It is no secret that western Wyoming is growing and that growth is affecting both the north and the south. In that spirit, Lincoln County Chief of Staff, Stephen Allen addressed the Afton Town Council in their latest meeting and said that cooperation between both sides of the Bridger-Tetons would go a long way toward solving some of the pains that are currently affecting the area and are only expected to grow.

Mr. Allen addressed the council after making the trip from Kemmerer and informed them that south Lincoln County will have nine major industries coming into the area. “Some of those include a soda ash plant, CO2 sequestration, carbon capture and more,” he said. “All of them will require additional power.” Mr. Allen informed the council that 87-percent of Wyoming’s energy goes out of state so that the Naughton plant will play a crucial role in the future as these industries move in. Allen emphasized that the Kemmerer Operations coal mine is a vital piece of the county much like Simplot Smoky Canyon is for the Star Valley area and that the commission will be assertive in representing it. 

Allen also invited those in attendance to the June 10, groundbreaking of the TerraPower nuclear plant and expressed the commission’s desire to have a more cooperative approach between the two ends of the county. He expressed the desire for transparent growth and stated that some 1,500 homes will be coming to the Kemmerer area which will drive up traffic and the commission’s belief that US 30 needs to be developed to handle the increased load. He also stated that the next big project will be transportation in regards to getting workers from Star Valley to Kemmerer and asked for ideas to be discussed. Allen emphasized that he and the commissioners office is a resource and welcomed any council members to a meeting in Cokeville on May 30.

Allen then exited the meeting with the purpose of attending the Town of Star Valley Ranch meeting to express the same concepts.

“Our goal is to be at all of these meetings on a regular basis,” he said.

More information and resources for Lincoln County can be found at lincolncountywy.gov.