Victor fire house to open

Extract from the Teton Valley News

Posted: Thursday, May 12, 2011 9:12 am Rachael Horne TVN Staff.

The Teton County Fire Protection District is hosting a grand opening of the newly remodeled fire station in Victor on May 26.

Fire Chief Mike Hoyle said they will now be able to respond much faster and provide better service to the south end of the county. The Fire Department is now able to house two firefighter/ EMTs seven days a week and 24 hours a day at the Victor station. Hoyle said they were able to do this with the current staff they have in place.

The station already housed a truck and several pieces of equipment, but Hoyle said they relied tremendously on volunteers to respond to an incident. The remodel has provided housing and a place to fix meals. Being in Victor will decrease response times. Hoyle said it currently takes them about 10 mintues to respond and used Victor Elementary as an example. He said now instead of 10 minutes, they can get there in one minute.

The station remodel was funded with money received from several organizations to mitigate the impact of development in Teton County. The remodel was completed by the firefighters currently employed by the Fire District.

Currently there is a staff of about 20 firefighters/EMTs.

When development was booming, there was talk of setting up a fire house in the north end of the Valley, but Hoyle said that's been put on hold for now.

The open house is being held on May 26 from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Everyone is welcome to attend. Children are encouraged to attend and see the fire trucks. Firefighters will also be on hand to answer any questions. Refreshments will be served.

New city center planned with land purchase

May 04, 2011
By Jeannette Boner - Re-posted from The Valley Citizen

The Victor City council will entertain a land purchase agreement for the old depot and surrounding property next Wednesday evening, May 11. Photo illustration/Google Maps



There is a picture of the Victor Depot hanging in Bill Knight’s office at Victor City Hall. Within the frame, the black and white photo, taken around 1915, is a snapshot of history and an identity by which Victor become known as: the end of the line, a place to come home to. But perhaps as well, this is also a picture of what may again redefine the south end. By looking at the past, could the old depot play a larger role in the city’s future?

“The depot is the one of the most iconic buildings in the valley,” the Victor City Planner said on Tuesday. “The point is, you look at a town like this and the theme for decades is that it was a railroad town. The idea was to get this back into the public sector.”

The Victor City council agreed, voting unanimously last Wednesday evening, to negotiate an offer to purchase the old depot and surrounding land with the overall plan that the building will become the city center complete with municipal offices, an interpretive center, public parking, and street and sewer upgrades.

And resting against an easel just below the black and white photo is the beginning of those plans.
Overlaying a map of the city are drawings that Knight presented to the council that officials hope will encourage new business and economic development for downtown. Knight added that this project would not distract from Main Street but reinforce it.

“This is a big project to get this back into shape,” Knight said of the building that is currently used as an apartment complex. “Hopefully as this develops it will spread throughout the city. This is a development project and was always intended to jump start business.”

This idea was born more than a decade ago when city leaders, under former mayor Don Thompson, dedicated an economical development fund with the anticipation that the city would use the money for a business park. City Clerk Craig Sherman said with property prices at a reasonable rate, the idea for the city center was feasible. Although plans for reconstruction have not even hit a professional architect at this point, purchasing the building and the land is the first step in the process. In true Victor style, having all the plans in place as proven successful such was the case for the ice arena and transit center at Pioneer Park.

The purchase price of the depot is a commercially appraised value of $416,000 and includes the depot and 2.2 acres of commercially zoned property. The city has about $200,000 in its economic development fund and will plan to borrow money from other city funds said Sherman. Additionally, the project will fall under the newly established Urban Renewal District for the city. Tax revenue captured through the revitalization project will go back into the project.

Next Wednesday the city council will entertain the purchase contract from current owner, Wilson resident John Wasson. The meeting will be at city hall May 11. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. with the land acquistion starting around 8 p.m.

After the city purchases the property, they will take over the building becoming essentially landlords for those who are currently renting apartments in the building. Knight stressed that due to the long term planning that is needed for this project, no one is in danger of losing his or her living space in the near future.

After next Wednesday’s meeting, Knight said the next step is for an architect to render a prospectus that could be used to secure grants, state and federal funding for the project.

Center eyes summer start, big-name exhibits

Ken Levy TVN Staff Teton Valley News

Although likely a long shot, ground could be broken for the Scenic Byway project during this summer's Main Street road project, according to Reid Rogers, project coordinator.

Rogers said drawings for the roughly $1.2 million project - also known as the Greater Yellowstone Region Geotourism Center - could be ready quickly, following Idaho Transportation Department approval of the choice of architects.

Once that approval is set, negotiations for cost and timelines would begin.

"If this is granted we will proceed to negotiate with the lead candidate on an architectural services contract," Rogers said. "The group is L-8 Group, Inc., Architects and Planners; Siegel Planning Services LLC; Tahran Architecture and Planning LLC, MD Nursery and Landscaping, Inc., and Nelson Engineering."

Quickly, in this case, could mean April or May. The Main Street project is due to begin as soon as weather permits.

"Because so much effort has already gone into designing the exhibit space and, conceptually, the outside and lighting specifications, we aren't starting from ground zero," Rogers said.

The architectural team needs to be very specific about the construction contract they want, said Rogers. Construction bids could go out in time for a July construction start, close to when the Main Street project is due for completion.

"They could build it in four months, and it could be open in late fall," said Rogers.

The GYRGC, which includes exhibit space and a plaza, is due to be built in front of the Driggs City Center.

Numerous variables, from scope of construction to exhibit details, could make that a soft opening, with an official opening possible in Spring 2012.

"You want to be in a position come next April or May that you're wide open for business, and you've had several months to publicize it, so that the summer of 2012 sees a significant difference. I don't see any reason why that wouldn't be the case," Rogers said.

The city's Urban Renewal Agency has already put up 25-30 percent of its roughly $425,000 match, he said. The agency is looking at a $1 million line of credit with Wells Fargo, which it hopes to get before new UR laws go into effect that could hamper their ability to obtain that credit, "and while interest rates are still at 3 percent," said Rogers.

Regarding funding other aspects of the center - furnishings, exhibits, staff - Rogers said a capital drive is on, targeted at foundations and federal agencies that would take the building to its potential, such as LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) construction standards, geothermal and other features that are "a little more costly than just a plain Jane building," he said.

"We're going to go after specific grants for energy conservation and an improved physical plan to see if we can get some of that done with additional construction money," he said.

While not naming names, Rogers said others want to see the center succeed.

"We haven't been discouraged everywhere we go," he said.

Regarding the plaza portion of the project, Rogers said the goal is to be sensible with it, and, if money is left over from that portion, it could go back into the building fund.

For example, $50,000 of the plaza budget was earmarked for art.

"We can go out and look for a donor for a sculpture or a fountain," he said. "We could cut the plaza budget down by outsourcing the art and amenities."

Exhibits: Big names, large scale

Fourteen exhibitors are lined up for the GYRGC, and about half of those are nearing completion, said Rogers.

Private donors could step up to sponsor some of those exhibits. With about $185,000 budgeted for exhibits overall, he hopes donations could triple that amount to allow for first-quality exhibits throughout the center.

"That's going to have to get funded by nice people out there," he said.

One of the exhibits is of the scenic byway itself, including the Yellowstone-Grand Teton Loop. He estimated producing that exhibit could cost $20,000 for design and manufacture, which would come out of the GYRGC budget.

Besides information and exhibits about mountain men and trappers who called the area home, look for the Thomas Moran-William Jackson gallery to be one of the first - and most impressive - exhibits in the GYRGC. Painter Moran and photographer Jackson were part of the Hayden Geological Survey of 1871, which helped create Yellowstone National Park.

"If you take the whole Geotourism thing as preservation and sustainability, probably the greatest example in the world is the creation of Yellowstone National Park," Rogers said. "We decided to do a collection of work the two of them did as they came through Idaho. This is not only a visual masterpiece but historically accurate."

About 20 Moran pieces are coming to the Geotourism center, he said, with about 15 of Jackson's photographs.

Two reproduction works for the exhibit are among the most important pieces of art in the United States, according to Rogers.

The principal piece is a reproduction of Moran's Yellowstone Canyon. The Smithsonian is providing a 12-foot-long, high-definition replication of it on canvas.

The Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa is providing a 10-foot long reproduction of Moran's Shoshone Falls.

Other exhibits could include a recreational display on television screens keyed to seasonal opportunities, for which major sponsors are being sought. Another would link the center to major museums in the area.

Another exhibit in the concept stage could cover the story of the Native Americans who were here first. But the Sho-Ban tribe has never recorded its earliest history, Rogers said. They may get the chance to tell their story at the center. Both National Geographic and PBS want to do the story.

"That's a major historical undertaking by itself," Rogers said, and said he's meeting with the tribe to discuss the details.

According to National Geographic, which developed the concept, geotourism is defined as tourism "that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place - its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage, and the well-being of its residents."

To contact Ken Levy e-mail

reporter3@tetonvalleynews.net.

Trail users following path to consensus

Posted: Thursday, February 17, 2011 12:00 am | Updated: 3:51 pm, Wed Feb 16, 2011.

Trail users following path to consensus Ken Levy TVN Staff Teton Valley News | 0 comments

Victor Mayor Scott Fitzgerald said the surest path to economic viability is a viable trails system.

“Our number one asset is our connection to our public lands,” said Fitzgerald, who initiated the Southern Valley Trail Project last summer. As connections to nature, “trails are an important economic driver for our area.”

The project is gathering a comprehensive collection of input from snowmobilers, mountain- and dirt bikers, hikers, skiers and horse and cattle users on their perspectives on how to best use and enhance the trail system through the southern Teton Valley.

The areas in question include Forest Service land adjacent to Victor from Grove Creek to Mud Lake “that wraps around the southern border of Victor,” Fitzgerald said. “The intention is to focus on trails, and trailheads, that are quickly and easily accessible at the southern end of Teton Valley.”

Once all user groups reach a consensus on how the system can best serve everyone, their input will go to the Victor City Council, which will present recommendations to the U. S. Forest Service Teton Basin Ranger District. The hope is to include the recommendations as amendments to the Big Hole subsection of the USFS travel plan.

Jay Pence, district ranger, said amending the existing plan could be a lengthy process, taking up to a year or longer.

“We don’t want to rush this,” Fitzgerald said. “We want to make sure we hear back from everyone.”

Getting consensus requires the groups to find areas of compromise and a better understanding of each other’s needs, he said. No one wants to see loss of access to prime trail links.

“My main concern is losing the snowmobile accesses we’ve always had,” said snowmobile enthusiast Wade Kaufman.

Snowmobilers have to battle common misperceptions about them, he said, including the vision of snowmobilers “chasing wildlife down to their ultimate sweaty death. It’s completely false.”

One or two bad apples in any user group can cause a really bad confrontation, Kaufman said. Complaints usually come from those who are irritated that snowmobilers are there, interfering with their wilderness experience.

“A lot of people don’t like motors, and that’s what it comes down to,” he said. “In our group, we try to make a more concerted effort to slow down when we see people hiking and skiing. All it takes is a kind gesture to create that bridge. If we build walls, we’ll lose our bridges.”

The bottom line for Kaufman is that all trail users maintain their present accesses.

Zach Smith, representing the hikers' group, said he sees trail issues as resolvable, and that problems with snowmobilers and other motorized users are the exception, rather than the rule.

It's not the goal of the project to shut down motorized trail users, but rather to keep open the trails being used and maximizing the possibilities of activities in the southern part of the Valley, he said.

"Keeping a balance of activities is key," Smith said.

Most of his friends in the motorized user groups are into everything, and don't want trails shut down.

"They like the variety," said Smith. "Nobody in the user groups belongs to just one. They want to keep everything open to everyone."

Originally scheduled to come before the Victor council in March, the SVTP data are still being sifted and fine-tuned, which could push back a hearing date.

Fitzgerald envisions a master plan developed for the whole south end of the valley, including working collaboratively to implement the plan once consensus is reached. The project still needs to hear from ATV users.

The USFS did a travel plan for the region in 2006. Fitzgerald said the plan, as it is, could be enhanced and strengthened through the project's recommendations.

"It can be a living document," he said, "and it's made to be amended and refined."

Fitzgerald said he'd like to see this as a pilot project that could spread countywide, involving collaboration between the municipalities and the county.

"We're all land managers, and we should be interacting and coordinating with each other," he said. "A strong, diverse trail network is a very attractive community asset. Every time we can build a better network of trails in Teton Valley, we're going to strengthen our local economy."

No requests for funding are envisioned at this point, and all trail enhancements and maintenance would still depend on community involvement. Grant applications could be made for specific projects in the future.

To contact Fitzgerald call (208) 787-2940 or email scott@victorcityidaho.com

To contact Ken Levy e-mail reporter3@tetonvalleynews.net.