Council hears progress reports

Creating a utility to control natural gas in the Sundance area is a no-brainer, Mayor Paul Brooks told the council at Tuesday’s regular meeting, but the cost of a transmission line to get that gas to town is a different story.

Another meeting to discuss the future of natural gas was held at PRECorp in February, said the mayor, and, “Everybody in the room agreed that it is the future and it needs to happen”. However, finding a way for it to happen proved elusive, he said.

According to Brooks, the meetings will continue and will aim to look for a solution. He noted that, when coal and oil are in a better state, it is more likely that the state will be able to help with the cost.

“They’re neither of them good right now so we’re struggling,” he said.

Brooks also took a moment to clear up a misconception about the product that would be brought to town. Liquid natural gas is a two-carbon element that compresses into a fluid under pressure, but the natural gas in question is a single-carbon element that “is never going to become a fluid”.

Clerk Treasurer Kathy Lenz noted that the mayor of Ranchester has offered to visit Sundance to explain how they achieved getting natural gas to their city and share their feasibility study.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Lenz also reported on progress at Old Stoney, telling the council that the contractors have switched gears for the time being as they are having a difficult time digging down to install the elevator. They will now be using hydro piers to drill down and leave in place, she said, which is the last stage towards getting that elevator in.

Lenz also asked for the council’s input on when to begin advertising the old Food Pantry building for sale again. The building, which will need to be removed from the land, was unsuccessfully advertised earlier in the winter and the council opted to wait until the weather warms to try again.

The council decided to wait until April to advertise the building, when there will be less snow on the ground.

Public Works Director Mac Erickson informed the council that the roof of City Hall is leaking. With all the snow sitting up there, he suggested that a new roof may be necessary when summer arrives.

The council signed a final plat for a new subdivision on the edge of Sundance under development by Ryan Kaski. The subdivision will be located on the Hwy 585 end of town, east of the current subdivision.

Karla Greaser reported on behalf of city engineers Trihydro, telling the council that a design review meeting was held in Cheyenne with Wyoming Water Development for the new water tank in the canyon area. The primary discussion topic, she said, was that some proposed components were not considered eligible for funding under WWD’s program, so some minor design modifications have been made to solve this.

If money is available in the project budget once complete, said Greaser, WWD would be willing to fund the removal and replacement of water line coming down towards town from the canyon. The next step on the project will be to secure easements through landowner negotiations, she said.

Jeff Young of Trihydro also spoke to the council to share that he expects the DEQ process for a new construction and debris pit at the landfill to be complete in October or November. The last work order for this project having expired at the end of February, he asked for a new one to extend the scope through the end of 2019.

The project is on budget and Young foresees no additional costs, he said, “We just need additional time to get through the DEQ process”. The work order was approved.

Lenz informed the council that the Main Street Committee will be holding a meeting led by a representative from the national board, who has been assisting the local group to identify ways to improve prospects for businesses in the city. Now is the time for the action plan, she said.

Lenz also presented for the council’s consideration a document from the Local Government Liability Pool that insures the city containing some suggested policies for Sundance, such as to request that snowbirds disconnect their utilities when they leave or, if they choose not to, make them liable for such things as frozen pipes.

Bids were awarded to the apparent high bidders for the city’s four grazing parcels. The parcel near Green Mountain Cemetery went to Jay Pixley for $550, the parcel near the landfill for $621 to Jim Miller, the parcel near the water tank under Sundance Mountain to Vicky Adams for $200 and the pasture behind John Deere to John Costello for $126.

On reviewing the recommendations of the Land Use Planning Committee, the council considered its policy on “man camps” in relation to a request from contractors Sterling Construction, who will be unloading line for the new Oneok pipeline in the spring. The council opted to allow up to three mobile homes on its property behind the Croell Redi-Mix headquarters, with additional permits from City Hall if needed, and to charge tap fees and limit occupancy to one year.

In departmental reports, the absent Police Chief Marty Noonan’s was read for the council. He reported 27 calls, no serious issues and that WinterFest went without a hitch aside from two horses getting loose, but both were located within 12 hours. Greaser reported that Trihydro has been working on updating the base mapping for the city’s sewer and water and has primarily completed the water aspect.