Rec Board to honor Naomi Pape

by Tiffany Turner

The recreational path from Rendezvous Pointe to Fremont Lake will soon pay homage to the late Naomi Pape, a longtime member of the Recreation (Rec) Board and a well-known member of the community.

The Rec Board brought the idea to the county commissioners at their Aug. 24 meeting and hopes to dedicate the pathway sometime in November, with or without a plaque.

The Rec Board also announced plans to possibly undertake the building of a pathway from Rendezvous Pointe, past the school, and come out on Soda Lake Road. This path, currently being called “Route G,” is planned to be the next major undertaking for the Rec Board.

“We’d really like to make a nice loop (there) that would get kids from those two subdivisions to the school safely,” Dave Bell said.

The commissioners determined that there was enough money currently in the Rec Board’s fund to allow for the projects they had planned. The commissioners also advised the board to look into grant money that had been used in the past to help supplement the costs of building other paths in the county.

The federal money, which would be available at the state level to apply for the grants, comes from a fund called Transportation Enhancement Activities – Local (TEAL). “The problem with TEAL money is there’s not much of it,” County Clerk Mary Lankford said.

The Rec Board stated that the last time they applied for funds, they were informed that the program had given Sublette County enough money and would like to spread grants around to other communities.

Commissioner John Linn advised the board to apply for the grants again since it had been awhile since the county had applied. “(It will) tell them we are still here and we are still putting money into projects,” he said.

Another undertaking of the Rec Board is the planning of the first annual Wyoming Senior Olympics (WSO). TheWSO, which is open to individuals age 50 and over, supports staying active and will be the first winter Olympics held in the state (Sheridan has been hosting the summer games).

“We were able to convince them that we’d be the best location,” said Ken Konicek, Rec Board member and chair for the Wyoming Senior Olympics. Konicek stated that there had been a bit of a competition between Pinedale and Casper for the rights to host the event.

“We need to put on a good show,” he said, adding that it might require some county support in order to produce the level of event he is hoping to put on.

The games will be scheduled for Sunday through Thursday in February in an attempt to have available rooms at local hotels and to avoid conflict with youth tournaments in the area. Commissioners gave the board tentative permission to proceed but stated they would need to know monetary figures before they would commit themselves.

In other county news:

• Road and Bridge director Butch Penton met with the commissioners to discuss progress on the different projects throughout the county.

“It looks like we’ve got almost all of the paving jobs done,” said Penton. Penton also stated that he had decided what vehicles he would like to purchase. He stated that he would like to purchase a one-ton Chevrolet and two Dodge trucks.

Because the sheets Penton brought in did not have final figures on them, Commissioner Chair Bill Cramer requested that actual numbers be brought in before a motion was made. “Let’s have them fax the actual numbers they are going to charge us,” Cramer said.

• The commissioners determined they would like to get different energy companies and the power company together to discuss the new Mesa Road that will serve the industries to determine how committed they are to supporting the project and what uses would be helpful for everyone.

“Let’s get them all in here at a table and see what the deal is,” Commissioner Joel Bousman said.

• The commissioners were presented with options and needs to be addressed concerning the municipal building and the jail and how it might grow when the county begins its remodel and growth of the county offices. Some items included separation of sound so men and women cannot talk in the jail, tinting of windows and changing of light schemes to keep the control room from being visible to inmates and the possible relocation of dispatch since it is interfering with other duties. “Looks like we need to see a lot more numbers,” Linn said.

• The commissioners met as the Board of Equalization to discuss Irv Lozier’s request that his property taxes be lowered. “If we make that decision, we need to be confident in our position,” Cramer said.

Agreeing that the building had been taxed appropriately, the commissioners determined that the only question was the seven-acre building envelope that was deemed worth nearly $30,000 per acre.

Land Lozier has sold, land sold by neighbors and the cost of different acreage in the area were compared and it was determined that the appraised value was much higher than land was selling for in that area. “I’m thinking $9,000 or $10,000 an acre,” Linn said.

The commissioners voted unanimously to value the building envelope at $9,000 per acre.

• Emergency Coordinator Bob Hanson brought forth a draft Emergency Management Plan. “It’s kind of a generic plan for municipal government evacuation,” Hanson said. “We’d like to get something general down as to what needs to be done.” Hanson also asked the commissioners to put together a chain-of-command list as to who should be contacted in case of an emergency.

• The commissioners accepted the request for grant money from the previously Class II-designated Meadowlark and Monte Vista roads. They also gave Class II road status to 1st West Road with the easements because it is a private road.