[0:00] Tom, I'm good.
Greg, how are you doing? Hey Greg.
[0:03] All right, nice to see you.
[0:08] Are you Tom?
>> [laughter]
[0:14] » The lights are dim in here.
Just my imagination.
[0:18] It is a little dark today.
[0:23] Michelle, is there a light we're
missing? Yeah, they are. Those are the
[0:25] ones.
[0:30] We can do that around here. Dark
glasses. Don't tell me I have my dark
[0:33] glasses. Look, it's paper.
[0:39] How so funny?
Mom, you're being a comedian again?
[0:42] » He is. Hey, I have a really good
suggestion. I'll tell you later. It's
[0:45] okay. I was waiting for that. That's the
only reason I came.
[0:50] Wait a little longer.
[1:00] I've already knocked.
stalls
[1:07] Let's blame Whitney. She's the newest
person.
[1:11] Let's blame Whitney.
[1:30] Here we go.
[3:18] » All right, your show.
[3:22] It's go time for us. Yep. Um
in my narrative that I sent to you um I
[3:28] showed that our tax income request is
down 2% from last year.
[3:33] Um we do have increases in
administrative and operations, but we
[3:38] also have an increase in our income. We
uh raise some of our ticket prices, some
[3:42] of our costs at the fair.
And also um our Indian relay race is now
[3:48] uh we're a 50% partner in and we've got
a new group coming in that's
[3:52] uh really outstanding. So,
>> [clears throat]
[3:55] » our projections are
are very good for it and we've already
[3:58] sold over $11,000 worth of evening
junior relays since the 1st of May.
[4:04] So, everything looks pretty good. Our
capital requests are down 30% from last
[4:09] year. Our biggest request is uh
we have a
[4:13] billboard sign across the arena that we
want to replace with a digital billboard
[4:17] sign.
The one that's up there won't even hold
[4:20] the cloth anymore.
But if we can get a digital one up
[4:23] there, we can also tie it into our other
replay screen so that we can do
[4:27] advertising and the rodeo scores and
everything else on it. And the cost for
[4:32] it's about 187, but
um we think we can get a down payment in
[4:36] and and get it in for about 180.
Other than that, our uh
[4:42] our budget's pretty flat. We know that
that you guys are tight and we brought
[4:48] it in as honest as we can get it. Uh
there's not any room to cut in there.
[4:53] Um with the cost of steel going up and
our repairs going up and fuel going up,
[4:58] we we've gone as low as we can go with
everything and still keep it running.
[5:13] The
the barns are 50 years old. They're over
[5:17] 50 years old. We we replaced
[clears throat] some of them because of
[5:20] the wind.
Right now to replace those same stalls
[5:23] is about 2,500 a stall and we've got
about 350 of them that need replaced.
[5:29] We've been of course repairing them. We
cut out full panels and then put in new
[5:34] panels on it. But you can only repair
stuff so long. Uh it's in bad need of of
[5:40] replacing.
Um
[5:43] we'd like to get on a program of
replacing even 25, 30, 50 a year if we
[5:48] can get on that program.
Um
[5:51] the other things we've got there that
rodeo offices was built in 1953. It
[5:56] still has clay tile pipe coming out of
the
[5:59] um drains.
Um we fight it every year. It's not real
[6:05] appealing even though we've overhauled
it inside and and uh
[6:09] refurbish it, it still looks like an old
building.
[6:12] Um when we do that, what we'd like to do
is combine it into a remodel with the
[6:16] shoot seats and put it all together in
one and open up that area back there.
[6:21] So, the cost on this is going to be
quite extensive, but I'd like to put it
[6:25] up there in the forefront for people to
consider.
[6:28] » [clears throat]
>> The shoot seats are now not within code,
[6:31] of course.
Nothing is, [clears throat] I don't
[6:34] think, anymore.
Um and then the other thing is the
[6:37] perimeter fence around the fairgrounds.
Um
[6:40] We're replacing it about 60 ft at a time
as people run into it.
[6:46] But we're really [laughter]
We're feeling need to replace
[6:51] Yeah, we turn it in insurance. Um
Danielle's got one now. They hit it
[6:55] again last week and
um fortunate for us, Danielle's husband
[6:59] was following the car that ran into the
fence. So, we were able to get
[7:03] everything and um
again, replace it 60, 70 ft at a time,
[7:08] but those posts have been in there for
so long, they're all rotten off and
[7:12] » [snorts]
>> we replace little bits at a time, but
[7:15] again, it's expensive.
[7:18] It's going
For the entire um perimeter fence,
[7:23] you're looking at about a half million
dollars.
[7:26] Again, you can break it out and do it in
sections, while in Boulevard one and
[7:29] 13th Street one.
Um then the east side against the the
[7:34] Fort Caspar area. Um that would probably
be the third phase of it. Just keep the
[7:41] the uh privacy slats and keep the noise
down for the people over there.
[7:46] Um
And that's all chain link and then it's
[7:49] all privacy slotted to on the two sides.
[7:56] If we if we just do the rodeo office
itself and don't do the shoot seats,
[8:00] you're looking at about $2 million for
it. Just to keep it about the same size.
[8:06] The shoot seats are probably another $2
million.
[8:10] And most of that stuff over there of
course is wiring, electrical and
[8:14] and plumbing. Will the shoot seats make
us more money?
[8:18] Uh right now we're selling them out
almost every night. Yeah, and we've
[8:21] raised prices on them every year and
they
[8:24] they don't show any signs of weakening.
[8:28] Give me a number for the uh
stalls or whatever you call them.
[8:34] The stalls are about 2,500 a stall and
we again, we can do that and and uh
[8:40] and series two if we do them 30 at a
time, 50 at a time, whatever.
[8:45] Wherever we can get the money to
put it on a rotation and get it done.
[8:51] That you'd need to have
You'd you'd actually need to have it all
[8:54] put out to bid with you. Right. And
there it's pretty limited on who can do
[8:59] those things. There's a few companies
around that
[9:03] one of them being the one that's put in
the last two barns for us and they've
[9:06] always been the cheapest bid anyway.
If you
[9:12] if all this gets done
do you think that you think you'll be
[9:17] able to be able to make more money?
The only thing I can see that's more
[9:21] money would be the seats.
Um yeah, right now during the winter
[9:27] we're we're housing about 40 to 50 head
of race horses all winter long and we've
[9:31] got other people wanting to come in but
we've only We some a few stalls that
[9:36] we're willing to rent out during the
winter because of the dangers of some of
[9:41] them.
We get $5 per head per night.
[9:52] So what would you like first if you had
the money?
[9:57] Well,
that's a toss-up. The rodeo office
[10:01] really bad, but the stalls
again
[10:05] are the money makers. So stalls first I
expect, but
[10:10] then the rodeo office would be a close
second.
[10:13] And then the perimeter fencing would be
third again little bits at a time, but
[10:16] if they keep running into it like I said
we're replacing it 70 ft at a time now.
[10:24] Such trouble is sometimes they hit the
same spot.
[10:30] That's right. [laughter]
[10:34] Yeah.
>> [laughter]
[10:36] » Correct them.
[10:39] But we appreciate everything that you
guys have done to help us with. We're
[10:43] trying to
do little bits each year just keep it
[10:47] progressive.
Where we're not going to be in a fix
[10:50] where you you're stuck with a
$200 million remodel. So we've we've
[10:54] been trying to every year do something
that that helps improve it and then
[10:58] takes it off our list, which we've been
doing and things look good and we
[11:02] appreciate it.
Are there any grants?
[11:07] We've been putting in for grants for
Angela's put in for three of them this
[11:12] spring. So far we've been turned down on
two, but we've still got one out
[11:16] pending.
[11:20] It's for the sign that we're trying to
put in just to help the electrical.
[11:25] That's it's just electrical and and
stationary stuff. It It cover the sign.
[11:32] Did Ellen leave you any money?
No.
[11:35] Just a statue. I was curious about that.
She's
[11:39] a nice [clears throat] person. She was.
She She did a lot for us.
[11:43] And if they read the will and there is
some for us, I sure like to know.
[11:52] And any questions I'll try and answer,
but I think we're pretty straightforward
[11:55] with everything we've got.
[12:01] Tom, what's the
I know you said the sign and it and it's
[12:05] got for equipment 290,000.
What's the other
[12:09] 90?
[12:14] One on the second sheet, it's got the
[12:19] report for request for equipment.
And the total request is 290,000. And
[12:24] then I see the
180 for the So, we've got
[12:29] uh
[12:33] We've got
buildings and structures, the 6-year-old
[12:37] heaters and industrial building. We need
to replace those.
[12:40] Um we've got two left to replace. We
have replaced two, but the 6-year-old
[12:45] heaters are just not cutting it anymore.
Um we've got some panels and shoots to
[12:49] consider continue the outside rail.
Uh we need to replace office copier and
[12:55] then of course the digital billboard.
And then the rock picker attachment for
[12:59] our skid steer loader. Those are the
other capital requests.
[13:10] And we tried to keep it
low, but we do have
[13:15] some tractors that we could start
replacing
[13:18] and we're going to have to within the
next 2 years.
[13:35] » horse racing stuff like that.
Horse horse racing doesn't make money.
[13:40] No. Um
[13:43] The only reason any of them are horse
racing right now
[13:46] is for the off-track gambling. The
off-track gambling's handling about $2.4
[13:52] billion a year in this state alone.
Um
[13:56] Gillette's down to four days of racing
now. Last year they averaged 13 people a
[14:00] night in the seats to watch them, which
that's not paying for your racing.
[14:06] Um
The thing that is paying is the Indian
[14:09] relays. We we get big turnout and the
money's there on it. I enjoyed that. And
[14:15] they're good.
[14:19] I got my back.
You bet. Thank you. You're welcome.
[14:23] Hey, Tom.
So, I got the 290. I see where that is
[14:27] with capital. Mhm.
I'm trying to do the math and see where
[14:33] we're at with the first sheet for the
one
[14:37] 1.135.
Where's the
[14:41] Where's that
total at?
[14:44] On the revenues, it's on page
Now, if you put this normal like, it'd
[14:50] be
>> [laughter]
[14:52] » Just like a CSB.
I'd like to see it twisted.
[14:57] It'd be page six and seven is the
revenues.
[15:36] » Still don't see a matching number.
[15:42] 1347500
[15:46] This is the bottom of page seven.
Right. The sheet we have is 1135800.
[16:09] This does match their 400.
[16:13] I don't even know where that came from
then.
[16:20] Mr. Chairman, Tom, so in your budget
narrative, you requested of 1,135,800.
[16:27] Oh, that That's on the last page.
Sorry, I misunderstood you.
[16:34] Sorry.
On the last page, tax requirement
[16:37] amounts.
Oh, there we go.
[16:44] We have the estimated revenue and then
our total cash and estimated and then
[16:47] our total requirements.
[16:52] Okay.
Clear over to the right above with
[16:55] capitals. Yes, sir. Okay.
[17:00] One number is without capitals, the
other is with them.
[17:51] » They did a nice job.
[18:04] Mr. Chairman, Mhm. on that note, um Tom
and his staff, obviously the industrial
[18:10] building is one of my polling locations
that houses
[18:15] 13
precincts in it, and him and his staff
[18:19] have They're outstanding to work with.
They bend over backwards to help me
[18:24] make it easy for me and accommodate me
in every way. And then also, we just
[18:29] hosted the County Clerks Association
meeting. Again, him and his staff just
[18:34] bent over backwards to accommodate us in
everything we needed, and they just do a
[18:38] fantastic job. They are just so
wonderful to me and my staff. So, thank
[18:42] you. Thank you. That's very nice.
Hey, Tom. Um
[18:47] on the heaters in the industrial
building,
[18:50] and I agree
they need to be upgraded.
[18:54] Anybody that's ever been in there knows
knows that they need to be upgraded.
[18:59] Um
do you have any idea what the cost
[19:02] efficiency
will be? I mean, most of those old
[19:07] heaters are about 35% efficient if I
remember right.
[19:10] » If these are 35, I'd like to see if
there.
[19:12] » be really nice. Yeah, probably more like
15 or 20. Two Yeah, two of the ones that
[19:17] we've get the newer ones that we've got
in there uh one of them's a '86 and the
[19:22] other one's '87.
They were bought in different years, but
[19:25] um those other two a lot of times
um they'll kick on and blow dust out for
[19:31] a little while and then they'll uh
kick back off and the other two are
[19:35] covering for them.
[19:40] We kept one of the old heaters that they
pulled out of there just for parts for
[19:43] repairs in those two, but we're running
out of parts.
[19:50] How in love are you with the idea of a
new scoreboard?
[19:56] Do I want to what now?
How much do you love the idea of a the
[19:59] new scoreboard?
I love it a lot.
[20:04] » [laughter]
>> It's not what you wanted to hear, was
[20:07] it?
No, no, I
[20:13] Well, I'm sure for 150,000
[20:17] That's it.
[20:21] The other thing with that uh scoreboard
is is it helps Angela in her selling her
[20:26] advertising for them.
Um they like the one that's down there,
[20:29] but
they like that billboard. So, if we have
[20:32] one that's in front of most of them, um
her advertising's easier to sell. So, it
[20:37] is a money maker. Not going to pay off
in the first 5 years, but it will
[20:42] eventually.
[20:44] Mr. Chairman,
um
[20:47] my dad that That's one of the
probably one of the main complaints that
[20:51] we've got over the last four or five
years that the people on the center to
[20:55] the east side of the stands can't see
the
[20:58] the the replay and all that and uh that
everybody questions why can't we put a
[21:02] replay
uh right center to where everybody can
[21:06] see it and
we honestly think it'll increase our
[21:09] revenue, put more butts in the seats to
to have something up up to date and
[21:14] high-tech like that.
When the sun's setting
[21:17] » told me that, too.
>> Yeah, advertising especially when the
[21:20] sun's setting, it's hard to see that
billboard down on the east side. But, I
[21:24] think we'll have more people in the
seats because of it, too. It just
[21:27] improve the efficiency of the operation.
When we start at night, as that sun's
[21:31] going back over the top of that replay
screen we have now, you can't see it
[21:36] looking in the sun, so
the one on the far end.
[21:40] For the shoot seats that can't see that
replay screen anyway, we went and bought
[21:45] a 75-in TV and hooked it into our board,
and it's hung on the side of the
[21:50] announcer's booth, so that shoot seat
bunch can see it through that TV.
[21:56] So, we cured one of those but
it's not very big. You got to squint
[21:59] pretty good to see it.
All I know is I couldn't see who won
[22:03] that one Indian race. It was so close.
And when I was looking down here, I
[22:07] couldn't see it. I really wanted to know
for sure who won that.
[22:11] Do you have money bet on it? No.
>> [laughter]
[22:15] » That's what I wanted to know. That's his
story, and he's sticking to it. And out
[22:19] there, I saw the probably the best race
I've ever seen.
[22:24] You couldn't tell who won. Yeah, no, the
relay judges really like this because we
[22:30] can replay it, replay it, replay it for
them, and they can Yeah.
[22:37] It's a very needed item.
It is.
[22:44] Don't you agree, Whitney?
So, old board, agree?
[22:50] Mr. You agree?
The ex-legislator, you agree?
[22:56] Very good. Everybody [laughter] down
there agrees.
[22:59] Sheriff, you agree, too, don't you? Shh.
Sheriff's giving you a thumbs up.
[23:04] » [laughter]
[23:10] » Anybody have any further questions?
For me.
[23:16] Good job. Thank you guys very much.
Ladies and gentlemen. Appreciate it.
[23:22] Appreciate the whole board coming out.
It's good seeing you guys again. Thank
[23:26] you.
[23:29] See you again.
See you again. Good to see you.
[23:32] See you later. Thanks, Mr.
Thanks always.
[23:40] Your cousin problems again.
No, that
[23:46] fellow behind you.
[23:49] Thanks.
[24:01] Michael, good to see you.
[24:05] Now, you're you're Michael Brown, right?
Haven't seen you for a while.
[24:10] You're getting younger, I think.
Shouldn't your chairman be up there with
[24:13] you?
Yeah.
[24:16] » [laughter]
[24:22] » Mr. Chairman. Yes, sir. As a point of
order, I kind of wondered what
[24:27] Commissioner North's role was going to
be in this and whether he'll be more
[24:30] present since he's
a voting member of both the Board of
[24:35] Trustees and of this body,
if maybe one of the other board members
[24:40] we have at least two here present might
assist Mr. Brown if necessary and
[24:48] and then
I wondered whether Commissioner North is
[24:51] going to recuse himself from some or all
of this uh
[24:55] uh decision-making.
Okay.
[25:04] I don't think presenting this at this
point in time is going to make any
[25:07] difference one way or another because
there's no decisions made.
[25:11] When we're presenting stuff, you can ask
questions and everything else. So, at
[25:15] this point in time, I don't think
there's
[25:18] any conflict. I don't think there's
anything else.
[25:22] So,
Michael's going to be going over this.
[25:26] He's the one that presented this to the
board,
[25:28] and the entire board
approved this. So,
[25:33] I will be here
basically
[25:37] in case there's any questions directed
toward the board specifically.
[25:41] Do you two want to come up and sit up
here too or a little bit or or you you
[25:46] get back there? Okay.
All right. Um as we are just presenting
[25:52] uh we'll worry about it right now, but
this may have to come up
[25:56] at a later point in the discussion,
okay?
[25:59] Okay. Pearl Street Bridge when we get
there.
[26:06] All right, Mr. Chairman, if you're
ready, I'll start. Um
[26:09] So,
[26:12] with the we'll start with the mountain
budget.
[26:15] Parks has two separate budgets.
Um
[26:18] currently uh in the parks mountain
budget, I have um
[26:23] portions of salaries for five full-time
employees and two part-time employees.
[26:28] Uh last year
administrative staff was um
[26:33] put at 40% at
on the mountain and 60% on the lake. Um
[26:39] when we were doing budget reductions
last June,
[26:42] I modified that slightly and went with a
point 4167%
[26:48] um and the reason for that is that is a
uh
[26:51] five full months of staff on the
mountain, seven full months of admin
[26:55] staff on at the lake. It's just an
easier break,
[26:59] uh, budget-wise and payroll-wise to to
do that. So, just kind of clarified that
[27:04] a little bit. So, there's a slight
increase there.
[27:07] Um,
we're still waiting to, um, hire one
[27:11] more full-time operator
and one seasonal, um,
[27:16] finding, uh,
the right fit for the full-time operator
[27:19] on the mountain is a It's been a
challenge.
[27:22] Uh, the applications we're receiving,
um, either have no equipment experience
[27:28] or very little.
And, um,
[27:31] so, we're still looking. Uh,
fortunately, this winter with snow
[27:34] grooming,
it was very light, so we were able to
[27:37] handle it with one operator.
Um, but we'll continue looking for that
[27:41] position. So, that's built into these
salaries, um,
[27:46] overall, I I did I know the request was
to decrease where necessary, um, I did
[27:53] increase the mountain budget by 1.75%,
which is $11,149.
[28:00] Um,
some of that increase came from, uh,
[28:06] contract labor, which I increased by
$20,000.
[28:11] That includes a a grooming contract for
biathlon up to $20,000. We'll have to,
[28:16] uh, settle on that contract, um, in the
coming months after the budget's
[28:21] approved with Casper Mountain Biathlon
Club.
[28:24] Um,
Central Wyoming Trail Main, uh,
[28:27] Alliance, uh, requested some funds for
summer maintenance, summer trail
[28:33] maintenance, and and winter trail
maintenance. They do the winter grooming
[28:36] on our single track that's used for
snowshoes and fat bikes.
[28:40] Uh, $5,000, and then summer maintenance,
um, they've been helping us out for
[28:45] several years on on maintaining um
down trees and hazard trees and and
[28:51] doing the work on the summer trail
master plan improving that. So, um parks
[28:56] board decided that would be
beneficial to look into providing funds
[29:01] to them.
Uh I also like to bring on the Wyoming
[29:05] Conservation Corps again this summer
uh for a hitch in July. That's six
[29:10] individuals for six days.
Uh Rotary Park the trail system there
[29:15] still needs improvement. The
the the cable railing needs a lot of
[29:20] work. Some of the other trails need some
work and erosion control. So, there's
[29:24] there's plenty of work there.
And and that uh
[29:28] that's work that my staff can't handle.
We just don't have the people or the
[29:33] time to do that with everything else.
Um the miscellaneous contract of $5,000
[29:39] um that's just a kit as a as a little
bit of a catchall to
[29:44] case contract comes up um
for repairs or something that we need to
[29:48] do.
Uh the other increase
[29:54] was in repair maintenance and contracts.
So, we have Starlink at the trail
[29:59] center.
Um that's been carried in the
[30:01] communications budget of the county with
IT.
[30:05] Um speaking with IT uh it was decided
that that should probably go into the
[30:10] parks budget um as the parks is a
administrative board now
[30:16] uh to start carrying those over. And
that runs about $2,000 a year.
[30:21] Our maintenance shop on the mountain uh
the lighting there
[30:25] is old halogen lights. Uh they take a
long time to warm up. Sometimes they
[30:30] don't work. Uh we'd like to upgrade
those to LEDs. Um
[30:34] speaking with one electrician
I think we could do most of it between 5
[30:40] and $8,000. Um Um, part of that shop is
utilized by Roden Bridge, so
[30:46] uh, there's a possibility they could
put some funding in there, but um,
[30:50] speaking with the electrician, we don't
have to do them all at once. So, if we
[30:53] could get started with 5 grand, we would
do the ones that they're used all the
[30:57] time.
Um, so we have better lighting in there
[31:00] to work.
Um,
[31:04] I did a small increase for Hells Half
Acre line item of 1,500 dollars.
[31:09] This is due to um, the improvements
we've done out there and the increased
[31:13] maintenance those will require. Um,
going out there, possible replacement of
[31:19] boards if they get broken on the new
boardwalk, um,
[31:22] replacement of signs, just general
maintenance of the area. So, we increase
[31:27] that by 1,500 dollars.
And the last line item on the mountain
[31:32] budget that was increased was um,
it's called RMP implementation and
[31:38] resource management plan.
I included 10,000 dollars again this
[31:42] year for additional gravel for the lodge
parking. It may or may not be necessary.
[31:47] It may not need that much. Um,
it's quite an improvement from last
[31:51] year.
So, um,
[31:54] I put that in there so we can do that.
Uh, we are still
[31:59] I'm pursuing quotes. I have not received
them yet to put the storm drain inlet in
[32:04] as well. Uh, so some of that money may
be used um,
[32:08] to fund that contract.
Uh, I also included archery targets
[32:13] again. We had 35,000 dollars yet last
year. We requested 70.
[32:19] Uh,
What's that? Nothing. Those targets are
[32:22] on order uh, out of this current budget
and will be
[32:26] um, paid for this fiscal year, but I
asked for it again. Now, we do have a
[32:30] grant application pending.
Um, I don't want to call the total
[32:35] amount for that. Um
with Easton archery, uh
[32:41] we have not been denied our application
yet. We made it through the process a
[32:45] couple of steps, but we haven't heard
final yet.
[32:49] Uh so, we may or may not need those
funds.
[32:52] Um
and then I had $5,000 for for site
[32:56] improvements, uh
redoing, um signs, uh some campsite
[33:02] improvements, replacing a few fire
rings,
[33:05] and such. Um
I'm good.
[33:10] Go ahead. On the archery grant,
hopefully we will know that before we
[33:13] get to the point where
we're looking at the final budget. Uh
[33:17] that had to be submitted
by
[33:20] February 1st of this year, and the fact
that we're still in an administrative
[33:25] review by Easton
is a pretty good sign that
[33:30] that they're not they haven't kicked us
out for deficiencies or anything more
[33:33] like that, so
hopefully that will come through, and
[33:36] that will help out quite a bit.
[33:42] Go ahead.
Uh
[33:44] what's the status of the shelters?
Um so, we have submitted an
[33:50] application, uh through
the state of Wyoming outdoor wreck fund.
[33:55] Uh
we made it through the first hurdle. Uh
[33:59] we'll be doing a site inspection with
some of the uh
[34:03] board members that select where the
funds go for that grant on June 19th.
[34:08] Uh so, once we make that hurdle, we'll
see see if we can get approved or not.
[34:15] Um
What are those going to cost for, you
[34:18] know,
you get the cost down on those?
[34:22] I I think we can do them
somewhere in the 120 range. That's what
[34:29] they've always been. No, the one was
$236,000
[34:33] was the bid we got for the custom one.
We simplified them some. We removed
[34:39] We've gone back to the old location, so
we don't have
[34:42] new road to build. We don't have
additional parking to build. Um
[34:49] Not my first choice, however, um
to to get them there.
[34:53] So, um
the grant required a match
[34:58] and with a
out of 1% 17, that's my next request was
[35:04] uh
We had $40,000 in fiscal year 26 for an
[35:08] outhouse replacement. Well, uh a double
stall outhouse is close to $100,000 now.
[35:15] Um
the single stall at Hills Have Acres was
[35:18] $67,000.
>> No, we've been at this for the whole my
[35:21] whole term of 4 years.
Well, I've been This will be the third
[35:25] time I've applied for a grant for
funding for those shelters.
[35:29] Um sometimes I I think I think there's
with outdoor rec, I I believe some
[35:35] individuals don't necessarily think of
shelter as outdoor rec. It's not a
[35:39] trail, it's not a bike trail, it's not
hiking, swimming, hunting, fishing. It's
[35:45] It's a place to sit.
However, it is outside. It's It's more
[35:49] of a gathering point, but uh
um
[35:54] I'm I'm hopeful with this this round of
grant application.
[36:01] But, in the 1% uh
Yes, sir.
[36:05] We do have an on-site with the uh the
board in June of this year.
[36:11] So, we did make it through the first
first round.
[36:15] Uh they cut it down from about 85 people
down to or 85 applications down
[36:20] [clears throat] to about 35.
So, we're we are moving forward with
[36:24] that and
that We'll find out more. that that
[36:29] funding won't be available until after
July 1st. But hopefully
[36:34] we'll move forward. We have had a lot of
community support
[36:38] for that grant request this time around.
Thank you. Michael. Yes, sir.
[36:44] Your answer, your narrative, and
everything pretty quick.
[36:47] Uh just a couple of bullet points I
wanted to hit here. Uh
[36:51] additional 20,000 for contract labor.
Why?
[36:55] Um well, that was $10,000 to Central
Wyoming Trails Alliance. Um
[37:02] And then the Wyoming Conservation Corps,
we don't do that every year.
[37:06] And um last year we reduced
the contract labor and only paid Casper
[37:14] Mountain Avalanche Club $10,000
uh for the grooming.
[37:18] Uh it has been at 20,000. I wanted to at
least
[37:23] include that as an opportunity of up to
20,000 so that when we negotiate that
[37:28] agreement
if um
[37:30] cuz County Parks can't can't do the
grooming over there
[37:34] uh for several reasons. Um
staffing's one reason. The other reason
[37:39] is we we can't access our equipment
through a good part of the winter uh cuz
[37:43] Tower Hill
uh blows clear and we don't like to
[37:47] drive our tracked equipment over big
large rocks and tear it up. Um to groom.
[37:53] Okay. Well, that's good. Um then in
repair and maintenance it increased by
[37:59] 7,000.
What was the increase? So, that was uh
[38:04] to bring in the uh contract for Starlink
internet from IT's communication budget
[38:12] and to upgrade the shop lights. Okay.
Those are listed right below that.
[38:17] » Mr. Chairman, that's on page two.
>> Oh, he's he's looking at the budget
[38:21] sheet.
>> Yeah, that's on page
[38:22] » Yeah, no, I I got it. I'm just hitting a
couple of old points. I want to make
[38:24] sure I verify them. Good with
And no bear trap again this year.
[38:29] Correct. There's no music festival this
year.
[38:34] That was Townsquare Media's decision.
Uh they notified me I think
[38:39] two, maybe three months ago.
What was the reason?
[38:42] Uh same as the year before. They want to
uh
[38:47] realign their priorities and and what
they
[38:51] uh
envision that event should be.
[38:55] Um so
uh or at least that's what I was told.
[38:58] Uh they're under new management.
>> of stuff going on over there. Yeah.
[39:03] And then the R&P is up significantly as
well. Um
[39:08] So I included last year the archery
target $35,000 was in a
[39:16] uh capital outlay fund. Mhm. And so I
put it under
[39:21] this implementation. That may not be
needed if we get the grant. Okay.
[39:27] And then additional gravel for lodge
parking center if that
[39:34] Any other questions for the mountain
portion?
[39:37] Mr. Did you want me to go through the 1%
requests?
[39:42] I suppose.
So in the um
[39:47] schedule for 1% 17
uh parks had $250,000 for a front end
[39:54] loader.
Uh we're going to pursue that this year.
[39:57] More more likely it's going to be used
equipment. Prime example is uh we needed
[40:02] to use our snowcat to remove snow on the
mountain out of our parking lots because
[40:07] road and bridge was utilizing their
loader that's stored on the mountain. So
[40:11] it wasn't available.
Uh this happened several times
[40:15] throughout the year where we could use
the loader. Uh we have a backhoe, but
[40:19] with 2 ft of wet snow, a backhoe's not
going to do it.
[40:23] Um
the outhouse replacement that was on um
[40:27] fiscal year 16 1% for $40,000,
I'm requesting to carry that over and
[40:34] use that as a match for the shelter
grant. That's part of the match. The
[40:38] other part is um
in-kind labor
[40:42] and assistance from Road Bridge.
Um
[40:46] the other fiscal year 16 1% was a 40 by
60 cold storage
[40:52] uh for a maintenance area to to relieve
congestion within the shop.
[40:57] I'd like to carry that over until
the property is settled. I I didn't want
[41:02] to build a building on property that we
don't have a right to at this time.
[41:06] So, um
So, those are my requests on the 1%.
[41:13] Mr. Chairman. Go ahead. The only figure
that is um
[41:17] reflected in your current budget request
is the $250,000.
[41:23] As Michael alluded to, the other two
amounts were
[41:26] this current fiscal 1 cent. So, if we
were to um approve those expenditures,
[41:32] they would become out of the 1 cent
reserve.
[41:35] Thank you.
Thank you.
[41:38] And and just to note, a few years back,
I had $300,000 to replace the uh
[41:44] trail center waterline. Uh it was
determined it wasn't necessary. That was
[41:48] a 1%
uh funding deal that that we turned
[41:52] back. So, we have turned back some
um
[41:56] 1% money for for the mountain in the
past 4 years.
[42:00] Okay.
Any questions?
[42:04] Lake.
Okay, so our projected revenue for
[42:08] fiscal year 27 at the lake is $1.272
million.
[42:14] Our projected expenditure is $1.218
million.
[42:19] Currently, as of March 31st,
there was a reserve balance of $1.067
[42:26] million.
Um
[42:29] I anticipate having a positive year-end
reserve balance of $867,000,
[42:35] approximately.
Um after taking an admin cost put in the
[42:41] lake
admin
[42:44] line item at 20% of $255,000.
Um
[42:51] So, with the lake, we generate our own
revenue, we balance our budget, we build
[42:57] an account for capital projects. Um
[43:04] There was a
I guess a significant increase in the
[43:08] budget this year. Well, overall,
uh there was an increase from 26 budget
[43:14] of 7.66%.
Um which is equal to $86,690.
[43:22] Um the major increases there were
um
[43:27] the lake sewer expense. Um
Our lagoon
[43:32] We have two floating aerators. Um
however, our BOD, which is biological
[43:39] I'm not really good with the
terminology. Anyways,
[43:42] Yeah.
That uh
[43:47] We're reaching our limit on that, and we
need to pump more oxygen, take care of
[43:51] sludge better. So, we're looking at a uh
a bubbler system, and it's approximately
[43:58] in the 90 to $100,000 range.
Um so, that was big increase here. A big
[44:04] decrease was to capital equipment of
$95,000.
[44:09] And the reason for that was
um I moved
[44:14] some of the projects into the master
plan implementation, and that's why that
[44:18] increased to 100,000.
So, that was just kind of a switch to to
[44:23] better track what we're doing there.
>> [clears throat]
[44:31] » So, lake lake sewer expense projects are
in general maintenance and repair of our
[44:37] systems,
and then replacement of the lagoon
[44:40] aeration with micro bubblers. Um
the capital expense, we are still
[44:48] it's questionable, but we're still
trying to figure out what's required by
[44:52] the EPA for our
backup generators for our well and our
[44:57] lift stations.
Um so, we're
[45:00] we haven't spent that money yet because
we want to make sure that it's a
[45:05] requirement um before we do that, and
sometimes it's hard to get those
[45:10] answers.
Uh
[45:13] we'd like to uh
continue on a program where we're
[45:16] replacing outhouse doors and frames.
Uh we've
[45:20] carried a budget of $35,000 for several
fiscal years now.
[45:25] Um we have 53 doors within the lake
area.
[45:29] 53 what? 53 doors or 53 outhouse vaults
uh to maintain. And so, doing 10 at a
[45:36] time kind of keeps us in a cycle of of
overall maintenance, and it's
[45:42] less heartburn than trying to do them
all at once.
[45:46] » [clears throat]
>> I also have um this is an ongoing deal
[45:50] is $30,000 for picnic tables and fire
rings. Um
[45:55] those constantly need replaced.
People back into them, people burn them,
[46:00] people
um yeah, they just wear out.
[46:05] And then for additional projects in
>> a piece? No, that's for pro- 30,000 will
[46:11] probably get us
10 to 12 tables and 10 to 12 fire rings.
[46:20] Um
under the master plan, additional
[46:24] campground improvements, we still like
to
[46:26] improve, uh
Westside campground, do dirt work,
[46:31] signage, leveling, um quite a bit of
work there.
[46:36] And then the new maintenance shop, um
this is carried over from last year.
[46:42] The site that we were really looking at
to start with was on Bureau of
[46:47] Reclamation Um, so it would not be
counting on property. Um, it was going
[46:52] to require a significant amount of dirt
work. Uh, just looking at it, we were
[46:57] looking at
8 to 10 ft of cut and fill on each side
[47:02] of the um
site to level it out as well as um the
[47:07] road grade going in there, even though
it's only a 300 ft, was going to be 8%,
[47:12] which is fairly steep when you're
pulling trailers and things from a stop.
[47:16] So, um
I've got a new site.
[47:20] Uh, I need to I'm working on a plan. Uh,
this would include
[47:25] uh, discussion of a of a land swap
between the county and the BLM.
[47:31] I'm working out the details right now. I
have not discussed it with the BLM.
[47:34] That's that's the next step.
Um
[47:37] and then bring that forward and the
possibility of it to the commissioners.
[47:44] There's there's county property that is
not used and probably will never be used
[47:48] that I think would work well uh, for
this.
[47:54] And um
I think that's really the summary
[48:01] of the lake.
Uh
[48:03] it was requested to
uh determine the cost of the wage
[48:07] increases for a 1.5% increase.
Those increases are included in my
[48:12] proposed budget. However, on page six, I
did detail out um
[48:18] those costs
of what that's going to cost.
[48:21] So, the mountain is $1,097
in total for wages and benefits to put
[48:27] that in place.
And the lake is $1,382.
[48:36] Any questions?
[48:39] Mr. Chairman. Go ahead.
Michael
[48:44] you mentioned a potential land swap with
the BLM.
[48:48] Um
[48:57] Go on, Peter. I'm sorry. You didn't
misspeak and mean the BOR, I No. So,
[49:05] I'm not 100% comfortable with the
$100,000 for building
[49:12] and site plan design
knowing how many years it takes to do
[49:17] one of these land swaps. So, I almost
think that that's kind of just a
[49:23] placeholder that we don't really need to
um retain. We don't really need a
[49:27] placeholder for.
So, I hope you understand because I I
[49:32] know in the private industry or the
private realm
[49:35] um
a land swap with the BLM is
[49:39] probably a different thing than maybe
with a governmental entity, but I'm
[49:42] assuming that there still are all kinds
of um
[49:47] reviews, environmental reviews, and and
other kind of hoops and hurdles to jump
[49:51] through and over.
Um
[49:54] I'm sure there'll be environmental
review, probably an environmental
[49:58] assessment um through NEPA by the BLM.
Uh depending on that um
[50:04] the ground that the
parks would like to own or the county
[50:10] own is a 40 acres behind
the current lake maintenance shop. And
[50:15] we currently have a special use permit
with the BLM to store empty boat
[50:21] trailers there
uh on that parcel. It's fairly flat and
[50:27] the
county own property is over by Steamboat
[50:31] Lake. There's 159 acres on the south
side of Steamboat Lake that's owned by
[50:36] the county. It butts up to state and BLM
properties. Uh
[50:42] I don't think it's being used for
anything. I don't think there's any
[50:46] future use for it. Um so um they may be
enticed by and I have no idea how long
[50:53] it's going to take. I I'm going to
uh
[50:57] reach out to the BLM in the next few
weeks and start having these discussions
[51:01] and maybe we'll have a better timeline
at that point. But uh
[51:06] the ground a good
6 to 8 acres of the 40 acres is already
[51:11] disturbed ground that uh
the parks would like the county to
[51:16] acquire for for use of the shop.
Um the Bureau of Rec if we put it on
[51:21] Bureau of Rec property uh we
will still go through environmental
[51:27] assessment. It would just be part of our
management agreement. And the current
[51:31] management agreement expires in 2041, so
the pench potential of
[51:37] an expensive building on property the
county does not own
[51:42] um
doesn't sit very well with with me to be
[51:46] honest. So I'd rather pursue this
process. And I understand what you're
[51:49] saying is we could
we could take that placeholder out.
[51:54] Um
it would just be in the reserve fund,
[51:57] restricted fund to be used later.
Um but if there's surveying required, if
[52:02] the BLM requires the county to do the
surveying on the
[52:05] on the parcels that may be swapped, you
know, funding for that would be
[52:10] beneficial.
Uh this $100,000 was originally for site
[52:13] plan to basically survey the area.
Get Get the boundaries determined and
[52:19] the grading plan for the site. So, I
think I think you got to remove a zero
[52:24] from that and say $10,000 for some
preliminary design, conceptual
[52:30] surveying.
But I I don't think we need to allocate
[52:33] $100,000 to that.
Um just doesn't doesn't seem
[52:38] appropriate. The other thing is at what
point does this become a BOCC
[52:42] conversation rather than uh the Board of
Trustees, Parks, um
[52:48] and a
uh Michael Brown, Parks Director
[52:51] discussion because we need to go be be
very thoughtful about um
[52:57] getting rid of county land, as I've
always stated in every every instance,
[53:02] and then we need to be
um fully on board with doing our duty to
[53:07] the public about acquiring. So, whether
it's a swap, a purchase, or a
[53:10] divestment, um these are things that I
think need to be in front of the county
[53:17] at at the appropriate time.
>> So, I'm just not sure when that is.
[53:20] » As the Parks Director, my plan was to
contact the BLM, have a general
[53:24] discussion about it, and see if they're
even amenable
[53:28] to this idea. Um I can certainly bring
it to the county commissioners
[53:34] with a proposal before I
reach out to the BLM and have those
[53:38] discussions if if that's better
direction.
[53:42] Commissioner Nickolaisen, the uh
since these are extremely strictly lake
[53:48] funds money and they can't be used
anywhere else,
[53:51] what that allocation does is it helps us
also maintain with the BOR
[53:56] to pull to carry those funds over from
year to year. So, if we have that
[53:59] allocation in there,
it shows that we have
[54:04] a plan to move forward at some point in
time, but it doesn't necessarily
[54:08] obligate us until we have everything in
place, but by having that, because we
[54:13] have to go to the BOR
and and request that carryover, this
[54:18] shows that we do have a plan for it, and
it helps to preserve that
[54:23] that funding by doing that.
Uh thank you,
[54:27] Commissioner, Trustee, Chairman North.
My um thinking is that's kind of like
[54:34] when we have department heads or
elected officials or others telling us,
[54:39] "Well, we we have this budget item in
there just to have it in there so we
[54:43] don't lose it."
Um there might be a better um
[54:48] use for allocation of of that $100,000.
So, just because it's there
[54:54] doesn't necessarily
um
[54:58] incentivize me to keep it there. I think
I think there needs to be a purpose. So,
[55:01] it it just might be
um a philosophical difference of opinion
[55:06] on what the appropriate amount is and
whether there's any amount carried over
[55:10] or also that. Well, like I said, this
this is these are lake fund fund money.
[55:15] I'm I'm clearly aware of that.
>> And uh and the BOR is the one that can
[55:20] say yes or no. And if they say no, then
the funding that we have reverts back to
[55:27] the BOR.
Well, So, this this this just gives us a
[55:30] little bit more security.
>> could be used for at the lake where uh
[55:35] maybe some of the constituents out there
might have a a different feeling of
[55:39] whether
that should be allocated for that or for
[55:43] who knows whether it's cabin side or the
the trailer side or the uh
[55:48] or the campgrounds. So, anyway,
that's just my two cents.
[55:55] Michael.
Yes.
[55:57] The the
>> [sighs]
[56:00] » 1.27
is
[56:04] all that restricted lake funds or is
that some Yeah. That is all restricted
[56:09] lake funds. Our um
[56:13] So, we have currently we have two
different restricted funds out there. Um
[56:19] and then
we're working on the process to do an
[56:23] and what do we call it? A
administrative a lake administrative
[56:28] restricted account um under the
management agreement where
[56:32] allowed stake at admin costs. Um and
they don't dictate the percentage.
[56:38] So, we also have a
lake water
[56:41] and sewer restricted fund. And that
balance
[56:45] as of March 31st was $128,725.
[56:50] Uh
that's what pays for an example, we
[56:53] replaced two lift station pumps in the
last month. That was $26,000.
[56:58] Um
our our water and sewer repairs have
[57:02] been um
rootax treated in the sewer system.
[57:07] Um things like that come out of that
fund. And that fund
[57:12] doesn't have any capital outlay. We have
a 70-year-old system and we're not
[57:17] building that fund. It's been decreasing
over the last
[57:20] five years at least.
Um
[57:23] And we're probably $100,000 down in the
last five years.
[57:27] Um due to all the repairs and things
that that had to do on that system.
[57:32] Um
I have increased the uh uh service fees
[57:36] for water and sewer. I brought them um
more on par with
[57:42] uh several different municipalities
within the region.
[57:45] And took that average and that's what
I'm charging now.
[57:49] Which was a significant increase to the
permit fees over there. But that will at
[57:53] least
keep the bleeding of this account down
[57:57] and hopefully increase it a little bit
at a time.
[58:00] Uh so that we build this uh for these
major repairs that we have.
[58:06] Okay.
And And the current restricted fund
[58:09] balance is $1.067
million as of March 31st.
[58:15] Uh I expect $887,000
[58:20] in um revenue in the next
month.
[58:26] Probably that would go into the
restricted fund.
[58:43] I should not have that sheet with me.
No.
[58:48] Um
Yeah, that's approximate.
[58:51] Um due to the water permit fees that are
due um June 8th.
[58:56] So we expect to have most of that and
most of that comes in at the end of the
[59:00] fiscal year, so we use it to fund our
budget uh for the next fiscal year. And
[59:06] that's why we don't carry over as much
money as we used to.
[59:09] Okay.
[59:12] Any other questions?
[59:16] We're good. Thank you.
[59:58] » Here we got a couple minutes.
[1:00:25] Everybody but you.
Everybody but you.
[1:00:33] 3 minutes.