Fair Update

Fair coordinator and board president brief commissioners 

The commissioners heard from fair coordinator Dusty Miller and board president Rebecca Bates at the commissioner meeting on May 19.  Bates said the fair schedule is finalized. It will look like every other year and “then some.” 

“We have added some new things that aren’t costing us anything. So, everybody should be happy about that,” Bates said. She added that thanks to Miller and the board stepping up, things are going well. 

Sponsorships are coming in and they are working to get more. Miller stated that letters have gone out and people are indicating they will be sponsoring. They are just figuring out which sponsorships they want. Bates noted that they have addressed the unhappy sponsors they know of from last year and those sponsors seem good now. Commission Chair Deb Craft stated that the county is paying for new banners for at least one of last year’s sponsors. Another sponsor complained about not getting a full-page ad in the fair book. Miller said her dad’s business sponsored but didn’t get anything. She believes that thus far, the sponsors that had the complaints are sponsoring again this year. 

Bates asked how to best communicate with the county maintenance staff for items that need to be done. She gave the example of moving the free stage and setting up the pig barn alleys. She was told to contact maintenance supervisor Jeremy Pouska directly. Miller said they would invite him to come to fair board meetings as well. 

Also discussed was chain of command. In the past the fair manager, as a county employee, has reported to the commissioners. Then acted as liaison between the board and the commission. Commissioner Bruce Jolley said his understanding was the board would have more of a role with the coordinator than they had with the manager. Miller will report to the board. Both Miller and Bates will come to commissioners with updates. 

Commissioner Dave Neves explained to Miller and Bates that the fair budget is a bit different this year. The fair maintenance staff expense will be
under the county maintenance budget. 

Bates asked about the fair website. There is some confusion on who is managing and updating it. The web site shows many of last year’s posts/pictures but also had some current information. County clerk Lori Smallwood researched who the host is. She will provide that information to Miller and Bates. They will explore creating a new one and closing any old ones. They also discussed management of the Facebook page. 

In other fair business, they discussed the fair book, food trucks and a bid for the beer garden and Craft thanked Miller and Bates for being so positive and easy to work with. 

ROAD/BRIDGE/ENGINEERING 

County engineer Willie Bridges gave an update on the replacement of Red Gulch Bridge. Originally, the county had planned on doing a single box 8x16 culvert to replace the bridge. A grant was awarded for the project from the State Land and Investment Board (SLIB). Upon reviewing the cost of a single span bridge, the cost was about $52,000 more than the culvert. The county decided to do the bridge as the cost of maintenance, clearing debris, trees, etc. on the culvert would in the next five years likely exceed $52,000.  

The county received correspondence from the Town of Basin regarding two proposed subdivisions. The town asked the county if they had any input. One was for a residential subdivision on U.S. Highway 16/20 on the south end of town. The other was for a commercial subdivision across from the fairgrounds. The county has no input to give. 

Bridges shared with the commissioners that the county was awarded monies from the Wyoming Governor Matching Funds. The $452,738 is to match the Federal Build Grant for the reconstruction of Orchard Bench Road. At this point the county 100% funding.  

The project was originally projected to cost $4.5 million. Bridges explained that if the bids come in lower, the savings must go towards the federal grant portion. This could change the federal funding portion to 90/10. Requests for bids should go out in June. 

An executive session was requested by Bridges for potential litigation. 

OTHER BUSINESS

• A petition for enlargement of Northwest Rural Water District was reviewed and approved. 

• A MOU with Wyoming Department of Health was approved. 

• A grant agreement with SLIB was approved and signed.

• A salary resolution for county employees/2025-26 was reviewed. Commissioner Bruce Jolly voted no, He explained that he did so due because of several concerns. He was ok with giving raises to all employees/elected officials.  At the same time, he believes they should have been given to all, not just some, as well as budget availability. 

• A 24-hour malt beverage permit for the Lovell Rodeo was approved. 

• A MOU with University of Wyoming-Extension was reviewed and approved. 

• The State Fire – Annual Operating Plan was reviewed and approved. 

• Airport Manager and Land Planner gave department updates.