Mixed bag for council project updates

At Tuesday’s meeting, the council heard a mixed bag of good and bad news regarding projects underway within the city. While issues have been found with fire flow near Old Stoney and a rental agreement has still not materialized for the ambulance garage, the new construction and debris pit has received its permit and the water tank project in the canyon area is heading to its construction phase.

Public Works Director Mac Erickson reported on the first issue, telling the council that there is insufficient flow to support the fire suppression system in Old Stoney. Though contractors were still looking for a solution, he said, it appeared that most ideas had now been exhausted and the city may need to find a way to get more water to the building.

Karla Greaser of Trihydro explained that the gist of the problem is that it had been thought the water line running down Main Street was Street was six inches in size, but it is only four inches and is also a dead end, rather than part of the looped system, which limits the amount of flow.

Erickson suggested that the best idea is likely going to involve hooking on to the six-inch line at Cleveland Street. The plus side, he said, is that it will probably help the new park in the end, too.

The council also approved a change order for Old Stoney to change some hinges on a fire door, which were not reaching far enough to allow the magnetic locking system to operate. The change order was for $614 and the project remains under budget, said Clerk Treasurer Kathy Lenz.

A second piece of bad news from the city was that no word has been heard from Crook County Medical Services District (CCMSD) regarding its rental agreement for the city-owned building in which the ambulances are stored. Though the city and CCMSD have essentially severed their partnership to finance Sundance’s ambulance service, the council had agreed to allow continued usage of the building, for a monthly fee.

At last month’s meeting, Chairman Mark Erickson presented a proposal for $425 per month, based on actual costs for the building. The council agreed and Brooks requested that CCMSD return this month with a contract to present for approval.

No member of the CCMSD Board of Trustees was present at the meeting and, said Brooks, a contract had not been received. Brooks commented that budget season is upon us and, if the contract is not received in short order, the council will need to ask CCMSD to vacate the city building.

Better news was in store for the council when the conversation turned to the planned construction and debris pit. A contract has been received, signed by the mayor and is now back with the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).

Under normal circumstances, the permit is generally received within 45 days. Brooks explained to the council that he had signed the permit so it could be sent back as quickly as possible and requested his action be ratified through a motion.

“Hopefully, in 45 days we will have a C&D pit,” he commented.

Greaser was also able to share good news regarding the Sundance West Water Tank. Comments have been received from DEQ on the permit to construct, she said, which is good news as it only took a couple of weeks, rather than the 60 days allotted to that task in the DEQ’s permitting guidelines.

Trihydro is now working to address those comments, Greaser said, but see nothing significant within them that would change the project design. These changes will be submitted, completing another step towards bidding out the project.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the council also heard from Lenz that a private citizen has asked if the city might be interested in selling the site on which the pocket park stands, and which was previously the home of the North Pole Meat Locker. Brooks stated that he believes this was the council’s intention in acquiring the land in the first place.

There will be steps to follow to facilitate the sale, said Hughes, including an appraisal and a public hearing. A motion was passed to allow Hughes and Lenz to move forward with informing the potential buyer of the process.