It was a good afternoon for a number of organizations and county departments who had requested funds from one of Park County’s two large pots of COVID-19 related federal funds.

At Tuesday’s meeting, county commissioners approved nearly every recent request, including $1.2 million for public works to buy road material in bulk to save money, just over $168,000 to help build a Meeteetse community center, $24,000 for the Powell-Clarks Fork Conservation District for new equipment and $67,000 for the Cody Conservation District to fund a new full-time employee to replace one who left. 

After commissioners Lloyd Thiel and Lee Livingston expressed objection, commissioners chose not to approve a further $15,000 for the Cody Conservation District to run an off election year mail-in ballot this fall to request a 1 mill levy to fund the district. 

Neither commissioner specifically objected to the district getting 1 mill in funding nor to a ballot measure asking the voters to approve or deny it — voters denied it twice before. Instead, Thiel objected to spending $15,000 for mail-in ballots, when adding the measure to a primary or general election costs nothing. 

Cody Conservation board member Richard Jones said after first having it voted down when it was alongside an unpopular 1 cent general sales tax proposal and then being asked in a primary just weeks after the release of skyrocketing property taxes, they wanted a chance to ask the question unencumbered by other ballot questions. 

“We've been shot down twice with just unfortunate timing,” Jones said. “We would like to take our chances with the public, an up or down issue. If we can get the mill levy, we're off your neck.”

Livingston countered that anybody could request the same treatment for a ballot measure, to which Jones agreed, saying he understood the bad optics of asking for taxpayer money to be able to ask the taxpayers for more money. 

“What you’re in is a community that’s very anti-tax,” Livingston said, smiling, “in case you didn’t know.” 

The rebuff on the $15,000 was the outlier, however, as commissioners also approved $50,000 from a previous set of COVID funds for new ballot booths to replace ones from the early 90s where the legs are falling off, and a further $50,000 to fix the water situation at the Powell road and bridge shop by installing a 2,000 gallon cistern. 

The commissioners are still sitting on millions from multiple federal funding streams and have already set aside funds for replacing the HVAC systems in two county buildings, but a final dollar amount has yet to be announced.