Lovell council mulls motorcycle event again

The promoter of a motorcycle rodeo in North Big Horn County came back before the Lovell Town Council last week to provide an update on the progress of the event.

Buck Klindt of Cowley first approached the council in February on behalf of the Iron Cowboys Riding Club, hoping to schedule and promote Lovell Iron Cowboy Days during the summer of 2024.

Klindt told the council at the time that Lovell rests at a crossroads for visitors traveling to Cody, Yellowstone and the Beartooth Highway, “including thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts,” and the routes over the Big Horn Mountains, plus the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, are a spectacular destination for riders. He said the community can be “Base Camp Lovell.”

Iron Cowboy Days would be an event “where the old west meets the new,” Klindt said, noting that many motorcyclists consider themselves to be modern cowboys.

Klindt said a motorcycle rodeo could draw 500 people to the area in its first year and more than double that number in year two. He said he simply wanted to present the idea to the council to see if the council members believe the idea has merit.

The mayor and town council in February told Klindt that they welcomed money coming into the community from outside and urged him to work with the Western Sports Arena Board, which governs the rodeo grounds.

Klindt then reported in March that the Lovell Rodeo Grounds were not available on the dates he was seeking, nor were the Cowley Rodeo Grounds, Park County Fairgrounds in Powell and the NWC Trapper Arena, so he hoped to hold the first year of the event at the W Arena south of Cody.

As it turns out, the Cody event didn’t happen, he reported at the August 13 council meeting, due to some issues with the Park County Planning Department, so now he’s looking ahead to 2025 and hopes to hold a three-day motorcycle rally at the Lovell Rodeo Grounds July 25-27.

Klindt said he has spoken with Wayne Brost of the Western Sports Arena Board, who urged him to check back with the council. He noted that the management of the rodeo grounds might be transferred to the Lovell Rodeo Club, so he wants to work with that organization, as well.

He said he hopes to fit the rally between the Beartooth Rally in Red Lodge and the Sturgis Rally in South Dakota, noting there are no other rallies in the area in late July. The event could be a regional draw the first year and then draw a wider tourism segment that has not been marketed to in the Big Horn Basin.

Klindt said he would like to start seeking sponsors and develop a tourism and adventure guide or magazine for the Lovell area. He said the region is a spectacular area for motorcycle riders. He added he is working on developing a corporation for the event and said he would support local charities with proceeds from the rally. He asked if he could work with the chamber of commerce to start promotion.

“We have no objections here,” mayor Tom Newman said. “I’m excited to see what you put together.”

Easement issue

Moving to the regular agenda, town administrator Jed Nebel gave a report on an issue that has cropped up on East 10^th Street regarding a town easement behind some newly constructed homes. Nebel said some backyard fences and the corner of a shop building encroach onto a Town of Lovell sewer line easement behind the homes due to a misunderstanding of the setback requirement.

Nebel said after visiting with the town attorney that the town could force the removal of the structures by law but said an alternative would be to allow them to stay in place with the understanding by property owners that, if a major repair needs to be done on sewer lines a structure might have to be removed.

“I think we can leave it alone unless there’s an emergency,” Newman said. “I don’t see any need to tear stuff up.”

The council voted to have the town attorney, Alexa Rolin, draft a letter notifying the property owners of the situation.

Park project

The council approved two change orders for phase II of the Constitution Park (now Armory Park) construction project. Change order number two allows contractor Midway Construction to use a different kind of block for the dugouts at the softball field, moving from basic cinder block to a split block at a cost of $2,500.

“That (block) just makes it look so much better,” Nebel said.

Change order number three adds $6,600 to the project budget due to hauling hot mix for a walking path from Cody to Lovell instead of the originally planned Byron, since the hot mix plant has moved.

In a second part of change order three, Nebel reported that the town may increase the size of the planned amphitheater by around 30 percent at a cost of $9,500. He explained that he, engineer Matt Leonhardt and contractor Pete Baxendale reviewed the amphitheater and agreed it was simply too small as originally planned.

The council voted to approve the change order contingent upon a budget review, which was performed later in the week. Nebel noted that other aspects of the project came in under budget, allowing the change orders to be done under the original budget.

He added that the increased size would require the I-beams on the structure to be made of steel rather than the originally planned wood, but he said the amphitheater will look sharp with red cedar outlined by black steel I-beams.

The council then approved a payment request from Midway in the amount of $96,150 for the project.

Police salaries

In an effort to improve recruitment and retention of police officers, the town recently initiated a wage study of police departments in towns of similar size to Lovell. Nebel said he performed the wage study, then worked with Mayor Newman and Chief of Police Roger Haney to craft a wage proposal for the council.

“The study showed we needed to increase our pay,” Nebel said.

The council voted to approve the wage proposal.

Mountain bike trail project

Nebel reported on an agreement with consultant Point Strategies for the development of mountain biking trails in the area, a project he has been working on for several months. He said the memorandum of understanding would provide for plotting mountain bike trails as Task One of the bike trail development.

Funding for Task One would come from three sources, Nebel said: $10,000 from the Town of Lovell, $5,000 from Big Horn County and $2,000 to $3,000 from Wyoming Pathways. He said he will seek a micro-grant for future tasks in the amount of $10,000 from the Wyoming Business Council.

The council voted to enter into the MOU with Point Strategies.

In other business last week, town clerk/treasurer Colleen Tippetts presented four outstanding debts to the council for water bills not paid. The council voted to write off two debts as uncollectable due to the account holders having passed away and send two others for collection.