Park County commissioners appointed Richard Jones to a vacancy on the Buffalo Bill Dam Visitor Center board after an interview in which Jones described his previous service on the foundation board, volunteer involvement and the board’s stewardship responsibilities.

Jones told the commissioners he has served as secretary on the board for more than eight years, manages volunteer programs and has helped steward the foundation’s endowment and operating funds. He said the visitor center operates largely with bookstore sales, donations and volunteer labor and receives little direct county funding. “We have about 30 volunteers, and we provide a golf cart, pickup and retrieval service…We have a paid manager and a couple of assistant managers that operate the bookstore, run the facilities, and manage the volunteers,” Jones said.

Jones outlined board responsibilities, including oversight of reserves and planning for major repairs to facility infrastructure such as HVAC and roofing, and he said the foundation has reserves in the high hundreds of thousands of dollars but that a single major repair can deplete funds quickly.

A second applicant also interviewed but the board voted to appoint Jones to the vacancy. The motion to appoint Jones passed on a voice vote; the board did not record a roll-call vote in the transcript.

The commissioners asked Jones about revenue sources; he said most funds are generated internally through the bookstore and donations, with occasional Park County promotional grants. Jones also described the visitor center’s role in interpreting the Buffalo Bill Dam and related Bureau of Reclamation and Bureau of Land Management interests that surround the site.

What’s next: County staff will inform Jones and the visitor center board of the appointment so he can fill the vacant board seat and resume duties.