Midwest Ave between walnut and poplar (LUM Studio)
CASPER, Wyo – A new website has been launched to notify Natrona County’s voters of the proposed special purpose tax that will be on the ballot in November 2nd special elections.
“Voters need to be informed about why it is being proposed, what it will cost and how those funds will be used,” said a press release from LUM Studio, a company that Casper hired to run a public information campaign.
The county plans to raise $ 4.4 million for two “major, specific, and temporary” projects that will provide “a mix of rural and urban infrastructure for Natrona County.”
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If approved, the sales tax will be increased by one cent (from 5% to 6%) for a period of three months from April 1, 2022.
One project that the additional tax revenue would go into is repairing an approximately seven-mile stretch of pipeline that is bringing drinking water to Edgerton and the Midwest and is succumbing to corrosion problems, according to Salt Creek Joint Powers Board Clerk and Treasurer Michelle Gibbs.
Most of the waterline project is funded by government grants, the website says, but it requires a third of the budget ($ 2 million) to come from local sources.
The other project is to complete the renovation of Midwest Avenue in downtown Walnut to Poplar Street, which Natrona County Commission Chairman Paul Bertoglio said is in anticipation of increased traffic to the new Collins State Office building.
“The redesigned roadway will be a better entrance to the city center with better pedestrian access and attractive design features,” said LUM Studio.
It is valued at $ 2.4 million.
According to the campaign, Specific Purpose Tax has never been used in Natrona County, but it is a “well-suited” tool for these two projects, which a February 2020 community survey of 865 respondents identified as the most community members ready to pay.
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