New ag barn garners award

Posted 2/25/21

From planning to completion of the Powell High School livestock facility was a long road. Discussion of the ag barn began as early as 2017, with Park County School District1trustees agreeing it was a …

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New ag barn garners award

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From planning to completion of the Powell High School livestock facility was a long road. Discussion of the ag barn began as early as 2017, with Park County School District1trustees agreeing it was a great idea. 

But as with many great ideas, cost was an obstacle. District trustees and Powell High School agriculture teacher Bryce Meyer agreed they didn’t want the project to be a burden to the schools. Then, in October 2018, First Bank donated the land for the facility.

Not long after, the work began to take shape through architectural drawings and estimates. The construction bid was let to Point Construction out of Buffalo, at a cost of $767,000, according to articles published in April 2020 in the Powell Tribune. The site is slightly north of the high school. The building was planned to be “an extension of the classroom so that the students can get real life experience when working with plants and animals,” said Meyer at the time the construction got underway. “We are most looking forward to having our own space to apply what we learn in the classroom.” 

In addition to construction, the building will require livestock pens and handling equipment be installed. The ag booster parents donated $40,000 to the district for the construction of the building and pledged another $35,000 to help supply the facility with pens, in-kind work and other necessary tools for the facility, as well as giving input into the design for the building. The Wyoming Pork Council has also expressed interest in helping with the interior build out, although that donation has not been confirmed.

By July 2020, in spite of the COVID pandemic, the construction was on track for an October completion date.

As that date neared, Coy Ford, the Cleary Building sales specialist at Cody who had worked with the district and the contractor to put the facility together, took photographs of the progress and sent them in to Cleary corporate headquarters in Wisconsin. That company is well known for its design and construction of metal framed buildings for specific agricultural applications.

On Oct. 27, the school district board of trustees was able to tour the building, complete with a concrete-floored shop and overhead doors, a classroom for clinics and other part-time use, and an arena where the hands on portion of those clinics can be held. Additional work days have been held by students, parents and other supporters to apply water proof finish to the wood inside the arena that could be exposed to sprinklers on the sand surface. Interior painting was also part of the work day. 

Hopes are some students will be able to raise show animals — such as hogs, goats and sheep — in the new center. Priority will be given to students who don’t have the facilities at home to raise their own livestock, Meyer said, such as those who live in town. While some of those students have found places outside of town to keep their animals, that process involves traveling to where the animals are twice a day to feed, water and check on the projects. That travel can be eliminated for project animals kept at the livestock facility.

It was necessary for Powell City Council to pass an ordinance allowing animals to be housed at the new barn. That was accomplished in June 2019 with an ordinance that allows the barn to work under the same rules as those applied to the Park County Fairgrounds or the Northwest College equine facility. 

Although the building was cleared for usage by the state fire marshal, there was another surprise in store for the district trustees.

At their first meeting in February, Rob McCray, coordinator of support services for the district told the board the building had been recognized by Cleary as its commercial building of the year for 2020.

“Every year Cleary selects one of its buildings to be the highlight of the year, and this year ours was the number one commercial building,” McCray said. A commemorative plaque recognizing the accomplishment will be sent from the company for installation at a later date.  

“The new Powell High School FFA barn is a fantastic example of Cleary Building Corp.’s commitment to making our clients’ dream building a reality,” the company wrote in a letter notifying Ford of the recognition for the building. 

— Tessa Baker contributed reporting 

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