(Cheyenne, WY) – A provision that would have transferred about 90 acres of state property to the City of Lander for residential housing was removed from a legislative bill draft last week.
The bill’s sponsor – Wyoming Rep. Lloyd Larsen, R-Lander – proposed the amendment that removed the Lander language from the draft.
“I’ve heard (the House) express concern about making that transfer to the City of Lander,” Larsen said when House Bill 69 came up on first reading this week. “So I have (an) amendment that will remove that out.”
‘Administrative conveyance’
When Larsen proposed his amendment, Wyoming Rep. Pepper Ottman, R-Riverton, asked him to talk about the land transfer process and the “normal procedure” Lander might follow to obtain the property in question.
“I still am not clear,” she said. “Is the normal procedure to just transfer lands like that, like a transferable title, or is the normal procedure to put (it) up for bid first?”
In response, Larsen said the City of Lander could work with the State Board of Land Commissioners to determine whether the sale would be “an appropriate disposal of property.”
During a Lander City Council meeting this week, Councilmember Julia Stuble said she was “almost entirely ignorant” of “what that sort of administrative conveyance could look like.”
Public Works Director Lance Hopkin wasn’t familiar with the process, either, but said he would be “happy to research what next steps look like.”
He also noted that HB 69 still features a proposed transfer of about 29 acres of property at the Wyoming Life Resource Center to the Wyoming Department of Transportation – a move that would be “a win (for) this community,” as it would result in the eventual construction of a new facility that better meets WYDOT’s needs.
“We don’t want to lose WYDOT or any of the employees,” Hopkin said. “(We want to) make sure that they have a great place to operate out of. … Hopefully that portion can still move forward.”
HB 69 passed the Wyoming House on third reading Saturday, with “aye” votes from Larsen and Wyoming Reps. Joel Guggenmos, R-Riverton, and Ivan Posey, D-Fort Washakie, and “nay” votes from Ottman and Wyoming Rep. John Winter, R-Thermopolis.
It was introduced in the Wyoming Senate on Wednesday and referred to the Senate Agriculture, State, and Public Lands and Water Resources Committee.