One More For The Road

[{"type":"text","text":"It's always a good idea to check your brakes..."}]

One more for no play 10 8 23

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<title>One More For The Road: Sunday, October 8, 2023 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

It's always a good idea to check your brakes...

One More For The Road: Sunday, October 8, 2023

 It's always a good idea to check your brakes...

Employee kate meadows cropped

Kate Meadows

Government & Politics

Dozens of residents packed the meeting room and hallway at a meeting of the Platte County Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday night, their voices often rising as they shared their concerns about a massive data center project.

a data center and power generation complex was proposed

 for 5,344 acres of ranchland northeast of Wheatland in Platte County near the Goshen County line.

More than 70 people attended, with the majority standing in the hallway because of limited space. It was contentious from the beginning over cell towers, the data center project, and even whether the meeting was legal.

All that came after Commission Chairman Marty Shepard pointed out that the meeting wasn’t open for public comment because it was about a regulatory change.

The Planning and Zoning Commission is considering changes to Platte County’s land-use rules and regulations that would bring data centers under the county’s regulatory framework, potentially requiring developers to obtain a special-use permit.

Board members stressed Tuesday that the discussion was about how to regulate data centers, not whether the county should allow them.

“We are here to make sure the projects come in front of us meet our regulations,” board member Bill Klein said.

Shepard said the county wants to make sure it has the ability to place restrictions on future data center developments rather than giving developers broad authority to proceed without additional county oversight.

“If we rezone to commercial industrial and we give these companies free rein, we’re not in favor of that,” Shepard said. “We’re looking at special-use permit instead of giving them carte blanche.”

Amid wide public pushback, the commission unanimously voted to move forward with proposed changes to rules and regulations that would require a special-use permit for data centers.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Saving Most Contentious For Last"}]

The commission closed the evening with the issue that had drawn most of the crowd: How to incorporate data centers into the county’s land-use regulations.

County planner Laura Bookout told the commission that commissioners “would like to incorporate some form of data centers into our current regulations.”

She said they believe there might be loopholes in existing rules that could be addressed by requiring a special-use permit.

Shepard said updating the regulations would give the county more authority over future projects and allow officials to negotiate protections with developers.

“If we are good negotiators, we negotiate to the developer, this is what we want to protect our county,” he said. “If the developer is OK with paying for it up front, there’s no risk to Platte County. I think that is the gist of this meeting. I don’t think the taxpayers of Platte County (should) front the bill." 

Resident Josh Martinez, who had previously presented the commission with his concerns and proposed regulations, pressed board members for more information about the county’s approach.

“There’s not a lot of data,” Martinez said. “This community wants to know a lot of stuff, and nobody is saying nothing.”

Board member Bonnie Lockhart pointed out the commission has not received an actual data center application.

Martinez accused county commissioners of failing to do their due diligence.

“You’re in this position to look out for us, not the companies and the money,” he said. “Do what the people ask, because it comes from our tax dollars.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Tax Revenue, Exemptions And Water"}]

The debate also turned toward the potential financial benefits and costs of data centers.

Shepard pushed back against what he described as a persistent claim that data centers are tax exempt.

He said a data center could generate as much as $20 million in property tax revenue for Platte County.

Shepard said the exemption applies to equipment installed inside data center buildings rather than the buildings and property.

[{"type":"text","text":"The explanation prompted shouting from the audience."}]

“So are they tax exempt or not?” someone off camera shouted. “You just said they have an exemption on equipment that they put in their building.”

[{"type":"text","text":"“Is it public comment now?” a woman asked."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Shepard leaned back in his chair, visibly frustrated."}]

“I’m not going to argue with you. $20 million is a lot for this county,” he said.

[{"type":"text","text":"He claimed everyone in attendance voted to gut property taxes."}]

“Where is the money going to come from that keeps our county alive?” he asked.

Shepard said he has toured data centers and spoken with people involved in the industry.

[{"type":"text","text":"“Was I skeptical up front? Sure was. I’m not now,” he said."}]

He also challenged what he described as exaggerated claims about the amount of water data centers consume.

[{"type":"text","text":"“A million gallons of water is a thimble. A thimble,” he said."}]

When Shepard was asked to share the information he had gathered during his tour, he said, “I didn’t take any notes. It’s stored right here.”

[{"type":"text","text":"He pointed to his head."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘Tell Us How You Want Them To Come’"}]

Klein repeatedly emphasized that the commission was seeking input on regulations rather than a simple rejection of data centers.

“We can’t just say, no, they’re not coming,” he said. “But we can say how we want them to come and what stipulations we want and what help we want in the community.”

He grew frustrated with residents who were using the meeting primarily to argue against data centers.

“Don’t just come in here and read off a whole bunch of stuff telling us how bad they are and how they’re just going to use all of our water and how they’re just going to destroy our community, because that’s bullshit,” Klein said.

“They are not here to destroy Wheatland. But they are here … because there is opportunity here.”

A woman in the audience challenged the commission, asking, “Why can’t we just say we don’t want them in Platte County?”

[{"type":"text","text":"“Why would you say that, ma’am?” Shepard replied."}]

Another man asked why the county has no other commercial manufacturing operations comparable to the proposed data center development.

[{"type":"text","text":"More arguing followed."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Public Comment A Point Of Contention"}]

As the commission attempted to move toward a vote, residents continued to ask when they would be allowed to formally comment on the proposed regulations.

“Do we need a motion to have a meeting on the 16th?” Shepard asked Bookout.

Off camera, someone said, “Didn’t they say they were going to open to public comment?”

[{"type":"text","text":"Then she spoke publicly."}]

“You said you were going to open it up to public comment so if we could start our public comment, that would be great,” she said.

“This meeting is not open,” Shepard replied. “This is not an application. This is a rule change.”

The woman argued that because the county was already discussing changes to its land-use rules, residents should be able to offer ideas, suggestions and questions.

[{"type":"text","text":"“On September 16th,” Shepard responded."}]

The woman pointed out that a Sept. 16 hearing comes after the commission’s upcoming meetings, when many decisions about the regulations might already have been made.

“Are we moving into these meetings with no rezoning and with no regulations and with no anything?” she asked.

Lockhart again noted that the county has not received an application for a data center.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Size Of Crowd Debated"}]

Klein said residents would have an opportunity to voice their opinions at the Aug. 26 rezoning meeting.

The commission then voted unanimously to move ahead with proposed changes to the county’s rules requiring data centers to obtain a special-use permit. Board member Jay Collins made the motion, and Lockhart seconded it.

Shepard said the commission would work on the specific regulations at its Sept. 16 meeting.

[{"type":"text","text":"The announcement prompted another round of shouting."}]

“If we include data centers within our regulations, then we can regulate them better if they come,” Lockhart said over the noise. “If we don’t have them in our regulations, then they’re going to do whatever they want.”

As the arguments continued, Klein reminded the crowd that the commission was hearing from a relatively small portion of the county.

[{"type":"text","text":"“You have to remember, there’s 32 of you here,” he said."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"“There is 75,” a woman corrected him from off camera."}]

Klein responded that Platte County has about 6,000 residents and said three men he spoke with at a grocery store the previous week supported data centers.

One man in the front row warned that the opposition could grow significantly if residents believe the county is moving toward approving a data center without adequate restrictions.

“I think once the word gets out to Platte County and Goshen County about regulations where this is definitely coming in and the permits have been approved, you’re going to have a hellstorm on your hands,” he said.

“We already do,” Lockhart replied. “And we haven’t even got an application yet.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘An Illegal Meeting?’"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"The meeting was contentious from the get-go."}]

Less than two minutes in, Rebecca Cohorn of Goshen County questioned whether the commission could proceed.

“I notice there is no period of time in which public comments is an agenda item and I believe that that would make this an illegal meeting,” Cohorn said.

Shepard responded that he did not believe public comment was required for the land-use regulation discussion.

“And that’s a problem. It doesn’t matter,” Cohorn interjected. “There is no public comment on anything.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Cohorn asked that the meeting be rescheduled in a larger room."}]

Shepard pointed out that the meeting was being livestreamed and recorded on YouTube before saying the commission would continue.

“No. We’re going to move forward. But thank you for your consideration,” he said.

As the commission moved into its first agenda item, consideration of a special-use permit for a wireless communication tower on private land, Cohorn continued to object.

[{"type":"text","text":"“It’s an illegal meeting,” she shouted."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"The interruptions continued as the board attempted to proceed."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"“Shut the door,” Shepard said."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Cell Tower Also Contentious"}]

 generally opens meetings to public comment, even when it is not specifically listed on the agenda.

“It may not be on the agenda, but I am always open in every meeting to public comment,” he said.

The tension continued as landowner Mary Meyer addressed the commission about opposition to a proposed cell tower on a neighboring property.

At one point, Shepard left his seat at the front of the room and addressed people gathered in the hallway.

“We are in a public hearing setting right now and it is very disruptive to the person who is trying to get her point across, whether you’re for it or against it,” he said. “You’re disturbing the lady who is trying to present her case. And she’s probably saying something you might want to hear.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Jeers came from the crowd."}]

“All I’m asking for is just a little peace so we can get through our meeting,” Shepard said. “If we can’t have it I’m going to have you removed.”

The crowd eventually quieted, but questions and objections continued as the meeting turned to the data center project.

 A special meeting to consider a major rezone application by the company proposing the data center, Site Layer 4, LLC, is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Aug. 26 at the Agriplex in Wheatland. A public hearing on the proposed land-use regulations is scheduled for Sept. 16 at 1 p.m. at the same location.

Wheatland data center 8 12 26

<title>Platte County Meeting Gets Contentious Over Proposed Data Center | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Dozens of residents packed the meeting room and hallway at a meeting of the Platte County Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday night, their voices often rising as they shared their concerns about a massive data center project.

Platte County Meeting Gets Contentious Over Proposed Data Center

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Around Wyoming

Public Safety

A violent storm ripped through southern Campbell County on Wednesday afternoon, tearing roofs from buildings, demolishing a vacant mobile home, flipping a camper upside down and requiring emergency crews to rescue four people from a damaged home.

Whether it was a tornado isn't official yet, but witnesses might have caught something on video, Campbell County Fire Marshal Stuart Burnham told Cowboy State Daily.

The storm struck near Rattlesnake Road and South Highway 59 shortly after noon, leaving pieces of roofs and other debris scattered across the rural landscape.

"Crews were called out to South Highway 59 near Rattlesnake Road (at about 12:36 p.m.) for a report of occupants stuck in a residence due to a possible tornado," Burnham said.

When firefighters arrived, Burnham said, crews were able to help the four people out of the house. All four were evaluated by emergency medical personnel, and Burnham said he did not believe anyone suffered significant injuries.

Firefighters then began working through the surrounding neighborhood, checking other damaged properties to make sure nobody else was trapped or hurt.

"We have not located anybody with significant injuries, fortunately," Burnham said.

By midafternoon, the response was beginning to wind down as officials turned their attention toward recovery.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Roofs Ripped Off"}]

Photos from the area show metal roofing ripped from structures, debris scattered across fields and the camper thrown onto its side.

"The structure that sustained the most damage, yeah, the roof was removed from it," Burnham said. "There are multiple buildings with roofs that have been removed. There was a mobile home that was demolished as well. However, that mobile home was vacant."

[{"type":"text","text":"Exactly how many properties were damaged was unknown Wednesday afternoon."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"\"Multiple,\" Burnham said."}]

Crews were still surveying the neighborhood, and some damage might not be discovered until property owners return home and inspect their land and buildings.

Powder River Energy Corp. was checking electrical infrastructure throughout the affected area.

The storm had moved out of Campbell County shortly after 2 p.m., and officials said there was no longer an immediate threat. South Highway 59 remained open.

[{"type":"text","text":"The American Red Cross was also preparing to help."}]

Robby Gallob said the organization was "working to get into contact with the primary family affected."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Did A Tornado Touch Down?"}]

The original emergency call reported a possible tornado, but nobody had called Campbell County's 911 center to report actually seeing a funnel, Burnham said.

[{"type":"text","text":"Highway 59 is heavily traveled, making that absence notable."}]

"That's not to say that there wasn't one," Burnham said. "It just wasn't necessarily noticed."

[{"type":"text","text":"Officials were beginning to find potential evidence Wednesday afternoon."}]

Burnham said responders were talking with people who had been in the area, and shortly before speaking with Cowboy State Daily he had watched a couple of videos taken during the storm.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"It looks like they may have had something on camera,\" he said."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Those videos could now help meteorologists piece together what happened."}]

The National Weather Service office in Rapid City, South Dakota, will make the official determination about whether a tornado touched down.

Campbell County officials were coordinating with NWS on a damage assessment, but Burnham didn't yet know when meteorologists would arrive.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"A Familiar Date"}]

Exactly 21 years earlier, on Aug. 12, 2005, one of Wyoming's deadliest tornadoes tore through Wright, about 30 miles south of Gillette.

[{"type":"text","text":"Jim Konyn remembers that afternoon."}]

He wasn't in Wright, he was working at Midway Supply in Gillette, an oilfield supply company located off Lakeway Road.

[{"type":"text","text":"Konyn and his coworkers happened to be outside when the sirens began."}]

From Gillette, they couldn't quite see the tornado, Konyn recalled, but they could see the storm looming in the distance.

[{"type":"text","text":"The next day, Konyn had to travel through the Wright area."}]

"I've been here for a long time, and I just remember that day because there's a lot of damage," he said.

The tornado Konyn remembers touched down north of Wright before moving southeast into town and striking the Cottonwood Mobile Home Park.

The Wyoming State Climate Office said the F2 tornado killed two people and injured 13. About 40 mobile homes were destroyed. 

Twenty-one years later, Konyn was again watching severe weather move across Campbell County.

Wednesday morning and early afternoon brought rain, lightning and thunder around Gillette, he said. Then a severe thunderstorm warning appeared for Campbell County.

Konyn recalled the warning tracking the storm from around Savageton toward the area between Gillette and Wright and the mines. He said the warning mentioned hail around the size of ping pong balls.

"They never said no tornado," he said. "They just said a severe storm."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Campbell County Tornadoes"}]

Two summers ago, an EF2 tornado struck the North Antelope Rochelle Mine south of Gillette, flipping vehicles and empty railroad cars and tearing portions of roofs and walls from mine buildings.

[{"type":"text","text":"Seven people were injured, but nobody was killed."}]

Then, just seven weeks ago, on June 22, another EF2 tornado crossed Campbell County between the Savageton and Wright areas.

The National Weather Service estimated its peak winds at 115 mph. It traveled nearly 13 miles, damaged a home and snapped more than a dozen power poles. No injuries or deaths were reported.

Now Campbell County is waiting to learn whether Aug. 12 will be added to that list.

For the moment, Burnham said the important news was that despite the destruction responders had not found anyone seriously hurt.

Tornado 1 8 13 26

<title>Suspected Tornado Rips Through Campbell County, Leaving Widespread Property Damage | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Suspected Tornado Rips Through Campbell County, Leaving Widespread Property Damage

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's managing editor, Greg Johnson.

Greg Johnson

Politics

CHEYENNE — Using license plate reader technology to track down and arrest a Laramie County suspect on allegations of sexual abuse of a child has fanned an already smoldering debate over protecting the public at the expense of violating personal privacy.

The Cheyenne Police Department extolls the former position in a Tuesday statement announcing the arrest of an alleged child sex abuser.

“A detective with the Cheyenne Police Department was able to utilize a license plate reader in Northern Colorado to locate a person who was from Cheyenne and wanted on felony sexual abuse of a minor charges on a case originating with the Laramie County Sheriff’s Office.”

The CPD didn’t identify the suspect, citing Wyoming laws about releasing names of sex abuse suspects, but said that the license plate readers helped facilitate “the arrest of this dangerous individual.”

“Within 48 hours of the CPD detective looking for the suspect, conducting interviews, and utilizing license plate reader technology he was found and arrested,” the agency reports.

A vocal opponent of the use of Flock brand license plate readers in Cheyenne said that while getting dangerous people off the streets is always the best outcome, it shouldn’t happen at the cost of the personal rights of everyone.

“We will never argue the cameras don’t work,” said Ted Hanlon, chairman of the Laramie County Democratic Party and candidate for state Senate District 5.

Hanlon has led local pushback against the use of license plate readers, including presenting a petition with nearly 800 signatures opposing them to the Cheyenne City Council about six months ago.

The one thing supporters and opponents of the technology seem to agree upon is that license plate readers work.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"A ‘Conundrum’"}]

“Police departments across the nation like them because they do work,” Hanlon told Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday. “And that’s my reason for not using them.

“It seems particularly in Wyoming that this is a bad solution. We appreciate our individualism and freedom.”

Put simply, Hanlon said he thinks personal privacy rights trump public safety because in order to achieve that safety, it puts everyone under “Big Brother-like” surveillance.

“You’re always weighing personal freedom against safety, and that’s the law enforcement conundrum,” he said. “We can all give up personal freedoms in the name of safety, but where do you draw the line on that?

“I’ve thought about it a lot. The police department talks about Flock cameras in terms of if everything goes right with them, and I talk about them in terms of if something goes wrong.”

The chances of everything going right without anything going wrong “is almost zero,” Hanlon added.

Tuesday’s example helps prove both points of view, he said. It’s a great example of finding a suspect in less than 48 hours after being spotted by a license plate reader.

“My argument would be that if you can find this person in 48 hours using this tech, you can find anybody,” Hanlon said. “That is the privacy concern, that if you or I drive through Cheyenne right now, these license plate readers are going to take pictures of our cars, and theoretically we haven’t done anything wrong.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Not The Big Brother It’s Made Out To Be"}]

The Cheyenne Police Department said there’s some misinformation about the scope and nature of the agency’s use of license plate readers (LPRs).

Police don’t use them to do random sweeps and need a reason to be looking for specific vehicles tied to suspects or people of interest in potential crimes, CPD Sgt. Matt Coulson told Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday.

“Our agency uses them as an investigative tool, along with other investigative tools,” he said, adding that they don’t go on fishing expeditions.

“The LPRs give us an ability to locate vehicles identified as being associated to those individuals,” he said.

In this latest case, a warrant for the suspect’s arrest was issued two weeks prior and there were other attempts to locate him, Coulson said.

By using license plate readers, “we were able to narrow (where the suspect was) down to a specific city and an area of that city where he was frequently driving that car,” he said.

 to Hanlon and city officials during a February City Council meeting.

The cameras reading license plates aren’t new and have been in use for decades around the United States, he said. The Flock brand readers are relatively new, however.

Francisco said the concern over the cameras he hears most is about privacy issues and questions about whether the cameras violate the Fourth Amendment, which protects people against unreasonable search and seizure by the government and ensures rights to privacy.

Supporters of license plate readers in Wyoming say they work, and opponents agree — saying that’s the problem. Police talk “in terms of if everything goes right with them, and I talk about them in terms of if something goes wrong," says an opponent.

One More For The Road: Sunday, October 8, 2023

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