Year in review: Growth and progress in 2023

For Green River and Sweetwater County, 2023 was a year of growth, of building on pre-existing excellence, and of rising to meet new challenges.

Addressing issues in the city

With several returning members and one new member being sworn into their positions on the Green River City Council at the beginning of January, the council members got right to work. The council and other city employees dealt with a variety of important issues through the year.

Perhaps the most challenging and upsetting circumstance the city faced was the cancelation of Flaming Gorge Days. Initially it was announced that the annual event had been canceled because plans weren't completed in time. Later it was also revealed that the former Urban Renewal Agency/Main Street administrator, Jennie Melvin, had been arrested and was accused of allegedly stealing money from the URA and the Flaming Gorge Days account. Still, the city came together as local businesses rallied to host a number of events in place of Flaming Gorge Days. The City of Green River is also exploring partnerships in order to continue Flaming Gorge Days in the future.

The development of the city's new wastewater treatment plant, which will replace the outdated sewer lagoons currently in use, made more progress this year. The city received a $6.2 million grant from the State Lands and Investments Board (SLIB) for the project, decided to seek a $10 million increase in the principal amount of the city's Clean Water State Revolving Fund loan, and awarded the project's $51.3 million bid to Bodell Constriction. The city celebrated a groundbreaking ceremony for the new plant in June.

One of the longer discussions the Green River City Council had this year concerned the city's leash laws. For several weeks the council considered a change in language that was meant to simplify the city's at-large animal rules. After hearing resident's concerns related to dogs being kept on leashes, the council ultimately determined that the ordinance amendments were not needed.

The City Council also dealt with topics like future plans for the historic downtown depot, improvements to the yard at Animal Control, and safety considerations on the Greenbelt. Residents also came to the council to express their concerns over issues like the potential paving of East 3 North Street and the question of weeds around the city.

Fighting the BLM's RMP

Sweetwater County as a whole faced a number of changes and challenges over the year, with much of the focus in the second half of the year going to the Bureau of Land Management's Resource Management Plan (RMP) draft for the Rock Springs Field Office.

The Board of County Commissioners saw a number of new members take their places, with newly-elected members Keaton West, Island Richards and Robb Slaughter being sworn in during the first meeting in January, and Taylor Jones being sworn in at the beginning of August to fill the vacancy left when Lauren Schoenfeld resigned from the board.

The new commissioners were faced with the task of addressing what Commissioner Mary Thoman described as one of the most important issues she's faced in 25 years when the BLM released their RMP draft. The draft has been in the works for years, but the BLM's choice of Alternative B, which emphasizes conservation, as the "preferred alternative" for the plan, had the commissioners and others around the county and state concerned about the impact the RMP could have on the county's future in areas like economic development and recreation.

The commissioners joined those asking for an extension on the public comment period in order to have more time to review the roughly 1,400-page document. The extension was granted, and with public meetings drawing crowds in the hundreds to discuss and comment on the RMP, the extra time was put to use.

Commission Chairman West and Commissioner Jones have also been appointed to a task force created by Governor Mark Gordon to review and comment on the RMP draft. The new comment deadline is coming up in January, after which there will be a consistency review. The commissioners expect they will have ultimately have to protest the RMP.

Continuing economic development

In general, the future of economic development in Sweetwater County and around Green River looks bright, with a number of projects continuing work and announcing new plans.

Projects that have been in the works have continued to develop and share their progress, such as Project West, which will bring a new solution trona mine and soda ash processing facility to Sweetwater County, and Project Bison, which involves the companies Carbon Capture Incorporated and Frontier Carbon Solutions working together on carbon capture and storage.

Other new projects were also announced, including PacifiCorp's plans for a new transmission line between Sweetwater County and Carbon County and Tata Chemicals' hopes for developing future small-scale nuclear reactors in Wyoming.

Other developments have come in the realm of educational training and expansion. The Economic Development Administration (EDA) awarded Western Wyoming Community College a $3 million grant for expansion that is projected to add 10,450 square feet of new space and renovate 6,600 square feet of existing structure located on the main campus. Western and the University of Wyoming also continue to partner with local industries and businesses to create new training programs, such as the new Powerline Program at Western and the Process Control minor at UW which was developed with a donation from Genesis Alkali.

Making educational progress

Furthering educational excellence also occurred at the district level as Sweetwater County School District No. 2 worked to continue making improvements.

The district's Board of Trustees made plans to update and enhance schools, including approving projects to remodel and update features at Lincoln Middle School and Green River High School.

This year the district celebrated joining the RIDE program, being one of nine school districts in Wyoming chosen for the Governor's Wyoming's Future of Learning collaboration. The plan is to use this collaboration to start a program to help seniors learn about job expectations.

The district also became one of the few "recapture districts" in the state for the first time this year, meaning the district is generating more than it is allotted in education funding. Other celebrations for the district included achievements like receiving awards, seeing increased enrollment, and having an increased focus on wellness.

As there is always room for improvement, the school district discussed the desire to improve graduation rates and test scores in the future.

Responding to emergencies

Another group that had a busy year in 2023 but rose to the challenge was local first responders and law enforcement.

Snow storms posed special challenges. The Sweetwater County Sheriff's Office had to rescue a number of stranded travelers who followed their GPS onto snowy county roads when Interstate 80 was closed. Even in April, a historic spring snowstorm shut the county down and caused a number of accidents.

The Green River Fire Department also faced a number of fires, from large house fires to vehicle fires to a grass fire that burned 8.1 acres near Telephone Canyon.

Local responders showed their readiness for an emergency when schools had to respond to a "swatting" hoax that targeted schools across the state with calls reporting an active shooter. The Rock Springs Police Department also showed their ability to handle a situation with an actual shooter when they responded to a situation where a man fired a gun inside of Santa Fe Southwest Grill.

Local first responders also made several important and impressive rescues, from saving a family whose home had a carbon monoxide leak to saving a deer trapped in the ice by Expedition Island, making a difference with their quick help.