With dozens of Park County road signs turning up missing or damaged in recent months, commissioners are willing to pay out some money to find who’s responsible.

At a March 2 meeting, commissioners agreed to pay an up-to-$500 reward for information leading to the apprehension of the culprit or culprits.

Sign vandalism is a recurring problem, but it’s become particularly acute since the start of the pandemic, said Park County Engineer Brian Edwards.

“This last year has been just out of this world in terms of the number,” Edwards said.

For example, between early December and late February — a span of less than three months — some 40 signs have been damaged or stolen. Some signs have been taken, some have been run over and others have been shot or flipped upside down. The vast majority of the recent damage has been dealt in rural Powell, with a handful of incidents in Clark.

Between Dec. 7 and Feb. 24, sign vandals and thieves cost the county more than $2,150, according to numbers compiled by the Park County Sheriff’s Office.

“It’s turned into quite an expense,” said Commission Chairman Lee Livingston.

That figure does not include the time that road and bridge crews are having to spend fixing and replacing signs, Edwards said, nor the time the sheriff’s office has spent investigating the crimes.

“It’s not big dollars, but it just adds up,” he said.

Beyond the monetary damage, the destruction and removal of stop signs, construction signs, directional arrows and others could potentially prove deadly for drivers.

“The worst thing is the potential for accidents,” Edwards said, adding, “One little bit of fun and games by somebody could turn into a really bad thing.”

It’s unclear whether the reward money will actually be used. Commissioner Scott Mangold said it was his understanding that the sheriff’s office identified a potential “person of interest” several weeks ago.

It will ultimately be up to Sheriff Scott Steward to decide whether a reward is needed; Edwards said his hope was simply to have the cash available as “a tool in our arsenal” if the need arose.

Mangold noted businesses and private individuals are free to add to the county’s $500 pool of reward money.

Tips can be submitted to the sheriff’s office by calling 307-754-8700, via an email to tips@parkcountysheriff.net or submitted anonymously online at www.parkcountysheriff.net/tip-line/.