Tell us a little about yourself.
Four years ago, I was honored to be elected to The Sweetwater County Board of Directors. My approach is simple, I believe it is about having a conversation. We may not always agree, but I am always willing to have a conversation, listen and share thoughts and ideas. My door is always open and my phone is on to listen and share.
14 years before being elected to Commission, my family moved to Green River and quickly planted our roots in Sweetwater County. Growing up in Evanston, I wasn’t necessarily a stranger to Sweetwater County as my father Melvin Lloyd commuted to FMC (now Genesis) for over 30 years. After moving to Green River It didn’t take Heidi, my amazing wife of 22 years, and I long to realize Green River would be a great place to raise our 4 children; Jorie (and her husband Cole) Randall, Kaden, Kamilyn, and Jakob. We also love being close to our four grandkids Addisyn, Gracyn, Creed, and Jeter who also call Sweetwater County home.
We chase our kids/grandkids event to event here, we fish here, I practice my pit boss bbq/smoking aspirations here, we volunteer here, we recreate here, we raise 4-H animals here, and we call here home! Serving as a Commissioner has allowed me to help lead and serve this community we call home.
Throughout our time in Sweetwater County, my family and I have been active in many organizations, boards, and volunteer opportunities. Some of those have included: 4-H Project Hope, Green River Grapplers (president, board member, coach, official), Green River Youth Football League (President, board member, Coach for 9 years), Business Leadership Network, Rock Springs Council on Disabilities, served as the lay pastor for the Green River Methodist Church, member of the local Sweetwater County GOP, announcer for Green River High School football and wrestling, former voice of the Tigers on WYO Radio, Community Service Providers of Wyoming, and countless volunteer hours throughout Sweetwater County.
As a Commissioner I have served on the Tri-Partite Board and Court Security board. I have also served as a liaison for the following boards: Southwest Counseling, Sweetwater County events complex, STAR bus, Sweetwater County Conservation district, Sweetwater County Library Board, Joint Powers Tele-Communications board, and Golden Hour Senior Center.
Professionally I have based my career on supporting individuals with various disabilities and acquired brain injuries. 23 of my 25 years in this field have been in the nonprofit world. I have an extended history of leadership/administrative experience that has translated well into being a Commissioner. Throughout my career, I have experience in financial planning/budgeting, creative problem solving, policy development, employee development, and strategic planning.
Leading a non-profit forces you to develop a keen eye for identifying duplication of services, finding efficiencies, and being fiscally responsible. 2 years ago, I left the nonprofit world and started Opportunities Incorporated. Starting a business has been a challenge, but in a short two years, I am proud of what I have developed and the services provided to those I serve. I bring a long-standing history of proven leadership, a passion to serve others, and an ability to listen and build relationships while being able to strategize and plan for the future.
What do you see as the most important issues in your candidacy and how will you address them?
The County has not had a strategic plan since 2012. We have started working through that process and I feel it is essential the County continues to proactively work towards a strategic plan, prioritizing concerns and creating action plans to meet those determined needs.
Continuing to solve ambulance service funding in Sweetwater County is a high priority. I am excited that we are moving forward with recommendations from the Safe-Tech study created in 2015 and 2019. Moving to a 3-5 year contract with Castle Rock provides stability to the community and aligns with Safe Tech’s recommendation of one service provider in the County (Farson and Wamsutter will continue to operate under their district). As we move forward with the certainty of contracted ambulance services, we as the county, our local municipalities, and community partners need to continue exploring long-term funding options such as potential EMS districts or other funding models.
The recent 1% specific purpose task has recently been a “hot button topic.” I have faced a philosophical conundrum with the tax. I have always believed in smaller government and individuals having a strong voice in running their Government. With that being said, I believe in putting the vote in the hands of the citizens (and letting the voters vote). I also believe I was elected into office to listen and vet out what the people are telling me.
My concern with the current 1% tax proposal is that I have not talked to any individual (not tied to a project) that has supported the tax. We are facing difficult economic times and many folks question if the timing is right. I do believe some of the proposed projects are needed, but due to what I am hearing from the people of Sweetwater County, I voted no on the tax going on the ballot.
As we continue to look at long-term solutions for issues in Sweetwater County, it is essential to involve the citizens of Sweetwater County in opportunities to voice and share their thoughts and opinions. I think we as a current Commission can increase our transparency and do a better job in sharing information. I would like to see this accomplished through: press releases- explaining issues and decisions and also through conducting open houses/town halls in all communities at least 2 times per year to create an open opportunity to have conversations.
In each election, every candidate talks about Economic Development. I did this four years ago, and honestly thought I knew a lot more about diversifying/developing our economy than I did. Economic development is difficult and has a multitude of factors that make it easier said than done. I feel the keys are to continue building a collaborative Economic Development effort, create a strategic plan for that organization, and start to put systems in place to successfully diversify our economy.
The Sweetwater Economic Development Coalition is moving in this direction and with the collaborative efforts of our local governments, we are moving towards a solid foundation for collectively developing our economy. This is demonstrated by the recent announcement of an Advanced Manufacturer opening in Sweetwater County (official press release to be shared by the company shortly). I also feel that development can start within and we should be working with local businesses and helping them diversify and grow their existing businesses. We need to keep a keen eye on issues created by potential development and growth. These challenges include; ensuring a high quality of life, affordable housing to support a growing community, and providing needed infrastructure to support this growth.
Sweetwater County’s natural resources of fossil, fuels, water, and land are currently vulnerable and a focused and solid plan on how we are protecting these natural resources recently has been implemented (Natural Resource Management Plan). Working collaboratively is essential in defending our natural resources.
Continuing to work with with Travel and Tourism to promote Sweetwater County as a travel destination. Tourism is an economic driver that is already in place and has the potential to significantly grow. Steps we can take in this area are: 1) Creating a state park. 2) Looking at our current county parks and looking at how we can utilize them as travel destinations. For example, could we make one overnight camping, Frisbee/disc golf course, BMX courses, etc? Utilizing the existing parks to create tourism destinations could help increase the quality of life for those in Sweetwater County while conversely providing more reasons to visit our great County.
I would also like to see the Commission become more collaborative and proactive in the legislative process. I feel we should be hosting workshops before the legislative session with Elected Officials, County Department heads, other municipalities, community partners, and our Local Elected Legislators. Working together and identifying potential legislation that will benefit Sweetwater County and working with our Legislators to have that legislation prepared before the legislative session. Working collaboratively and proactively will allow us to identify issues and needs for Sweetwater County and to address them in a forward-thinking and proactive matter.
We as a county also need to continue supporting and developing our County employees. They are truly the backbone of the County.
Lastly, I want to share some of my accomplishments from my first term in office:
• Lead a committee in reviewing the budget process and created a new budgetary request form for all outside County entities. The concept was to create a document that would provide in-depth information on each organization to help determine needed funding levels.
• Began co-leading the county in developing a strategic plan.
• Led a multi-municipality committee exploring the potential of creating a unified animal control service countywide.
• Worked with the Cities of Rock Springs and Green River to update the Joint Powers Tele-Communications Board agreement.
• Worked with the director of Public Works on creating a capitol committee to compile a 5-year list of prioritized capital projects for the county.
• Served as a member of the fire committee in reviewing fire provisions for Sweetwater County.
• I have not missed a meeting during my term as commissioner and have had a consistent presence at the courthouse developing relationships with Department Heads, Elected Officials, and employees
• I have a proven record of being a fiscal conservative and have a proven track record of reducing duplication of services.
• I have been transparent and available using set office hours, radio interviews, providing presentations at local organizations, and coffee with the commissioner to create avenues to share information and have conversations.
• I have continued to do the homework and prepare myself for decisions. I have not been afraid to reach out to others within the county or outside to ensure I have needed information to make needed decisions.
How can voters contact you?
Follow me at HTTPS://WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/LLOYDFORCOMMISSIONER to learn more about who I am, my platform and my goals for the next four years. You can also reach me at [email protected] or call me at 307-371-6304.
Please reach out to me! Let’s have a conversation.
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