City projects continue forward

The City of Sundance’s current crop of projects seem to be moving in a positive direction, reported Clerk-Treasurer Kathy Lenz last week as she told the council that around eight companies have responded to a request for proposals to design the new park on the plot next to Old Stoney.

These bids will be opened on October 24, Lenz said, so that the council can approve one at their regular November meeting. This will kick start the design portion of the project, she said.

Meanwhile, Lenz said, the city has received good news regarding its hopes to initiate a new water project to replace the Sundance Kid and underground tanks and upgrade lines that travel under the interstate. This project is the final piece of high-priority work recommended on the city’s master plan, she said, and involves securing grant funding from a recent allocation of Abandoned Mine Lands money.

According to Lenz, 47 applications were made for that money and Sundance has been named as one of the recommended projects to receive it, sitting at number three on the list. Though this is not confirmation in itself, said Mayor Paul Brooks, it’s rare for the State Lands and Investments Board to disagree with recommendations so the city appears to be on track to get the funding it needs.

Lenz also reported that the crew has now arrived to erect the shaft for the elevator inside Old Stoney. Once that has been accomplished, another team will come in to install the elevator itself.

“They seem to think it will move quite quickly when that happens,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Department of Environmental Quality is still working on its technical review of the city’s application to build a new construction and debris pit, said Public Works Director Mac Erickson. At the present time, this report is expected in December, so it’s looking like a late winter start for the project’s next phase.

City Attorney Mark Hughes reported that, of the two nuisance letters sent out recently, one has been cleared up and is no longer an issue. A letter has been sent by certified mail to the other homeowner, who does not live in Sundance.

If that letter is picked up and signed for, the homeowner has 60 days to abate the nuisance. If that does not happen, the property can be signposted as a nuisance and the city can make the decision to abate the problem itself and file a lien against the property.

Karla Greaser of Trihydro presented a change order for extra geotechnical and survey work based on the need to make a change to the location of the new Sundance West tank. Due to the need for city staff and Trihydro representatives to have a conversation about the status of the project, however, Lenz requested it be tabled until next month’s meeting.

The council briefly discussed the annual agreement with Crook County Medical Services District regarding the city ambulances, which is due to be renewed soon. Mayor Paul Brooks explained that he has made an offer to the district that, if they write a grant to the State Lands and Investments Board, Clerk-Treasurer Kathy Lenz will review it and he will present it for them.

In departmental reports, Police Chief Marty Noonan reported 42 calls in September, the vast majority of which were service calls. However, he said, two vehicle burglaries took place during the last week of the month, discovered in the early morning and solved with the perpetrator in jail by 2 p.m. the same day; almost everything that was taken was retrieved, he said.

Noonan also told the council that his department is now in the middle of deer harvest and, with the help of the city’s volunteer firefighters, seven deer have already been harvested.

Erickson told the council that he has received estimates for the drainage and storm drain issue near the bank and hope to see that work started within the next couple of weeks before winter sets in. Meanwhile, he said, a continuation of the sidewalk reaching towards the football field sidewalk is another improvement he hopes to see completed this fall.

Hughes reported that he has been discussing the agreement for Sundance to make use of the Moorcroft landfill with his counterpart, Jim Peck. One section in which the two have yet to come to an accord is regarding assumption of liability; Hughes stated that he is willing to take out the paragraph that holds Sundance harmless for such things as groundwater contamination if Moorcroft removes the reciprocal paragraph. The council passed a motion to validate this recommendation.