City Council - Regular Meeting

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you.

You're welcome. We need to start with a roll call. Ms. Harris, will you help us with that?

Council Member Lind and Council Member Welling are absent, but we do have a quorum.

Okay. Now, is Mr. Lind on?

He's, um...

Okay, okay. But we do have a quorum, so we... And if he had planned to be on... Okay. So we'll welcome him on board when he makes the connection, I guess. We have an agenda before us. Is there any changes to that agenda we need to consider before we move forward?

If there are none, I'll entertain a motion to approve the agenda. I'll make that motion.

I'll second it, Your Honor. There's a motion. Is Mr. Smith seconding? Any discussion? No discussion. All in favor say aye. Aye. Are there any opposed? We have an agenda. We have the City Council minutes for May 19th as well as the work session minutes for May 26th. Any questions, comments, concerns among the minutes? If not, we will acknowledge those as they've been prepared and we'll go to the bills. We've got a Warrant register before you. Questions on the bills?

I just have one question. Answer. The pucker factor, what is that? I see it's for a rifle. Is that for law enforcement?

No, that's for the Historic Preservation Commission.

I'm sorry?

It's for the Historic Preservation Commission.

Is there a motion to approve the bills?

I'll make that motion.

I'll second it, Your Honor. Motion. Mr. Perks seconding. Any discussion? If there's no discussion, all in favor say aye. Aye. Are there any opposed? We have the Revenue and expenditure report for April. Questions on that report? If there are none, is there a motion to approve?

I'll make that motion.

Mr. Sellers, a motion. Is there a second?

I'll second it, Your Honor.

Mr. Burke's seconding. Any discussion? If there's no discussion, all in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Are there any opposed? That is approved. Counsel comments. Mr. Schmidt, what's on your mind tonight, sir?

I'd just like to recognize... our folks with the landfill and the cleanup this last week. They did a great job, and I worked with them last Saturday, and they worked hard and had a lot of material go through there. A lot of stuff. 350-some loads on Saturday came into there, so they did a great job. And also, I want to thank Kim. I finally got a reply that I asked for, so... Thank you very much. Nice.

Thank you. Has Mr. Lynn made a connection? Nope. Mr. Perks?

I have nothing tonight, Your Honor.

Mr.

Sellers? I got a little statement to read. It has nothing actually to do with counsel. But in the words of Mark Twain, the rumors of my... Death have been greatly exaggerated. So Mark Twain was a wonderful American author. So today I received my latest lab test and I am incredibly grateful to show that I'm a fish of five years cancer free.

Nice.

Back in 2019, I received a diagnosis that changed everything. Over the last several years, I have been through the ringer facing surgery, radiation, homotherapy, and oral chemotherapy. It has been a long and challenging road. I did not walk it alone. I wrote this and then I thought, oh, this will be easy just to read. I want to extend my deepest, most sincere gratitude to everyone who participated in my care. I want to thank Wyoming Health Fairs, the wonderful staff at Evanston Regional Hospital, and the incredible doctors and nurses at the Huntsman Cancer Center. Their expertise and dedication are the reason I'm standing here tonight. I also want to thank everybody who stayed with me by my side as friends and supported over the past six years. Above all, I'd like a special thanks to my wife, whose unwavering support has been my rock through this very steep journey. But the real reason I'm sharing tonight isn't just to celebrate my personal milestone or express my gratitude. It is to share a Reminder about the absolute necessity for early detection. My cancer wasn't caught because I was experiencing any symptoms. It was discovered because during a routine blood draw, my PSA test was added to my labs almost as an afterthought. This simple little extra checkbox on the lab order completely altered my trajectory. Quite literally, it saved my life. Cancer is a formidable opponent, but early detection gives us the upper hand. It transforms a frightening diagnosis into a treatable condition and buys the precious time needed for those incredible medical teams to do their work. To everyone listening tonight, please do not put off your screening. Whether it is a PSA, a mammogram, colonoscopy, or regular blood work, schedule it. If you've been delaying a doctor visit, let this be your sign to make that appointment. Advocate for your own health and ask the doctors extra questions. So I just want to thank everybody from the bottom of my heart. Five years is a huge, huge milestone in cancer. And the last couple of weeks have been really stressing about what that test was going to say. So I appreciate everybody.

Good job.

Congratulations. That's huge. There needs to be a party for that.

We went to lunch.

Okay. And Diane, if you're out there listening. What an amazing support. That's one of the toughest jobs is to support somebody who's going through an illness. And, you know, she is one amazing woman. The thing I was initially going to tend to say was I am so excited about all the candidates in this election. You know, when I first ran, I ran as a write in. Because nobody was running. It was seven candidates total for all of us. And now we have 13. And I think that is the most amazing thing for our city to have all the different views, all the different chances, all the different changes. I just can't stress enough how... just pleased I am to see so many citizens stepping forward. This is a hard job. It is a duty that I think if you're able every citizen should undertake because it is the foundation of our government and how it was set up to function and when we lose our citizen participation in our government it affects our entire nation and The levers of our government are set up for the people. The farther you go up the chain, actually, the less power you have, according to the Constitution. So all power is in the people, and it's the people's government. As Lincoln said, it's of the people, by the people, for the people, and to see all those candidates I just, man, I was just thrilled. So good luck everybody. For those going for my seat, if I can do anything to help bringing it up to speed, let me know. I'm a phone call away. And to all the city council candidates, the best advice I can give you was advice I never got. and that is Wyoming State Constitution Statute 15-1-103. That is a city council member's job description. So it lets you educate yourself on what's gonna come before you up there, what you need to do, and what is gonna be expected of you, and you can prepare ahead. Good luck, everyone.

Thank you. I don't think I have anything to add. I'm glad you're doing well, Mr. Sellers, and that outcome has been what it is, so that's good to hear. We have no public hearings or special orders. We do have one consent agenda item, and it seems to be that's kind of a common yearly activity. Any questions on that before we move, or anything more we need to know on that particular item? Is there a motion to approve our consent agenda?

I'll make that motion.

Mr. Sellers with a motion. Is there a second? I'll second it, Your Honor. I'm seconding. Any discussion? If there's no discussion, all in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Are there any opposed? That is approved. We have no unfinished business. We'll go to new business and start there with Resolution 2618. Mr. Harris, please.

Thank you, Mayor. Resolution 26-18, a resolution of the City of Evanston, Wyoming, designating Tegler & Associates as broker of record for the city's property and casualty insurance policies with Continental Western Group and authorizing execution of a broker of record letter. Thank you, sir. Ms. Lim.

If you guys remember last week at the work session, Alexis Lam from Tegeler & Associates came asking us to have her be the broker of record, it's called, which means she will just take over our property and casualty insurance with Continental Western. But as of today, I heard back from the agent that it currently is with, and he is in Rock Springs. That happened because Woody Smith, who was here, retired, and so it transferred to Rock Springs. He has asked that we do proposals before we move forward. So, in talking with Mark, we might want to table this to allow Alexis and His name's Rob Zotti. Is that how you say it? To quote on this. It'll be a quick turnaround time to do it because it does renew July 1. Okay.

And if we did that, would that cause you any problems at all, Trudy?

It won't cause me any problems, no. And Alexis was going to be here tonight, but she's not well. That's what I understand.

So we wish her the best, and it seems to me that that's probably the best we can do. Do we need to introduce this and then table it?

I would introduce it and motion to pass and get a second and then move to table it till. And we would ask that you consider this next Tuesday at 530. Okay.

A special meeting. That seems like a plausible thing to do. So is there an introduction on this resolution?

I'll introduce it with the motion to pass.

Mr. Burke, so the motion, is there a second? I'll second it, Your Honor. Seconding? Discussion? Discussion? Pending that interest, we just need a motion now to table. Motion to table until June 9th. If we want to go that way. Make a motion to table. Mr. Seller is making a motion to table. Resolution until June 9th.

I'll second it.

Ms. Hageman seconding the motion to table until June 9th. Any discussion on the motion to table? If there is none, all in favor say aye.

Aye.

Are there any opposed? Thank you, Trudy. That's tabled until next Tuesday. Then we'll have to advertise a special meeting or however we do that for next. Yes. Thank you. Okay. We will go to Resolution 2619. Mr. Harris, you read that title for us, please.

Yes, Mr. Mayor. Resolution 2619 is a resolution of the City of Evanston, Wyoming, authorizing the execution of an agreement with Precision Earthwork, Inc., for the completion of all work required for the Parks and Recreation Facility Rockery, Slope Repair, and Drainage Improvement Project. Mr. Mayor and members of the Council, I do have a corrected resolution. At the May 19th meeting, you recall the bid award was made to Precision Earthwork When I received the agreement between the owner and the contractor, which was attached to your information in the packet, if you'll notice. Mr. Sanders had indicated that the contractor was Precision Earthwork LLC. I see that there. That is incorrect. It's Inc. That is its corporation, not an LLC. I've corrected. I have a resolution here correcting that. And I've corrected it in the agreement to reflect the problem.

So we're okay just to move forward with it now that you've got it corrected? Okay. Larson, do you have anything more for this? Okay, thank you, sir. You bet. Ms. Larson, I didn't even see you come up. You're pretty stealthy.

Let's get it started is what I say. And congratulations, Mike. Thanks.

We discussed this last week. Is there anything more that we need to know?

No, they're ready.

Okay. Is there an introduction on this resolution?

I'll introduce with a motion to pass. Mr. Sellers?

I'll second it, Your Honor. Smith seconding. Discussion on the motion.

I just wanted to say that that was the question that I had was on the $5,000, the difference from $40,000 and $20,000 to $5,000. That was the bid that was accurate.

So you're comfortable with it? Yes, sir. Any other discussion? There's no further discussion. All in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Are there any opposed? That is approved.

Thank you very much.

I'm sorry. We'll have Mr. Harris read that. 2620, Mr. Harris, read that title for us, please.

Thank you, Mayor. Resolution 26-20 is a resolution authorizing the City of Evanston, Wyoming, to enter into an operating agreement with the Evanston Parks and Recreation District for the operation, management, and regulation of recreation within the City of Evanston for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. Thank you, sure. Yearly thing, take us away.

This has not changed, only the dates have changed. I don't see any problems with this current agreement. It's worked well and lists all the things that we take care of and it's pretty impressive. So I always encourage people that they don't realize we take care of so much green space around town.

I can tell you that when I first received this responsibility, I was kind of amazed by that big, long list of... Yeah, when I first started, I had to think, it's like, do we take care of that space?

And I would refer back to this time and time again. I think I have it down now.

Yeah, excellent. Well, for discussion purposes, is there an introduction on this resolution?

I'll introduce it with a motion to pass, Your Honor.

Folks, Mr. Perks with a motion. Is there a second? I'll second. Mr. Sellers seconding. Discussion?

Thanks for all your hard work and your crews. I see them out all over the place.

And thank you guys for your support for Parks and Rec. I think it's so valuable for this community, so...

talking to other relatives and stuff about the cemeteries and other places, and Dad said we have to go back and do some. So I heard nothing but good about ours during Memorial Day. So thank you.

I just wanted to commend the guys on the work they did for the memorial service and the cleanup. I met with them yesterday, and they did a fantastic job.

Yeah, they did a phenomenal job. I'm really proud. It's a good crew.

I think, by and large, everything looks great, and the rain hasn't hurt.

No, I wouldn't mind a little rain every week.

I was at a funeral service Saturday morning, and it... I can tell you it rained pretty hard at the cemetery, so I'm not too surprised it's pretty green right now. Any further discussion? If there is none, all in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Are there any opposed? That is approved.

Okay, thank you very much.

Comments from departments? Ms. Larson, do you have anything more for us tonight that we need to be aware of while you're still? Okay, thank you. Mr. Robinson? No, sir. Mr. O'Neill? Ms. Harris?

No, Your Honor.

Mr. Harris? Nothing, Your Honor. Thank you. Okay. Public participation. Is there anyone here from the public that would like to address the council for any reason? Please come up. If you'll come up and give us your name and address and tell us what's on your mind.

I am not a public speaker, so forgive me. My name is Julie Hamilton. I live at 628 Gage Avenue and I am here regarding your animal control, animal shelter with a concern. My husband and I were at the Evanston High School on the 25th of May and we saw a loose dog. It was a Labradoodle, took a picture, we tried to capture it, ran off. I went to the City of Evanston website, looked at animal control, it said contact us here. I clicked on email links to three different officers. Rhett Grawl, Randy Chandler, Terry Sparrow, they all came back as undeliverable. These were links on your website. I also went to the Animal Control Facebook page and messaged them. That was also referenced on the EvanstonWyoming.org website three times, and each time response was hi thanks for contacting us we've received message and appreciate you reaching out never did it say it was going to contact me but never did it say it was unmonitored a day or two later I also called the Business number, left a message, it was during business hours, where eight days later, I haven't heard back. In the meantime, my Facebook post, about three days later, someone, a resident reported that the dog had been hit on I-80 and was killed. A day after that, I was contacted by a gentleman named Clayton Alexander. He said that dog was his in-laws' dog that was stolen from Kemmerer the day that we reported it. I did email you, Mayor, last week. I don't expect that you would have responded at this point, but it's eight days. No one's contacted me. We've got a dead dog. And I have a concern that the links and the phone numbers and the attempts that I have made to get some attention that possibly could have saved this dog went unanswered.

I hear you. Are we certain that we're talking about the same dog in both instances? And I'm not... I don't know.

Well, all I can say is that I took a very clear picture of the dog. Oh, okay. And the gentleman that ended up messaging me from Kemmerer was very specific to him, it was a very clear picture. He said, her name is Amelia, she was four years old, she was stolen out of the yard. There were other people that also reported seeing this dog in the area of Smith's, so... I guess the main thing is no one's contacted me.

I'm sorry about that. I recognize how important these kinds of issues are, and I don't want to make light of that at all. I'm sorry this happened. We will look into some things and make sure that those links are... Working, functional, and we will make sure that hopefully this kind of thing doesn't happen again.

And messages are returned. I mean, I think this is important.

We'll figure out why that happened, and we will make some. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Appreciate that very much.

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. I had no idea the links were broken, and, you know, you can't monitor everything, and so it's so important. And I know you're not a public speaker, but you did really well. And it's things like this that you bring to our attention that we can fix and we can save the next one. My fur babies are my kids, you know, and labradoodles are, you know, that's heartbreaking. You know, it really is. And I'm glad you went to such a great extent to try to help this animal. I wish that the... outcome was different, but I applaud how long you've gone all the steps, including coming here tonight, and that's huge and momentous. Thank you.

Is there anyone else who would like to address the council? If there is not, is there a motion to adjourn? I'll make that motion. Mr. Sellers, is there a second?

I'll second it, Your Honor.

Seconding, all in favor?

Aye.

We are adjourned. Thank you, everyone.