Albany County commissioners approve road chip seal contract, phone‑system evaluation and other measures; decline Laramie growth‑area IGA

The Albany County Board of Commissioners on April 1 approved a series of contracts and routine items, including a road chip‑seal contract and an evaluation agreement for a cloud‑based phone system, and ratified a federal grant application. The board also voted to decline an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the City of Laramie to implement a joint growth‑area plan.

The board approved awarding the Albany County Road Chip Seal Project to Intermountain Slurry Seal, accepting the company’s low bid that staff described as “a little under $2.5 million.” County staff told commissioners they had budgeted $3.9 million for the overall project and had set aside $150,000 in a force account for unforeseen pavement work. The motion to award the contract passed on a recorded voice vote; commissioners indicated unanimous approval during the vote.

The commission also approved a CDWG quote for a scheduled IT hardware refresh “in the amount not to exceed $24,037.20.” County IT staff described the purchase as part of a five‑year rotation to replace aging Windows 10 workstations and several detention‑center video stations and to add dual‑monitor setups for greater staff efficiency.

Albany County authorized an evaluation agreement with RingCentral to pilot a cloud‑based communications system. IT staff told commissioners the current phone system will reach end of support in 2025 and that a cloud solution offers broader feature sets, soft‑client capability (so staff can answer county lines from mobile or desktop apps) and improved FOIA‑ready reporting. The board approved a proof‑of‑concept agreement to test RingCentral before a wider rollout.

Other approvals and ratifications at the meeting included:

- Ratification of a Mountain and Plains Environmental Justice grant application for Casper Aquifer monitoring. Staff said the application requested “over $180,000” and that a federal de minimis indirect cost rate of 15% (about $23,550) was included in the request. The commission ratified the application submission.

- Approval of an approach license for Willow Waters LLC on County Road 530 (Lawrence Road).

- Approval of a catering permit for Altitude Chop House and Brewery to serve an event at the Wolf Ranch event space on May 3, 2025.

- Acceptance of an exemption request from the large‑tract subdivision process to create a 35‑acre tract from a 1,211‑acre parent parcel; planning staff said the exemption met the county subdivision resolution criteria and the board approved it.

The board also heard a presentation from J and J Second Chance Small Holdings, a Rock River‑based animal rescue, seeking $25,000 in county community‑partner funding to build an ADA‑accessible multipurpose building; that item was presented for discussion and no county decision was made at the meeting.

On the intergovernmental agreement with the City of Laramie, commissioners debated whether to approve an IGA that would guide growth‑area coordination outside city limits. Commissioners who opposed the IGA expressed concern that the agreement would place requirements on development outside the city and could increase the county’s enforcement burden; supporters said the plan was intended to align streets, utilities and subdivision standards to avoid costly mismatches. After discussion the board voted to decline entering into the IGA.

The meeting also included standard business: approval of consent‑agenda items, voucher approval for March 2025, and an executive session under the cited Wyoming statute. Commissioners called the meeting to a close after the roll calls on final items.