier service agreement- $127.76, August Total- $396,909.52
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 12:46 pm
NIOBRARA COUNTY COMMISSIONERS Patrick Wade, Chairman
Attest:
Becky L. Freeman, County Clerk
Public Notice No. 6291 published in The Lusk Herald on September 24, 2025.
