The Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s new regional headquarters in Cody will be a two-story building, the Game and Fish Commission decided last week.

The department — which has outgrown its roughly 40-year-old office south of Cody — has purchased roughly 22 acres north of town for a new facility. Preliminary plans reviewed by Park County officials last year called for at least 20,000 square feet of office space, plus a shop and outbuilding, but the department had not settled on a final design.

At a Thursday meeting, Wyoming Game and Fish Director Brian Nesvik said he wanted more public comment on the footprint of the building, but was unsure how the department could hold a scoping meeting due to COVID-19 concerns.

Game and Fish Commissioner Pat Crank pushed the discussion late in the meeting.

“We can’t wait around till July to tell [the architects] whether it’s a one story or two story building,” he said. “Construction costs naturally inflate 5 to 6% a year. I mean, I’m sorry. We need to make a decision and go.”

The commission then voted to go with a two-story design; commissioners noted it would save money to have Plan One/Architects draw up plans for just one option, rather than seeing plans for both one- and two-story designs.

The department has spent much of its time preparing to build new Cody Region headquarters working with the City of Cody, deputy department director John Kennedy said last week.

The department hopes the city will annex the property they intend to build on, located just north of town along Wyo. Highway 120.

“Getting the property annexed is obviously of great benefit to us,” Kennedy said. “It relieves any restrictions as far as footprint and use of the lot. And more importantly, it allows us to work with the City of Cody, on water and all services.”

However, Crank questioned that plan.

“It’s just my personal bias, but I live in the county and I would fight annexation like hell if the city came along and tried to annex me,” he said. “I wonder if anyone has truly analyzed the benefits of being annexed by the City of Cody — particularly if they’re not going to be able to give us water for three to five years versus drilling our own well.”

Kennedy said he would have the annexation “pros and cons” analyzed by Plan One/Architects.

The city anticipates it could take three to five years to get water to the property, according to comments made at the meeting. The Game and Fish Department has a backup plan for an alternative water source with Northwest Rural Water.

“The cost would be fairly minimal for that water except for the possibility that we would need to purchase and use a cistern on the site,” Kennedy said; a 75,000-gallon cistern on the site would add about $75,000 to the project’s budget.