CASPER, Wyo. — Though Natrona County officials previously removed a fireplace from their plans for a new Casper Mountain Trails Center, one is now being added back into the designs following a large donation from the Casper Nordic Club.
“Our interest in this goes back to the old lodge,” club representative Bruce Lamberson said, referring to the previous lodge, which was condemned in February 2020 and demolished in November that same year. “A lot of people loved that lodge, and a big part of its character was the fireplace in there. When we heard that the new lodge wouldn’t have a fireplace, there was this attitude of, ‘Well, it needs to have a fireplace.'”
Though a fireplace had been included in the original designs for the lodge drafted by Amundsen Associates, the Natrona County Board of County Commissioners later removed it from the plans as a cost-saving measure. However, with the new fireplace being funded through private donations, the county has agreed to re-add it.
Lamberson said some members of the CNC worked on the design, and at Tuesday’s County Commission workshop, Parks Department Director Michael Brown and Caspar Building Systems representative Wes Hayden said they couldn’t find any issues with their design after looking over the plans.
As for the total amount the CNC raised, Lamberson declined to comment. However, Hayden and Commission Chairman Peter Nicolaysen both said the funds raised should be enough to cover the additional work and materials, adding that fireplaces for facilities like the lodge typically cost between $30,000 and $60,000.
Hayden said the addition shouldn’t add a substantial amount of time to the project’s length. Should construction begin on schedule in the summer, the lodge is expected to be completed in early 2025.
