County wants to join joint powers board

An agreement approved by the Sweetwater County commissioners Tuesday would allow the county a seat on the Joint Powers Telecommunications Board.

Now, both cities and the Wyoming Attorney General’s office need to approve the agreement.

Tim Knight, the county’s information technology director, said the board provides high-speed fiber internet connections to local government agencies and works with local internet service providers. While the county has utilized internet from the telecommunications board, it’s only representation comes from appointments made by the Green River and Rock Springs Councils. Knight said the county started pursuing a the possibility of becoming a member about a year ago and through several discussions, developed a draft agreement.

In return for having a seat at the table, the county would be required to fund $360,000 sometime in the next 10 years. Knight said he’s certain there would be projects the county could help fund that would bring them to the $360,000 threshold. If the county doesn’t meet that funding amount, their representative and seat would be removed from the board. If this were to happen, the county would get a voice in how the board operates for a decade.

Commissioner Wally Johnson questioned if they should incumber future county commissioners to the agreement, which resulted in Deputy Sweetwater County Attorney

John DeLeon reminding Johnson that future commissioners could decide not to pay and let the agreement expire if they’re so inclined.

“There is no a lot to lose,” DeLeon said.