GOSHEN COUNTY – Goshen County Commissioners discussed several road updates at its December meeting as well as several grant contracts the interim emergency manager is working on securing for the county.

In his opening remarks for the last time as Goshen County Commissioners Chairman, John Ellis said, “I do want to say, very strongly, nobody knows how much I appreciate the people that I’ve worked with in this county.”

“This county is just run with absolutely phenomenal people and it’s been a great joy to work for and with everyone,” Ellis said. “Everyone is very professional and we understand our value as a community and in our industries.”

Ellis continued his opening remarks by reiterating, “I’m preaching to the choir, as you know, here in Goshen County we have people starting to realize our agriculture industry and that agriculture is the most important industry in the world.”

Adding, “There is no other industry as important, because if we cannot produce, no one can eat.”

“There’s 2% of us producing food for 90% of the country – and we need to be very proud of that,” Ellis explained. “We are the shining light in Wyoming and in the agriculture industry and we need to keep that very strong.”

Ellis further explained Goshen County has “strong representation” at the state and national level to fight for and advocate for the county’s agricultural industries and it is his hope the incoming commissioners continue to advocate for the county’s agricultural needs in the coming years.

Outgoing Goshen County Commissioner Cody Cox reiterated much of what Ellis said, adding, “The people in this county that run this county are top notch and they make our jobs easier.”

Goshen County Commissioner Justin Burkart added, “I have learned from you guys (Ellis and Cox) and I think we always have a good idea of what we’re doing in this job – and I’m still learning, but I’ll be looking forward to hearing from you guys in the future for even further guidance.”

Burkart noted, “There’s some points we don’t necessarily agree on 100%, but I think the other 98% where we agree is where we’ve done the best work for the county.”

Adding, “I appreciate everybody’s opinions and thoughtful discussions we’ve had here and I’m grateful for what I’ve learned.”

Goshen County Roads and Bridges Department Supervisor Val Hankins told commissioners, “we’re business as usual – although, we wouldn’t mind a little more moisture.”

Hankins told commissioners her department is starting to pick up now that they are fully staffed but the department is still thinking of adding a part time position to help fill in gaps, time off requests and to work on getting ahead of road projects.

As far as updates for roads in the county, Hankins said most of the updates come from Goshen County Surveyor Bob Taylor and Goshen County Planner Mike Tietjen.

“We are still working with a number of mapping companies as it relates to several roads – such as Road 44, or Mers Hill as some refer to it as, but also the (Wyoming Highway) 311 and a few other roads these companies reroute traffic through,” Taylor explained to commissioners. “I believe we’ve come up with several solutions and it’s just a matter of working with the appropriate sub departments within the state transportation department.”

Some solutions Taylor listed included: reclassifying roads so mapping organizations don’t route traffic to certain classifications of roads; continuing work with Google to remove these roads listed as “highways” that can sustain such traffic; working with Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) in signage telling travelers the roads may be unsuitable for travel; and offering aid on highways near, around and through Goshen County so that traffic isn’t routinely being rerouted on county or state highways and roads.

“I think we’ve discovered the classification of these roads seem to be the root cause as to why these companies reroute to our roads when road conditions are less than optimal or in inclement weather conditions,” Taylor added.

Taylor listed the number of companies the department is working with in getting them to reroute traffic in the various mapping applications and he noted some of the mapping applications are subscription based and namely for use by truckers and trucking companies.

Taylor and Tietjen explained the various road classification systems the state and federal government transportation departments use and that some of their conversations in reclassifying Goshen County roads include both the state and federal government.

“Part of the problem is the classification,” Taylor explained. “They get the classification for these routes through the state and federal transportation departments and some other sources but mostly the state transportation department.”

Adding, “So the various mapping sources will essentially say, ‘yes, this road is suitable for travel is X highway is closed’ but as locals we know that road really isn’t suitable for rerouting traffic onto.”

“For example, the state classifies Road 44 as a state highway substitute, but why not a local collector? I can’t think of how they came up with that classification other than maybe they hired a coach or college graduate and gave them a pencil who knew nothing about the area and said, ‘hey draw us alternative routes’ and that’s the sort of thing we are up against.” Taylor questioned the commissioners. “If a road is classified as a local collector these mapping sources are less likely to reroute traffic through these areas.”

Taylor and Tietjen said they have upcoming meetings with WYDOT in hopes of beginning the process of reclassifying some of Goshen County’s roads as “lock collector” so that highway traffic would be rerouted elsewhere. Neither had any indication on how those meetings would go but told commissioners they would update at a future county commissioners meeting with incoming commissioners.

“One thing we are looking very heavily in – is creating our own county road classification system to give to the state and federal agencies because we know our roads far better than they do and I think we have some traction, at least here in the state, with regards to that,” Taylor added.

As far as other projects in the county within the road and bridges department, Tietjen told commissioners his department is focusing on a number of solar regulations projects that could potentially change future permitting and contractual requirements for companies seeking to do business in Goshen County as it relates to solar energy.

“In regards to our continuing, upgrading and developing our solar regulations – because last meeting we were focusing on roads because that’s an important thing here in the county – however, because of the construction traffic that usually involves heavy trucks in these low travel areas and gravel roads, we have been looking at a number of ways in which we can change our permitting requirements and contractual arrangements with these companies bringing in new construction and solar farms.”

Tietjen has previously explained two solar farms in Goshen County and how these two projects are creating some headaches for residents in the area, most notably is the solar farm going in near Yoder and the bigger one on the far western side of the county which runs through parts of Goshen and Platte counties near Chugwater.

Tietjen said his department always makes initial contact with organizations seeking to do business in Goshen County with the county roads and bridges department but, “I think it’s in their mind is that whenever a road they traverse past in route to where their going to build these solar farms – and it should apply even more so to these roads – that they aren’t responsible for the damages their traveling or heavy use may create.”

Tietjen further explained, “We are revisiting citing regulations, stronger contractual agreements and strengthening our current permitting requirements to include things like being responsible for any road damage they may cause.”

Tietjen also told commissioners he is working with local residents, other departments within the county and state, as well as working with other county planners to see what sort of stipulations their departments devised in confronting the issue of heavy traffic road damage from these sorts of companies.

Another thing the department is working on is looking at road studies on how to improve the roads in cost effective ways and a timely manner in the interim but also looking at studies of what sort of consequences such businesses could potentially have on Goshen’s industries, such as agriculture.

Tietjen also noted when his department looked more into the solar panel business and wind farms going up in Wyoming and Goshen County, a majority of the electricity generated from these companies go to supplying the West Coast and not Wyoming.

“I think it’s fair for us to say that if you’re going to use our land, then a majority of it or at least half needs to remain in Wyoming and benefit residents of our state and not other states since it’s our roads, our lands and our residents who have to deal with these wind farms,” Tietjen explained. “That’s something we are looking to be putting in our permits and contractual agreements.”

Tietjen and Taylor told outgoing and incoming commissioners the department will provide an updated map of their vision in reclassifying the roads as well as potential changes to contracts and permits at a future commissioners meeting.

The Goshen County Clerk of the Court Brandi Correa reported after nearly four years, she believes the last of the fraudulent checks will soon clear from the former Goshen County Clerk of the Court Kathi Rickard embezzlement case.

The approximately 20 checks amount to roughly $28,000 still considered outstanding, however, according to Correa and the county attorney, those checks are simply waiting to be processed at this point and already accounted for in the courts budget as well as the county’s budget.

Correa also reported the court made $2,774.50 cents in the month of November.

Retiring Goshen County Clerk Cindy Kenyon presented commissioners with the last and final budget amendment for Goshen County.

The budgement amendment added things such as grants which came later due to funding from various sources. The budget amendment made $880,000 in changes for various things such as grant funding, paying for county vehicle repairs, and small miscellaneous changes from more recent county commissioners meetings, such as approving a purchase for the Goshen County Sheriff's Office in buying body cameras.

A separate Telegram story will highlight what Interim Goshen County Emergency Management Manager Chuck Kenyon and Goshen County Fire Warden Bill Law reported to county commissioners. Additionally, a future story will include the retirements of Cindy Kenyon and John Ellis from the county.