Lincoln County Commissioner Kent Connelly called into the Weekday Wake-Up on Monday, March 23 for the monthly report from the commission. Connelly, the current Chairman of the commission, discussed last week’s public hearing regarding the proposed EMS tax district in Star Valley, Dry Piney impact funding, potential solar farm near Cokeville and the ongoing Forest Service Revision plan.

(0:00) Weekday wake up on the SBI radio network and our monthly check-in with the Lincoln County Commission and Chairman of the Commission (0:05) That’s Kent Conley with us today here on the weekday. Wake up Commissioner Conley. Thank you so much.

Appreciate your time. How are you? (0:12) I’m good. Just trying to recover from a soldier surgery, but enjoying the warm weather is probably everybody else is but we’ve got a (0:18) We’re having to consider fire bans and some counties already are people need to be aware to be careful (0:24) It’s awful dry this year.

Yeah. Yeah (0:26) Weird start to the spring season, of course, well a lot going on in Lincoln County (0:30) So let’s just start with the EMS tax district this proposed tax district yelled a public meeting a few days ago (0:37) Go ahead and summarize how that public meeting went and where the process goes from here (0:43) We’re very pleased with the turnout, you know, we didn’t have a what I would say an extremely large turnout (0:47) But we had both sides of the issue and we’ve been we’ve received a couple letters on it (0:51) Basically, this is a new type of process for forming a district this way because of the new laws enacted three or four years ago (0:58) to allow these types of EMS districts and (1:02) Basically, this one falls the county commissioners when they came to us. We could have put two mills on (1:07) We were not in favor of us doing it (1:10) We definitely want the voters to do it (1:11) And so the hearing that we initiated was to give input on to go anywhere up to four mills is what they could possibly put (1:18) on and (1:19) Hearing went.

Well, we’re now in the 60-day comment period and you can send to (1:24) Lincoln County calm (1:26) Commission at Lincoln County comm you can send your comments in just go to our website and or our planning department either one (1:33) And you can comment on whether you like the idea or you don’t (1:38) EMS is a huge issue been a huge issue forever and it’s going to continue to be as hospitals are the EMS (1:44) How do we fund these things as everybody knows the 25% not only helped us immensely on our own property home taxes (1:50) But it took money away from hospitals and different things and fire departments (1:53) And so what kind of mechanism are we going to use in the future to go forward? (1:58) Is this the mechanism and putting it to the voters? (2:01) We will have the opportunity in May to decide this issue after we take the 60 days comment (2:06) Period and we will sit down and then decide whether to push this (2:11) Resolution forward or not to form the district which we would form and then we would appoint a board to it that would control it (2:18) and (2:19) Just like a regular district and with a board and we could go from anywhere from three to nine people (2:24) I can’t imagine it’s going to nine. I just I’m not a big fan of nine (2:29) I’m not a big fan of anything above three and (2:33) These are volunteer positions and so it’s not paid and so you have to take that into consideration (2:39) in the amount of time just like me a (2:43) least minimum of five six meetings a month that I have to be at another 30 40 I have to be at and so (2:48) meetings with Tom meetings and (2:50) districts or districts and (2:52) But this one we want we if we move it forward that will be our desire right now is to put it to the people (2:58) That’s the question. We’ll be asking ourselves with three commissioners (3:00) Do we want to move it forward put it to the people and let them vote on it in the November election Duke? (3:05) Commissioner it is as you mentioned a new process that we’re kind of going through right now (3:10) and it is a little unique because you would create the district and then (3:14) from and then and then (3:17) Create the board for it and the board would make a lot of decisions (3:21) And there’s a lot of questions out there (3:23) That it sounds like there’s still not some answers to because the board would would make those (3:27) Decisions before it actually goes to a vote am I understanding that correctly? (3:32) Yes, you are well and some of it’s guided by state statute on how they would do it (3:36) So it’s not short of having some rules, but yes, there is an immense amount of questions (3:40) I would be structured the normal process that most voters are used to is you go you get a petition bring a petition to us (3:46) And you elect to form the board number one.

That’s not part of it (3:50) We’ve been pastors is similar in this and some of these others where we appoint the board the fair board (3:54) We appoint the board and so this is not something totally new and what the legislature came up with (3:59) And they were gearing it to smaller counties and you know less money counties and yes it is (4:05) It’s it would be immense amount of work to get this thing on the ballot for that (4:11) You know so that the voters could understand it and that’s what we’re hoping to get a feel (4:15) We’ve got a pretty good feel there’s an excellent input from you know, you know public meeting (4:19) I was very pleased with that the other day and people asking good hard questions, and that’s what that’s what you want (4:25) That’s the purpose of public hearings and public comments (4:27) You just like on anything else we take comment on and more people to participate the better (4:33) We get a better feel to what the what the public wants and in you know (4:36) These people listen to this this this is this district would be based the request to us was the base it on the hospital (4:42) District boundaries, but that doesn’t mean the hospital has any control here. And so they would be (4:48) You know moving moving the money and if they generates money (4:52) But that board would have to determine that how many mills they would have the option of bringing it back to us and saying (4:58) We want two mills, you know, three mills. We want four mills.

I can tell you right now (5:02) I know the numbers and you’re well over millions of dollars to run ambulance services (5:08) And so this isn’t going to be an easy choice and you’re absolutely correct (5:13) There’s about I’ve got 20 questions sitting on top of my desk here that I can I can read off and stuff up (5:19) We’re trying to research, you know (5:20) Find out what it means because we appoint that board (5:23) they’re going to need some they’re going to need some information and a lot of stuff to look at and so but it’s (5:28) It’s the changing part of Wyoming as we go through these tax breaks or tax cuts (5:33) Whatever you want to be is how do you fund the stuff that lost the 25%? (5:38) And quite frankly if the referendum goes through it this year in the November ballot goes to 50% (5:44) Then your revenue flow out of some of these other districts would go down even farther (5:49) Commissioner Kent Connelly on the weekday wake up this morning. All right, so that comment period open (5:53) Into May and again, you can find comment details on the website and send those emails to the Lincoln County Commission (5:59) let’s switch gears and talk about the (6:02) the (6:03) Dry Piney project and it sounds like the the MOU has been finalized and maybe walk us through this process (6:10) And what’s going to happen here? (6:13) Basically on the dry piney one (6:14) It’s called blue spruce for some people may have read it in the paper and went through industrial siting (6:19) Very legal process when we go back through looking for industrial industrial siting money (6:23) It’s sales tax that comes back out of the state and it doesn’t come to you until after the project starts (6:30) And so when we finalized that one, of course (6:32) it’s actually located in sublet County and the impact areas is clearing to Lincoln the barge being the closest and (6:39) So when we set out the map and set it down we had a negotiations basically where we come up through with an MOU (6:45) That said okay the the commissioners in sublet County were considering putting the fifth penny on (6:52) The tax rolls up they’re taking it to the voters, but they decided not to do that. They only have four cents (6:58) They don’t even have the fifth (6:59) Which if you have to have the fifth or sixth penny in order to qualify for this type of money (7:04) And so basically with the MOU labarge winds up with 4.4 million, I believe it’s a (7:10) 16 million dollars worth of money totally spread out between all sorts of entities and stuff in between and (7:16) It’s with the past MOUs with the industrial siting the bulk of the money is going to the city’s (7:22) we take a very small portion of it in the county and (7:25) But we’re looking for impact and you have to prove impact which these people did if it’s not hard to prove the impact dry piney (7:32) They’re scheduled last time we heard to go into construction May 1st and (7:37) they’ll employ (7:40) Assume three four hundred people on site to build it and when they’re done probably 50 60 people (7:45) And so and there’s a lot of building going on.

Of course, everyone knows about the Terra power plant (7:49) That’s another one that will most likely go into industrial siting again (7:53) It’s already paying out money to some communities right now from the impact and so but those are one-time monies (8:00) That’s the key thing for the voters to know that’s not money (8:02) That’s going to take us into the future and cover anything else and it has to be project-based. So it’s not (8:09) different things you can use the money for sheriff’s deputies in (8:13) Stuff like that for extra help in their pay to pay overtime and stuff like that if you need to for security (8:20) The dry piney will be more of a one (8:22) It’s more of a burden to fall in sublet County obviously because of its location if they’re the Terra powers down here for us (8:29) But in essence it is (8:32) impact money based on the impact of a major industry coming in and there’s thresholds that are that are on it and (8:39) It’s a it’s a system that is needed with one big industry shows up. They have impacts (8:45) That’s all there is to it another industry commissioner that we’ve talked about a few years ago (8:50) But it kind of went away and it sounds like maybe it’s coming back (8:53) There was this proposal for a solar farm south of cokeville and it sounds like this may be back on the table (9:00) Yes, they’ve contacted us about redoing their application and getting it back off the ground (9:05) So hopefully they had whatever issues they had but I think that’s it’s very noted to point that out (9:11) That one has been around for a while.

We’ve got three or four others south of (9:15) Kemmer here where I’m at down here that have already been went through the process (9:19) It doesn’t it doesn’t get you any money until they build and so that the one out of cokeville falls in that same category (9:26) And we’re actually believing that that one may we may have to reopen back up the industrial siting process (9:32) But we’re not sure we’ll have to see the numbers on but they have made the request (9:36) For us to look at it again on a new permit in Lincoln County, okay? (9:41) We’ll keep an eye on that see how that goes also the ongoing Forest Service revision plan with the bridge of Teton National Forest (9:47) This is heading into the next phase if I’m understanding correctly (9:51) Tell us what’s going to happen here, and what’s being proposed up to this point right now (9:56) It’s we’re getting we’re starting to get into the nuts and bolts (9:59) And this is where we I’ve said it before when I’ve been on we need the public’s input (10:03) We want the public’s input on this this has a look. This is one of the oldest plans in America (10:09) It should be redone every 10 years, and it’s not we’re about 40 years out from the last one (10:14) four wheelers didn’t exist back when there’s the original one was put into place and (10:18) So we need it within wild and scenic has restrictions on it that are tight (10:22) We’re not in agreement on that and logging we absolutely are requesting more logging we want to get we want to get rid of some (10:30) timber that is (10:31) Time to burn Murphy Creek over in the Graves River (10:36) And then what they call little Hornet in the barge area, so those are all areas that are affected on it (10:42) We’ve got to get back to getting a healthy forest this plan sets the rules for how you do that (10:47) And so please do comment on it is just give us some input (10:52) Give us some teeth because we’re sitting at the table all the time on this they have weekly calls (10:57) They had a veg plan meeting (10:59) Yeah yesterday, and I had to have staff up there unfortunately because I had an operation and we’re going back and forth (11:05) You know on different things on this (11:09) Please be involved. We want to know what you want on the federal land you mentioned you (11:15) Mentioned wild and scenic you mentioned wild and scenic specifically for the Graves River area.

What would that mean break that down for us? (11:23) It’s pretty much. This is most wild and scenic designations fall into this and you can look at the Snake River (11:29) It’s got some stuff on it up above in there (11:31) You can’t knock what you call dispersed camping up against it you have to be a mile away from it (11:37) So if you drive up there and just pull off the road and camp or picnic that’s not going to be allowed (11:42) Designated areas in there, so it’s more restrictive. That’s the best description (11:46) I can give everybody I do we have we have been through this argument before on different areas in there (11:53) But this takes in a lot of critics.

I believe there’s something like 50 (11:58) listed on the sheet that we got from the (12:01) For service lately and so they’ll be part of the topic of discussion is what happens in wild and scenic (12:06) Roadless is an issue (12:09) People that watch the national scene they’re taking a look at it and the Bridger Teton has an immense area of roadless (12:15) It is we have places that have roads that shouldn’t be there (12:19) They weren’t listed before we’ve already had at one decision out of Washington how they open up into log it quite frankly (12:26) You have got to get in there. You either get logged in the Bridger Teton in and I’ve said this before it’s it’s not (12:33) If it’s when it’s going to burn and also this year is going to be the classic of it, it’s just (12:38) There’s just too much over mature dead timber in there (12:41) Quite frankly we should try to get to market and we’re working on it. We had a forest tour the other day (12:47) We’re trying to initiate through some these collaboratives and things we’re doing in there (12:51) And you want to talk about what takes up Commissioners times between the Rock Springs RMP that’s going on right now (12:57) monthly meetings (12:59) Bridger Teton monthly meetings three or four (13:03) It’s just a constant flow of meetings (13:05) But as this stuff comes out and they will have comment periods on this and that’s when we need the public to stand up (13:11) We need the public up and down Lincoln County because you know not only that we’re tied in to Rock Springs and some other places (13:20) Everybody in Lincoln County knows how many people come from other counties to recreate here (13:24) And they are actually putting input already saying they don’t like some of the things in (13:30) That’s Lincoln County Commissioner Kent Conley this morning on the weekday wake-up Commissioner.

Thank you for your time anything else (13:34) You’d like to mention what we have you today (13:37) Just be careful with the fire danger (13:39) We absolutely appreciate what the people do and volunteers in Lincoln County and the EMS is (13:45) These are things we’ve got to get settled as work County that’s growing and the growing pains can be hard hard to adjust (13:53) but we’re not getting smaller and (13:55) That’s all there is to it. It takes more services. It takes more people and (14:02) Everything would everything that’s going on right now (14:05) And I say this very very loudly, please give us input just even if it’s just a brief sentence (14:11) I’m opposed to this or I’m in favor of it (14:13) Those those are quick responses you can get we get a lot of very lengthy responses and those are great (14:19) But remember we have to read them one at a time (14:24) Once we get in there, but look to the floor service from BLM and on these projects (14:28) Please do respond because if Lincoln County is known for one thing (14:32) I want to thank the people of Lincoln County when we actually host public meetings in this (14:36) County we have one of the highest ratios with federal agencies of who shows up and that gets into the Terra power plant down (14:43) here the bridge of Teton and (14:45) Anything you can come up with we have good turnout and I want to thank the people for that (14:50) But we’ve got to keep it up if we want to keep we want to keep Wyoming’s lifestyle (14:54) We’ve got to be part of the process not part of the problem.

Thank you County Commissioner Kent Conley (14:59) It’s the weekday wake up on SVI radio