Shoshone Irrigation District meeting a chance to ask questions

Submitted by Rob Stevens
Posted 1/7/25

Dear editor:

I have been thinking about the letter to the editor on Dec. 10, 2024 entitled “Appreciating 125 years of federal-state water law” written by Ms. Klodette Stroh. Ms. …

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Shoshone Irrigation District meeting a chance to ask questions

Posted

Dear editor:

I have been thinking about the letter to the editor on Dec. 10, 2024 entitled “Appreciating 125 years of federal-state water law” written by Ms. Klodette Stroh. Ms. Stroh clearly did her homework to be able to write such an in-depth article on such a complex subject. Given her expertise, I’m sure that she would be welcomed in most high school classrooms in the state as a guest lecturer.

There were two points in this article that I found of particular interest towards the bottom of the article. First, in the fifth paragraph from the bottom, Ms. Stroh states that the districts must repay the federal loans and that “All such assessments for current expenses shall be paid based on irrigable acreage.” (Emphasis added) Secondly, in the fourth from last paragraph, Ms. Stroh states that “further subdivision of an original Farm unit creates additional “Farm Ownership” if the ownership of the subdivided portion has changed.

It should also be noted that Ms. Stroh is also currently a Shoshone Irrigation District (SID) elected commissioner. Based on the statement by Ms. Stroh in the fifth paragraph, it is rational to believe that the current practice by SID of charging a landowner fee is not correct. While the landowner fee is a separate line item from the fee to repay the federal government, the principle would be the same. By this I mean, is that this fee is not based on irrigable acres, but rather on general landownership. This seems to be a key distinction that has been brought forward by Ms. Stroh. Based on Ms. Stroh’s excellent article, she apparently understands and accepts this key distinction. Therefore, I hope and expect that the other SID commissioners do also understand and accept this as the correct method of setting assessments.

In the fourth paragraph, where Ms. Stroh explains how “Farm Ownership” is established, it seems that I’m not a small landowner, but rather I’m also a farmer. From this point forward, I will change the terminology that I use in these discussions to be more accurate and conform with the nomenclature provided by Ms. Stroh.

Additionally, I would like to update everyone on my efforts to have SID provide a response to the questions I asked back on Oct. 23, 2024. The information that I asked to be provided is based on the Wyoming Freedom of Information Act and the right to inspect financial records and other documents provided in Wyoming Statute Title 41. Since I’m not an attorney, if I am not correctly understanding these concepts, I ask that someone correct me as needed. Here are the seven records that I asked to be provided for me for review. 1.) Copy of the Articles of Incorporation for the Shoshone Irrigation District. 2.) Copy of the Oath of Office for the SID commissioners, if not included in item 1 above. 3.) Copy of all contracts and loan documents between SID and the Bureau of Reclamation. 4.) For the most recent election of each commissioner, please provide a copy of the documentation that shows they had $20,000 in agricultural sales from the land that they personally owned, and the date that the documentation was provided. Please indicate the date the current commissioner’s term expires. 5.) For the calendar years (CY) 2021 and 2022, it was mentioned in the annual meeting that SID elected not to increase prices to the landowners. For these years, please indicate the amount of the cash reserve spent each year. Please provide a brief overview of the decision to decrease the SID cash reserves.  6.) For the landowner fee of $300 for CY 2023 and 2024, please provide a line-item description and indicate the cash value of each line item. (For example, capital equipment purchases $150.00). 7.) For the last three years please provide a listing of capital asset purchases and any associated worksheets/other documentation to support the purchase decision.

On Monday, Dec. 16, 2024, I called Mr. Trent Reed, SID general manager, to follow up again on when this data would be made available. After some discussion, Mr. Reed indicated that he felt that he would have most of the information ready on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. When I went to the SID office that day, I was informed that the front office was still under orders issued by the commissioners that no information was to be provided and that they were not allowed to speak with me. While I can only assume, it seems that commissioners feel that the Wyoming Freedom of Information Act and the relevant clauses of Wyoming Statute 41 can be disregarded. If this is assumption is incorrect, I ask to be corrected by the SID president, Mr. Cox.

I have also been asked to attend the SID monthly meeting that is currently scheduled for Jan. 15, and I’ve been asked to be there at 10 a.m. I’ve asked Mr. Trent Reed for the meeting agenda one week ahead of time so I can be prepared and so not waste the commissioner’s time. I also informed Mr. Reed that there would be one other presenter to add to the agenda. I also asked for a comment and question period afterwards so that visiting attendees can make their feedback heard.  

Therefore, if you or someone you know is also upset by the $300 landowners fee, this is your chance to make your voice heard. Take a vacation day, an early lunch or otherwise arrange your day so that you can attend on Jan. 15! The meeting will be held at the SID office. The more people who attend the better. If you don’t attend and participate, you really can’t complain much about the current landowner fee.

I may be reached via email at 307RobStevens@gmail.com and will respond to all serious questions. Understand that some questions may be the basis for further letter to editor on my part.

Rob Stevens

Powell

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