Natrona commissioners appoint Park Board member and ask staff for transition plan for parks separation

The Natrona County Board of Commissioners appointed John Hatcher to a vacancy on the county parks board and instructed staff to develop a written transition plan — including IT needs, costs and milestones — to support the separation of the parks department into a statutory board.

Why it matters: county leaders are preparing to convert the parks department to a statutory board that will be responsible for its own operations. Commissioners want a clear timeline, a scope of required equipment and personnel, and cost estimates so the county and the new board can plan budgets, information‑technology arrangements and shared services during a phased transition.

Commissioner discussion began when parks staff asked whether an MOU (memorandum of understanding) or similar agreement would be useful to define responsibilities during the change. One parks representative said an MOU could set expectations while the statutory board is seated. Commissioners asked for a flowchart of milestones and a prioritized list of IT, phone, payroll and security items required to establish independent operations.

The board heard a preliminary IT cost figure that staff had developed during an earlier review: "In early '22, we went through a similar exercise, on this. And I do recall, at that point, the IT estimated cost to be a, administrative board was around a hundred and $40,000," a county staff speaker told commissioners. That estimate, presented as a prior‑year rough figure, included computers, phones and office equipment; commissioners requested a current, line‑item scope and updated budget estimate.

Commissioners and staff repeatedly emphasized the phased nature of the change. "I agree. Everybody agrees with that. I think we do need to have an end date... That gives them a time frame that they can go through and start setting things up," one commissioner said. Staff and several commissioners noted some services — for example, building security, cameras and payroll reporting — may still require county support for a period after separation.

Appointments: the board approved reappointments to the Historic Preservation Commission (Daniel Bailey, Lisa Ingebretson, Elizabeth Erickson and Charney Sasha) and approved the appointment of Stacy Ziegler and John Hatcher to park board vacancies. After the vote the board member who previously held a parks seat said publicly that he would resign from the parks board so Hatcher could take the seat immediately.

Next steps: commissioners asked parks and IT staff to return a detailed scope of work listing equipment, personnel needs, security and payroll issues, with sub‑milestones and cost estimates. The board indicated the county will fund statutory board operations in the budget process if necessary; several commissioners emphasized the statutory board will be largely funded by the county as a component unit unless the board identifies alternative revenue sources.