WORLAND – The Washakie County Commissioners met for their regularly scheduled meeting last Tuesday, Sept. 1, to discuss a new WyoLink project with Nathan Smolinski from the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) and local officials.

Smolinski came before the County Commission, Sheriff Steve Rakness and Washakie County Fire Warden Chris Kocher to discuss a new site being implemented at Meadowlark to expand the network coverage in Washakie County.

According to the WYDOT website, WyoLink is a statewide shared radio system intended to connect agencies throughout the state. The system currently has no user fees to use for emergency services throughout the state, but Rakness and Kocher expressed some concerns with the current system to Smolinski.

Rakness said that he does not like the idea of “putting all of their eggs in one basket” and only relying on WyoLink when there are certain areas that do not support coverage in the county from WyoLink. He also worries that since the system is based in Cheyenne, should the system go down then the county would not be able to conduct operations up on the mountain as effectively in the event of an emergency.

Smolinski said to Rakness that WyoLink is intended to be treated as another tool in the toolbox and not an end-all-be-all system.

Kocher and Rakness both expressed concerns about the uncertainty about WyoLink continuing to not have user fees in the coming years especially with budgetary issues anticipated in the coming years.

Rakness said that should these fees be implemented it could approximately $20,000 per year just for the sheriff’s department.

Rakness and Kocher also expressed concerns about how to prevent vandalism at the site and increased traffic to the site so as to not interfere with operations on the mountain at that location. Smolinski said that they did discuss adding cameras up there and it is already planned to be fenced in.

The tower being built will allow for additional carriers such as Verizon and AT&T to place a receiver on the tower. The tower is expected to be worked on this fall, and will be completed this fall or spring dependent on weather.

OTHER BUSINESS

County Treasurer Doris Kern came before the commissioners to ask to amend her budget in order to purchase iTax for $5,000 from Tyler Technologies. This new software will allow for people to view the maps and it will update taxes along with whatever is filed at the Washakie County Courthouse and allow for people to pay property taxes online.

This software is already utilized in 15 Wyoming counties including Park, the commissioners approved the request and Kern expects the software to be up and running soon.

County Planner David Anderson brought an application before the commissioners to sign for the Lower Nowood fencing project. The project will run across a mixture of county, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and private land in order to place the fence next to the road. According to Anderson, the county’s portion of the project would cost around $3,000.

Anderson said to the commissioners that they are planning to apply for an easement on Bentonite Road, and then eventually the county may need to adopt at least a portion of the road that runs across state lands for emergency access. The road may need to be adopted to ensure maintenance on the road.

The County Commission discussed with both Anderson and Keith Bower of road and bridge the possibility of assessing Holland, Cherry Creek, Orchard and Brubaker pits in order to see what yardage they would need to crush for each pit then put out an advertisement for the projects.

Anderson said that written comments regarding Lane 17 1/2 and Lane 18 1/2 must be submitted before Sept. 14 at noon. The hearing for the adoption on the roads is set for the commissioner’s meeting on Sept. 15 at 1:30 p.m.

Bower reported to the commissioners that they are patching red dirt on Road 54 and Spring Creek Road that tends to turn to mud. The commissioners discussed with Bower how they should wait on final mowing until the end of September to allow for potential precipitation, which would mean fewer fire risks.

Washakie County Public Health Nurse Manager Amanda Heinemeyer came before the commissioners to discuss potentially being placed on county payroll one day a month since nurse managers are expected to furlough one day a month for the next six months.

The commissioner initially agreed to the request with Heinemeyer checking with Community Health Section Chief Angie Van Houten to see if the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) funding could be used for the one day per month.