Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
The Sundance City Council has approved an increase to utility rates of 4% across the board. The amount required for a utility deposit will also increase from $100 to $150.
“It’s not fun and it’s not popular,” commented Mayor Paul Brooks as the council prepared to take a vote.
However, he said, it is necessary in order for the water and sewer enterprise accounts to be able to continue supporting themselves.
At Tuesday’s regular meeting, the council also heard that the city has submitted two grant applications to the State Lands and Investments Board (SLIB) for the next round of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding, the council heard.
The first application was for the fire department’s planned overhaul of the fire hall, which will increase the available storage space, provide a meeting area and move the main entrance to the back, away from the highway.
In his report, Fire Chief Gari Gill asked for the council’s blessing to attend the SLIB meeting in Cheyenne.
Public Works Director Mac Erickson confirmed that the second application was for an updated version of the 3rd Street project, which will fix a major water leak believed to be causing the loss of 50,000 gallons of water each day. The project now includes relocation of a number of water service taps located along an old, four-inch line on Cleveland Street.
Erickson also requested permission to attend the SLIB meeting to support the city’s application.
Brooks commented in both cases that he feels it is very important for the city to send representatives to SLIB meetings as it can improve the chances of being successful. More than once, he said, he has seen a project lose support because there was nobody in the room to testify about it; similarly, he said, he has seen projects skip the queue because representatives were available to make the case for them.
Both requests were approved, although the council did not need to approve funding for Erickson’s trip as this will come from his departmental budget.
During his report, Gill also informed the council that he is working on a grant application for 15 new air packs to replace the older ones among the department’s current stock. He said the department now has 23 firefighters, most of whom are certified, and is very stable.
Stating that he is feeling really good about the direction things have been taking, Gill said the department is, “Gaining leaps and bounds over what we were”.
City Attorney Mark Hughes reported that he met with the staff of Circuit Court and Judge Lynda R. Bush about the possibility of the court taking over the duties of Sundance’s municipal court. While they were willing to do so, he said, they did bring up several points that made Hughes think it might be more of an effort than the city expected.
For example, who would do the accounting? How much would the city pay for the service?
In the meantime, Hughes said he believes he has located an individual who would be willing to take on a contract to be the city’s municipal judge? The council decided to continue its chosen course of finding a judge, rather than pursuing the Circuit Court avenue, and gave permission for Hughes to enter discussions with this individual.
For the first time in several years, the council was required to undergo a full audit. This was triggered by the amount of federal funding in the city’s coffers during 2022, which included $750,000 for the Sundance Kid water tank replacement project.
“Everything went really well,” reported Paul Stille of Leo Riley & Associates. No issues were raised, other than the always-mentioned problem faced by all small governments and departments: difficulty in separating duties to ensure that multiple people are involved in the stages of a transaction so as to ward against fraud.
Brooks commented after hearing Stille’s report that he appreciates a full audit for the city and feels that it is of benefit to running the city efficiently.
The council also considered a request from a citizen who wanted to sell back three unused lots at the cemetery. As explained by the mayor, the cemetery is running out of lots and expanding is an expensive proposition due to the terrain, which requires bore holes to ensure it each site can be dug to the appropriate depth.
Clerk-Treasurer Theresa Curren was able to confirm that a motion passed in 2021 allows the city to buy back excess lots. Consequently, the council approved the request.
By Sarah Pridgeon
The Sundance City Council has approved an increase to utility rates of 4% across the board. The amount required for a utility deposit will also increase from $100 to $150.
“It’s not fun and it’s not popular,” commented Mayor Paul Brooks as the council prepared to take a vote.
However, he said, it is necessary in order for the water and sewer enterprise accounts to be able to continue supporting themselves.
At Tuesday’s regular meeting, the council also heard that the city has submitted two grant applications to the State Lands and Investments Board (SLIB) for the next round of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding, the council heard.
The first application was for the fire department’s planned overhaul of the fire hall, which will increase the available storage space, provide a meeting area and move the main entrance to the back, away from the highway.
In his report, Fire Chief Gari Gill asked for the council’s blessing to attend the SLIB meeting in Cheyenne.
Public Works Director Mac Erickson confirmed that the second application was for an updated version of the 3rd Street project, which will fix a major water leak believed to be causing the loss of 50,000 gallons of water each day. The project now includes relocation of a number of water service taps located along an old, four-inch line on Cleveland Street.
Erickson also requested permission to attend the SLIB meeting to support the city’s application.
Brooks commented in both cases that he feels it is very important for the city to send representatives to SLIB meetings as it can improve the chances of being successful. More than once, he said, he has seen a project lose support because there was nobody in the room to testify about it; similarly, he said, he has seen projects skip the queue because representatives were available to make the case for them.
Both requests were approved, although the council did not need to approve funding for Erickson’s trip as this will come from his departmental budget.
During his report, Gill also informed the council that he is working on a grant application for 15 new air packs to replace the older ones among the department’s current stock. He said the department now has 23 firefighters, most of whom are certified, and is very stable.
Stating that he is feeling really good about the direction things have been taking, Gill said the department is, “Gaining leaps and bounds over what we were”.
City Attorney Mark Hughes reported that he met with the staff of Circuit Court and Judge Lynda R. Bush about the possibility of the court taking over the duties of Sundance’s municipal court. While they were willing to do so, he said, they did bring up several points that made Hughes think it might be more of an effort than the city expected.
For example, who would do the accounting? How much would the city pay for the service?
In the meantime, Hughes said he believes he has located an individual who would be willing to take on a contract to be the city’s municipal judge? The council decided to continue its chosen course of finding a judge, rather than pursuing the Circuit Court avenue, and gave permission for Hughes to enter discussions with this individual.
For the first time in several years, the council was required to undergo a full audit. This was triggered by the amount of federal funding in the city’s coffers during 2022, which included $750,000 for the Sundance Kid water tank replacement project.
“Everything went really well,” reported Paul Stille of Leo Riley & Associates. No issues were raised, other than the always-mentioned problem faced by all small governments and departments: difficulty in separating duties to ensure that multiple people are involved in the stages of a transaction so as to ward against fraud.
Brooks commented after hearing Stille’s report that he appreciates a full audit for the city and feels that it is of benefit to running the city efficiently.
The council also considered a request from a citizen who wanted to sell back three unused lots at the cemetery. As explained by the mayor, the cemetery is running out of lots and expanding is an expensive proposition due to the terrain, which requires bore holes to ensure it each site can be dug to the appropriate depth.
Clerk-Treasurer Theresa Curren was able to confirm that a motion passed in 2021 allows the city to buy back excess lots. Consequently, the council approved the request.
