City Council - Regular Meeting

Meeting of the Torrington City Council. This is Tuesday, April 21, 2026. Good evening and welcome to all. We have here Ryan Kaith from KGOS, KERM Radio. This council meeting is being broadcast live on both local radio stations, also on YouTube, and it'll be up in a more permanent fashion on YouTube. We also have Torrington Telegram here, Ms. Amber Wolfington this evening. Welcome to the press. Our first order of business is the Pledge of Allegiance, and I've asked Councilman Rick Warren to lead us in the pledge. 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. Next item on our agenda are the mayor's informational items. I announced this before, but I want to announce it again. Tomorrow, Wednesday, April 22nd, 2026, is Hazardous Waste Collection Day. That is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. tomorrow. The place is the Goshen County Resource Center, and that's located west of town, 4516 U.S. Highway 26 slash 85. This is brought to you by the Lingle, Fort Laramie, South Goshen, and North Platte Valley Conservation District. They have acceptable items they'll take of hazardous waste. They include fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, antifreeze, lead or oil-based paint, batteries, cardboard, newspapers and magazines, oil, five gallon container or smaller, large metal items, electronics slash e-waste, cold cathode, fluorescent, CCFL free, Flat screen TVs and monitors, tablets and cell phones, printers. There are some items that aren't acceptable. That is latex paint. And they suggest that you dry that out and put it in a personal dumpster. TV and computer monitors with cold cathode fluorescent bulbs, CCFL and CCFL light bulbs. So if you have hazardous waste to dispose of, you may do it tomorrow, Wednesday, April 22nd, 2026. at 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Goshen County Resource Center. They do have some phone numbers for more information. If you need it, you can call Jamie at 307-575-0126 or Gary at 307-534-5768. That's the hazardous waste collection day tomorrow, Goshen County Resource Center. Spring is here, people are out walking and running, motorcycles are out, bicycles are out. Please take extra care to watch out for them. As I have often noted, there are more and more electric bikes and electric scooters out there. Please take note that minors under age 16 must have a helmet while operating electric bikes or electric scooters. Please use your common sense, please stay safe. As always, please do not drink and drive, please slow down, and please don't use your cell phones while driving. Now is the time to mark your calendars for the National Day of Prayer. This is a non-denominational, non-political gathering for prayer. There will be prayers for our country, our leaders, our children and youth, our military, and more. The citizens of Goshen County are invited to meet on Thursday, May 7th, on the south side of the courthouse, joining with citizens throughout the nation on this day which is set aside for prayer. Those participating will be asking God to intervene in our lives in ways large and small. The gathering will last for approximately half an hour, starting at 1210 p.m. Please join us in exercising our right to assemble and our right to free speech as we approach God in repentance, supplication, and thanksgiving. Again, National Day of Prayer, Thursday, May 7, starting at 1210 p.m. on the south side of the Goshen County Courthouse. One more reminder on choice of gas balloting. The balloting ends tomorrow, the 22nd of April at 1159 PM. So you literally have till the end of the day, 1159 PM if you have not yet voted. If you need help on how to vote or have any questions about the process or the procedure, you may contact the ladies in the front office on the east side of the building and they'll be more than pleased to help you with that balloting. I think a lot of you got those ballots in the mail, but if you do need help, the ladies at the east end of the building are very happy to help you with that process. Community gas funds are very beneficial to the city. They allow us to do some things we can't do otherwise, like we have an EWC scholarship and some improvements around town that we use that money for. So it's very beneficial to us to have the community gas proceeds. I also want to announce Dennis Estes, who will be here tonight dealing with some issues. Dennis was elected by the Wyoming Coaches Association as Middle School Wrestling Coach of the Year. So thank you, Dennis, for your doing that, and congratulations. Thanks, Lenny. Let's see next item on the agenda is approval of the consent agenda, which includes the minutes from. April 7, 2026 Council meeting as published.

Mr Mayor, I've moved to approve the consent agenda for 4726 Council meeting.

Alright, I have a motion from Councilman deal to approve the consent agenda as presented. Do I have a second?

Second.

Second, Councilman Kelly. Any further discussion, gentlemen? Hearing none, I'll call for a vote. All those in favor of approval of the consent agenda as presented, signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Any opposed, signify by saying nay. Hearing no nays, the consent agenda is approved. Next item on the agenda is the approval of the agenda itself. And I've explained to council that I would like a motion for an amended agenda, which would include as item 7A, the consideration by council of the rejection of some diesel generation systems proposals. So with that brief explanation, I would entertain a motion regarding the agenda.

Mr. Mayor, I would move to approve the agenda as amended.

All right. I have a motion from Councilman Victor and to approve the amendment as presented, which makes it an amended agenda to add item seven, a dealing with the proposals on generator systems. Do I have a second second from councilman Warren? Any further discussion? Hearing none, I'll call for a vote. All those in favor of an approval of the amended agenda to include item 7A, signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed, signify by saying nay. Hearing no nays, we have an approved amended agenda. Next item on our agenda, I don't see any takers. I would see a slip of paper in that black box in front of Councilman Warren if there were. But I'd like to explain this. We've got folks in attendance this evening, and I know folks listen on the radio. This is a section of our agenda for non-agenda items. There is a time limit of two minutes, and the speaker must sign up before the meeting. This is a time for the council to listen. No action will be taken. So in the future, if you want to take advantage of that, sign-up sheet here and you may do that and place that in the black box in front of Councilman Warren. Our next item is an information item. Item number one, Wyoming Child and Family Development Development Disabilities Local Match Presentation and I have as reference Deb Grundy and Whitney Flores. Good evening ladies and we're happy to hear from you.

Thank you, I have a little bit So we would really just like to begin, Mr. Mayor, by thanking you and the council for having us. We appreciate your continued support for our program. The information that I brought you just includes a brief outline of the role that those monies play in what we try to do as an organization. Last year we provided over $765,000 in services to Torrington's children, demonstrating a strong return on your investment. For the 26-27 program year, we respectfully request that you would consider the $2,000 donation that you have provided in the past. We provide services for the children zero to five years old, any children that might be having any disability difficulties, speech impairments, physical therapy needs. Whitney is a early childhood educator in our system and she travels from Chugwater all the way to Torrington and Fort Laramie and sees the children in home. So those funds just help us continue to provide those services. In your packet, there's also a nice little story about one of our children that we have been able to provide services for. When she came to us, she was basically crawling. And today, I peeked in on the cameras and was watching her jump on a trampoline, laughing with her friends. So the things that we're doing are really making a big difference. And we would just like to ask for your continued support.

Well, Whitney, did you have anything to add?

Oh, she did a good job covering it.

I won't put you on the spot too hard. And so there are two facilities here in Torrington. That is correct. Can you tell us what the two are?

So we have the Litzy Center, which is here on site. ITC. Yeah, and they serve the zero to three-year-olds exclusively. And then at Torrington Learning Center, we have one classroom with zero to three-year-olds and three classrooms with three to five-year-olds.

And this year, we just implemented a new classroom. We call it our Little Explorers Group, where the focus is geared towards children who have early three-year-olds who don't have a lot of or any preschool experiences. And then for children who don't necessarily meet our head start and early head start income requirements, it gives them an opportunity to have a preschool placement to receive those therapy services that they might not otherwise get in the community because the community preschools are already full mid-year and don't have any open spots and things like that. So we created that program this year and it It's been successful, and we continue, as far as I know, to continue on with that in the fall.

And it's free to any students in the community, ages three to five, that would like to participate, whether they have any needs for services or not. If they just want to learn what it's like to be in a preschool and get some socialization for a couple of hours, those services are free to the community.

All right. And I think the history of this, it goes back to the late 60s, early 70s with the advent of the Head Start program in America, right? Yes. That's where this program.

In 1965 here in Torrington, it started as a migrant farm program.

OK. And here we are, two facilities.

And here we are. Yep.

All right.

Do you guys have any questions for us?

So just to help me understand a little more, I know you come here annually. But your local match there, who matches that for you, aside from the local governments?

It comes through federal grants and the Office of Head Start funding. And it's our responsibility to raise those matched funds so that we can participate in those programs.

So you get help if we help.

That's right.

All right, gentlemen, any more questions? Ladies, you presented that well, and I appreciate your time and effort. Thank you.

Thanks for having us.

You're welcome. Next item, well, we're down on our action items. Next item under action items is item number one, For council consideration, Doug Mercer is requesting approval to reserve the date of September 12th, 26, and the use of Main Street for the classic cars on Main Street event that is held annually. I think just for council's edification, Doug will go through the standard process for a special events permit later on, but this is just to reserve the date and the location. Right, Mr. Mercer?

That is correct. Thank you, Mayor and Council. We had an individual a number of years ago now reserve the date before we did. Boy, was that a mess because we had to add two functions on the same day at the same location. That didn't work very well. So I've just started asking the council to reserve September 12 for the fall show of the Scottsbuff Valley Street Rides on Main Street, Torrington.

And that's a Saturday, right?

Correct.

All right. Gentlemen, do you have any questions for Mr. Mercer? All right. Thank you, Doug. Appreciate it.

Thank you.

Gentlemen, with no further questions for Mr. Mercer, I would entertain a motion in item number one to approve the reserving of the date of 9-12-26 for use of Main Street for the Classic Cars on Main Street event.

So moved, Mr. Mayor.

All right. I have a motion from Councilman Deal in item number one to approve the reserving of the date of 9-12-26 for the Main Street Classic Cars event. Do I have a second?

Second.

Second, Councilman Kelly. Any further discussion? Hearing none, I'll call for a vote. All those in favor of approving the request to reserve the date of September 12th, 26th for the Main Street for the Classic Cars event, signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed, signify by saying nay. Hearing no nays, that date's reserved. Thank you, Mr. Mercer. All right, next item on our agenda is a proclamation proclaiming May 6 through 12, 2026 as Nurses Week. And I will read the proclamation. At the top, it reads City of Torrington, proclamation. Whereas nurses constitute Wyoming's largest healthcare profession, providing indispensable high-quality care that is essential to the safety and well-being of all patients, and whereas the nursing profession meets the evolving health needs of our population across all settings, while the Wyoming Nurses Association advocates for increased access to primary and preventive healthcare, And whereas the demand for nursing services continues to grow due to an aging population and increasing clinical complexities, making a highly skilled nursing workforce more vital than ever to our state's future. And whereas the Wyoming Nurses Association has designated May 6th through 12th, 2026 as Nurses Week with the theme, The Power of Nurses, to celebrate the unparalleled impact and contributions nurses make to enrich our lives. Therefore, be it resolved that I, Herb Dobie, Mayor of the City of Torrington, Wyoming, do hereby proclaim May 6 through 12, 2026, as Nurses Week and urge all residents of Wyoming to join me in honoring the nurses who care for us and celebrating their accomplishments during this week and at every opportunity throughout the year. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and signature as Mayor of the City of Torrington, Wyoming, this 21st day of April, 2026, Herb Dobie, mayor attest Lynette Strecker, clerk treasurer. So that's the reading of the proclamation gentlemen. And, uh, if you have any questions, I would entertain them. If not, I would entertain a motion to approve the proclamation and approve my signing of it.

Mr. Mayor would move to approve the proclamation, uh, as presented and further move to approve your signature.

All right. Item number two. I have a motion from Councilman Victorine to approve the proclamation itself and also to prove approve my signing of the proclamation. Do I have a second?

Second. Second. Councilman Kelly.

Any further discussion, gentlemen? Hearing none, I'll call for a vote. Item number two, all those in favor of approving the proclamation as presented and approving my signing the proclamation as presented, signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Any opposed, signify by saying nay. Hearing no nays, the proclamation is approved and I will indeed sign it. Next item on our agenda is another proclamation. This is proclaiming April 26 to May 2, 2026 as National Apprenticeship Week. And first order is I'll read the proclamation. At the top it says City of Torrington. proclamation, whereas National Apprenticeship Week annually raises awareness of the vital role registered apprenticeships provide in meeting critical industry workforce demands. Registered apprenticeship programs develop the highly skilled workforce that employers need and create pathways for Americans to catapult into in-demand, high-paying careers. And whereas registered apprenticeship programs are industry-driven, high-quality career pathways that enable employers to develop and train their future workforce, and individuals can obtain paid work experience with a mentor, receive progressive wage increases, classroom instruction, and a portable, nationally recognized credential, And whereas the City of Torrington recognizes the urgent need to prepare and maintain a highly skilled workforce that is capable of meeting the current and future demands of the industry we serve and fortifying our economy. Whereas the City of Torrington recognizes the pivotal Role educators, school counselors, and educational institutions serve in not only bringing awareness of registered apprenticeship opportunities to students and parents, but also serving as training providers, program sponsors, and intermediaries. Whereas registered apprenticeship programs are uniquely able to meet the changing demands of the City of Torrington-Wyoming economy, now therefore I, Herb Dobie, Mayor of the City of Torrington, Wyoming do hereby declare April 26 to May 2, 2026 as National Apprenticeship Week in the City of Torrington, Wyoming. And witness whereof, I have here unto set my hand and signature as the Mayor of the City of Torrington, Wyoming, this 21st day of April, 2026, Herb Dobie, Mayor, Pateste Lynette Strecker, Clerk Treasurer. So with that reading, I think I'm going to call on Scott Sides. He moved. and Adrian to come forward. And just say who you are, Scott, and who Adrian is.

OK, so I'm the electrical supervisor for the city of Torrington here, and Aiden is our apprentice. Sorry, Aiden.

Yeah.

Aiden Velazquez. Did I say it right? Yeah. There you go. I just want to first say thank you, Mayor and Council, for supporting National Apprenticeship Week. You kind of went over what all an apprentice is, but I'll do a little more on what it is for us. An alignment apprenticeship is a hands-on training program that prepares workers to build, maintain, and repair the electrical system our community depends on every day. It combines classroom learning with real-world experiences to develop skilled, safety-focused professionals. For Torrington, it's an investment in our workforce, our infrastructure, and our future. Aidan's second year apprentice, almost third year, right? And he's doing great. Nothing but good things to say about this young man. I also saw that this year's theme was make America skilled again through registered apprenticeship, which I thought was pretty cool.

We do need skilled Americans.

Yes. Found that out today. He helped me out a lot.

All right, gentlemen, do you have any questions for Scott or for Aiden?

Oh, we better ask Aiden a question. I know he's quiet and shy and doesn't like to talk. It wasn't me, Aiden. What can you say about your experience in our apprenticeship program at the electrical department?

Well, as of right now, there's still quite a bit that I have to learn, since stuff isn't really the same everywhere. But it seems to be very entertaining, and I really enjoyed this line of work. And you went through the Western Nebraska Electrical Alignment School? Yes, that's in Alliance. And I think as of last year, they're still doing that school. And it seems that pretty much almost every year they have a full class. So that's also pretty good. We appreciate you here.

Thank you. How much more of your apprenticeship do you have to undergo until you become the next level? Is that a journeyman?

Journeyman. So I already finished my fourth book that is required through the apprenticeship program. Now I just have to complete all my hours for the apprenticeship program.

Which is about what, halfway there?

I think so.

Yeah, maybe a little over half, yeah. Are you doing hot work yet, Hayden?

Some, but still learning quite a bit from the more experienced guys. So like I said, still lots to learn. He's doing good.

Good.

Thank you.

All right. Thank you, gentlemen. All right. Thank you. You're welcome.

You guys want your picture? You guys normally do a picture.

Oh, yeah. They did say they want a picture.

Somebody direct us. Let's go down here again. OK.

Don't break the camera.

Dennis? We could all get friendly.

All right. No flash. Thank you. Thank you. It's pretty bright on this side. Thanks for coming. Thank you, council. Thank you. And with that, Mr. Mayor, I would make a motion to approve the proclamation and your signing thereof.

All right. Thank you, Councilman Deal. I have a motion from Councilman Deal in item number three to approve the proclamation of National Apprenticeship Week and approve my signing thereof. Do I have a second? I would second. Second from Councilman Victor. Any further discussion, gentlemen? Hearing none, item three, all those in favor of approving the National Apprenticeship Week proclamation and my signing of the proclamation, signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed, signify by saying nay. Hearing no nays, the proclamation itself is approved, and I will indeed sign it. Thank you. All right. We will leave regular session and we will go into a public hearing. Council is up here convening as what we call the board of adjustment. And we have a couple items on our agenda this evening regarding our sitting as board of adjustment. The first one is Tammy Foose requesting a conditional use permit to operate an in-home daycare. The property is located at 132 Hawley Drive. And the public hearing is open right now. And I would request some comments from Dennis Estes.

Thank you, Mayor and Council. Excuse me. Thank you, Mayor and Council. What you have in front of you is a conditional use permit for an in-home daycare. Our current rules say we allow up to 11 kids if it's approved, and they're all unrelated. And then I think the state only allows maybe 10 now. They keep going back and forth. So right in there, 10 to 11, they could probably have if it gets approved. This came up to the Planning Commission last week. I've had several residents directly next door to the applicant that are, they like the applicant. They have nothing against the applicant. They just don't think it's the right fit for the neighborhood. So there was several pretty vocal at the Planning Commission meeting. You have two letters you received from two individuals that deliver. One lives directly next door. That's the last one you got yesterday. And then a couple of weeks ago, you got one from the lady that lives across the street. But they were all in opposition. And there was two people that came and spoke in favor of the daycare. They have other daycares in town. And Mrs. Foose is here. So I will give you a little background on our planning commission. That was the first time we met since the mayor appointed two new members. So we appointed a new chairman and got through all that. And long story short, they motioned to deny the request. There was a second. The vote came in three to two against the request or against the denial. So the denial failed. And then they failed to bring up another motion. So there was never another motion put on the table.

So as it sits, there is no recommendation from the Planning Commission.

Correct.

Other than what I've told you. And let me just interject this. That's okay. We usually have a denial from the Planning Commission or an approval. But, and just to educate people in the room here, when we sit as Board of Adjustment, we appreciate the Planning Council or Commission. We appreciate the work that they do. We like their recommendations. We like to review them. We like to understand where they're coming from. They hold a public hearing in their own when they have a planning Commission meeting, but we are not bound by a recommendation for or against when we sit as Board of Adjustment. So Council sitting as Board of Adjustment has the final say on these matters. So just wanted to. Explain that and then Dennis, you have some more stuff you want to explain to us.

No, I do have a map if it will come up. Just so everybody knows where we're at. So this is a swimming pool here. And it's east of the swimming pool directly up here in this little L-shaped curve. It's pretty close to the only cul-de-sac we have in town. But it's a pretty quiet neighborhood. But I've had conversations with this neighbor. This is the applicant. I've had conversations with this neighbor, this neighbor, and this neighbor. And they all love the applicant. They just don't think it's a good fit for their neighborhood. So I'd stand for any questions, but there are a lot of people there that want to talk.

I liked your interesting, your wording for that. You see that street it's Holly drive, right? Correct. As the closest thing that we have in the city of Torrington currently anyway, uh, that people might call a cul-de-sac. So I would guess there's not a whole lot of traffic in and out of there, except for the residents. It's not a through street, obviously. And the streets on, I guess, the south and the east are where the main traffic travels, right?

Correct. This is Ridge Road. It comes around down by the ball fields by the old little league field.

While those folks are in here, I want to comment. I think that does get some traffic during Christmas time with the Christmas lights. I think that's a nice street for people to travel around when they're out looking at Christmas lights. So I know there's some increased traffic at Christmas time.

So I will say one thing. This is the applicant's house. The letter you got was from the individual that's here today. She's very concerned about this driveway issue. Somebody slipping and falling.

So that's a shared driveway?

Correct. It's all concrete between the two homes. The property line goes diagonal across the tail of that pickup, basically.

Dennis, can you tell us if you know how many in-home daycares are in the city?

I do not know that. There are people here that may know that. There's a couple of providers here.

We may get an answer to that.

12 to 14. 12 to 14, she said.

All right. Gentlemen, do you have any more questions for Mr. Dennis while he's up there?

Perhaps, Dennis, could you summarize the opposition from the planning commission meeting?

With the exception of the slipping and falling on the driveways and that thing, everybody's pretty much concerned about the sound, the traffic coming and going, just things happening that's not happening now and hasn't happened there ever. They have nothing against the applicants at all. It's just they just don't think it's a good fit for the neighborhood. They would like to keep their neighborhood quiet. That's the impression I got.

Don't you have to send out a notification that this is coming to the neighbor, don't you?

I send a letter to everybody within 150 feet of that home.

So that amounted to what? A dozen people, maybe?

I'm sorry?

A dozen people, maybe?

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.

Then I got to go up behind them on Hillcrest, too. Who's ever about them on the back?

Any further questions for Mr. Estes? We can call him back later if we need to. Alright, we are in a public hearing and I'd like to do this in a very orderly way. So do I have public comments for granting the conditional use permit to operate an income in home daycare? Anybody want to comment and yes ma'am and if you'll just come up and just say your name so we know who you are and then you're free to tell us.

Well, hello. I'm Ashley Hoff. Sorry, I get nervous. I operate. I'm a child care provider in Torrington as well. I've been doing it for a couple of years. I've talked with my neighbors. You know, noise has never been an issue in our area. I live on a very busy street. I'm on West C. So, you know, bringing the kids in and out of the home, you know, they've got to be holding their child's hand. They're responsible for their kid till they're in my door. And then, you know, they're my responsibility. As soon as they walk out of my door, it's the parent's responsibility. And To my knowledge, most of us carry a limited or liability insurance so that if something were to happen, you know, there is coverage as far as that goes. If something were to slip and fall or, you know, an accident outside playing, stuff like that. And fenced-in yards are a must. And you have the state of Wyoming. There's a licensed lady that comes in. pop-up visits. They're not planned. So they can come at any time and check on you and make sure that you are following all the rules and taking care of the children properly. So you have to abide by all of their rules and guidelines. There's the fire marshal. He comes in as well. Make sure that your home is safe for the children. So there's a lot of extra work that comes along with just doing the zoning. There's a ton of extra work that you have to do as a provider. it's definitely a need in Torrington I get phone calls weekly for people looking for childcare and I unfortunately in full I have to turn them away so you know reference them to other providers that I know of and there's just not very many of us in home there's not many very facilities so it's definitely a high demand and it you know helps everybody else get to work because we get to watch the kids all day so

How many kids do you have in your daycare?

So on an average, and I'm Monday through Friday daytime hours, I'd say I have about four or five every day that are steady. I am licensed for up to nine because of my square footage. That is also a factor. So you can't have 20 kids running around. And I don't know that you would want that, because you can't give them the attention that they need. So usually the smaller crowd of children is better for the provider and the children as well. And so yeah, nine is what my license is for. And we also participate in a food program, which allows us to make sure that the kids have nutritional food. Tons of extra. I'm not any extra education. Tammy does have more education than I do. That is going to be a good thing for the children, I think. I would like to see some kids be with her. I've seen her do a lot. So over the years, she's done daycare for more than 20 years. And I've got to experience it and actually be there while she's operating. So pretty neat.

You mean that you don't offer education opportunities in your care?

Well, so I'm not like a licensed, you know, a teacher per se. So yeah, I do as much as I can for, you know, preparing them for kindergarten. The preschool that, you know, work that I can do with them, colors, ABCs, writing, stuff like that. I'm going to start working on trying to get some to read. I've got a few older ones. So as far as my education would go, Tammy much further could provide more than I could. Could you help?

Do you see a perceived need in the community for more daycare?

It is, yeah. I mean, if I don't get a call once a week, the following week I could have two or three people calling me. And I've even had out-of-state people from, like, Utah coming here for jobs that are Monday through Friday, 8 to 5. And they're, we need daycare. Do you know where we go? What do we do? And I try and refer them to other people. And everybody is full. We are so limited on square footage. You can only have so many kids. And then the ratio comes into effect as well. So you can only have two infants at a time every day. And there might be five people that need infant daycare, and there's just not enough openings as far as the ratios go. So that puts a strict line on us.

I think Mr. Vickran had another question.

I tried to do a little homework on the department of family services website. And it seems to me there's like three different types of daycare, um, licenses available. And one is, uh, you can have up to 10 with one employee or excuse me, just yourself. And then up to 15 with an additional employee. Am I correct on that?

I believe so. Yes.

Okay. And then outside of that, then it goes to like a more of a commercial type, uh, setting.

Yeah.

So there's only really two types of in-home daycare, um,

licenses correct yeah at the max you could have up 15 I believe so and based with an employee yeah and based on square footage you know you might only be able to have 12 because your square footage is smaller so that does take effect too okay gentleman any more questions for this hall sorry that's okay thank you thank you

All right. Do I have any other public comments for Council sitting as Board of Adjustment granting the conditional use permit? Yes, ma'am. And we know who you are, but just say your name for the record.

Jessica Martin. This is my husband, Jacob. We live on Holly Drive. It was our understanding that our name came up last time, so I thought I would give some opportunity to give some clarification. Jacob and I are, I'm a mental health practitioner. Jacob is a teacher in Torrington Middle School. We have been foster parents. We just actually sent our last placement back to his home, which is good. And fun fact, last summer or two summers ago, we actually had nine children between our five and four foster kids. So just putting that in perspective, okay, they're concerned about a 10-person daycare. We had nine in our home.

And most of those, I mean, most of those are teenagers. And so, yes, I know, I mean.

Yes, we had five cars at that time. We have four now. We always park on the street, never in driveways of other people. Also, with that being said, as far as the daycare issue, so our two that we had at one time were seven and nine. And the daycare we were going to didn't take state assistance. So we had to go to... Where did we go? The community Christian daycare in the summertime. But then we ran into a problem because he works late, I work late, and we didn't have any daycares that we could provide that would take our child, our foster child, for services. So now we're running into a safety issue because we don't have enough daycare. for city of Torrington. It's a big thing. The other issue that we're not maybe thinking about or not brought up is now there's the four-day school week, which I know we've been doing for a while. But on Fridays, people don't have places to take their kids. If we didn't have older kids, we wouldn't have had a place to take our kids. And that's another potential issue. that should be considered when we're thinking about in-home daycares and providing services for kids that, one, provide comfort for Jacob and I as we're serving our school population, but then our mental health population, my youngest client is four and my oldest is 72. And so I have a broad perspective there. I understand potentially the need for quietness, but I also, Delaney just had three kids over at our house yesterday. Like... They're going to play. We have a lot of kids. They're going to have people over there. As far as safety concerns, our five-year-old, who's going to kindergarten next year, goes to Sandra Perez, who I believe was here last week for public comment or input on this. She's on Avenue A. That's way more dangerous than our cul-de-sac as far as kids getting hurt. And they've never gotten hurt. So I don't foresee it being a safety issue. As far as parking, if parents want to park in our driveway, they're welcome to park in our driveway. It's big. And then the other thing that I wanted to say was, I don't know. Did you have anything else?

No, I just know that daycare for us has been important. I mean, like I said, I teach at the middle school. I coach three middle school sports Um, I've one summer school was a thing. It was me running the summer school program for Goshen County school district. Um, like I say, we, and like I say, it does become an issue when people like ourselves and I know DFS is always calling us trying to find places for kids to go, but for them to come into our home daycare for the majority of them had to be a, a Not an issue.

We weren't finding it. We have a 16-year-old and an 18-year-old. That would help a lot after school with the kids because we didn't have a place for our foster kids to go. And part of that was because Sandra doesn't take state assistance, so state daycare assistance. So there was a meadow something that was over Fisher that we had them in, and then that abruptly closed, and that left us scrambling. So the daycare need, it's huge. I also have clients who come and don't know where to go. I refer them to Sandra or other people, but they can't get in because... There's no options. LITC and TLC are great, but I believe that they're done at 2, 2 or 3. So that doesn't take care of the working population of parents that need care for their kids after school. Also, there is a bus drop off on Ridge. Yes, it's a pickup. That's more of a dangerous, in my opinion, more of a safety concern than parents dropping their kids off at daycare, because parents are with them the whole time. When buses pick up, kids aren't necessarily always supervised. They walk down, and it depends on when the bus is getting there or not. So as far as safety or concern, I'm more concerned about that versus I am as parents walking their kid into a daycare.

Mrs. Foose lives where that, we can see that, the brown roof. Where do you guys live?

We're 120, or 101.

101.

Right there.

The corner lot on Road 43 and Holly.

Yep, you can see our vehicles.

Okay.

Mr. Mayor, did I catch your name as Jessica? Yeah. Jessica and Jacob? Yes. Correct me if I'm wrong, did I hear you say you do currently operate an in-home daycare?

No, I'm a foster parent. And so we had nine children two years ago. Five of our own. Five of our own, and then four. And so in-home daycares can get 10, but I'm telling you, we had nine. We didn't have to be licensed, you know, whatnot. But just to put into perspective.

You had nine children. I had nine children.

OK. Gentlemen, any more questions for the Martins? Questions for the Martins?

Thank you.

Appreciate it.

Thank you. Thank you.

Alright, do we have any more public comments for Board of Adjustment granting the conditional use permit? Miss Tammy Foose is coming forward. Thank you, Tammy.

Hello. Thank you. So I want to tell you thank you for giving me this opportunity to speak. Respectfully, I really would like to get approved for my zoning for my home daycare. Caring for children isn't new to me. Ever since I was little, I babysat kids. I worked at St. Joseph's Children's Home for almost six years. After that, I started my own in-home daycare here on C Street. And I was licensed for 10 kids. Then I moved to Guernsey so that my husband was closer to his work and wasn't driving. We lived there for 10 years. And during that 10 years of living there, I also ran an in-home licensed daycare. And I was right next door to another licensed daycare that whole time. I work, for the last five years, I've currently worked in the school systems. I worked at the Guernsey School for a year. I worked at the middle school for a year. And I've worked at Lincoln Elementary for the last three years. I'm hoping to return to daycare, mainly for my health. I feel that it would be beneficial for my health if I returned to daycare. Also, because I know that this community needs the child care. There's people that I remember getting calls from, and they were crying because they had already called three other daycares, and everybody was full, and they didn't know what to do. So I know that it's a need. And yes, I also have my associates, and I'm a year away from my bachelor's in education. So yeah, I do do a lot of things with the kids, whether it be sensory or whether it be just practicing holding a pencil or anything like that. I feel that those things are needed and that every child has the opportunity to learn in every situation. So whether it be putting shaving cream in a Ziploc bag and zipping it up and letting them draw in that on that shaving cream. It gives them the opportunity to actually learn, to see that things can go. So I try to offer a lot in that aspect. I've never had any problems with my neighbors saying that we were too loud or that somebody threw trash in their driveway or anything like that. And I've always been very adamant with my parents to please only park in front of my house and in my driveway. I've never had them end at somebody else's driveway. And I've never had them park where it wasn't a public parking. Like I said, I've been licensed with the state the whole time I've ran my daycare. At one point, yes, I did turn my Guernsey home into the next step up of a daycare center. Um, which at that time I was allowed 16 kids and I had one staff. Um, like I said, I just ended up finally going to the school systems and working in the schools for awhile. Um, but I think not only does the community need it, but it would be good all the way around.

Um, so. This is the first step, right? You haven't gotten the license from the department?

No, I have not gotten the license. I have spent the $150 for the background checks, and I've spent the $300 for this. And I'm waiting to make sure that this goes through, so that way I can go ahead and start getting all the necessities for the children.

And how many children do you envision having at that location?

Even when I had my center in Guernsey, I still did not fill up. My heart tells me that I can't adequately give attention to every child that they need when I have more kids than I can count.

I'm not going to put you on the spot, but what? Five kids, six kids?

Five. I would say anywhere from five to eight is my average, and that's because You might have these older ones that come after school. And so that may be where you go up to your 8, but not a full 10, which I know that I could get licensed for.

And I'm looking at your house with what looks like a tan roof there. And all that green, is that your backyard? Yes, sir. So that's, I mean.

My backyard is quite extensive, yes.

And in the nice weather, you would have a situation for the kids outside?

We are required to take the kids outside at least twice according to state standards as long as it is 10 above. If it's 10 or below, we don't go out. If there's infants in our care, they try to say nothing below 20, 25.

But you've got a yard for it, right?

Mm-hmm.

And then if the Board of Adjustment were to approve it, what are you looking at for your hours of daycare and the days?

I'm hoping that this time I can strictly stick to 6.30ish, 7 o'clock to 5.30, 6 o'clock.

And how many days a week?

Five days.

Monday through Friday? Yes. And I know you don't have a crystal ball. I don't.

No.

But would you, if this permit were allowed, would you envision this being your sole thing that you're doing? Are you going to continue to teach and do this? No.

This would be my sole thing that I would be doing. Like I said, due to health reasons, it's the better thing for me to do.

And at this point, would you just be doing it yourself? Yes.

I will not have staff in that home. I will not do a center there. It could be, but no, I don't want center there.

I think you might have to come back if you.

Oh, yeah. You'd have to change it because we'd have to get rezoned. Yeah.

Mr. Mayor, you've had some experience at daycare. Could you estimate about how many minutes the busy time would be for dropping kids off?

So I'm just going to go from the time I was here on C Street. I had to change my hours to 5.30 in the morning for drop-off because I took a lot of military kids in, and those parents had to drive either to Cheyenne or to Guernsey. And they have to be there at 7, so Most military men, especially my husband, likes to be there about 20, 30 minutes early. So they drop off around 5.30 so that they had their time to get to their jobs, whether it be in Guernsey or Cheyenne. They get off at 4.30 in the afternoon. So by the time they got back to my house, it was a quarter after 5, 5.30. And so I'm not planning on taking on any military parents. But I'm looking at maybe from, like I said, 6.30 at the very earliest to a quarter to 6.

But was the question, like, say you open at 6.30, what time are the kids dropped off?

Oh, kids would be dropped off in between, sorry, 5.30. Maybe I'd get two. And then about 7.30, two or three. And then seven 45, two more.

So it's more sporadic. It is. It is.

And pick up is sporadic as well. Yeah. It's very rare to have more than two drop off at a time.

Mr. Mayor, if I could. Go ahead, Council Member. Tammy, thank you for being here. So your home would be licensed for 10. Yes. Up to 10. Yes. And I heard you say only you as the single employee. So is it 10 kids max per day? Is it 10 kids at a time? How does that work?

So that's where we got to go into the ratio thing. four children under the age of three. So I could take two infants and a one-year-old and a two-year-old. But those spots, once they're covered, they're covered. Nobody else could take them. So I wouldn't have four kids on Monday and a different four kids on Wednesday. Those would be my four full-time kids. And then I could have the rest from three and up. And so there, I could take and pull in three school kids and two kids that are three and four and five, you know, somewhere in that age. But that's how, that's their basic layout for ratios.

But you, you can only have 10 on your roster, right?

So if I had my fort under three field, then I would be allowed six that are over three.

Okay. Um, my next question would be for you is about, uh, it seems to me that, some opposition is about the parking. So knowing now that you only would have 10 kids in your care, you'd be the only employee, if you will. There's no additional employees. So you wouldn't foresee any on-street parking being taken at your home for any other purpose.

No, not really.

OK. And then the off street parking, your driveway, that would be only occupied by you. So parking would not be in any way different than it currently is. No. OK. And I think you answered my questions earlier about your times and your days of operation. I think that was all I had for you.

Any more questions for Mrs. Foose?

No? Appreciate it.

Thank you. Thank you for your time. All right. We are public comments for the Board of Adjustment granting the conditional use permit. Are there any further public comments for the granting of the conditional use permit? Okay, seeing no takers. Now we will open it up for public comments against the Board of Adjustment granting the conditional use permit. Any folks want to speak against the granting of the conditional use permit? And ma'am, when you come up, just say your name so we have it.

Hi Mayor and Council my name is Donna McMahon I live at 131 Holly Drive and I'm opposed to this only because my husband and I moved into this neighborhood because it's quiet and there's not a whole lot of traffic and as you can see not a lot of people come through there except at Halloween or Christmas time and it's one of the reasons why we really like it there so that's my reason for being opposed to it.

And ma'am, so we know where the proposed daycare center is. Where are you in relation?

I'm directly across. You see that U-shaped house right there with the brown roof, the darker brown, right on the corner there.

All right. Gentlemen, do you have any questions for Mrs. McGowan?

Your opposition is because of the increase in traffic.

Traffic, yes, yes. And it's just a nice, quiet neighborhood. That's what we like about it there.

So the sounds of it, that traffic wouldn't be, but just a few minutes a day, that's still.

Yeah, but it's going to be constant all the time. You're dropping off, picking up, dropping off, picking up. I mean, this is going to be something Monday through Friday.

What I understood was just like a few minutes in the morning, a few minutes in the afternoon.

I understand that, but when these kids are being dropped off, are they not going to need to park their car there and then walk them up to the door and you have two people doing this at a time? It's not going to be as quick as what you guys envision it to be. I don't perceive it that way.

Do you have school buses that drive through that neighborhood? I'm sorry? Do you have school buses go through that neighborhood? No school buses.

Any other questions? Thank you, ma'am. Appreciate it.

All right. We are in the part of public comments against the granting of the conditional use permit. Are there any further folks that want to speak against the Board of Adjustment granting? Please come forward, sir. Welcome, and if you will just state your name once you get to the microphone, then tell us what your comment is.

My name's Melvin Faber, and I live at 152 Holly Drive, which is two doors down from Fusus. I know we can talk about what may not happen or what's going to happen. We don't have a crystal ball, like you said. My concerns are, of course, traffic and parking. The parking that I've seen before is for, you know, if you're in a hurry, you're going to park what's convenient. And I understand that it's going to be a few times in the day, in the evening, and then in the morning, according to what I've already heard. The other concerns I have are Liability risks. I'm far enough away that I probably won't have that issue, but I do have a big hedge between myself and my neighbor. So I'm pretty careful driving out or backing in to my garage. But, you know, with kids, you never know what they're going to do. And as far as other safety issues is that I know that we've talked about or they've talked about other daycares, and they may not be the same as this one here. They have a sloped driveway. And then they have, I think, four or five steps going up to the house. And that could change in the wintertime as far as ice goes. And the people coming in, dropping their kids off. may or may not have their kid coat kids in tow and They may have something else that they're carrying in that's a concern Just what you know safety for the kids I have a neighborhood kids that live on the other side of me, and I never know what they're going to do. One rides a bike, and then I usually have a truck out in front of my house. And I've had to stop for them or for her because she rides her bike up the sidewalk and then out my driveway and across the street and then back down onto the other sidewalk and down to her house and then across the street again. So I'm just bringing that up because you never know what kids are going to do. My other concerns are like the noise issues. I don't have crystal ball, like I said. I don't know how it's going to be. But when the kids are out playing, because I don't work anymore, I like to go out on my deck that I built a couple of years ago. And so there's no barriers between my deck and them. So right now, when the kids go out, I foresee that the dogs that are in the other neighbor's yards are going to bark constantly because that's what they do now if there's any disturbance. And like I'd like to say is that we bought up there because of the quiet area and the short street. And I'd like to keep it that way. Just as a place to go out on my deck and enjoy the backyard. And to tie in with the traffic concerns is that I know we're talking 10 people and so 10 cars in the morning and 10 cars in the evening as far as traffic. And we know how if you get in a hurry, They're going to stretch that, try to get to the daycare faster. I know because I've been there. I've done that. And my other concerns are, as far as traffic goes, My neighbors that live across the street usually have a camper or a trailer that's parked right on the corner there. And so it limits visibility between cars coming around and going around. And like I said, I back into my garage because if I don't, then I can't get out when I park it in the garage. So I've been caught trying to back into my garage with traffic coming the other way because they couldn't see me. So with the added concerns of that, I would like to state that if this goes through, I would prefer that the street be with either a 25 mile an hour speed zone, I mean a 15 mile an hour speed zone or a 10 mile an hour speed zone just so that people coming in and out have something more than just a sign that somebody puts in their yard that says slow children playing. And the other safety concern I had was the neighbor that has the same driveway backs her vehicle out. And the concern that I would have would be she backing out and then some child running out from where the camper is set. And... potentially getting hit. I think that pretty much covers all my concerns.

Any questions for Mr. Faber?

Mr. Mayor, could you orient us on which house is yours? By the roof, perhaps?

152.

We're two doors south of the proposed daycare.

Yeah, that's correct. I'm two doors down. And you can see on the backside, I have like a 16 by 17 and a half deck area that's covered. And I spend a lot of time out there.

All right. Any questions for Mr. Faber? Mr. Faber, we appreciate your comments. Thank you.

Thank you.

And just say your name when you approach the microphone. This is another comment against.

Mr. Mayor and City Council, Tim Pieper. I live two doors down. And one of the reasons that we love living there is because there's no traffic and it's quiet. And I love all of our neighbors. I think they're great, including the people that have a daycare, including the people that have all of that. children in foster care. And I must say that once they moved in, there was a dramatic increase in activity because we just don't have traffic at all. And I'm just concerned that we're going to have more traffic and we're also going to have people parking or attempting to park, you know, if there's multiple people dropping off at the same time, which may not be likely. but it might be. And the other thing I'm concerned about is rezoning our small neighborhood. I mean, there are seven houses on that street, and I'm not sure I want a rezoned house two doors down. And I guess those are my three concerns, and that's all I have.

Any questions for Mr. Pieper?

No, we're not going to rezone the area. It's just a conditional use permit. But it doesn't rezone the property in the neighborhood at all.

So there's no zoning change in their house?

No. We should have probably talked about this.

Okay. I'm sorry.

This is not a rezoning, okay? The zoning will stay the same in that neighborhood. What this is is called a conditional use permit. Okay. It is personal to the FUSAs. If they sell this or pass away, God forbid, or something along those lines, then that conditional use permit goes away. It's personal to them. It does not run with the property. And Mr. Eddington, I'm right on that, right? Right. Okay. So it's not a rezoning. So that's not the question. Do they get a conditional use permit that's personal to them and if they sell, they can't sell that, doesn't run with the property, or if they, God forbid, passed away, it doesn't run with the property either. It's conditional to Tammy Foose.

And if I could, Mr. Mayor, the reason for the permit is because the current zone of the neighborhood doesn't allow for such a business in the home, if I'm correct on that.

Yeah. Getting odds for Mr. Eddington. You can't see him from here.

And I'm not sure that's good for the neighborhood or not. So that would be a concern. OK.

But a conditional use permit can be revoked too, right?

Absolutely. That's why it's conditional.

OK.

Anything else? No, sir. Thank you. Thank you.

Yes, ma'am. And if you'd just state your name and.

I am Sarah Munson. I live on the same driveway. OK. We're on that same driveway. Yeah, that camper there does block my vision when I'm backing out. That's true. You just have to be really careful. What I want to know is you make one provision on that street, what's the next provision going to be? Right? I'm a very suspicious natured person because I've worked in a lot of places, and I was an insurance agent for many years. So to say I'm suspicious natured, yep, I am. Because when Tammy did come and talk to me, she talked about a couple babies and maybe a three-year-old. I love kids. I've raised four. I have many grandchildren and great grandkids. So I'm not anti-kid, but we are not in a neighborhood that we should have a business of sort in our neighborhood. We're all retired. Most all of us are retired. And I've lived in that house for 24 years. I don't want to move.

But.

I just don't think it's a good fit for the neighborhood. And Tammy and Brad are the best neighbors. I have no complaints about that. I just don't think it's the right place and neighborhood for a daycare. I'm sorry. And we may start out with three or four kids, five or six. Then what are we going to go to next? Sorry. 10 kids? She herself said it can go up. So I don't want that. I just don't want it next to me. And I love kids. I really do. It's just not the right neighborhood. As I said, we're pretty much all retired people. And we live there because of the quiet street. And we love our neighbors. We all look after each other. So that's just me.

And you're the house just to the left in that picture, right?

Yeah, our driveways are on a circle thing, yeah.

That's you.

Yes, that's me. Yes, and then I heard the comment was, well, she's not there all the time. No, we have a farm in Illinois, and we go back and forth. I do not trust that. Well, there's nobody in that driveway. Why not park in that driveway? and get our kids next door. OK. Our street, when it snows, and you know it snows, it's not plowed. So when it snows, it's very quiet. And then whoever's got the four-wheel drives is out there driving on our street, and we have those ruts. And there's snow piled up on the sides, our sidewalks and everything. So it's not a convenient. It's just not the right place, I don't think. And that's just my opinion. So thank you.

Any questions for Mrs. Munson before she?

I think I wrote you a letter, too.

Yes, ma'am. We got it. Thank you.

Did we get two letters from you, Ms. Munson?

Nope. Just one. Just the long one. Just me. I think that was a note.

I see there's a note with your signature on the

Sarah, somebody?

I'm Sarah.

You're Sarah.

Mm-hmm.

This note?

Oh, I should have said that. I did write that one.

Yeah, I guess there are two. Okay, so it's the same, same.

Okay, okay.

And you live at? 122. Who's Sarah Hainley?

That was me before you came. Okay.

When I walked the house, I was Sarah Hainley. Okay. And I lost my job.

both Sarah's are you so anyway that's just my opinion and I love my neighborhood I mean we have good neighbors and we all kind of look after each other And then there's the liability. I'm sorry. I know. Say I always have my driveway plowed and my sidewalks are always plowed really quick. Maybe there's ice. Come on. Somebody decides, well, she's not there. I'll just park in there and drop my kid off. Well, they slip and fall. They slide on the ice. They fall down and break a leg or a hip. Whose liability is paying for that? It's my homeowner's liability that's paying for that. Doesn't even have to be ice. It could be a rock or something. They can turn their ankle. Okay, they've broken their leg or their ankle or their foot or whatever on my property. Now, I'm telling you, being in insurance, hey, I know what happens. You know, the lawsuits and et cetera, et cetera. And I'm not game for that. I don't want that at all. And it's possible. You say, you know, well, could be, might not be. There's always the could. You always want to figure, what's the possibility here? Right? And I don't want that possibility. I'd hate to have to move, but I lived there for 24 years. That's not saying I can't. Who knows who might decide to buy my house? Say somebody, you've already made one provision. Say somebody buys one of the houses up there, and they decide, oh, maybe I'd put in an in-home beauty shop. Are we going to break another provision? Think about that. You open the door once, and then you can open the door twice, three times, or whatever. We don't want that. That's not the neighborhood. That's my opinion. Take it or leave it.

Thank you, ma'am.

You're welcome.

We've got another taker.

Good evening, council and board members, for the adjustment.

My name is Deborah Crookshank, and I live next door. I'm at 142 Holly Drive. Sorry. I guess I have a written statement. I'll try to not read it, but follow along with it. I've been a resident for Torrington for 38 years. When Mike and I purchased our home, we purchased it because the home was in an R2 zone, which means overall we have larger lots, we can accommodate larger homes, and we have more space in between our homes. So our neighborhood is safe, it's quiet, and it's perhaps considered one of the safest neighborhoods in the city of Torrington, and I value that greatly. I am concerned about the potential of increased traffic and the lack of parking in our neighborhood. In the planning committee meeting, it was discussed that one resident may allow someone to park in their driveways. But taking that concern a little step farther is basically reiterating what Sarah said. So they park in that driveway. They slip. They fall. They're injured in some way. This now becomes the liability of the property owner. Perhaps there's an opportunity to bring this business to an appropriately zoned area that would grow our city's businesses. And there's obviously a need. In a city ordinance code, chapter 18 definition, section 1808-340, home occupation, D number 9, it states that day care centers or babysitter care for unrelated children are to be located in an R4 zone. Again, we are an R2. So I respectfully ask that you use the regulations that are in place for the designs of our lots and the property to be used to protect the character and the values of our residential properties and deny the application before you today. City council members and board, thank you for your time and consideration.

Thank you, ma'am. Gentlemen, do you have any questions for Mrs. Cruikshank?

Ms. Cruikshank, your opposition is just in a few bullet points. Traffic. Traffic.

Noise. Safety. Noise. Changing the makeup of our neighborhood. And now it's going to become there will be an in-home business there, which changes the dynamics and changes just the whole thing. neighborhood itself. So yes, that is my opposition.

Thank you, ma'am.

Thank you.

All right. Any more comments against the conditional use permit? Well, I think we've had a full hearing. I think both sides were well presented. the for side was well presented. Appreciate that. The against side was well presented. You have given council a lot to consider here. Okay. Um, and with that, I will close the public hearing and the next part of this or this next stage here is the council's vote to either approve the conditional use permit or deny the conditional use permit. So, And then what happens if I don't know what motion is going to be made, regardless of which motion is made, it takes a second. And then there's discussion. There's a time for discussion amongst the five of us up here. So we have had the complete public hearing. I think both sides have been Represented exceptionally well, frankly. There's a lot of folks in here. Appreciate the attendance. Appreciate the cares and concerns. And with that, I would entertain a motion from one of the councilmen.

Mr. Mayor, I'm going to attempt something, if I may. I'm going to attempt to somehow seek some middle ground here. And so my motion would be to postpone action on this issue until our May 5th council meeting. And if there would be a second, I would gladly explain why. Second.

All right. I have a motion from Councilman Victorine to essentially table this and bring this issue up again. Is it May 5th? Yes. When we have our next regular meeting, which is two weeks from today, May 5th. And so there's a motion and there's a second. And now it's time for discussion before the council would vote on Councilman Victor's motion. So go ahead and explain.

So, Mr. Mayor, the motion, the intent of the motion would be to allow the applicant and all of the other concerned parties, both for and against, to come together and better understand the issues at hand in the neighborhood. And hopefully, within that two-week time period, find a solution that is amenable to all. It may not be supportive in that two weeks. It may turn around in two weeks. But that is at least my attempt at continuing to be neighborly and hopefully allowing the neighborhood to work through their issues together before a final vote by this body.

Okay. Thank you for that explanation. And if I could just add to that discussion, it's a pleasure, you folks, it's a pleasure to have the fors and the against come together here and be civil about it and be friendly about it and be as well prepared as you are about it. Everyone who got up here at this podium was more than well prepared. I've seen lawyers in court that aren't as prepared as you folks. So you did your homework, you came, you presented it well. So I think that's a pretty reasonable motion that Councilman Victorin made and willing to hear from other councilmen in this discussion part.

Mr. Mayor, this is one of those Solomon-type situations for a need and whether or not it is the right location. And it's very difficult because the two sides are clashing at this moment. And it's a real shame when these kinds of things happen. So, yeah, I guess I'm in favor of the motion because I need to do some more research. I think I would like to know more.

OK. All right, we have a motion to, I guess the right word is table this till the next regular council meeting, which is May 5th, and have a second. Any further discussion?

That's the only question I would have. If we did do that, where would the parties all get together, and when would the parties get together?

Well. It really wasn't my intent to wade into those waters very much. I just kind of wanted to allow all the parties a little more time to sort of address the concerns by the opposition and potentially allow the applicant the opportunity to address those to the neighborhood and see if there could be a solution regarding traffic and parking and drop-off times and so forth that that the neighborhood would allow perhaps or even if the applicant had some other ideas of her own. So it wasn't my job for the government in any way to get involved in that discussion in the neighborhood per se. It was just to allow a little more time for all parties.

And that's how I understood it. These folks have gotten along. They're still talking to each other. They are in a good neighborhood. You can tell by the attendance at this meeting tonight. So it's up to you folks to do something over the next two weeks. And then we would come back and basically have the same thing we did tonight. Well, yeah, I would want more input. So we will just redo this, so to speak, on May 5th that this motion passes. Any further discussion? No public comments closed. OK. All right, I have a motion from Councilman Victron to put this off. And take this issue up again on the Council meeting on May 5th. And I have a second from Councilman Warren. Is there any further discussion?

Just to be clear, Mr. Mayor, the motion is to table. TODD BANDUCCI.

Table. OK. Motion to table this till May 5. And I have a second. Any further discussion? OK. Hearing none, call for a vote. We are on agenda while we're in public convening as the Board of Adjustments. Item number four. A, regarding Tammy Foose, requesting a conditional use permit. All those in favor of tabling this and readdressing the issue on May 5th at our next regular council meeting, signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed, signify by saying nay. Hearing no nays, it's tabled. It will be taken up again on May 5th.

Mr. Mayor, I know that folks think this is kind of like politicians kicking the can down the road, but I think there is a need for this. All right. Thank you.

All right, we are now on item number B, sitting as Board of Adjustment. This is Diversified Services Inc. DSI is requesting approval of the preliminary plat for a two-lot subdivision to be known as the DSI subdivision. This is now open for public hearing on item B, and I'd call on Mr. Estes.

Thank you, Mayor and Council.

What you have in front of you is a preliminary plot for DSI subdivision.

Everybody knows where DSI is located on the south end of West C Street? They went so far as to want to sell their south building, and they come to find out that the property had never been divided. So when they started looking at it and trying to get deeds on it and such, it became convoluted, to say the least. So we suggested, myself and Benchmark suggested, they subdivide it and get the utilities figured out, which they did. So Benchmark graciously went over there and found all those utilities and surveyed it. Some of the issues that are there, as you can see, all these red dotted lines are now easements.

Oh, my mouse doesn't work on there.

Anyway, you can see all the red dotted lines are now easements for the different utilities in and out of that place. The south hatched building is the one they want to sell. So the property line is right in the middle there. You will notice on the east side, on the audience side, where that pink line jogs out and around and down, that's the portion of C Street that currently belongs to DSI, not the city of Torrington. It's not dedicated to the public. So part of this plot would get that fixed up to where that would be dedicated to the public as a right-of-way, as it should be. Basically, all you're doing is we got all the utilities figured out, all the... utility heads have looked at it and approved what's there and they've talked with Benchmark personally to make sure all the utilities are where they're at. They've separated some of the utilities. They had a water line going from the south building to the north building across their lot. I believe they've now separated that to where it's all on separate lots. So now it's ready to sell. If this gets approved as submitted and no changes, It will not go back to the Planning Commission because there's no change, there's no point in it. It would come back to you as a final plat and you would have to approve the final plat. Once that is done, so everybody knows, this property is broken up into four different zones. So this is the first time I've ever seen that many zones in one, four or five here. And we've proposed to break it into two different zonings, the bottom one being light industrial And the top one being C1A. It's an office business complex for medical offices and such. This is what they do now there. So it would fit a lot better. So you don't have two separate zonings instead of four zonings all over the place. So with that, we'd have no public comment. Benchmark is here. And I would stand for any questions if you had them.

Gentlemen, any questions for Mr. Estes? So just to reiterate what you said, um, the issue before council tonight is whether or not to approve the preliminary plat it's preliminary. Okay. It won't have to go back to the council or the planning commission. Um, if council were to approve it, then there would be a final plat developed. And then that final plat would come to council for approval of the final plat. And then on that same agenda, would there be the,

The first reading of the ordinance for the zoning.

For the zoning. All right. So there'll be one more meeting as council in regular session, not as board of adjustment, to approve the final plat and then rezone it as requested. Correct. Or consider rezoning it. Correct. All right. That was a good explanation. Appreciate it, Dennis. We're open for public comments. Are there any public comments out there for? approval of this preliminary plat. Seeing none, are there any public comments against approval of this preliminary plat? Seeing none, I will go ahead and close this public hearing. We are now in the part. We're sitting as Board of Adjustment for the council vote. So gentlemen, I would entertain a motion regarding the request to approve the pulmonary plat, set forth an item B.

Mr. Mayor, I'll attempt to approve a motion here to approve the DSI subdivision, two lot subdivision with the zoning change as recommended.

Yes. We can't include the zoning.

It's a preliminary plat.

That was simply information purposes for the Planning Commission.

So I will amend my motion to just approve the plat as presented.

All right. Good catch.

Thank you.

Thank you. All right. I have a motion from Councilman Deal. Item B, to approve the preliminary plat for the two lot subdivision to be known as the DSI subdivision. I have that motion from Councilman Deal. Do I have a second?

Second.

Second from Councilman Kelly. Any further discussion, gentlemen? Hearing none. I'll call for a vote. Item B, all those in favor of approving the preliminary plat for the two lot subdivision to be known as the DSI subdivision, signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed, signify by saying nay. Hearing no nays, that preliminary plat is approved. Thank you. All right. We are done as Board of Adjustment. We are returning to regular session.

Thanks, Bob.

Thank you, gentlemen. Thank you.

Mr. Mayor? Yes. Mr. Mayor, I wondered if we might entertain a motion to recess for five minutes.

I have a motion from Councilman Victorin to recess for five minutes. Do I have a second? Second. All those in favor? Aye. Recess. We're in recess. You gotta go Dennis.

It's gonna say everybody's bladders runneth over.

The heat we're freezing out of here. It is colder than it was. Felt good when I first came. It's chilly.

I ain't gonna lie. It's interesting.

It's always been how we can hear.

I always send the children out if it's. above 10 below yeah my kids go to uh well my granddaughter's uh one of them's in in kindergarten now but they both went to apple valley which is a waldorf it's a specific kind of preschool and they live in lander so even if it was 40 below they are required to buy clothing so that the kids go out every single day it's just the way it goes yep Different area of the country. And it's interesting because the kids know what day of the week it is because they help cook the treats for the day. So if it's rice with a little bit of cinnamon and honey, that's Wednesday.

That's how they order their week.

That was an interesting...

I hate to say this, but I kind of figured they were all retired. Against? Yes. It's that not in my backyard. Sorry, I'm going to tell you the way I see it.

And I was kind of prepared to vote against, but actually hearing from folks, I'm on the fence about it. I already know where I fall on it, and I'm going to vote for it. It's just the way it is. I hope they talk to each other. I need to spend some time thinking about it. And that's just it. We probably should talk about it.

We should set up a time we can talk about this. Yeah, you can.

We will go back into regular session from that recess. I appreciate Councilman Victor and mentioning that we likely needed one. So thank you for that Councilman Victor. We are on item number five ordinance on first reading relating to recreational backyard fire pits, barbecues and smokers. And Mr. Eddington, would you please read that ordinance by title?

So Norton's creating and enacting Section 8.08.015, the Torrington Municipal Code 2026 revisions relating to recreational backyard fire pits, barbecues, and smokers.

All right. Thank you, Mr. Eddington. And Chief Johnson, I'd call on you.

and maybe Dennis. I'm not really sure how to introduce this other than we need to practice what we preach, I guess, and make sure that the ordinance reflects what we tell folks. Our ordinance should not restrict recreational backyard fire pits, barbecues, and smokers. For as many years as I've been here and as near as I can tell for many years prior to that, when people asked, we have let them know that fire pits and barbecues and smokers were legal. so long as they were well controlled and containing fire and all of those important things. I believe we base that opinion on statute rather than ordinance. I got asked this question a few weeks ago and when we did some research on it, we discovered that it wasn't covered correctly in the ordinance. Dennis Estes, I want to make sure we give Dennis full credit for working on this because he actually did the work to put this together and write it so that it fit. And then Mr. Eddington reviewed it. And I think that this puts us in good shape so that we are, oh, that was kind of magic. uh so that we're uh so that we're uh um our ordinance reflects uh what we're telling people and and frankly we shouldn't be restricting these things um inside the city there's no reason for that so hopefully i think the ordinance is pretty self-explanatory but it lays out some reasonable practical requirements but also allows folks to do things that they ought to be allowed to do at their house

All right. Gentlemen, any questions for Chief Johnson? Dennis is coming up.

Mayor, I would like to bring up one topic, though. I think where some of this comes into play here is as fire service, when we get called to a backyard fire pit for burning garbage in your fire pit, and then it comes up, and then, of course, the officers say, yeah, you can have them, but, you know, you really can't burn. So this is what we're trying to do here. I think that's kind of where it stemmed from. People were burning trash, weeds, corn stalks and stuff, and they're back in there. It's not for that. It's for enjoyment of a marshmallow roast or something. And we've had several people catch fire from burning trash in those fire pits.

Well, this does not allow burning trash in the fire pit. All right. Gentlemen, do you have any questions?

Not really a question, Mr. Mayor. Maybe Dennis could help. Paragraph I. References the fire marshal. Should that actually read the fire warden?

No. Just so you know, in Torrington, the city of Torrington has a fire marshal, which currently is myself. Okay. The county has a fire warden, which is just for the county, like emergency management. You have to appoint one in the city and appoint one in the county. So if it actually come down to a fire issue in town, it would be between me and the fire chief, which I would, of course, go to the fire chief. Okay. That's a good question.

All right. I have a question. On line D, it says 20-pound container of propane. Isn't the smallest one 30?

Usually they're 20-pound, five gallons, generally.

The reason I thought they were 30.

No, the 30s are just a little larger. That's the standard grill. 30 is the standard grill size, isn't it? 20-pound, generally. Was it 20? Generally, yes, sir.

30s are the ones in the RVs, usually.

Oh, just a little bit taller.

OK. All right. Any other questions for Mr. Estes or Chief Johnson? I like this getting it squared away. Short and sweet.

It was Dennis.

All right, we are on item number four, or excuse me, item number five, ordinance on first reading relating to recreational backyard fire pits, barbecues and smokers. I would entertain a motion to pass this ordinance on first reading. So moved. Item five, I have a motion from Councilman Diehl to pass this ordinance as presented on first reading. Do I have a second? Second. Second from Councilman Victron. Any further discussion? Hearing none, I'll call for a vote. Item number five, all those in favor of passing this ordinance on first reading related to backyard fire pits, barbecues, and smokers, signify by saying aye. Any opposed, signify by saying nay. Hearing no nays, that ordinance is passed on first reading. All right, we are now on item number six, ordinance on first reading related to the municipal cemetery. Mr. Eddington, would you please read that ordinance by title?

It's an ordinance amending and reenacting Chapter 12.36 of the Torrington Municipal Code 2026 revisions relating to the municipal cemetery.

Thank you, Mr. Eddington. And just to remind you, gentlemen, we had this as a topic at the public work session on April 14th. So I just wanted to say that and remind everybody of that. And we have Matt Hickman, Cemetery Sexton, back here. And Matt, just to put you up here, if anybody has any questions for you. All right. All right. Did you get a chance to look this over in the packet that we have since the work session?

Yes.

Yeah. And everything looked good to you and according to what we talked about at the work session?

Yes.

And I also want to thank Ms. Sylvia Anaya for putting this together. And Matt Hickman and whoever else was involved. I think we covered everything or everything in what you have in your packet. It was talked about at the work session. So with that, I open Mr. Matt Hickman up to any questions the council might have.

Matt and the chief, are we satisfied with the new wording on the firearms for the salute?

That's on page one, subsection D. If it's the same as it was at the work session.

It was changed.

It's been reworded.

You're no longer the.

I was not aware that change had been made. It's not important to me that I inspect it, but it is important to me that somebody be able to inspect it so that we can verify that it doesn't match the definition of firearm.

And Matt, are you comfortable with, is it cemetery staff, so you or your staff? Yes. You're comfortable with that?

Yeah, that's good. And you always know you can refer to the chief if you need to. Yep. I know we talked about this work session, and I don't remember the exact date, but the last time anything was addressed on the cemetery ordinance was 2016 maybe, thereabouts, 17, so nine years ago. And I know, Matt, you've been through this word by word. This is workable to you?

Yes. Yeah, this is a good refresher. I think this will help us out quite a bit.

Gives you some teeth when you tell people, no, we can't do that. Yeah.

Alright, gentlemen, any questions for Mr. Matt Hickman or? Anybody? OK, alright, don't go away just yet, man. We are on item number 6 ordinance on first raid first reading relating to the municipal cemetery. I would entertain a motion to approve this ordinance on first reading.

The ordinance is already there, right?

Yeah. I added an extra. All the ones in yellow are added.

Yeah, we're just approving the revisions.

Approving the ordinance as amended. I believe Mr. Mayor and Mr. Eddington could probably help. So a change to any ordinance requires another ordinance. Am I right in that understanding?

In the title, it says amending and reenacting. So it's amending this ordinance.

OK.

All right, so I don't have a motion.

You asked a question before there was a motion, right? Okay.

All right. I would entertain a motion on item number six relating to the cemetery amending and reenacting the municipal cemetery ordinance. So moved, Mr. Mayor. All right. Thank you, Councilman Kelly. Item number six, I have a motion from Councilman Kelly relating to the municipal cemetery, amending and reenacting that ordinance. Do I have a second? I would second. Second from Councilman Victorin. Any further discussion, gentlemen? All right, I'll call for vote item number six. All those in favor of first reading of the ordinance amending and reenacting the Torrington Municipal Cemetery ordinance signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed signify by saying nay. Hearing no nays, that ordinance is passed on first reading in item number six. Thank you, Mr. Hickman. Thank you. Easier than you thought. Yeah. All right, we are now on item number seven. Award request for proposal FY26 Lincoln Complex HVAC evaluation slash recommendations. Staff recommends awarding the project to West Plains Engineering WPE in the not to exceed amount of $3500 contingent upon acceptance of the city of Torrington agreement for professional services and finalizing the scope. to include water chemistry testing. And with that long introduction, I would call on Mr. Estes.

Thank you, Mayor and Council. So with the help of the city engineer, Mr. Harkins, I put together a request for proposals for our HVAC system and some hot water recirculation in this building. This building has not really been looked at by a professional engineer since we built it. We are having a few issues in the basement with some premature rust. We're replacing a hot water circulation line holes Several times this year probably five. I think we've had to have somebody in here Fixing the hole we have a research line a hot water line that goes from one end of the building to the other Constantly that line is creating holes and it's leaking down the hallway and several places The original intent with this was we were going to replace our cooling tower outside, and I thought before we do that, we need to make sure everything's correct before we spend $100,000 on a piece of equipment that may still have the same issue if we replace it. So before we do that, I thought it would be in our best interest to have a professional mechanical engineer look at our system.

And what you're asking council to prove this evening is a contract with West Plains Engineering and the not to exceed amount of $3,500, right?

Correct. We'll work with them. We did have a few firms come. They were one of them. They looked at our system. They suggested some stuff before they bid this. We did have four firms look at it. Two were here, I believe, and only two did it over the email. But you can see how we did the comparison table on it and how it all worked out. But I think we've gotten our best bet right now. These guys are very knowledgeable, it seems like, from their background. And I would suggest we move forward.

The only question I would have, Mr. Mayor, is to include the water testing. But I see none of them actually included that in there.

We're going to negotiate that in the contract. And then if there's a change, I guess we'd probably have to come back or something. We do water testing now, so I don't know if they can use our tests. But when we were evaluating, they were walking around the building, we did see some premature rust on our fire sprinkler lines down in the basement. It shouldn't be there.

So what staff is requesting is to approve and award the project to West Plains Engineering contingent upon negotiating a contract with them that's satisfactory to the city. Correct. So there's two things. You approve the contractor and approve the mayor signing the contract once it's negotiated.

Correct.

Does that make sense?

And this is not for any repair. It's just a visual inspection.

Evaluation, and then they'll give us a direction on what we should do. And hopefully, in the end, they would bid and run the project if it is a cooling tower replacement or such a big thing like that.

And I don't know if you mentioned this, but if the city had to replace the cooling tower, which was put in here when this building was built in 2009 or whatever, Let's look at upwards of $100,000. Correct. And it's possible that the engineers could look at this and go, you don't need a new cooling tower. You need this other way less expensive.

We need to do some different variation in the basement to get the water chemicals right or whatever, maybe. That's why I want them to look at it.

I think it would also include inspection of all the water lines.

In the basement, yeah. They're not going to undo the ceiling, no. Nothing up here? They won't be looking at any of the hallways all the way down the hall, any of the domestic water.

But that's where you said there were leaks at.

They're in the basement.

The recirc line goes from one end to the other, and it's leaking. So we're going to see. That's the domestic water as compared to the cooling water. There's two different systems there. So that's why we wanted to look at it and see if we got something going on downstairs and go from there. Hopefully in the end, if they do suggest we replace the cooling tower, that they would put the package together and bid it just like we do anything else. Let the professionals do it that know what they're doing.

All right. If there's nothing further, Mr. Mayor, I'll attempt a motion.

OK.

I would move to award the request for proposal for the FY26 Lincoln Complex HVAC evaluation and recommendation to West Plains Engineering in the not to exceed amount of $3,500 contingent upon acceptance of the City of Torrington Agreement for Professional Services, which would finalize the scope to include water chemistry testing.

All right. Uh, I won't repeat that necessarily. I probably will before the vote, but I have a motion from council and Victorine, uh, briefly in item seven to approve the awarding to that engineering firm as set forth for not to exceed amount of 3,500. And that would be contingent upon acceptance of city of Torrington agreement, uh, for, for professional services, finalizing the scope, including water testing. So that's the motion. Uh, do I have a second second? Second from Councilman Warren. All right, I'll restate this as best I can. I have a motion and a second. Item number seven from Councilman Victor is the motion. Councilman Warren is the second. For Council to award the project to West Plains Engineering. In the not to exceed amount of $3500 contingent upon acceptance of the city of Torrington agreement for professional services and finalizing the scope to include water chemistry testing. So that's the motion. Is there any further discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor of approving the award to West Plains Engineering in item seven and the not to exceed amount of $3,500 contingent upon acceptance of the City of Torrington Agreement for professional services and finalizing the scope to include water testing. All those in favor, signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Any opposed, signify by saying nay. Hearing no nays, the bid or... The project is awarded to West Plains in the not to exceed amount of $3,500 contingent upon the contract. Satisfactory to the city. All right. Thank you, folks. We are now on Item 7A of the amended agenda, which is a request by staff. Find it. Request by staff for council to reject all proposals submitted in response to the FY27 WTP and BPS-2 diesel generation systems project. So with that, I would call on Mr. Harkins, the Director of Public Works.

Thank you, Mayor and Council. We prepared a request for proposals that was advertised on February 25th and March 4th, 2026. Proposals from consultants were due on April 8th by 2 p.m. We received three proposals that were submitted and the results were shown below. The lowest bid we got was from Allen & Company Electric for $1.66 million. As all these proposals far exceed the available CDBG funding for the project, we're proposing to reduce the scope of the project to only include the water treatment plant location. We'll modify the RFP and then advertise for new proposals. As you can see, that low bid was about $230,000 over the available grant funding of $1.43 million. We've checked with CDBG staff and they are in agreement with the reduced scope and re-advertisement of the RFP. If you guys have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them.

This generator was just for well 16? Is that what it is?

No, this project was for the water treatment plant. Next to where Tom's office is, the public works building.

Oh, okay.

And then the booster pump station 2, which is on West C Street. It was for two locations? It was for two. The revised scope will just include just the water treatment plant. And we'll handle the booster pump station at a later date.

I had a question regarding the booster pump station, and that services the higher elevation part of town and the water storage tanks, correct?

Yes.

So if there's a prolonged power outage, can we still pump water to that area of town? If we only had the, um, the one generator at, at the, we have, um, obviously we have the tanks up by the cemetery.

Uh, we have pumps that pump the water up to there. We have the high zone, which is the water tank at the hospital. I think that's primarily where that booster pump station pumps to. We should be able to cross over and pump water up there. So I don't foresee any problem with if that booster pump station went down with the city not having available water. Part of that whole process with getting the well 16 and the well 15 sites in place was so that we had a backup system in addition to our water treatment plant.

So then this proposal is actually for two generators?

The one that we're requesting be rejected, yes.

Now in the future, we may request the generator for the BPS at some point, right?

We can. Tom's not as concerned about that as he is with the water treatment plant for obvious reasons. We can go forward with an application either for another CDBG grant or Chuck Kenyon's been pretty successful with getting us generators through Department of Homeland Security grants. So we have a couple options to proceed in the future to get a generator for that booster pump station.

Was there a generator on the, down in town area now?

At the water treatment plant? Yeah. There is a generator, but it is not capable of fully providing enough electrical backup to run that plant at 100%.

And why is there one there? It won't do the job.

I wasn't part of the design in the beginning. It wouldn't have been my recommendation. I always think that you should have a backup generator that runs 100% of the facility.

Well, that only makes sense.

We're working to get it squared away, right?

Probably was all that could be purchased at the time given that building was awarded a grant, right, or a low-interest loan to build.

Mr. Mayor, I would like to make a motion to approve the staff recommendation regarding the request for a proposal for fiscal year 27 WTP and BPS-2 diesel generation systems.

To reject them to reject. Yes, staff recommendation. Alright, I have a motion from Councilman deal to approve rejecting their proposals for WTP and BPS dash two generator systems project bids. Do have a second second second from Councilman Warren. Any further discussion? I'll call for a vote. Item number 7A, all those in favor of rejecting the proposals submitted in the FY27 WTP and BPS diesel generation systems project, signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed, signify by saying nay. Hearing no nays, those proposals are rejected. Thank you. We are now on Item number 8, approval of the bills from April 8th, 26 to today, April 21st, 26. And call on Mrs. Stricker.

Thank you, Mayor and Council. Attached to your agenda were a list of bills, and I also handed out an additional set tonight. So I'd be glad to answer any questions you may have on any of those bills.

Mr. Mayor, I will make a proposal to go ahead and pay the bills as presented.

All right. We are in item number eight, approval of the bills as presented. I have a motion from Councilman Kelly to approve the bills as presented in item eight. Do I have a second? I would second. Second from Councilman Victor. Any further discussion, gentlemen? Hearing none, I'll call for vote, item eight. All those in favor of approval of the bills as presented, signify by saying aye. Any opposed, signify by saying nay. Hearing no nays, those bills in item eight are approved. We are in public comment. I talked to the fire chief a couple days ago. I thought he was going to be here tonight to give a fire report, but he's not. Must have a good reason for not being here. So, Dennis, do you know anything about the fire situation?

I cannot speak to the fire, but I know the fire chief, I believe he works for the railroad, so he may have got called to work. But I'll have discussions with him about maybe having somebody here. Okay. Appreciate that.

Either him or the assistant chief. Correct. All right. Got in the habit of hearing fire report every week. Yeah.

It is kind of handy.

I don't think they've been too busy, though.

Okay. Good. All right. We're in public comment section. Did you have a public comment?

I do. I want to keep the council in the loop on the swimming pool. We tried our dangest this year and tried some different stuff this winter to keep that pool from growing algae, which we did. However, with our wind, we ended up with a lot more dirt in that pool than we've ever seen. So we tried to vacuum it out. We tried to clean it. We tried to sweep it. We were lucky enough to have the tank divers in town that were cleaning Tom's water tanks. They get in there, they scuba dive in there, and they vacuum all the manganese out of the tanks. So they gladly come over, and of course we paid them, and they said, oh, yeah, that's no problem. We can get all that out of there. We'll just vacuum it out, take us a couple hours. Well, about four hours later, they decided that was a lot of dirt. So they got a lot of it, and it helped us a bunch, but we still can't catch up with it. So next week after the bad weather this weekend, we're going to drain that pool and clean it and do a little maintenance on some lights.

Now, in the future, if we don't have a terrible, windy, dirty year like this year, we shouldn't have to drain it, but this was just an exceptionally windy, dirty year.

Yeah, of course, with no moisture and all the wind, and we're supposed to get more wind Thursday, I heard, so. Go ahead.

Probably just for the public's understanding, we do have a cover, but that cover is designed to keep out large debris.

It does. Tumbleweed and such, it's porous, for sure. Water goes in and out of it, yeah.

And it's just an exceptional amount of dirt was moved around. There was a bunch.

I've never seen that much in there ever.

There was piles of it.

They have it on video because those guys video stuff when they were vacuuming it up and it just looked like those gold miner guys you see sucking the gold up out of them.

And it was coincidental that they were here in town at the same time, right? Dealing with the water, big water tanks.

They honestly thought they could do it in two hours and it was four hours later and they were. They did a good job, but they just couldn't get it all.

Okay.

It's really fine dirt, too.

All right. Well, I appreciate the updates on the pool, and thank you for that update.

One more thing on the parks, just so everybody knows. We've got four people working right now, two in the cemetery and two in the parks. We have nine ball fields to get ready, and ball games start this weekend. We're trying to get all that done. We're doing a lot of prep work. The parks are lagging, and they're going to be lagging until we can get caught up, and hopefully the mowers will get going next week, and we'll see what we can go there. So if you get any complaints on that, that's where we're at with that. And I'm just hoping that...

The city is able to work cooperatively with the parent groups and so on of the ball club because we rely on volunteer help. We don't have enough staff.

And they are stepping up. I mean, the volunteers are stepping up. Of course, we've got to prep the softball field for the high school. And they do a lot of that work, too. But we get it pre-ready. Matt's doing a great job. His staff's doing a great job. They're getting a lot done. And I heard today from him that the cemetery, that the prison's only going to give us one or two people this year.

I think they have it because they have to have a correctional officer on site. I think that's probably their issue.

Yeah, so we'll see who shows up. So, Matt, so today he kind of gave you that word today.

Okay. Did we have a lot of winter kill on the parks and the ball fields?

Not really, no. That windmill grass is just, you know, we're trying to catch up with that. But the dirt blowing in and it blows the infields out. So then, and I think the Legion, the big Legion field, there's a big hole in the infield there. So they're taking some sod out of there. They're paying for that. And they've hired Morehouse to do that. We're going to help a little bit. We just don't have time to do that, especially in the spring. That's fall work for us. And it came up right when baseball season started and we can't do it. So. That's all I got.

All right. Thank you, Mr. Estes. Chief Johnson, you had a comment.

I'll be quick. Um, last week was national public safety telecommunicators week. Um, I just wanted to take a minute to recognize the amazing communications team we have that works really hard to keep everybody safe in our County. Um, as you may have seen on our social media, we did have a vacancy in dispatch. appropriately we tested on dispatch week councilman deal gave us a hand we had four really high quality applicants it was really refreshing to see and we made a job offer to one of them who will be starting here in a couple weeks so just really good times and really good people doing good work and i wanted to take a minute to recognize them so thank you thank you chief johnson all right any other public comment councilman any comments

Nope. All right. We have completed this evening's agenda.