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Albany County approves Pilot Hill lease amendment, seeks 25-year reset to boost grant eligibility
Summary
The county approved combining two special‑use leases for Pilot Hill, recorded over $621,000 in on‑site improvements, and accepted a state offer to reset lease terms to 25 years to improve grant eligibility; the amendment will next go to the Office of State Lands board.
Albany County commissioners approved a first amendment to the special‑use leases covering Pilot Hill that combines two previously separate lease parcels, summarizes on‑site improvements and allows the county to seek a reset of lease terms to 25 years.
Sarah Brown Matthews, executive director with Pilot Hill, told commissioners the Office of State Lands has agreed in principle to combine the two special‑use leases and that an auditor from the office visited the property. She said the county and partners documented improvements under Wyoming Game and Fish’s WHMA (wildlife habitat management area) category including fencing, weed mitigation, signage, gates and a reactivated well with guzzler tanks valued at $117,688. Additional improvements in the Pilot Hill area — fencing, trail work, wayfinding signage, benches and weed mitigation — were documented at $503,644, bringing the total value of improvements on the property to $621,332.
Matthews said the amendment "does not change any of the restrictions around the use of the property" but simplifies lease management by combining two leases that previously came due at different times and adjusts the annual rental increase to 3.25 percent, consistent with the original lease terms. She also told commissioners the Office of State Lands offered to reset the remaining lease term back to 25 years; the extra term would make some grant programs that require a longer lease or perpetuity eligible to apply.
Commissioners voted to approve the amendment and later amended the motion to explicitly accept the Office of State Lands' offer to reset both leases to 25 years. The county attorney and the attorney general’s office reviewed the amendment, and Matthews said the amendment, with the county’s approval, will be presented to the Office of State Lands board at its August meeting.
The motion carried by voice vote. Commissioners and staff said the consolidated leases will simplify payment schedules and county administration while preserving existing use restrictions on the property.
The action does not by itself change allowed uses on Pilot Hill; it consolidates administration, documents improvements and positions the county to pursue grant programs that require longer lease terms.
