Progress slow for city projects

At Tuesday’s regular meeting, the Sundance City Council was unable to consider a report on the “nuisance” property it has been dealing with on Sewell Street. The council had decided to commission a report on the condition and worth of the property before making a decision on potential demolition, but the building inspector was unable to travel the Saturday he was scheduled due to the snowstorm.

The report will be ready for January’s meeting, said Mayor Paul Brooks. Meanwhile, City Attorney Mark Hughes shared concern over the wording of the 2011 junk ordinance.

The way the ordinance is written, he said, junk refers to articles outside a building but does not apply to items inside a lawfully constructed building. Hughes expressed that he feels the only way the city can do anything about the property in question is by declaring it a fire hazard.

The mayor noted that this nuisance complaint was, in fact, initiated by the fire chief.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the council also approved a change order for the Old Stoney renovation project totaling $51,936 on Tuesday. The added cost includes around $22,000 to solve the groundwater situation in order to dig the elevator pit; 152 calendar days of delay; an exit light as requested by the fire marshal; and $12,000 to move the electrical service to accommodate an upgrade to power.

The change order also included items that will be funded by the Crook County Museum District, such as a surveillance system. As the city is sponsoring the grant, Clerk Treasurer Kathy Lenz explained that all costs will come through the city for the sake of keeping things orderly but the district will reimburse those costs.

Money was available in the project budget, said Lenz, thanks to the second grant awarded by the state to make up the difference between the original amount granted and the actual projected cost. The council approved the change order.

The current deadline to complete the Old Stoney renovation is February, said Brooks. He and Lenz met with the architect and contractors recently and spoke about the need to move forward faster, he added; he told the council he will be monitoring progress and pushing for speed.

The council also considered a computer support contract with Omega Computers. The city has never had a professional, regularly in-house support person, said Lenz, and the need for network security only increases as time goes on.

The chosen firm knows the city’s software, takes care of other local entities such as the Town of Moorcroft and has reasonable rates and good reviews, said Lenz. The contract was approved.

Karla Greaser of Trihydro, City Engineers, informed the council that one of the property owners is unwilling to sign an easement for the new water tank in the canyon area at this time and the project cannot move forward until this issue is solved. Public Works Director Mac Erickson stated that he does not believe this will take more than a month as the property will be changing hands and will close soon.

Greaser also shared that the permit for a new construction and debris pit is still undergoing technical review with the Department of Environmental Quality. The city expects to receive comments on the permit by December 18.

The council also heard that the plans for a Family Dollar store have been resubmitted as the first version had the sewer line incorrectly located on the drawing. The city will be providing information about the DEQ permitting process that will allow them to extend city sewer across the lot.

Fire Chief Gari Gill informed the council that he has been notified by Wyoming State Forestry of a potential 50/50 grant up to $20,000 that could be used to replace certain items of equipment in which the fire department is “very deficient”.

These items would include fire boots, a couple of radios and up to four sets of bunker gear to ensure almost every volunteer within the department is compliant. Gill checked that the city would be able to cover the $10,000 to purchase the items until the funds are reimbursed trough the grant.

The council passed a resolution to approve application for the grant. Gill also reported that he is creating a full inventory of equipment and has implemented a new system in which members of the department must sign items out when using them.

The council approved a lease for $100 per month for the Crawfords to exercise their water rights by tapping into an old water line leading to Loafman Springs, a water source that is no longer used to feed the city system and is therefore not treated. The springs sit on the Crawfords’ land and under the lease will be used for agricultural and domestic purposes.

The council also directed Hughes to work on a pre-annexation agreement for the new Kaski subdivision under development, as the city will be providing water to it.

In departmental reports, Police Chief Marty Noonan reported 35 calls for the month of November, seven of them that were crashes during the recent snowstorm.

The next regular meeting of the Sundance City Council is scheduled for January 7.