EVANSTON — Several orders of business during the March 19 Uinta County Commission meeting regarded Memorandums of Understanding (MOU).

The first MOU was for the impending Project West Industrial Siting, a soda ash mine in Sweetwater County that would access Uinta County Road 233. Commissioner Brent Hatch cited the “exciting, economic benefit” of the project.  The commissioners agreed to sign the MOU along with the Sweetwater County Commission.

Saralee Gross with Uinta County Road and Bridge discussed her department’s Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) federal grant funds and their two contracts with Dustbusters Enterprises for magnesium chloride (mag water) for use on county roads. The Dustbusters bid was $109.50 per ton, to cover approximately 95.9 miles of road.

Gross later followed up with Herald saying, “This program is to help meet the requirements of the Clean Air Act by reducing mobile source emissions and regional congestion on transportation networks.”

The commissioners agreed to the county’s Dustbusters contracts.

Uinta County maintenance tech Jeff Breininger informed the commissioners that there was an account that had an abundance of airport hangar rental deposit funds from 2012, and suggested applying that money to overdue rental balances. Hatch expressed gratitude for Breininger ensuring that leases were in place and tracked. The commissioners approved the motion.

Uinta County Sheriff Andy Kopp had a Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) MOU to discuss with the commissioners about providing county deputies and Highway Patrol troopers at road closed gates. The extra details were funded for up to $50,000 per year, with officers earning $50 per hour. The commissioners unanimously agreed it was a great opportunity for local law enforcement to access overtime pay, and decided to co-sign the MOU.

Emergency Manager Josh Rasnake also asked for an endorsement of an updated MOU among Uinta County School District No. 1, Uinta County Public Health and Uinta County Emergency Management. He later told the Herald that “it’s for assistance in time of emergency, such as shelters or school buses. The school district has been very helpful through the years, we just wanted to update the MOU between the county and school district.” 

He said the district superintendent already co-signed it. Hatch mentioned the harmonious long-standing arrangement among the agencies, specifically citing the use of the bus barns for drive-thru vaccination clinics in the past. The commissioners signed the MOU.

Kent Williams with planning and zoning discussed reconfiguring a larger lot in the Riverside Ranches Division north of Immigrant Road in Lyman into three smaller residential lots. He said that Bridger Valley joint powers board will provide water, though the septic system will be private.

He noted that there are currently “a series of mobile homes” on the property, so acquiescing to the resolution “lends itself to cleaning up that issue,” said Williams. Eric Wall with Uinta Engineering and Surveying added that there is an irrigated pump system at the site. The commissioners approved Williams’ first order of business.

Williams continued his time at the podium by explaining a Wyoming legislative amendment passed by legislators in 2019 requiring all new subdivisions to have perimeter fencing, unless one is already in place, or adjacent neighbors deem it adequate as is or unnecessary.

“Wyoming is a ‘fence-out’ state,” Williams said, which means, in essence, landowners who do not want livestock meandering onto their property are responsible for building the fence to keep them out.

“This resolution causes conflict,” Williams said, “or at least confusion.”

Williams was requesting the county draft and endorse a response in an effort to overturn the statute.

“Other counties have responded appropriately,” he added.

Commissioner Eric South asked, “Are we forced to accept this? Is the cost of the fence on the owner?”

Williams affirmed both queries. “How it’s policed or governed, time will tell,” he said.

Commission Chair Mark Anderson said, “I can tell this is going to cause a lot of problems for your office,” acknowledging several upcoming economic growth developments.

“This seems like a Teton County law,” Anderson added, insinuating it was an impractical enforcement for much of the state.

Wall added his two cents to the conversation, saying, “This is not well thought through.”

In the end, the commissioners opted not to sign a resolution in hopes of future legislative action at the state level.

“We won’t do anything until legislators do something,” South said.

“Let’s table it until it gets more traction,” concluded Hatch.

Uinta County Clerk Amanda Hutchinson requested a resolution for special prosecution on behalf of Uinta County Attorney Loretta Howison Kallas regarding outsourcing a local case to Carbon County due to a conflict of interest.   

Hutchinson also inquired about a final proof of loss to obtain an insurance payout from the Wyoming Association Risk Management group for the Bridger Valley Transfer Station fire. 

Finally, Hutchinson requested a new resolution stating that two signees are significant on the deferred compensation plan. The commissioners approved all of her requests.

McKenna Julian, the Uinta County Extension Agriculture Natural Resources Educator, and 4-H & Youth Educator Samantha Krieger revisited past agreements between the Extension Office and the county for use of the fairgrounds for the Youth Ag Program (YAP).

Hatch mentioned current, ongoing attempts to abate flooding of some of the grounds’ barns. Anderson inquired about the estimated YAP participants compared to years past.

“We had 16 kids and 25 animals last year,” Julian said. “There is an increase in new families, so we’re definitely expecting an increase.”

The commissioners agreed that it’s a great program for local youth and approved YAP’s use of the fairgrounds from April-August.