EVANSTON — The Uinta County Commissioners and mayors of the four municipalities in Uinta County have decided upon a list of projects they hope county residents will vote to fund with a special purpose tax. Now that the projects have been decided upon, county officials will begin drafting the language to appear on the ballot in August.

For several months, local officials have been discussing the possibility of implementing an additional one cent special purpose tax to address community needs and projects that have little hope of being completed otherwise due to lack of funding. A special purpose tax must be approved by voters and the ballot must list specific projects and their costs so voters know exactly what is being proposed. Funds raised by a special purpose tax cannot be spent on anything other than the specific projects approved by voters.

At least half of Wyoming’s 23 counties currently utilize a special purpose tax and Uinta County has had such a tax in place in the past, including to raise funds for the construction of water and wastewater treatment facilities in both Evanston and the Bridger Valley. Estimates are that the tax could raise approximately $1.7 million annually. Officials have an option to pursue bonding so projects could begin immediately upon passage of the tax or to wait and complete projects in stages as the funds are raised.

With revenues of approximately $1.7 million per year, with a 10-year bond, for example, projects with a combined cost of approximately $17 million could be undertaken. With a 15-year bond, the projects could potentially have a price tag of roughly $25 million.

As discussions have continued in recent months, mayors and commissioners have considered several possible projects and their costs. During a commission work session on Tuesday, Feb. 18, those projects were narrowed down to those with a combined total price tag of approximately $10 million, which officials said they believe is an amount voters can live with. All three commissioners and all four mayors expressed a desire to be disciplined and pursue projects with county-wide benefits without obligating taxpayers to excessive costs in a time of continued financial uncertainty throughout the state.

Evanston Mayor Kent Williams said if the issue passes and projects are successful, with voters seeing a benefit, there is the possibility of passing another measure in the future to address other projects. He emphasized the fact that, if it were to pass, the tax will impact visitors to the county as well and therefore won’t be paid solely by residents.

Williams said he is comfortable with asking voters to approve the roughly $10 million in projects. “It shows we’re not asking for the moon,” he said.

Commissioner Mark Anderson put together a breakdown of population in the county to help determine a fair dollar amount for projects in each community and the unincorporated parts of the county. Approximately 2.5% of the population lives in Bear River, 6% in Mountain View, 10% in Lyman, 23% in unincorporated areas and 58% in Evanston.

Williams stressed the importance of the Bridger Valley in passing the measure, pointing out that, although the majority of the population lives in Evanston, voter participation rates are higher in the Bridger Valley.

In an effort to pursue county-wide projects, each of the municipalities will have a project included in the ballot question. Bear River will pursue funding for some emergency generators, while Mountain View will ask for approximately $1 million for parking lot paving, water line looping and fire hydrants. Lyman plans to ask for approximately $1.7 million for street upgrades.

The City of Evanston and Uinta County itself will both be pursuing funding for upgrades to the Uinta County Fairgrounds. Evanston is seeking approximately $3 million for paving and parking improvements to the fairgrounds and the Sunset cabins area, with a walkway through Hamblin Park. The County is seeking approximately $4.5 million for new grandstands, restrooms and a concession area at the fairgrounds.

The projects will not be listed separately on the ballot but will be combined under one question. Voters will have the option to approve all of the projects or none of them but picking and choosing just certain projects in certain communities will not be an option.

With projects selected, Uinta County Attorney Loretta Howieson-Kallas will now begin drafting the specific language for the ballot. Once that language has been determined, at least three of the four municipalities and the county will need to pass resolutions in favor of the ballot question at upcoming meetings. The resolutions need to be approved by early April so the final wording can then be submitted to Uinta County Clerk Amanda Hutchinson for inclusion on the ballot in the August primary election.

All three commissioners — Anderson, Eric South and Craig Welling — and all four mayors — Williams, Bear River Mayor Troy Nolan, Mountain View Mayor Scott Dellinger and Lyman Mayor Bronson Berg — expressed optimism that the measure will pass.