Accomplishments
Since I took office as mayor less than two years ago improving Town communications, promoting transparency in government, as well as tackling a lengthy list of infrastructure projects that had languished for far too long are just a few of the things I’ve taken on and completed for the betterment of our community.
Water System
My Number One Priority
In the summer of 2025, after many years of effort, the Town completed replacement of the final sections of the culinary water distribution system.
New large flow meters were purchased and installed for our three wells. We also upgraded our SCADA system which aids us in managing our entire water system.
The Town has also embarked on a residential water meter replacement project. That work is currently ongoing and should be completed later this year.
We completed the interior lining of our Green Canyon Water Storage tank (an EPA required task) and lining of the outside will be completed at the end of June.
An extensive water system maintenance backlog (which existed when I became mayor) has slowly been whittled away. Some of those tasks included overhauling the emergency generators at our First Response Well and Green Canyon Booster Station, as well as identifying the need for a backup generator at our Public Works water bay.
The engineering and design work for our next big water improvement project—replacement of the Prater Canyon Spring water transmission line—was also initiated.
Road Upgrades
My Second Priority
Over the years our roads have not been maintained well and many have fallen into disrepair. Since becoming mayor we have embarked on an ambitious plan to improve many of our gravel road surfaces to chip-seal by purchasing our own paving equipment. In 2025 we began chip-seal work on Vista Drive and Plat 21 (those efforts will finish up this month). We will also work to complete chip-seal in Plat 5 before the end of the fiscal year.
The Town has also appropriated funding for the next fiscal year to work on many of our gravel roadways with the aim to improve drainage and add road base to rehabilitate road surfaces.
While we didn’t get a chance to use them much last winter, we also purchased two snow-gate plows which should help to mitigate the size of driveway berms in future.
We are also implementing a new dust mitigation strategy this year by switching to use of magnesium chloride flakes in lieu of liquid magnesium chloride; the flakes should work better in our dry climate.
Public Meetings Access
Audio/Visual (A/V) Improvements
Over the past 18 months we have vastly upgraded our meeting recording capabilities.
Not only do we record all Town meetings (to include volunteer board meetings), we also livestream every meeting. The videos of each livestream event are then posted on the Town’s YouTube page.
These A/V improvements promote transparency in government and enable greater access for residents to follow municipal decision-making even if they cannot attend a meeting in person.
Town Master Plan Update
Planning for the Future of Our Town
As Chairman of our Town’s Planning Commission, in 2025 we took on the monumental task of updating the Town’s Municipal Master Plan.
The Town’s most recent Master Plan was finalized in December 2014. Considering the accelerated residential growth our community has experienced over the past five years, we are due for an update!
The Town of Star Valley Ranch Master Plan will define current municipal conditions and detail the community’s desires for where our town should go in the future. It will provide guidance for town decision-makers and establish goals and objectives to achieve the community’s vision.
Once adopted, the updated Town of Star Valley Ranch Master Plan will provide a roadmap of shared community vision and prioritized goals for the future. We are currently on track to have the updated Master Plan completed and adopted by the Town Council before the end of this calendar year.
“While much has been accomplished in the 18 months I’ve been in office, there is still so much more to do!”