October 1, 2024 |
Photo – Modular building sold to Albany County – Bigfoot99 file photo
Carbon County sold an unused building to Albany County to use as a schoolhouse. With the building now gone, county officials must decide what to do with the old foundation.
In August, the Board of Carbon County Commissioners voted to sell an unneeded county-owned building to Albany County School District Number One. The modular building, formally located on the corner of Highway 487 and Beech Street in Medicine Bow, was purchased by Carbon County in 2019 using impact assistance money from the nearby TB Flats wind turbine construction project.
The one-story structure is split into two living quarters. It was originally intended to house a county Road and Bridge employee on one side and a sheriff’s deputy on the other.
At the time, then-sheriff Archie Roybal planned to have a deputy live in the building to patrol Medicine Bow and the surrounding areas. However, Sheriff Roybal was unable to find a deputy for the town and the county hired a Road and Bridge worker who already lives in town.
At the same time, the Medicine Bow mayor and town council used impact assistance money, which is now mostly gone, to open a marshal’s department in another property. Before being moved to Albany County to become a rural schoolhouse, the building sat unused for five years.
Meanwhile, in the tiny ranching town of Garrett, the Anderson family was fighting the Albany County School District over constructing a schoolhouse for their rural community. The county said that the small population of the town did not warrant a dedicated school. The Andersons were told they could bus their two young children over 40 miles to the school in Rock River or homeschool them.
After a three-year legal battle between the Andersons and the Albany County School District, the Wyoming legislature allocated $300,000 toward the construction of a school in Garrett. Upon learning of the Anderson’s plight, Carbon County Commission Chairwoman Sue Jones offered to sell the Medicine Bow building to Albany County for $80,000.
Albany County paid to remove the building from its concrete foundation and transport it to Garrett, where it was placed on a new foundation and used as the Antelope Creek School. One side of the structure will act as a classroom, while the other will be the home of teacher Lexi Horblait.
A ribbon cutting ceremony was held for the Antelope Creek School last week.
Carbon County is now left with a large hole in the ground where the building once stood. During the September 3rd Carbon County Commissioners meeting, Buildings and Grounds Manager Jeff Askins said he has requested proposals from local contractors to fill the hole in Medicine Bow. At the time, Askins said no one has submitted a quote.
Commissioner John Johnson instructed Askins to prepare to have county crews fill the hole in case he is unable to find a contractor to do the job before winter.
Speaking to Bigfoot99 Monday afternoon, Askins said he received two quotes. However, both quotes were much higher than anticipated. Askins said for now, the site will remain fenced off until a more reasonable quote is received, or county crews are given authorization to perform the work.
