Fire district talks continue

The Hanna Town Council met on September 14 at the Hanna Town Hall. Mayor Lois Buchanan and council members Sammy Sikes and Bill Dys were present. Council members Tracy Fowler and Jayson Nordquist were absent.

There were few in the audience and the council moved quickly through the department and board reports.

Buchanan said the High Country Joint Powers Board would be meeting once every six months, a change from meeting every three months.

She said Viper Construction would be working on Sunday to try and get back on schedule for the water line project underway in Old Town.

Buchanan said there has been only one application for the Marshal’s job. She said he would be coming back for a second interview.

The Hanna Recreation Center’s pool needs a replacement for a control valve for the heat exchanger. The price was $4,975. Ann Calvert, Hanna treasurer, said the town has the money to take care of the situation.

The Hanna Basin Museum told the council a fundraiser which had the Medicine Bow and Elk Mountain museums working with the Hanna Basin Museum was scheduled for September 19.

After the board and department reports were ratified, the financials were approved.

Sikes asked when Hanna Town Hall was going to be open to the public again after shutting down the previous two weeks. Buchanan said she wanted to wait another week before opening again. She said there were still enough cases of COVID-19 she wanted to be cautious for the public and personnel of the town.

“I think it is smart to err on the side of caution during this time,” Buchanan said. “As long as we are not causing harm to the residents, I think we should be careful.”

Fire Chief Mark Kostovny talked to the Council about the fire district being proposed for Carbon County. Buchanan wanted to hear his thoughts on if the town should join the fire district.

“I don’t have a lot of answers for you because when you are doing something like the fire district, there are no answers until you elect the people that are going to put it together,” Kostovny said. “Right now the fire district is a concept. In my opinion, and hopefully this will be the only opinion I give you, the concept is a great idea. But so far few municipalities are interested in becoming part of the district, but rather interested in contracting with it.

“For the town of Hanna, it leaves you with having to negotiate a new contract with the fire district if it would pass, instead of Carbon County,” Kostovny continued. “If Hanna joined the fire district, the town would have to join the petition process. That means 25 percent of the land owners who own 25 percent of the assessed value have to sign the petition. If the towns decide not to join the fire district, the Carbon County Commissioners can make a resolution to create a fire district.”

He said if the fire district was only unincorporatated Carbon County, the board members could only come from this area. Municipalities which had not joined could not have a person on the board.

Buchanan asked if he thought it was best to contract with the fire district versus joining.

“If I was looking from a council members point of view, I would probably agree with that,” Kostovny said. “From a financial point of view it makes absolute sense. There are upsides and downsides for doing either or, but for Hanna it would be better to let it go as far as joining. ”

He said it would be better for the town finanically to contract with the fire district if it were formed. Kostovny said there was no guarantee the fire district would be pass in November 2022.

“But if we don’t do something,” Kostovny said, “I can’t guarantee fire departments are still going to be functional and the capacity they are now.”

Buchanan thanked Kostovny for his thoughts and advice.

Yvonne Johnson, director of the Carbon County Council Economic Development Corporation, said companies were looking to come to Carbon County. She added she would be able to reveal what would happen in the next few weeks..

“I want you to know that there are things going on in Carbon County, even if there is still an air of confidentiality at the moment,” Johnson said. “I think it is important for the towns to know there are dynamic things on the horizon.”

Under new business the council tabled Long’s proposal for the replacement of the control valve for the pool’s heat exchanger. They also tabled Long’s service agreement.

The council approved Union Telephone to provide broadband to the recreation center.

The council approved Viper Underground application for Pay App 2 on Old Town.

Jon Nelson of North Fork Engineering said Viper Underground had hit some water lines which caused some disruptions and a power line had been hit by a front loader. None of the incidents resulted in any injuries.

The council did not approve the Viper Underground Change Order No. 1 on Old Town Water System Rehab Project.

The meeting of the Hanna Town Council will be at 6:30 p.m. on October 12 at Hanna Town Hall.