New council gets to work

The year began for the Sundance City Council with a ceremony to swear in Randy Stevenson as a new member of the council and Joe Wilson as a returning councilman. Mayor Paul Brooks thanked outgoing council member Jana McLean for her service.

Appointments were made for the year, all of them continuations from the previous year, including Council Member Brad Marchant as mayor pro tem, Kathy Lenz as clerk-treasurer and emergency management coordinator, Mac Erickson as public works director and zoning code officer, Mark Hughes as city attorney, Gari Gill as fire chief and Trihydro as city engineer.

During the first meeting of the year, the council heard that there has been a great deal of interest in the office space available within Old Stoney. More people would like permanent space in the building than there are offices available, said Lenz, so the possibility of putting a wall into the shared office space to transform it into permanent offices is under investigation.

Lenz also reported that it’s looking like Sundance Square will be finished in May, which will complete the new complex. The current plan is a grand opening for both projects at the same time in late May or early June, she said.

“It’s beautiful, it’s coming along and it’s a labor of love,” Lenz said of the Old Stoney and Sundance Square project.

The council passed an ordinance that clarifies its policy on city utilities. The new clause, which was accidentally omitted during the 2019 amendment of the ordinances, says that any customer that purchases water from the city must also purchase garbage services.

Erickson and Karla Greaser of Trihydro provided updates on current city projects, including the Sundance West water tank. The project is on hold for now due to weather, said Erickson, but equipment is being installed to prepare for electrical switchover and work will begin on the pumps weather permitting.

Greaser informed the council it will be receiving two change orders for the Sundance West tank project, one for additional construction days due to all the rock encountered during waterline work and one from Trihydro for additional oversight days due to the same issue.

Design plans have been sent to the Department of Environmental Quality for the Sundance Kid tank on the other side of the interstate, she said. The intention is to begin the bidding process soon to allow for construction in spring and summer.

Erickson also reported the discovery that the city’s transfer station was not issued a lifetime permit. It turns out that the permit needs to be renewed with the Department of Environmental Quality, he said, and this has now been done.

A public hearing was held for the annexation of a small sliver of land on South 27th Street. A street was constructed there, said Hughes, but this small piece of the property was not annexed into the city as part of that process.

To correct the oversight, the owners were asked to sign a petition for annexation. Hughes stated that he believes the council is within its rights to annex the land as it is important to the town because some of the cement is located on it.

As a logical and feasible addition to the city that meets the recommendations for annexation, Hughes asked the council to approve annexation to clear up the issue. A motion was passed to approve the annexation.

The next regular meeting of the council is scheduled for February 2.