(Lander, WY) – Members of the Fremont County Commission plan to work with the Fremont County Sheriff, the City of Riverton, and residents of the Gardens North subdivision to address the high levels of criminal activity that have been reported recently in the rural neighborhood.
The issue isn’t new, Commissioner Clarence Thomas said this week, referencing emails from constituents and “year after year of violence” and other incidents at Gardens North – a Fremont County subdivision located just north of Riverton.
“It’s just ongoing,” Thomas said. “I think as a governmental entity … we need to at least look at some ideas (to) intervene.”
For example, Thomas said the county could collaborate with the City of Riverton and the Gardens North homeowners association to increase the city and county law enforcement presence in the neighborhood.
County officials could also help the Gardens North homeowners find the best way to “(get) rid of all the vacant trailers that are just sitting” in the neighborhood, providing places “where people can hang out or party,” he suggested.
Either way, Thomas said, “We should be a part of this.”
“We should say, ‘Hey, it’s time to stop – and it’s time for us to make sure it stops,’” he commented.
Commissioner Larry Allen agreed, asking Thomas to get in touch with Sheriff Ryan Lee, Riverton city officials, and the Gardens North homeowners association “to see if you can come up (with) a solution … to get things under control.”
HOA ‘ridicule’
Part of the issue at the subdivision is that “the HOA has fallen into, basically, ridicule,” Gardens North resident Jerry Alley said, explaining that about 80 percent of the homes in the neighborhood are owned by non-residents who aren’t invested in the community.
“Until we can get those folks involved in what’s going on on their property, I don’t think we stand a chance,” he said. “And I don’t know how to go about doing that. …
“You can say, ‘Well, we’ll fine you.’ But they’re not paying their water bill in the first place, so what makes you think they’re going to pay a fine?”
Commissioner Jennifer McCarty said she was familiar with the situation Alley was referring to.
“That’s one of the worst, worst areas in Fremont County,” she said. “Most of those places should be condemned. … They don’t have plumbing, they don’t have sewer, they don’t have anything. They should be condemned.”
The Sheriff has the authority to condemn properties, Commission attorney Nathan Maxon pointed out, and Allen said the county planning department and the public health nurse may be able to weigh in on those kinds of issues, too.