ROCK SPRINGS – The Sweetwater County commissioners killed a proposal to place a sculpture in Downtown Rock Springs on property owned by the county.

A proposed memorandum of understanding between the two entities was introduced to the commissioners and the Rock Springs City Council Tuesday, with the commissioners opting not to approve the agreement and the Council removing the item from its agenda later that evening.

The Rock Springs Main Street/Urban Renewal Agency brought the proposal to the commissioners and Council for their approval. The agreement would have allowed a sculpture of an ampersand painted with images of Rock Springs landmarks and local landscapes on the green space behind the county’s Health and Human Services Building. The sculpture was originally located at the Kum and Go at 3910 Foothill Boulevard. The ampersand was a key object in the company’s branding. Kum and Go was purchased by Maverik in 2023, with three of the four Kum and Go locations in Rock Springs being rebranded to Maverik stores. The fourth Kum and Go location was shut down by the company. The organization received the ampersand as a gift after the Kum and Go store was rebranded.

“I’m just not interested in putting some defunct business’s advertisement as an art installation on our properties,” Commissioner Island Richards said. “I don’t believe Kum and Go, other than having a couple of stores here, was ever truly tied to our community.”

Richards said the company had similar displays throughout the country and would rather see the space used for something that is unique to Sweetwater County. 

Commissioner Taylor Jones said if the county wanted to place artwork on the green space, he recommended something for the upcoming semiquincentennial of the Declaration of Independence’s signing on July 4, 2026. Commissioner Robb Slaughter agreed with Jones, saying the commissioners should choose what is placed on county property.

Danielle Salas, the marketing, events and theater coordinator for Rock Springs Main Street said some conversations have taken place about placing the sculpture somewhere else. Salas said further conversations are needed with Rock Springs Main Street’s board. She also said the organization was surprised when the commissioners killed the proposal.

“We were pretty shocked they didn’t let us place it there,” she said.