Six month stay — Commissioners table resolution to rescind vacancies
Weston County’s fight to secure county representation continues after the Board of Weston County Commissioners voted to table a resolution that would have rescinded a previous resolution, 2024-10, declaring constitutional vacancies for a state senator and representative in Weston County.
On April 2 of last year, the board, consisting of former commissioner Don Taylor and current commissioners Ed Wagoner, Nathan Todd, Vera Huber and Garrett Borton, voted 3-2 for a resolution declaring what supporter William Curley called “constitutional legislative vacancies.” These vacancies, he says, are established by the Wyoming Constitution under Article 3, Section 3, which states that each county has a right to its own senator and representative.
Wagoner and Todd voted against the motion in April, but a new board was officially seated on Jan. 6 as a result of Marty Ertman beating Taylor in last year’s election. On January 7, Wagoner moved that the board rescind the resolution declaring said vacancies, but he would later vote with the rest of the commissioners to table his resolution for six months.
Wagoner said that he proposed rescinding the original resolution because he believes it is unfair to ask Weston County’s elected representatives and senators to represent the county in the Legislature while the vacancies are declared and individuals are appointed to fill them. He thinks that the earlier action by the commissioners “may have been a little premature,” but acknowledged that it may have encouraged the legislature to address Weston County’s concerns another way.
“I think the resolution got the ball started,” he said.
Wagoner also maintained that the county did not have the right, according to County Attorney Michael Stulken, to declare the vacancies. He did agree, however, that the concerned citizens group that has spearheaded the vacancy declaration and selected senator and representative, Sue Mireles and Karl Lacey, were approaching the situation more appropriately after listening to a presentation from Curley.
Curley had told the commissioners that Mireles and Lacey would not be attending the beginning of the 2025 legislative session expecting to be sworn in and seated. Instead, they are working with Rep. J.D. Williams, R-Lusk, to develop legislation to help resolve the issue.
Mireles, speaking in support of keeping the resolution declaring the vacancies, said she would hate to see the resolution rescinded because it “is the spearhead that got the ball moving.”
She noted that the group is making strides without knowing exactly how things are supposed to go. Mireles asked the commissioners to not table the resolution to rescind but to simply let it die.
Wagoner supported tabling the resolution. He said that given the conversation, he would be in favor of looking at the issue later when things get a little more worked out.
“I personally think the resolution (2024-10) was a little premature, but it did get everyone talking,” Wagoner said, noting that to rescind now would derail what is taking place.
Following discussion, Borton moved to table the resolution for six months.
“I see the progress that resolution 2024-10 has gotten us. I don’t want rescinding to be a quick motion,” he said, noting that he didn’t want the board’s first meeting of the year to signal that they don’t support what the citizens are trying to accomplish.
“I don’t want to lose any momentum which it has already created,” he said.
Before the vote, Ertman noted that the commission can kill resolution 2024-10 in six months if they so choose. She added that she would have chosen a different way of approaching the situation, “but that is yesterday, and this is today.”
The motion to table was carried with a unanimous vote.
Commission clips
Notes from the Jan. 7, 2025, meeting of the Weston County Commissioners
Commissioner Marty Ertman moved to pull everything from the consent agenda minus the minutes from the previous meeting. Motion carried.
Ertman nominated Commissioner Nathan Todd for chairman. No other nominations were received and Todd was elected chairman unanimously.
Ertman nominated Commissioner Ed Wagoner as vice chairman. No other nominations were received and Wagoner was elected vice chairman unanimously.
The Weston County Gazette was awarded the bid of legal newspaper in a 3-2 vote over the News Letter Journal. Ertman, Todd and Wagoner voted for the Gazette while Commissioners Vera Huber and Garrett Borton voted against the motion.
Kristi Lipp with the 21 Wellness Coalition attended the meeting with Amanda Knapp, a counselor at Upton High School and three Sources of Strength peer leaders from that school. They offered updates about the group and their activities.
Roger Connett with Rare Element Resources provided an update to the board. He stated that because of the cold, the plant will not begin working with actual products until March.
The board discussed issues with Mallo regarding the use of employees versus volunteers. The commissioners voted to have Attorney Michael Stulken draft a letter of support to the Mallo board.
Stulken was given the authority to move ahead with hiring a person to fill a vacant position in his office, and the board approved a pre-pay for a trial expert in the amount of $22,771.
The board continued discussion on a bid checklist.
Weston County Clerk Becky Hadlock reported that the city had cashed a $9,000 check dating back to January 2023, but Commissioner Marty Ertman asserted that the city shouldn’t have been able to cash the check. She cited Wyoming State Statute 14-4-106, which states a county treasurer will cancel unpaid county warrants after 12 months, but Hadlock said she is unsure why the check was not canceled.
The board approved conducting a survey of county employees that is supposed to help develop a project/to-do list for the county.