SWEETWATER COUNTY — The Sweetwater County Commissioners decided Tuesday to put the Lagoon Drive Consolidated Facility project on hold immediately following the completion of the design drawings and obtaining permits.
The Lagoon Drive Consolidated Facility is a nearly $21 million facility that would house both the Sweetwater County Public Works building and the Sweetwater County Fire Department.
Within the week, the architects on the project will be completing the design drawings for the project, but the next step would be to go out to bid to contractors. Therefore, the commissioners decided they needed to act now on how to proceed with the project before it went out to bid.
Chairman Randy Wendling, and Commissioners Lauren Schoenfeld and Roy Lloyd voted to notify the architect of their decision to pause the project after the designs are completed. Commissioners Wally Johnson and Jeff Smith voted against the notification to the architect, as they did not see it as necessary to do so.
Smith and Johnson said it is up to the commissioners to decide when to proceed with the project, and since the drawings will be completed, it is not necessary to let the architects know of their plans to pause the project. However, Schoenfeld said the notification is not only for the architect, but serves as clarity for the community and staff working on the project.
“The intention of this motion is to be very clear that we are holding on this project due to financial restrictions, and that we do intend to revisit it,” Schoenfeld said.
The commissioners plan to readdress the project in January 2021. Legerski and Sweetwater County Deputy Attorney John DeLeon will draft the notification to send to the architect.
Reconsider Funding Options
Commissioner Smith clarified that he would not be comfortable spending a lot of money on the building at this time, but he said he thinks as long as there are options to look at for funding, they should explore those.
During their meeting on August 4, the commissioners voted 3-2 against submitting a USDA Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant Program pre-application for the Lagoon Drive project. Commissioners Johnson and Smith voted for the submission, while Chairman Wendling, and Commissioners Schoenfeld and Lloyd voted against it.
Part of Commissioner Schoenfeld’s reasoning for voting against submitting for a grant or loan was that it would be using staff’s time on a project she did not feel should be happening at this point in time.
“This project is something that we should not be wasting our staff’s time on at this time,” Schoenfeld said on August 4.
However, Sweetwater County Public Works Director Gene Legerksi said on Tuesday that it is his job to find additional funding for projects. He said he is paid to get projects done and find funding wherever he can.
“That is not a burden for me to go out and look for extra money,” Legerski said.
Legerski referenced the Southwest Wyoming Regional Airport, saying the airport has been able to get several projects done at reduced costs for the county due to finding grants and additional funding sources. He said he was confused by the Commissioners’ vote at the last meeting, because they put a pause on exploring funding options.
“We paused looking for money,” Legerski said.
Commissioner Lloyd said he remained firm in not being a proponent for the building at this time, but that he would like to reconsider seeking out additional funding options.
Commissioner Smith agreed and pointed out that he has been saying he does not support using county funds to build a $21 million building at this time, but they should still explore all funding opportunities.
“We voted to not look at those opportunities,” Smith said.
The commissioners voted 5-0 to reconsider seeking funding opportunities, at the next meeting on September 1. However, they will not be moving forward with the project until at least January 2021.
