Commissioners

PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AT THE COURTHOUSE IN SUNDANCE, CROOK COUNTY, WYOMING

Tuesday, June 7, 2022

8:30 o’clock a.m. Present were Chairman Kelly B. Dennis, Vice-Chairwoman Jeanne A. Whalen, Member Fred M. Devish and Interim County Clerk Melissa Jones.

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited to the Flag.

Fred moved to approve the minutes from May 3 & 4, 2022. Jeanne seconded, all ayes, motion carried.

Fred moved per WY ST 9-4-504 to give 5% ($9,260.56) of the Forest Reserve Funds to the School General Fund and the remaining balance ($175,950.77) to the Road and Bridge Fund. Discussion was held. Jeanne seconded, all ayes, motion carried.

Jeanne moved to approve the following resolution:

RESOLUTION NO. 2022-16

FISCAL YEAR 2022 BUDGET AMENDMENT

WHEREAS Crook County adopted the Fiscal Year 2022 Budget in accordance with the Wyoming Uniform Fiscal Procedures Act; and

WHEREAS the Board of Crook County Commissioners wishes to amend the adopted budget in accordance with the same Act; and

WHEREAS, no protests were received regarding such transfer.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the following budget amendments are made.

• $260,000 to E911 Callworks – From Emergency Reserves

• $2,000.00 to the Clerk budget-Deputy Clerk Salary-from Unanticipated Revenues due to a budget shortfall

• $4,000.00 to the Clerk budget-Clerk 2 Salary-from Unanticipated Revenues due to a budget shortfall

• $4,000.00 to the Assessor budget-Vehicle Repair- from Unanticipated Revenues due to a budget shortfall

• $2,000.00 to the Clerk of District Court budget-Supplies- from Unanticipated Revenues due to a budget shortfall

Dated this 7th day of June, 2022

Board of County Commissioners in and for Crook County, Wyoming by Kelly B. Dennis, Chairman, Jeanne A.

Whalen, Vice-Chairwoman and Fred M. Devish, Member.

State of Wyoming }

County of Crook }

Signed or attested before me on June 7, 2022 by Kelly B. Dennis, Chairman, Jeanne A. Whalen, Vice-Chairwoman and Fred M. Devish, Member, Board of Crook County Commissioners in and for Crook County, Wyoming.

Melissa Jones, Interim Crook County Clerk

Fred seconded, all ayes, motion carried.

Fred moved to appoint James D. Larsen, M.D. as the Crook County Health Officer, for a four-year term expiring June 30, 2026. Jeanne seconded, all ayes, motion carried.

Jeanne moved to approve an Agreement Concerning Abandoned Vehicles with D & J Towing. Fred seconded, all ayes, motion carried.

The following monthly collections were collected:

County Clerk $15,723.25

County Sheriff $30,160.00

Clerk of District Court $5,831.46

Circuit Court $15,491.00

Public Health (April) $2,566.85

Tammy Jundt, County Treasurer submitted the following monthly report of receipts and disbursements for month end May 2022:

Receipts: Property Tax $2,086,691.84

Sales Tax $173,580.51

Misc Receipts $816,061.66

County Auto $196,679.19

Total $3,273,013.20

Disbursements Towns $132,312.73

County Boards/Districts $210,672.86

State & Local School $971,040.57

DOT/DOR/Rebate $203,550.00

Redemption $0

Total $1,517,576.16

Investments Sundance State Bank $1,750,000.00

Wyo-Star $411,912.07 $87.63 April interest

Wyoming Class $1,001,641.09 $305.17 April interest

The following bills were presented to the Board:

Claimant-Description-Amount Allowed:

Total Wages and Cell Phone Stipend-$213,972.77;AFLAC-Insurance-$2,160.26;Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wyoming-Health Insurance-$61,078.00;Clerk of the District Court-Garnishment-$413.00;Col. Life & Accident Ins. Co.-Insurance-$48.07;Crook County Payroll Tax Account-Withholding & Social Security-$62,195.63;Delta Dental of Wyoming-Dental Insurance-$2,566.00;Great-West Trust Company, LLC-Deferred Compensation-$2,535.00;NCPERS Wyoming-Life Insurance-$160.00;New York Life Insurance Company-Life Insurance-$615.66;VSP-Vision Insurance-$694.80;WY Department of Workforce Services-Worker's Compensation-$8,409.28;Wyoming Retirement System-Retirement-$47,735.29;Wyoming Educator's Benefit Trust-Life Insurance-$206.18;A & I Distributors-Oil-$473.57;Alsco-Shop & Courthouse Supplies-$429.23;American Solutions for Business-Supplies-$707.28;April D. Gill-Cell Phone Reimbursement-$45.00;Architectural Specialties, LLC-Parts, Materials & Labor-$2,588.30;AT&T Mobility-Cell Phone-$898.99;Big Horn Telecommunications LLC-Repairs-$680.00;Big Horn Tire Inc.-Tires & Labor-$1,693.34;BJ Nelson Inc-Safety Glass & Diddle Stick-$254.02;Black Hills Chemical Co.-Jail & Courthouse Supplies-$679.84;Black Hills Energy-Electricity -$49.96;Black Hills Psychology-Psychotherapy Session-$300.00;Bomgaars-Tool Box & Grass Seed-$368.49;Campbell County Health-Medical Waste Disposal-$60.00;CBH Co-op-Fuel-$29,343.23;Centurylink-E911 Telephone & Data Extract-$2,046.62;Charm-Tex Inc-Jail Supplies-$1,160.30;City of Gillette-Water-$7.25;City of Sundance-Water & Building Permit-$2,216.87;Civil Air Patrol Magazine-Wyoming Wings Publication-$145.00;Collins Communications-Alarm Monitoring, Installation & Programming, Cord-$308.35;Contractors Supply Inc.-Parts-$354.50;Croell Inc-Road Base-$359.06;Crook County Medical Services District-Prisoner Foods & Meals-$6,636.13;Crook County Treasurer-Postage-$289.92;Crook County Weed & Pest-Chemical-$74.20;Cummins Sales & Service-Parts & Supplies-$3,603.61;Custom Auto & Truck-Service, Parts, Labor-$3,505.94;David Osborne-Mileage-$38.61;Day Law-Court Appointed Attorney Fees-$610.00;Decker's Market-Supplies-$115.56;Dell Marketing LP-Treasurer Computer-$2,526.40;Dominique Tigert-Mental Health First Aid Hearing-$617.52;Dru Consulting LLC-Consulting Services-$2,875.00;Dunlap Photography-Judge Portrait-$453.92;Employment Testing Services Inc-Drug Testing-$262.00;Fedex-Postage-$13.30;Ferguson-Parts-$242.19;Fred Devish-Mileage-$635.19;Galls, LLC-Pants, Jackets, Nametags & Mouthpiece-$607.18;Gillette Printing & Engraving Co, Inc.-Inspection Books-$287.95;Glaxosmithkline-Vaccine-$8,516.03;Grimm's Pump & Industrial Supply-Parts & Labor-$255.17;Grossenburg Implement Inc-Parts-$19.82;Harris Govern Ft. Collins User Group Inc-User Group Annual Dues-$150.00;HDR Engineering, Inc.-Professional Services-$13,836.25;Hulett Hardware-Parts-$50.44;Humphrey Law LLC-Court Appointed Attorney Fees-$907.82;Inn at Lander-Hotel-$384.00;Interstate Power Systems Inc-Parts & Labor-$1,399.09;Jamie Jessen-Banner Design-$30.00;Jeanne Whalen-Mileage-$73.36;Jeffrey Hodge-Cell Phone Reimbursement-$45.00;Judicial Dialog Systems-Annual Software Maint. & Support-$6,800.00;JW Services, LLC-Contract Hauling -$1,269.29;Karen's Delivery Co.-Delivery-$42.00;Kimball Midwest-Hardware-$320.30;KLH Consulting Inc-Computer Services, IP Phone System Services-$18,604.88;Knecht Home Center of Spearfish LLC-Parts, Sprinkler & Timer-$342.64;Lakeview Wash & Storage-Car Washes-$92.39;Larry Baseman-Reimbursement-$63.87;Liberty Law Offices, PC-Court Appointed Attorney Fees-$1,963.61;Mallo Camp-4H Camp Deposit-$1,000.00;Marco Technologies LLC-Copy / Maint. Fee-$56.75;Max Robert Masters-GIS Consulting & Mapping Contract-$3,400.00;Powder River Energy Corp.-Electricity -$6,494.47;Quadient Finance USA Inc-Postage-$4,000.00;Quality Agg & Construction, Inc-Gravel-$1,714.26;Quality Hardware & Supply-Parts-$220.99;Quik Signs-Banner-$115.84;Quill Corporation-Office Supplies-$1,034.51;R&S Northeast LLC-Medications-$31.20;Range Telephone Cooperative Inc-Telephone-$14,030.08;Robert's Machine & Repair-Square Tube-$19.48;Rocking Cowboy Cuisine LLC-Meal - Mental Health Class-$240.00;Rolling Metal Sinclair-Fuel-$160.08;Runnings Supply Inc-Cable, Fence Posts, Turf Builder & Spreader-$544.76;Sanofi Pasteur, Inc-Vaccine-$1,111.15;Sara Fleenor-Mileage-$53.35;Sign Solutions-Signs-$656.40;Source Management Inc-Office Supplies-$229.47;Sue Scribner-Cake-$65.00;Sundance Electric Inc-Parts & Labor-$3,534.11;Sundance Hardware & Sporting Goods-Parts & Supplies-$451.64;Sundance State Bank-Direct Deposit Fees-$10.53;Sundance Times-Stamps, Ads, Subscriptions, Legal-$5,523.90;Suzi's Trophies & Awards-Plaques-$65.00;Svoboda Trucking-Contract Hauling -$12,178.73;Sylvestri Customization-Monthly Website Maint, Graphic Design & Social Media-$4,559.00;T-N BBQ & Grill-Meal - Training in Aladdin-$500.00;The Master's Touch, LLC-Envelopes-$1,467.56;Top Office Products, Inc.-Copies/Copy Charge, Supplies-$926.72;Tower Valley Station-Fuel, Parts-$86.48;Town of Hulett-Water-$60.30;Town of Moorcroft-Water-$66.72;Tracy Motor Company-Parts & Supplies-$3,286.16;Trisha Habeck-Mileage-$49.28;US Post Office-Box Rent-$428.00;UW Extension-Mileage-$446.85;Vilas Pharmacy-Jail Meds, Supplies-$388.37;Visa-Parts, Travel Expenses, Straight Talk, Supplies, Adobe, Internet, Certification, Laptop & Software-$11,655.67;Visionary Broadband-Internet Service-$2,854.83;Warne Chemical & Equipment Co.-Low Profile Tank-$3,224.00;Wells Plumbing & Farm Supply-Parts-$603.48;Wendy DePina-Mileage-$302.10;Western Stationers-Office Supplies-$345.01;Wilson Power & Tree Service LLC-Tree Cleaning-$8,190.00;Windstream-Telephone-$191.00;WY Department of Workforce Services-Worker's Compensation-$492.05;WY Secretary of State-Notary Filing Fee-$120.00;WY Retirement System-Firemen’s Retirement -$637.50;WYDOT Motor Vehicle Division-Plates-$7.00;WYDOT-Financial Services-Project Expenditures-$200.66;Wyoming Machinery Company-Parts, Labor, Service-$12,063.05;Wyoming Peace Officers Association-Conference Dues-$150.00;Wyoming State Forestry Division-Parts-$168.41;Z Lazy Y Services-Camera Use on Sewer Line-$200.00;Total-$637,131.62;

Fred moved to allow all bills as presented. Jeanne seconded, all ayes, motion carried

Alex Orozco, Extension Educator, gave a monthly report.

Meghan Porter and Timothy Lyons were presented certificates of appreciation for their years of service to Crook County.

Theresa Curren, County Assessor, presented the following tax roll correction: R0003698. Jeanne moved to approve the tax refund as presented. Fred seconded, all ayes, motion carried.

Jeff Hodge, County Sheriff, Theresa Curren, County Assessor, Teresa Lang, Deputy County Treasurer, Joseph Baron, County Attorney, were present to go over items of interest within their departments.

Melissa Jones, Interim County Clerk: Office made 330 titles and recorded 416 documents. Linda, Tammy and I continued to work on FY22/23 budget figures and I have been working through grant figures. Election process is in full swing; candidate filing is completed for the Primary and statutory election publishing for May has been taken care of. We received plenty of volunteers for election judges and currently have all the polling places staffed for both the Primary and General Elections. We sent out postcards to registered voters on the polling place change for the Beulah precinct. Have been working with other WY County Clerk’s on election uniformity. Training one new employee, now fully staffed, both new employees are doing well. Have been tracking special districts statutory requirements, office has been busy.

Jeff Hodge, County Sheriff: presented the jail roster, Todd Leimser is retiring so will be having a retirement party. Will be needing to appoint a new undersheriff. Moved a deputy back into the jail, so will be hiring a new deputy as well. New dispatcher hired and will be starting in June.

Teresa Lang, Deputy for Tammy Jundt, County Treasurer: Total receipts were $3,273,013.20 and disbursements to the county, county boards, towns and schools were $1,517,576.16. In May we did 3,413 transactions. I worked on the county budget and entered April revenue on budget worksheet. Worked on the Veteran's exemption reports for 2020-2021. We were busy at the counter as May 10th was the 2nd half of the 2021 property tax deadline. Printed and mailed delinquent property tax notices, May 18th. I ordered 2 new computers for Karyn & Joni as their computers are old and slow. Met with Eric Eisenbraun with Golden West to do our office IT audit. Attended the retirement party of Todd and Linda Fritz. Brenda has finished digitizing our records for now and has moved to Growth and Development.

Joe Baron, County Attorney: Joe: New Cases: 66 Closed Cases: 58 Current Case Load: 153 (with Lynda’s open cases) In Court: 49 Closed 44 of Lynda Bush’s cases. There are still 47 cases that were opened by her. Lynda Bush was appointed Circuit Court Judge on April 29. The job pays $145,000.00 per year. So started job search immediately. Minimal response. We continue to hold court in person and by less and less by Video Conference with TEAMS, and both review multiple law enforcement investigations and cases. We don’t have time to work on the case management software set up in the office. Worked on Search Warrant Call list etc. Joe dealt with the County civil matters including but not limited to the following: Reviewed draft of Large Lot Rules to Land Use Planning and Zoning Commission. Research upcoming Forest Service Plan, documents work with Dru Brower. Two Bond reviews. Legal advice for elected officials and concerning duties. Participated in IT Audit.

Theresa Curren, County Assessor: Protest period ended May 9th. We did not have as many people appeal as we have in the past. ½ as many people called or came in for an appointment to discuss their taxes. This was in part due to people acknowledging that people are buying properties a lot higher than we have them assessed at. Two formal appeals have been filed and will be heard by the County Board of Equalization at the end of August. Discussed the County Abstract and what the county is valued at this year. State Board of Equalization Abstract hearing is scheduled for June 22nd. The field appraisers are currently doing a sweep of inside Moorcroft city limits. People will be able to identify them by their blue vests that say Property Appraisers on the back.

County Commissioners: Jeanne: Met with Farm Bureau to discuss Forest Plan Revision, rode with Morgan to look at roads, went to Gillette for a state EMT listening session, managed the RT130 in Aladdin with State Forestry, met the Public Health Response Coordinator and went to her tri county meeting, virtually attended the NEW-ORC board meeting, virtually attended the courthouse security meeting and spend lots of time on reading the BHNF Assessments. Kelly: Attended Board Meetings. Fred: Went to Jackson to attend Commissioner’s Board of Directors Meetings: updated the board on the discussion from that meeting. Took call on county road.

Jeanne moved to approve a letter to Sundance State Bank to issue two credit cards to the Crook County Assessor’s Office for Daniel Thomas and Nathan Dominguez and a letter to allow Virginia (Sam) Burke access to credit card statements for the Road & Bridge Department, Fire Department and Facilities Department. Fred seconded, all ayes, motion carried.

Morgan Ellsbury, Road and Bridge Superintendent and Larry Schommer, Facilities Maintenance Foreman, gave their monthly reports.

Diane Marshall was present to discuss speed signs and Pat Donahue discussed gravel on Bearlodge Ranch Road.

Adjourned for lunch at 12:04 o’clock p.m.

1:00 o’clock p.m. Present were Chairman Kelly B. Dennis, Vice-Chairwoman Jeanne A. Whalen, Member Fred M. Devish and Interim County Clerk Melissa Jones.

Jill Mackey, County Library Director and Bonnie Stahla, Children’s Librarian, Katie Allen, Prevention Specialist, County Public Health, Sara Fleenor, UW Area Educator and Carolyn Fowler, Secretary, Fair Board gave their monthly reports.

COVID-19 vaccine walk-in clinics will be held 6/9, 6/24, 7/15 and 7/29, QPR, suicide prevention training, 6/20 and MHFA, Mental Health First Aid, 6/15. Please contact Crook County Public Health for location and time.

Jeanne moved to make the following Board appointment:

Barbara Sue Fuhrmann-Crook County Library Board Member – Three Year Term

Fred seconded, all ayes, motion carried.

Fred moved to make the following Board appointment:

Rachel Mahoney-Crook County Promotion Board – Three Year Term

Jeanne seconded, all ayes, motion carried

Jeanne moved to make the following Board appointment:

Julie J. Altaffer-6th Judicial District Child Support Board Member – Three Year Term

Fred seconded, all ayes, motion carried.

Tim Lyons, Growth and Development Administrator, was present to review office job descriptions within his department.

Fred moved to change the name of the Growth and Development Department to Crook County Planning Department. Jeanne seconded, all ayes, motion carried.

Tim Lyons, Planning Administrator, gave a monthly report.

Heath Turbiville, HDR, was present to provide information on Land Use & Zoning

Present for the bid presentation for the official county newspaper for FY23, 24 and 25 was Jeff Moberg. Only one bid was received. After discussion, Jeanne moved to approve the bid from the Sundance Times at the following prices: $8.75 per column inch for publishing of the Commissioner Proceedings in the Sundance Times and Wyoming Pioneer. All other required publications will be billed at the rate of $9.25 per column inch. Fred seconded, all ayes, motion carried.

Present for the bid opening for the County Auditor for FY22, 23 and 24 was Ed Robinson. Only one bid was received. After discussion, Fred moved to approve the bid from Leo Riley & Co. for $28,000 each fiscal year, with a reduction per year if an A133 audit or additional requests by the County are not required. Jeanne seconded, all ayes, motion carried.

Ed Robinson, Homeland Security County Coordinator and Doug Leis, County Fire Warden gave their monthly reports. Doug introduced Sam Burke as the new Fire/Facilities/Road & Bridge Secretary.

Tim Lyons, Planning Administrator, was present to discuss the re-signing project.

Present for discussion on the salary matrix were Tina Wood (via teams), Tim Lyons, Joe Baron, Theresa Curren and Morgan Ellsbury. The Board was updated as to the progress being made on the salary matrix.

Tim Lyons, Planning Administrator and Joe Baron, County Attorney were present to discuss the portal. Spoke with Jeff Tomac, Supervisor BHNF, (via phone) about how to share parts of the assessment with other departments.

The meeting adjourned at 4:26 o’clock p.m.

Wednesday, June 8, 2022

8:30 o’clock a.m. Present were Chairman Kelly B. Dennis, Vice-Chairwoman Jeanne A. Whalen, Member Fred M. Devish and Interim County Clerk Melissa Jones.

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited to the Flag.

Preston Beckstead, Resident Engineer, Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT), gave an update on bridge and road projects. Brad Marchant, Area Maintenance Supervisor, Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) was present to discuss traffic during accidents.

Fred moved to approve a Cooperative Agreement Between the Wyoming Department of Transportation and the Crook County Board of County Commissioners. Jeanne seconded, all ayes, motion carried.

Morgan Ellsbury, Road and Bridge Superintendent and Larry Schommer, Facilities Maintenance Supervisor, continued their monthly reports.

The County Clerk presented and filed with the Board a Certificate of Petition for the Formation of Warbonnet Canyon Estates Improvement and Service District. Present were Dorothy Baron, Jason Perry, Anthony Vopat and Sarah Pridgeon.

Jeanne moved to accept the petition and to set the hearing for August 2, 2022 at 10:30 AM. Fred seconded, all ayes, motion carried.

Present for the discussion on ambulance services in the county were Dorothy Baron, Moorcroft EMS, Jason Perry, Hulett EMS Director, Anthony Vopat, CCMSD EMS Coordinator, Dusty Downey, Pine Haven EMS Director, Ed Robinson, County EMC, Jeff Hodge, County Sheriff, Doug Leis, County Fire Warden, Joe Baron, County Attorney and Sarah Pridgeon, The Sundance Times.

Adjourned for lunch at 12:04 o’clock p.m.

1:00 o’clock p.m. Present were Chairman Kelly B. Dennis, Vice-Chairwoman Jeanne A. Whalen and Interim County Clerk Melissa Jones.

Jeanne moved to make the following Board appointments:

Randy Leinen-Crook County Land Use Planning and Zoning Commission Board Member – Three Year Term

and Ralph W. Goodson- Crook County Land Use Planning and Zoning Commission Board Member – Three Year Term

Fred seconded, all ayes, motion carried

Bridget Helms, Office Manager and Sarah Anderson, Program Coordinator, CCNRD, Mike Gosse, District Ranger, USFS, Alycia Davis, Supervisor, Weed & Pest, Troy Bifulco, VP of Information and Technology and Services, PreCorp, Jenna Ellsbury, Director, Crook County Senior Services and Dru Bower, DJ&A (via Teams) gave monthly reports.

Jeanne moved to sign a Contract with CCNRD for Services. Fred seconded, all ayes, motion carried.

Fred moved to approve a letter to the State of Wyoming requesting supplemental funding for the Black Hills National Forest Land Use Plan Revision and for the Newcastle BLM Resource Management Plan Revision and for the clerk to use the chairman’s signature stamp on the letters. Jeanne, seconded, all ayes, motion carried.

Dwayne Allen was present to request that the Board sign a proclamation declaring the month of June, as Amateur Radio Month. Jeanne moved to sign a Proclamation per their request. Fred seconded, all ayes, motion carried.

The Board of Crook County Commissioners is requesting bids for property insurance for a one-year term, starting July 1, 2022. All bids must be submitted to the Crook County Clerk, P.O. Box 37, Sundance, WY 82729, by or before June 30, 2022 at 5:00 o’clock p.m.

As required by Wyoming Statute 18-3-516 (f) information on meeting dates, meeting agendas, official minutes, annual budget and other information required by law to be published in a newspaper of general circulation can also be accessed on the Crook County website: http://www.crookcounty.wy.gov .

The meeting adjourned at 3:00 o’clock p.m. to meet in special session on June 14, 2022 at 4:00 o’clock p.m. and in budget work session on June 22 and 23, 2022 at 8:30 a.m. and in regular session July 5 and 6, 2022 in the Commissioner Room at the Courthouse in Sundance, Wyoming.

Kelly B. Dennis, Chairman Jeanne A. Whalen, Vice-Chairwoman

Fred M. Devish, Member Attested: Melissa Jones, Interim County Clerk

Publish: June 23, 2022