Reps and rotomillings

Saratoga Town Council names CCVC and JPB reps, okays rotomillings for landfill road, cemetery replat

The Saratoga Town Council met at 6 p.m. on Tuesday at the Saratoga Town Hall after business as usual of approving the agenda, the minutes from June 5 and the financials. The bills approved to be paid came to a total of $158,595.64.

In correspondence the town received an annual distribution notice from Wyoming Community Gas for $4,354.32 for 2017.

Doug Boyd from the company WLC put forth a new route for the final plat of the third addition to the Saratoga Cemetery. He said a reroute that had been requested by the council at the June 5 meeting had been done.

He said the new reroute effected only four plots versus over a dozen from the prior route.

Boyd suggested those plots be used for benches and landscaping. The council approved the new reroute.

Boyd gave Suzie Cox, town clerk and cemetery board member, credit for helping with the new reroute. The council approved the final plat.

Steve Wilcoxson, town council member, said Jed Dunkerson had volunteered to paint the fire hydrants around town. Dunkerson, who works at the Saratoga Forest Management sawmill, wanted to do the volunteer work to thank the emergency crews for their efforts during the fire. A fundraiser for the hydrants would have funds go for the Fire Dept. and Tyler Pickett Park.

Will Faust, town council member, said he had been in early discussion with a non-profit to create affordable housing units in Saratoga. He said the conversation was in beginning stages, but wanted the council to know the talks had started.

Wilcoxson said affordable housing was important to the town because prices were often out of reach for low income residents.

Ordinance 843 was approved on its third reading. It is an ordinance to amend ordinance 840 authorizing the town budget officer to amend the 2017-2018 fiscal year budget (see page 15).

Ordinance 844 was also approved in its third reading. It is an ordinance to provide income necessary to finance the 2018-2019 fiscal budget for the town (see page 15).

The town council chose its representative for the Carbon County Visitors Council after getting two interested parties.

“I like both these candidates and I wish we had two chairs to put them on the board,” mayor Ed Glode laughingly said. “Now you are the list for potential of other boards.”

Danny Burau, Firewater Public House owner, was the unanimous pick.

Jenny Lou Garland told the council the fire department was doing a fundraiser on June 30 called the “Battle of the Badges.”

“It will be people from the fire department versus the sheriff’s department in games,” Garland said. “It is all for a good cause.”

Lisa Burton, recreation director, said Jon Winter, public works director, had come and checked the electrical system for the wading pool and found some wires disconnected. She said they are waiting to see if the connected wires correct the problem of the heating system for the wading pool. If not, a new heating system will be purchased.

Richard Raymer, town council member, filled in for public works director John Winter who was not present to tell the council what was happening with public works. He said the lagoon project was completed. He also told the council the Wyoming Water Development Commission (WWDC) had given the contract for the upcoming water well project to Forsgren Associates Inc. over two local contractors (see “Lagoon done, billing discussed” page 6 of the June 20 Saratoga Sun).

Chia Valdez Schwartz, a candidate for town council who was in the audience, asked how this was possible.

Raymer said no person from the town council or Water and Sewer Joint Powers Board was on the WWDC, so the commission didn’t take into account using a local contractor. The town applied for the funds a year ago and a study was done. Once the study was completed and merit was found i the proposal, the job was put out to bid. Eventually it was narrowed to three and WWDC went with the non-local.

Raymer said if the town did not approve the choice, WWDC could decide not to give funds to the town for the project. Reluctantly, the town council approved the contract. Wilcoxson voted no.

The mayor thanked Wilcoxson for his “no” vote.

The council reappointed Joe Parsons and Craig Kopaz to the Saratoga-Carbon County Impact Joint Powers Board.

Wilcoxson said the Upper Platte River Solid Waste District board discussed the problem of people using dumpsters on Veterans Island. He said research could be done to find out who the offenders were and issue the proper citations.

He said the road on the landfill needed improvement and it was the town’s responsibility. Wilcoxson added some of the airport millings could be utilized for this problem. Raymer said it might be a good idea to look at fixing the road in a more permanent manner than using the millings.

Richard Hodges, Saratoga resident, said he agreed with Raymer in doing a long term fix, but the budget had been passed with no allocation for this project. He said the millings should be used to help the situation now and keep in mind a long term fix when there were funds slated for it in the town’s budget.

Faust said the planning commission met with Triple D construction (See “No condemnation” on the front page of the June 20 Saratoga Sun). He said they were looking at constructing “garage condominiums” for the residents of the subdivision near the property owned by the Saratoga Forest Management sawmill. He said there was still a process to go through before any work could be done.

“I think it is a fairly creative solution to a real problem in town,” Faust said.

Cindy Bloomquist, Saratoga resident, said an easement between the mill and subdivision had been suggested in prior times and thought it was still a viable option. She took issue with the legality of the variance on subdivisions and suggested talking to the town attorney before the next planning commission meeting.

Garland went over solutions for the recreation facilities to be able to use credit cards. Raymer suggested the company Square. Garland said she would look into it but wanted to resolve the situation quickly as summer was in full swing.

The special event application for June 30 at the Yard was denied.

Bloomquist, representing the Yard, said she had been misinformed about being able to have the event on the date planned and that was why she was late.

Faust asked if she had all the signatures needed for the permit. She said she did not.

The reason for the denial was given by Raymer.

“Standing on the grounds we left of the discussion we had last year, there is no way I can move forward with this special event application,” Raymer said. “Because everybody else who has come forward with these special event applications have done everything asked of them and you know the process.”

Raymer made the motion to deny and Garland seconded it.

“To back up my reasoning, we would not let anybody else use one of these after we made the decision a year ago to let you be late last year,” Raymer said. “We told you if the permits were not filled out in their entirety, that we would deny a permit.”

The council moved into executive session at 7:30 p.m. It came out 7:55 p.m. and adjourned the council meeting.

The next scheduled Saratoga Town Council meeting is at 6 p.m. on July 3 at the Saratoga Town Hall.

 

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