Committee clears land transfer to YDOT for Lander facility; assessors and health department say campus operations not harmed

Representative Lloyd Larson presented House Bill 69 to convey roughly 28.9–31.1 acres to the Wyoming Department of Transportation for a new District 5 facility in Lander and to convey three adjacent parcels to the city of Lander for potential housing and development.

"The Department of Transportation has been trying to find another location to put their facility in Lander for District 5, which was built in 1939 and sits on 3 acres," Larson said, noting YDOT needs larger sites to store modern snow-removal equipment and service vehicles.

YDOT chief engineer Keith Fulton said the local site is too small for current operations and that the department prefers 10–20 acres for a facility of the intended scope. "We'd like at least 10 acres and preferably 20 for these type of sites," Fulton said, adding that current buildings and site configuration limit indoor parking and maintenance for heavy equipment.

Department of Health Director Stefan Johansen said the planned conveyance would not harm operations at the Life Resource Center campus; he noted the parcels identified are distant from residential and client services and added the campus has a perimeter fence to prevent client disruption.

Committee members asked about traffic, access and acreage descriptions in the bill’s exhibits; Representative Larson clarified the 31.1-acre parcel identified for YDOT would appear in the bill’s legal description as ~28.94 acres and the remaining acreage (about 90.87 acres across three parcels) would go to the city. After no public opposition, the committee approved the bill by roll-call vote: 8 ayes, 1 excused.