Council authorizes July 4 fireworks, will take bids on old Food Pantry plot

The Sundance City Council has authorized citizens to enjoy fireworks over the July 4 holiday. Approved times for firework usage will be noon to midnight on July 4 and noon until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday to allow celebrations to continue into the weekend.

At Tuesday’s regular meeting, the council also heard that no bids have been received for the old Food Pantry building, which was advertised as the building only with the city retaining the land on which it sits. Clerk Treasurer Kathy Lenz asked for guidance moving forward: did the council want to try advertising the building one more time, or offer the entire lot instead?

The alternative, said Mayor Paul Brooks, is to fix up the building or demolish it. The council agreed to take bids on the building and land together.

The council approved a cost of $11,750 to remove a patch of lead paint from Old Stoney that was not tested during the asbestos abatement process due to its depth. The funding will come from the extra available within the grant.

Lenz confirmed that the city has received a blessing from the Wyoming Business Council for grant funding for Central Park and a second grant from Land & Water Conservation. Together, she said, these will be sufficient to go ahead with the project, pending final approval for the former grant from the State Lands and Investments Board.

Karla Greaser of Trihydro provided a monthly report, informing the council that the city engineers are coordinating additional survey work that was approved last month for the Sundance West water tank replacement. Work is also being done on pump selection and hydrologic analysis, she said.

Public Works Director Mac Erickson told the council that there has been no movement on the Department of Environmental Quality permit that would allow the city to open a new construction and debris fit at the landfill. The permit is back in completeness review, he said, which is expected to be finished by July 2.

The city’s annual budget received its third and final reading after a public hearing during which no comments were received. An ordinance regulating the placement of wireless communication facilities on city property also received its second reading.

The council passed a resolution nominating the city clerk as the official custodian of public records and the deputy clerk as second. The resolution was written in answer to legislative changes this year that required an official custodian be appointed.

While perusing the minutes of the Land Use Planning Committee, the council discussed a letter from a resident who wishes to pour a concrete slab to park his camper on. The council felt this was allowable, but pointed out that the slab cannot be later used to build a garage or similar structure without planning permission.

In departmental reports, Erickson told the council that a leak has been fixed at the pool and the pump was in the process of being fixed. The pool was set to open on schedule at the end of last week with swimming lessons beginning this week.

City Attorney Mark Hughes pointed out several verbiage issues with an agreement with the county regarding the war memorial, which will obligate the city to continue providing electricity for the lights for the next 50 years. Before the council signs the agreement, he asked for a delay to allow him to discuss these issues with the county attorney.

Lenz informed the council that the city’s insurance will be increasing this year due to the damage from last year’s hail storm, which has prompted the insurance company to place riders on the contract that would see the city pay a percentage of damage costs. She suggested, instead, that the city accept a contract with the Wyoming Association of Risk Managers at $5000, which is also a significant saving from the $19,000 contract with the previous insurers.

The council approved this change. The next regular meeting of the Sundance City Council is scheduled for July 2.