City expecting to open building once construction is complete

As the Sundance City Council convened for a second online version of its regular meeting, Mayor Paul Brooks stated that the decision has been made to not yet re-open the office to customers due to construction on the façade of City Hall. When the front is back on the building, however, the doors will likely be unlocked, although Brooks said the city will defer to the advice of the governor and state officials.

During the meeting, the mayor requested permission to draft three resolutions, the first of which would thank the medical team at the hospital for their preparation and work during the pandemic.

“This thing ain’t over,” he said, referencing the second wave of cases experienced when isolation ended during the Spanish flu. “I want to recognize them for being ready when this thing comes back around, because it’s going to.”

The second resolution would thank the staff at the emergency operations center and County Attorney Joe Baron for their work to translate and implement the paperwork concerning operation and rules and make sure the city is in compliance.

The third would thank Representative Tyler Lindholm and Senator Ogden Driskill for their “proactive” work in attempting to secure a new hospital and clinic. Commenting that they have thought outside the box to secure the opportunity, rather than allow that money to revert and be spent someone else, the mayor said he thought the idea for a new hospital was the craziest thing he’d ever heard at first.

However, he said, they’ve made a serious run at it and he would like the city to thank them.

“I think important that we recognize these folks, they’ve done a lot of work,” he said of the three resolutions. Council Member Brad Marchant asked that the hospital staff and emergency responders be included in the city’s thanks; “Absolutely,” responded the mayor.

During Tuesday’s meeting, the council heard updates on a number of current projects. Clerk Treasurer Kathy Lenz reported the status of Old Stoney’s rejuvenation.

The fire marshal had refused to grant an occupancy award until certain requirements were met for fire suppression, she said. As the city needed to extend a water line down the street in front of Old Stoney anyway, to serve the new park, this was placed in the design process.

According to Dan Mummert of city engineers Trihydro, the plans have been submitted to the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and a round of comments have been received, “the key one being that the DEQ reviewer wanted to see a pressure control switch” to act as a limiter on the water flow. Trihydro has been working with the fire suppression consultant for Old Stoney, whose recommendation was for a valve that would limit the fire flow rather than switch it off.

Trihydro has been back and forth with DEQ and the fire marshal to get the valve approved, said Mummert. Public Works Director Mac Erickson explained that this work has been run under the current contract with MAC Construction to avoid the time delay of a new contract bid.

“Once we get the go-ahead from DEQ, we’ll be ready to go,” he said, stating that the total cost is under $35,000 so it can legally be done as a change order. The change order was approved by the council.

Regarding the new park next to Old Stoney, Lenz reported that the design is now complete. Mummert told the council that a few last questions are in the process of being resolved and the hope is to bid the project out in the next couple of weeks.

To alleviate some costs, said Lenz, playground equipment, splash pads and bathrooms will be purchased directly through the city.

The council passed a second reading of this year’s budget, which contained no changes from the first reading due to upcoming legislation and a CREG report that will be coming out in May, which Lenz said would mean that making changes beforehand would “just be a lesson in frustration”. The mayor suggested that the state may backfill funding for cities from the CARES Act stimulus money, or perhaps the rainy day fund, “because when you close all businesses, it is raining”.

Mummert provided an update on the Sundance West water tank project, telling the council that Trihydro has responded to comments from DEQ on the design, anticipates another round of comments shortly and is hoping to get a “final blessing” from Wyoming Water Development in the next couple of weeks.

City Attorney Mark Hughes reminded the council that around 45 days had passed since a nuisance property was issued a 60-day notice period before the city would take action to abate said nuisance. Police Chief Marty Noonan confirmed he has seen no activity at all, while Brooks commented that the neighbors are keen for the council to keep pushing the issue because “they’re tired of looking at it”.

No action was taken on the agreement between the city and Crook County Medical Services District regarding ambulances, though the mayor noted that he does not anticipate hearing much from the district in the middle of a crisis.