If the 40 or so Ralston residents who showed up at a county meeting last week are representative of the community's more than 200 people, Ralston isn't interested in getting any bigger.

The meeting was called, County Planning Director Joy Hill told attendees, after work on the new land use plan brought into stark relief the issues in Ralston that could hamper future growth. Mainly, there are too many wells and septic systems, many unpermitted, in too close proximity to each other according to DEQ regulations. So any changes to many of the existing, grandfathered-in systems would not be allowed.

“Ultimately this means the growth of Ralston is stunted,” she said. “Centralized sewer and water will ultimately be needed.”

Hill said the meeting was meant to give people information on what solutions could be pursued, although she said the county would not be able to assist beyond ensuring its zoning regulations matched up with what residents wanted to see in the community.

When she asked how many people present would like to see development and growth in Ralston, only one present, a business owner with buildings on “the strip,” raised his hand.

A few of the residents expressed frustration at the county for allowing this situation to develop and then telling them it was up to them to fix it.

“We have a great community in Ralston, it’s working fine, the problems aren’t our doing,” strip business owner Chris Pelletier said. “These are mistakes Park County made … I know we're going to have to pay the bill.”

Hill said she understood the frustration but the town was platted more than 100 years ago and zoning began in the late 1960s and 1970s, so none of them on either side were responsible for the current situation.

“Its nobody in this room’s fault,” said County Engineer Brian Edwards. “There are just things we need to correct.”

How to correct the issues is still up for debate.

Kay Clark — referred to as the unofficial “clerk of Ralston” while husband Jake was deemed the “mayor” — expressed interest in incorporation and what that would entail. Edwards, who said a friend of his was now mayor of a small town near Glenrock, said there were plusses and minuses to that route, including more funding via mill levies and also more responsibilities.

Hill also suggested they could look at a tax improvement district to fund a well or sewer system, or both.

“We're trying to understand what you want, what you’d like to see,” she said, noting they’re looking at changing zoning to make the strip commercial instead of transitional to assist businesses present and future. “We can’t fix it if we don’t know it’s broken, we can’t give you what you want if we don’t know what you want.”