City Government - Regular Meeting

Welcome to the City Council regular meeting for Tuesday, September 15, 2026. And if you all would like to join us in the Pledge of Allegiance. City Clerk, if you can please call the roll.

Bowling.

Present.

Freed. Absent. Lockhart. Here. Newman. Here. O'Doherty. Here. Shumway. Here. Vigil. Here. Richardson. Here. And Cumby. Here. That's eight present and one absent, Your Honor.

Thank you, City Clerk. Next, we will move to public comment on non-agenda items, and we will start with some individuals who have signed up in advance, and then see if there's anyone else who wishes to make public comment. First, Mr. Samuel Buck. Mr. Buck? And your nephew. Good evening. Mr. Buck, if you can say your name for the record, please.

Yes, Samuel J. Buck. I'm here today. I've been in and out of here for the last close to two years now since my house burned down. Well, it didn't burn down. It was burnt down. I've received no money from nobody. I've gotten no help from nobody. I mean, I've got videos of the person that's doing it and there hasn't even been charges yet on them because they say, oh, we can't get a conviction or whatever off of it. I mean, I've got convictions of stuff that There's no videos, no audio, no nothing. And I was convicted. So how is a guy can go down, burn down somebody's house and not go to court for it? And there's video. And I mean, I'm getting ready to lose my house, a new house, because I can't pay on it. I've got health issues and stuff like that. I've got to pay for health and hospital visits and everything else. And yet nothing's being done. I mean, I've plainly just asked for between four to 7,000 so I can freaking move out here and be done with it. And I can't even get nowhere with that. So I mean, I'm completely at a loss on how there's video evidence of the guy at the house, no charges filed. I can't get, I don't know what you'd call it, help with even trying to freaking move out of this place. Because I mean, I don't have the money to move out to Oregon like I was wanting to. and just to be out of here. And I mean, that'll only take anywhere about $5,000 just to move out there and get settled out there. I can't even get that from anybody. I mean, what is going on where people can get, have stuff done to them and nothing gets done? with either the city, the county, whoever. I mean, I lost over $50,000 in that house. If I can get $5,000, I'd be glad to get the hell out of here. But right now, I can't even drive to freaking Cheyenne to go to doctor's appointments. So, I mean, it's freaking ridiculous. I mean... I don't know what else to say. I've been coming in and out of here for the last couple of years since my house got burned down and yet nothing with the county, the city, the state, nothing has been done.

Mr. Buck, I'm sorry, but your time is up and you and I have spoke many times, uh, on the phone and, uh, I've directed you in a number of places and it has not worked out. And now I'm thinking maybe I can help you get connected with legal aid. So I will call you next week.

I know your husband died, and I've been patient with that.

You've been very respectful, and I appreciate it, sir. And I'll call you next week, and let me talk to a few people and just see, is there anything? Because I know we've tried a bunch of little things, and it hasn't worked out. So let's work on that next week, and I appreciate your coming. Thank you.

All right. Thank you.

Thank you both. Our next person that signed up is Ms. Alison Edwards. Ms. Edwards, can you please come to the front and leave that alone? Thank you so much.

Madam Mayor and city council members and public of Laramie. It's my pleasure to be here. I really am enjoying my time in Laramie. I only arrived in May and the city has been very welcoming. Thank you. It's a great place to live. I really appreciate it. Live close to downtown and I can get around and do my shopping. I don't have a car and I scoot around on my scooter and I walk and it's a pleasure. And you've got a beautiful city. I feel that I'm in Laramie because Laramie's up high and I've been working on, don't laugh at me. I don't know why I feel anybody would laugh but, I've been working on saving the world since the 80s, okay? And I had the pleasure and fortune of being able to do a great bit of traveling around the world. And I saw a lot of things and it was very educational and so forth and of course met wonderful people and saw wonderful places. But I ran into a lot of problems too and I had to ask myself what is causing all these problems? All the pollution, all the poverty, the overcrowding and here in Wyoming we don't see that but It exists in the world, and here in Wyoming, I learned when I got here, there's been a drought. There was a winter that didn't exist almost. There was no runoff in the spring, basically. Where did the drought come from? Well, I submit to you that it's part of the whole problem. The whole problem is overpopulation, And I had to ask myself back in the 80s, where does overpopulation come from? And looking at myself,

Sorry, just trying to determine if this is going to kind of land in a space where the city can be helpful. I know you've shared information with us that is about kind of some theories and some philosophies that you have, and that is unfortunately not a space where we can have any legislation to move forward.

If I could just continue, I'll tell you why Laramie is important. Laramie is at 7,200 feet. And there's a spiritual principle you might have heard of. It's an old adage, as above, so below. And I checked it out before I started talking about it. I checked it out pretty thoroughly. From what I could see, it holds true. Whether you're at a high elevation or you're at a northern latitude or you're a spirit or part of the divine, what you do has a great effect on those below.

We're running over time. what it just in one or two sentences, what do you want the city to do? What is it that we?

I would like Laramie to be aware that if we respect human rights and that is this flow chart that I put, if we respect human rights and that increases, we can decrease overpopulation, we can decrease overuse of resources, global warming, mass extinction and save the world. Thank you, Alison. You're welcome.

Thank you. Thank you very much. And our last person, Dr. Reverend Sally Palmer.

And you are welcome to put the timer on. 715 South 11. I come as a fan of Laramie, living here since 1982 at 715 South 11. And if I'm speaking quickly, it's because you care. And your time is valuable. What I saw on 9-11 was people from city council, people from the fire department, hugging each other in the street, crying, weeping. So thank you for being a place where we still care, where life still matters. So next time I come, I'm going to talk more specifically about water, because I want my grandchildren to live with clean water. But to be brief, there's someone who has I see his name every Wednesday, first of the month, and his name is Joe Shumway. So I'm getting started early because I'm addicted to people. But anyway, Joe, I want to give this to you. But I'll keep honoring you because you've come to meeting after meeting after meeting after meeting and says, Joe, thank you for your undaunted service to our whole community. Thank you for seeing the light. There's a visual, okay? I don't have a smoke screen. Anyway, bless you all. You have no idea what your united work for this community means. We're not alone. Amen.

Thank you, Reverend Palmer. Much appreciated.

I appreciate you.

You're our greatest cheerleader. Very moving. Next, consideration of change. Oh, I'm sorry. Is there any other public comment at this time? Seeing none, now we'll move on to consideration of changes to the agenda. Is there a public request to move anything that is on the consent agenda and place it on the regular agenda? okay seeing none uh vice mayor would you like to um make the Would you like to make the change and the addition of item 9G to the consent agenda at this time?

Thank you, Mary. I sure would. I move that the following changes to the agenda be approved. To add to the consent agenda, item 9G, a letter supporting the Albany County Hospital District's Backup Natural Gas Generator Project Mineral Royalty Grant Program application. Second.

I have a motion from Richardson, second from Vigil. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? That motion passes and 9G is added to the consent agenda. Vice Mayor, would you like to make a motion to set the agenda as changed? Thank you, Mayor. I move that the agenda be set as changed. I have a motion from Richardson, second from Newman. All in favor? Aye. All opposed? That motion passes. Next, we are going to move on to one of my favorite parts of the evening sometimes, is proclamations and notifications. And I'm going to start, I'm going to switch the two I'm going to start with the proclamation for national food safety education month. And Whereas the City of Laramie is strongly committed to food safety into highlighting food safety's critical role in the health and well-being of our residents through the prevention of foodborne illness. And whereas the food safety and inspection service of the City of Laramie focuses on protecting public health by working diligently to ensure the safety of the city's commercial food. And whereas the City of Laramie Food Safety and Inspection Service provides information to food preparers on the safe handling, preparation, and storage through plan reviews and annual inspections of commercial food service providers, Now therefore, I, Sharon Cumby, acting as Mayor and President of the Governing Body of the City of Laramie, Wyoming, do hereby proclaim September 2026 as National Food Safety Education Month. And we have Cody Talbot here, who is our inspection person. I just want to thank you so much for your work and I worked with you when we had the Board of Health and I know that. that you are really an asset to the community, that you work with restaurant and commercial places, not against them, not gotcha. You help them to understand what they're doing and to correct possible mistakes and to improve safety. And I thank you for that very much. Would you like to say a few words before we take your picture?

I'm not much for speeches, but this is National Food Safety Education Month. And what you did say is kind of how I conduct inspections and work with food establishments. It's more about education than it is about enforcement, whether that's the Wyoming Food Rule or the FDA Food Code. It's about educating, make sure we have compliance. So thank you very much.

And Cody, would you come up and take a picture with us?

Councilor LaGuardia would like to make a comment. Please proceed. My understanding that not all cities have this as a local service, so it has to come from the state. Is that right? So we're lucky to have this here. Thanks.

So it's with great pleasure that I do our next proclamation on Health and Healing Arts Month. And whereas physical and mental health are interdependent and vital to the flourishing of individuals and communities, and whereas 10% of American adults do not have health insurance, 20% rarely or never visit the dentist, 25% suffer from mental illness. 33% eat fast food on any given day. 40% are at high risk for vision loss. 50% will be diagnosed with some form of cancer in their lifetime. 60% live with at least one chronic disease. 70% experience at least one traumatic event in their lifetime and 80% do not get the recommended mix of aerobic and muscle strengthening exercise. And whereas Laramie is blessed with a network of highly skilled and compassionate health professionals, including acupuncturists, audiologists, chiropractors, counselors, dentists, dieticians, doulas, first responders, fitness instructors, herbalists, hospice workers, hospital chaplains, laboratory technicians, massage therapists, medical device providers, midwives, nurses, nurse practitioners, occupational therapists, ophthalmologists, opticians, optometrists, osteopaths, personal trainers, pharmacists, phlebotomists, physical therapists, physicians, podiatrists, psychologists, radiation therapists, social workers, sonographers, and speech language therapists, And whereas Laramie is proud to have more than 2,000 people working in healthcare and social assistance, in addition to more than 6,000 working in educational health fields. And whereas the musical and theatrical arts allow us to explore ideas, evoke feelings, cultivate empathy, and encourage dialogue, with opera being the pinnacle of the performing arts. And whereas Hurting, Healing, Hoping, a trio of medical operas, was created by a local writer, to engage all people, whatever their backgrounds, in exploring together the challenges confronted by patients and providers while featuring some of the finest musicians in our region and providing all proceeds to the support of Laramie's downtown clinic. Now, therefore, I, Sharon Gumby, Mayor and President of the City of Laramie, Wyoming, Wyoming City Council do proudly hereby proclaim October 2026 as Health and Healing Arts Month. In the city of Laramie, Wyoming, I invite all residents to attend the world premiere of Hurting, Healing, Hoping, a trio of medical operas on October 23 and or 24 to honor all those who contribute to creating a vibrant community. I witness therefore I here on sign my hand and cause the official seal of the city of Laramie, Wyoming to be affixed this 15th day of September, 2026. And I invite Jeffrey Lockhart Lockwood, I'm sorry, Lockhart over here, Lockwood over there and Mr. Gosar and any guests that you have to come up and say a few words and please have a picture with us.

Thank you. I don't have a whole lot to say other than the first people who came up and spoke to you talked about dark things and these are some dark and worrisome times and so I hope that these operas are a time of light, a time for us to celebrate together, a time for us to come together as a community, a time to thank one another, a time for empathy and healing. So that's, hopefully it's a counterpoint to all the other things that are going on, droughts and AI, which hopefully we'll still have a world by the time the operas actually take place, right?

Thank you. Could you introduce your guests, please?

I could, yes.

Well, I'll let them introduce themselves. Okay, if you will introduce yourself, and then we'll ask you to come up for a photo.

Hello, everyone. My name is Magdala Navor. I am an associate professor of voice at the University of Wyoming, and I am a mezzo-soprano and one of the singers involved in the project, and I'm very thrilled to be a part of that. Oh, thank you.

Hi there, I'm Beth Vanderborg, I'm professor of cello at the University of Wyoming, and the cellist for this opera.

Thank you.

I'm John Fedile, I teach at the University of Wyoming, professor of violin, and also very happy to be involved in this project.

Thank you very much. Hello, my name is Jiwon Han, assistant professor of piano at the University of Wyoming, and I'm the pianist for the opera, so thank you.

Thank you.

Good evening, Mayor and City Council. I have no talent whatsoever, but it's great to be with these folks.

Except for running a very successful clinic that services our community. And serving our county, so I don't have any musical talent either. So, except listening, so if you all could come up and we could take a picture.

I wonder if you have like a modern major general version of the list of healthcare providers, like a song that's like.

The sequel.

Oh, thank you. Thank you. Good evening. Good evening. Thank you so much. You just stand and then the clerk will get us where we're supposed to be. Thank you so much.

Joe's tall. I think you could rhyme on this.

You're listening. Yeah, I think... You can see, wait, don't hold it too high.

Ready, one, two, three.

Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you very much. Appreciate it.

Jeff's so into mixing science.

Okay. All right. Now, for announcements, we did have a monthly staff recognition planned for our utilities crew. Well, we are going to postpone that because our beloved crew is currently out on an emergency repair mission. So they are out doing right now what we intended to honor them for tonight. So we will reconvene this rockstar recognition. So city manager, are there any other announcements? Okay, then we'll move along. Councilors, are there any disclosures and or conflicts of interest? Seeing none, Vice Mayor, if you will please make a motion to approve the consent agenda.

Thank you, Mayor. I move that the consent agenda be approved and that each specific action on the consent agenda be approved as indicated.

Second. I have a motion by Richardson, second by V. Hill. City Clerk, if you can call the roll, please.

Bowling. Aye. Freed absent Lockhart. Yes, Newman. Yes. Oh doherty. Yes, some way. Yes, be Hill. Yes, Richardson. Yes, come be Yes, that's eight yeses zero nos and one absent your honor.

Thank you city clerk that motion passes next We move to the mayor's announcements and acknowledgements. And my first acknowledgement is tonight on the consent agenda, we approved a new member of the Urban Renewal Agency. And I would like to recognize Rhiannon Jacopak for joining the URA and for her service to our community.

Thank you.

Secondly, I have an announcement, an update for the community. We had a work session last month where we talked about hyperscale data centers and at that time considered implementing a pause so that our planning department could work on code. Well, our planning department are amazing and they have been working very long and hard on the code changes and already have a first draft that will go out for review and so we wanted to update you that rather than pause and drag this out our planning department decided to get on it and to move forward swiftly and carefully and so Soon we will be posting for your public review and input our code changes that will help protect our environment and our city from hyperscale data centers and will define for us what we mean by data centers from tiny all the way to hyperscale. So they are working on this and we hope to have some drafts out in October and to have an approval and your input by November. So rather than drag this out we decided to just get it done. So that's my announcement. Next, we'll move to the regular agenda, and we will start with Erin O'Doherty, Councillor O'Doherty, item 11A.

I move that the Laramie City Council approve the award of bid and contract with Fremont Motor Company for the replacement of one new half-ton pickup for the surface water division in an amount not to exceed $53,222.00 and authorize the mayor and city clerk to sign. Second.

I have a motion from a Doherty, second from Richardson. Director Smith, good evening.

Mayor, City Council, what you have in front of you is the next step in the enhanced or in achieving the City Council's goal in the enhanced surface water service and that goal there and that is really difficult to say for me. So as the council's aware, four new positions were approved for the surface water division. And this essentially is the vehicle they will use to get to inlets, outlets, drainage ponds, to actually do those repairs and that cleanup work. That's the first goal. And I'm kind of leaving Councilor Doherty hanging there for a second. The second goal this one achieves, this vehicle is actually a hybrid vehicle, so it has a small electrical motor inside it that increases fuel efficiency by about five miles per gallon within the city, which is where this particular vehicle will be used, right? So it will go to help to achieve reduction in emission goals and also reduction in energy consumption. And with that, I would stand for any questions or comments.

Yes, thank you. Counselors, questions and or comments right now? Counselor Lockhart.

Thank you, Mayor. Thank you for explaining the fuel economy savings. I think that's fantastic. Being an old car guy here for 25 years, I'm always about buying local. And I see that Larry Merange Ford is not on the list of vendors that submitted a bid. What do we do to... Do we have anybody that goes in and talks to them and let them know that there's a bid available besides the normal process where they're... notified but if we do have any individual goes in and say hey you might want to put a bid in or maybe they weren't interested or what have you I'm just curious on that because I like to keep things local.

Mayor, through you, yes, our fleet manager actually goes out and does quite a bit of research on this. This one is actually on a cooperative agreement. So there are multiple dealerships within the state. And to be totally honest with you, I don't know at this moment if Laramie Ford is on that list. So that would be another discussion that staff could have and say, hey, this is a way for you to get on this list also. So we can definitely look into that.

Thank you. Further questions and or comments? Councillor Bolling.

Thank you, Mayor. I just want to see the truck and get inside the truck. So whenever we can make that.

I bet you want to ride in it, don't you?

Mayor, we actually have at a minimum two of these already in the fleet. Solid waste, I believe solid waste has two already. So...

Further question and or comment? I just want to say that this qualified to be on the consent agenda, but our vice mayor and our senior counselor really wanted it to be on the regular agenda because we're so proud of the work. that we're continuing with our stormwater heightened maintenance program and also we're continuing with our carbon reduction program. So it's on this agenda because we wanted to brag. So thank you very much, director. Is there any public comment on this agenda item? Seeing none, City Clerk, if you can call the roll, please.

O'Doherty. Yes. Vigil. Yes. Shumway.

Yes.

Bolling.

Yes.

Freed. Absent. Lockhart.

Yes.

Newman.

Yes.

Richardson. Aye. Cumby. Aye. Aye. That's eight yeses, zero noes, and one absent, Your Honor.

Thank you, City Clerk. Next item, Councilor Lockhart, 11B.

Thank you, Mayor. I move that the Laramie City Council approve the award of bid and contract to Hardline Equipment for the replacement of one 2015 Temco Sweeper, replacement with a trade-in and amount not to exceed $366,619.11 and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to sign.

Second I have a motion from Lockhart second from Newman director Smith

mayors, city councilors, this item is stated in the title as a replacement of a street sweeper that is really about two years past its useful life. And this again goes to that enhanced surface water service that we're looking for and also an improved street sweeping program. I do need to point out this particular unit is not the lowest bid. So based on operational efficiencies, enhanced maneuverability, safety, and the different functions of this unit, staff is recommending going with this one. And to explain this in terms that I would understand after talking to the fleet manager, so it has vacuum and also mechanical debris pickup. So essentially big vacuums out on the brushes and that'll pick up the smaller debris. And then in the middle it has large brush heads that will pick up large debris, put it on a conveyor belt and get it to the hopper. It also has a 360 camera. So this one is able to get into really tight spaces. So cleaning out inlets and that kind of thing. And with that I would stand for any questions.

Thank you. Councilors, Councilor O'Doherty.

Is this the kind of sweeper that, well, when we get chip sealing, I guess the contractor then, do they do a final sweep to get up any loose or would that happen by the city? I'm just wondering about the gravel with chip sealing. Does that end up in our stormwater system if we're not careful like that?

mayor through you. So typically we require the contractor to clean up after themselves. This one, this one is really, I mean, I could go into detail about this. I know it's a street sweeper, but it's pretty cool. So on the head of this, on the front end, On the front of this, it actually has kind of a boom system to where the broom, the brush, can actually be extended so you can really get into those inlets. And the efficiency that is provided by this unit, it makes it to where you don't have to have so many passes down the street. So one or two down there and you get that cleaned and then we can really achieve the goals that you've set out for us for that improved street sweeping program.

Further questions?

Sorry, I'm really into cleaning inlets. So whenever I'm walking and I see one is clogged after a storm, I'm really tempted to go try to clean it up myself. But then I'm like, what am I going to do with the gravel and the debris? So do you have a recommendation what we should do when we see a particularly clogged? Do we just call streets or who?

Mayor, through you, I would say yes. Please call the street division, but also if you have potholes or you have any of those problems, because normally we try to drive and find them, but really where we do the most maintenance and repair is from citizens' contact and then pulling in. So if you see an inlet that is clogged, please give the streets division a call.

Further questions? Thank you, Director. And now, public comment. Reverend Palmer, I see you have your hand up.

This was a very secular comment, but I've lived in the tree area for about 45 years. I watched and listened to street sweepers. They don't come when we have leaves. They just don't come. So the leaves pile up. So please, someone, watch the operator, not just the equipment. One thing that other cities do is to say, hey, street sweepers coming on a Tuesday. So then we can repark our cars and get out of the way. But it is very, I'm trying to be light, not dark, but it's extraordinarily inefficient use of our city money. because the operation does not work. Thank you.

And Reverend Palmer, you have targeted our next step, which is going to be a scheduled sweeping where we can move our cars and actually get it done. So thank you for your comment. You're right with us.

I think not for the leaves, but they play up.

Yeah. Any further public comment? Yes.

Mayor, we have Brett Glass online. Thank you.

Mr. Glass, we're letting you into the into the room. There you are. Good evening, Mr. Glask.

Good evening, honorable mayor, members of council, as I would like to echo Reverend Palmer's concern and thank you if you're going to go ahead and schedule street sweeping because I have the same problem. I never know when to move our vehicles and now that you have a sweeper which will be able to reach in and really clean things, I'm looking forward to this. Please let us know when you're going to be cleaning our streets and we promise we'll move our cars so that you can. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Glass. Any further public comment on this agenda item? Back to council for comments.

I've got one, sorry. Yes, Vice Mayor.

Thank you, Mayor. And I know that comment about a schedule, it's been in discussion for a while, so I'm really excited to see it implemented. And I'm also just happy to see that we are going to have the equipment that will do a better job. When I saw that this provided more, that it was safer and more efficient, that chunk of difference in the cost was significant. I feel much better about it when I saw the information on that. So thank you for including that.

And I just want to say that when we did a study of our stormwater drainage system, one of the areas where we had been cited by EPA was the amount of silt that was going through our system and into the river. And that was a motivating factor behind all the work that we tried to do on stormwater. And this is going to significantly help in reducing the amount of silt and dirt that goes into those pipes. and it's going to heighten our maintenance so that our pipes stay clean and we have better drainage. So thank you so much for moving in this direction. And we will be next, I think, implementing scheduled sweeping now that we have this beautiful piece of equipment. City Clerk, if you can call the roll, please.

Lockhart.

Yes.

Freed. Absent, Newman.

Yes.

Bolling.

Yes.

Shumway.

Yes.

Vigil. Yes. O'Doherty. Yes. Richardson. Yes. Cumbee.

Yes.

That's eight yeses, zero nos, and one absent, Your Honor.

Thank you, City Clerk. That motion passes. Next, we move on to Item 11C. Don't get comfortable, Director Smith. Vice Mayor Richardson.

Thank you, Mayor. Oh, let me pop this open, sorry. All right, I move that the Laramie City Council approve the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Loan Agreement and promissory note between the Wyoming State Loan and Investment Board and the City of Laramie for DW318 Lead Service Line Project Phase 1 and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to sign. Aye. Was that a second?

Second. Oh, my goodness sakes.

I apologize, Vice Mayor. It's okay. I have a motion from Richardson, a second from Vigil. Director Smith.

Mayor, counselors, I'm sure you are tired of seeing me now. But this loan agreement promissory note is for a HydroVac truck. And just to make sure we're all on the same page, a HydroVac truck essentially allows for precise digging through the use of high pressure water in a large vacuum. It minimizes disturbance around that dig site and just really speeds up the time, which is what we need for this particular item. Because this is an EPA mandate driven project, the lead and copper service line project. So all of those lines have to be identified, the materials. So that is what the loan is for. So I just want to bring two points to the councilors. To make sure there are two points that you see in this, and that is this loan has a 0% interest rate and 25% principal forgiveness, which equates to roughly $160,000. And then the last thing I want to mention about this is that We put in this application in January. You may not be aware, but there's quite a few things going on in the world. So prices are a little bit different. We are thinking there is the chance that once we actually go out to bid, this is 10 to $20,000 more than what we originally anticipated. So, but that you will see in the actual bid documents and when we go bring that back to council if this is approved. And I would stand for any questions.

Thank you, Director.

Vice Mayor. Thank you, Mayor. Is that something that the State Land and Investment Board, or sorry, it's not the State Land and Investment Board. I'm getting my boards incorrect. State Board, if something comes out more, can you go back to request more, or does that just not happen at the state level, that what you got is what you got, and we look for the additional funds within our budget?

Mayor, through you, typically that's how that occurs.

Great, thank you.

Further questions? Okay, thank you, Director. Public comment on this agenda item? Yes.

Mayor, we have a hand raised from Brett Glass online. Okay.

good evening again yes honorable mayor members of council this is the item that i mainly attend i've been mainly attending this evening to uh to ask about um the fact that we're doing this project implies that we may have lead service lines or we may have had lead service lines which in turn contaminated people's plumbing because if you have galvanized steel pipe in your house It is possible for the zinc coating on the inside of the pipes to adsorb lead and eventually release it again. So what I would like to ask is that as we proceed with this project, the city notify citizens who might be downstream of either a lead pipe, especially one that's going to be removed because that might disturb some of the lead, or might have been downstream of a lead pipe in the past. That way we can take appropriate precautions and either change out our pipes or filter our water. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Glass. And I looked at Director Smith and got a nod. So, oh, would you like to address that? Please, Director Smith.

Mayor, through you. So this is required by the EPA in the notifications. So approximately 980... Scott Pong, the utility superintendent, remembers the exact numbers because we stuffed them. So 928 letters went out last year and approximately now... 300 letters will go out. And those letters are essentially for unknowns that have not been identified. And with this project, the reason we are potholing is because we need to visually inspect some of those connectors. Most of the service lines we've already completed. Really, this is about those connectors between the distribution system and the service line. So the notifications go out also is just a shameless plug here. We also put out a consumer confidential confidence report each year that goes through the exact chemistry of the water and where it comes from. And it has a lot of helpful information and staff spends a lot of time on it. So.

Thank you. And thank you, Mr. Glass. Appreciate your comments. Any other public comment on this agenda item?

seeing none back to council for comments i actually have another question if that's possible you may ask another question um based on mr glass's um comment about folks being downstream how do you determine and how far kind of downstream do you go from any of this work i mean downstream being in quotes but from the work being done what what is the what do we look at when we give those notifications

mayor through you. So essentially anywhere that galvanized requiring replacement has been identified or any location service line that is unknown. They get notified. They also have the chance to have water samples done for the city's cost to where you go in and You essentially take five liters of water, different samples, and then you test that to see if there is any lead or the analytes within that water. So typically it's done in the resident's home.

Okay, thank you. Thank you. Comments? Seeing none. City Clerk, if you can call the roll, please.

Shumway.

Yes.

Vigil, yes. Lockhart, yes. Newman, yes. Freed, absent. Bolling, yes. O'Doherty, yes. Richardson, yes. Cumbee, yes. That's eight yeses, zero noes, and one absent, Your Honor.

Thank you, City Clerk. That motion passes. Item 11D, Councilor Newman.

I move that the Laramie City Council approve Resolution 2026-58, amending the fiscal year 2025-2026 biannual budget of the City of Laramie, Wyoming, and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to sign. Second.

Second. I have a motion from Newman, second from Richardson. Good evening, Assistant City Manager.

Good evening, honorable mayor and city council members. So I have three budget amendments before you this evening, all of which are relatively simple, but they were different enough that I felt it would be better for conversation, for questions if I aggregated them in this way. The first amendment before you this evening actually completes the administrative repeal of the surface water drainage fund. And so as you'll recall, there was a lot of activity around the pause of sections of that ordinance and then the later repeal in fiscal year 2026. The final repeal happened on April 7th, 2026. That was the date of the third reading because as you know, those items go through several readings. And so what we decided administratively at that time was to come back and close out the year and move everything to the general fund when we had that fiscal year 2026 activity wrapped up. And as you know, that's actually where we're at in our processes. And so last budget amendment you approved that was a quarterly, we went ahead and amended some of the general fund support out of the surface water drainage fund. So we took what we could at that time without making it really administratively complex for our folks. And then this amendment is closing out all activity in the fund. And it is as though, because it is true that it never existed because it's been fully repealed. So nothing will be reported on the financial statements. There's no financial activity left. So let's talk about the details of this amendment just at the highest level. So it's a decrease in total for the general fund of $403,062. That decrease has two major components. The first component is a reduction of the remaining $1 million in general fund support transfer you've already amended down the $4 million for the total of $5 million. to reset that and set the general fund up for what council has directed, which is that the general fund will start to provide an enhanced level of service and surface water drainage. And I didn't know I was gonna be on the agenda with some additional surface water drainage purchases, but we pair well together this evening in that way. And so those funds are still committed and I wanted to make sure I said that this evening. So you'll remember in your appropriated budget for 2027, you did appropriate funding for that expanded level of service. You saw some of that activity tonight. You also committed without appropriating those funds subject to the will of future governing bodies, resources to say, yeah, we wanna continue supporting this expanded level of service for some years in the future with this $3 million that is gonna be taken from based on the will of future governing bodies. And so all of that is still in place. Nothing about this amendment changes anything in that regard. The second component of the general fund amendment is a $596,938 increase for the spending that actually did happen in 2026. And so you'll recall when you initially pause certain pieces of the ordinance, you allowed certain expenditures to continue happening, primarily any staff who had been hired to support the expanded level of service and additional maintenance expenditures. And so this $596,938 represents those additional expenditures that were authorized, even though a lot of spending in that fund was frozen. So I wanted to make sure I talked about that in sufficient detail because those details actually really do matter because of the work you did as a governing body this past year. And finally, the last part of this amendment is a decrease to the Surface Water Drainage Fund of $4,139,480 to zero out all remaining appropriations and make it never have happened. At this time, I'm happy to answer any questions you may have.

Thank you. And questions? Okay. Thank you. I think ACM. ACM. Is there any public comment on this agenda item? I'm just so, oh, and back to council for comments.

Vice Mayor. Thank you, Mayor. Just a quick one. I had a couple of questions and your explanation was so clear that it took care of them. And again, I think we all can just be and say how much we appreciate how clearly you tend to explain things. So thank you for that. That was really helpful.

And I just wanna say, I'm just so happy to, I'm excited to see our enhanced service for stormwater maintenance moving forward. And we, as we struggled as a group of counselors to, deal with our surface water issues while listening to the community and judging where we were at fiscally I just think this is some major work and that's going to have an impact on our community a very positive impact so thank you any further

Newman.

Yes.

O'Doherty. Yes. Lockhart.

Yes.

Freed. Absent. Vigil. Yes. Shumway.

Yes.

Bowling.

Yes.

Richardson. Yes. Cumbie. Yes. That's eight yeses, zero noes, and one absent, Your Honor.

Thank you, City Clerk. That motion passes. Item 11E, Councilor Vigil.

Thank you, Mayor. I move that the Laramie City Council approve Resolution 2026-59, amending the FY2025 and FY2026 biennial budget of the City of Laramie, Wyoming, and author the Mayor and City Clerk to sign. Second.

I have a motion from Vigil, a second from Newman. Good evening, ACM.

Good evening, Mayor and City Council members. Again, this is my final amendment of the year because it's the last one. And so we'll hope that that's the case. Sometimes we do find things. I don't think we're going to find anything more this year. And so officially, I'm saying this is the last budget amendment of fiscal year 2026. And I'm happy to report. that this amendment is very benign. And in fact, most of it is just corrections of administrative errors that budget analyst Spencer Coturi found as he was doing his final year in procedures. And so I'm gonna walk you through some of those administrative errors we need to get corrected and a couple of items that are actual amendments and what they're for this evening. The total recommended amendment in the general fund is 676,782, I'm sorry about that. That is a total amendment for general government. I'm going to back up a step. We are increasing the budget, if you adopt this amendment, by $693,006. Changes only impact governmental funds this evening, so the presentation looks just a little bit different. And unless I'm going to note otherwise, cash reserves are our funding source. So let's dive into the general fund. May, Council approved Resolution 2026-29 and awarded the bid for the second phase of the Ivinson Infrastructure Upgrade Project. Now, this resolution did include a budget amendment for $676,782 to the Capital Construction Fund. that was funded by revenue from the general fund. But remember, the way that funds work is they are separate, self-balancing sets of financials. They literally don't cross. And when that budget amendment was prepared for the council, the amendment to the general fund was actually left out and we need that amendment because the general fund has to transfer those resources. And you all know based on my educational efforts with you before that funds just can't send each other money without that money being appropriated. And so this is us cleaning up part of that resolution that really was left off. But it doesn't impact the decision that you made and it does not require additional cash reserves from what you were originally presented with. And so I just want to make sure that I reinforce that this evening. Also in the general fund, we're recommending $16,224 for a payout of accrued leave for a longtime staff member. And in the general fund and in other funds, what you'll sometimes find is that there are very small divisions, public works administration, there's only two employees in this division. And so when we have something like an accrued leave payout that maybe is a couple hundred hours of vacation leave for separation of service, that division is never going to have enough budgetary appropriation to be able to cover those amounts. Those are one-time expenses. We do not budget for them in advance because we don't want to create additional budgetary appropriations that folks can use for other things. And so what you'll see is this come behind an amend after the fact if those divisions are small enough to need that amendment. And we judge that on a case-by-case basis. We will also occasionally do amendments for divisions that we know run tighter for other reasons. If we know it's a division like police, sometimes actually has a fair amount of excess, we won't do it in cases where we know there's going to be funding to cover it. Finally, there's a transfer of $1,000 between general fund divisions moving money from fire EMS to fire operations. It's a really small amount. The reason I have to disclose it to you is we actually adopt the general fund budget by division. And so these are actually amendments, even though they're just moving within the fire cluster, but again, very benign. And then finally, to wrap up this amendment, We are increasing appropriations by $60,000 in the Parks Division of the General Fund and decreasing appropriations by the same amount in the 2018 SPET Fund to correct an error with a previous budget amendment when someone from my team just grabbed the wrong fund. And so two of these items, the biggest two, are just administrative cleanup items. We have a leave payout and then a small transfer between divisions to wrap up budget amendments for fiscal year 2026. and I'm happy to answer questions.

Thank you, Director. Councilors, questions? Any public comment on this agenda item? Back to Council for comments. Councilor Lockhart.

Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, ACM. Sounds like Spencer's doing his job back there, so kudos. Yeah.

Any further comments? City Clerk, if you can please call the roll.

Beehill. Aye. Shumway.

Yes.

O'Doherty. Yes. Newman.

Yes.

Lockhart.

Yes.

Freed. Absent. Bolling.

Aye.

Richardson. Yes. Kembe. Yes. That's eight yeses, zero noes, and one absent, Your Honor.

Thank you, City Clerk. That motion passes. Next, Item 11F, Councillor Bolling.

Thank you, Mayor. I move that the Laramie City Council approve Resolution 2026-60, amending the FY2027 budget of the City of Laramie, Wyoming, and authorize the Mayor and Clerk to sign.

Second. I have a motion from Bolling, second from O'Doherty. Good evening.

Good evening for the last time for our first quarterly administrative budget amendment of 2027. And as you know by now, the budget team will bring forward and recommend to the council about every quarter, a budget amendment that really falls outside of anything that the council would be asked to approve in the course of normal business. And so occasionally the council is asked to approve a budget amendment at the time you award a bid, for example, but oftentimes if directors don't need to get out in front of you, we can simply present those requests to you in a routine budget amendment. And that's what this fiscal year, 2027 budget amendment is. So it's very general in nature. and that means it's kind of a cornucopia of different things that we're gonna cover this evening. So in total, if you approve this budget amendment, our budget will increase by $430,800. About $371,000 is an increase in governmental funds, and $60,000 is an increase in the enterprise funds. I'd like to note just right now out of the gate that all but $5,000 of that amendment in the enterprise funds is covered by insurance claim revenue to address some storm damage, and I believe the wastewater fund. And so most of that is actually an offset to revenue. So let's dive into the specifics for the general fund this evening. There are two changes in the general fund that I'd like to go over with you. The first totals $27,300 and it's for several leave payouts because we've had a lot of terminations and separations from service that are larger in nature and we, based on our forecast at this time, do not expect for these divisions to be able to fund these leave payouts at the end of the fiscal year. Those leave payouts are for fire administration and suppression, facilities, and the ICE and Event Center. Some of those amounts are rather small. ICE and Event Center is only $1,200, but we'd rather be bringing this to you now than creating budget problems for people later in the fiscal year. So all told, those three items, $27,300. The second item is something that I think you'll be excited about at least in some way. $223,000 is being recommended to provide one-time funding from one-time revenue to ensure that UW Transportation's Laramie Link service continues providing the same level of service during this upcoming year despite the funding cuts that they've experienced. in this post-pandemic federal aid environment. So long story short, UW has experienced a loss of some federal aid that they weren't really expecting. They approached the city and said, hey, the community really benefits from Link. We're going to have to cut this service unless you all can partner and help us keep this in motion. And by the way, we're happy to add two extra stops in if you're able to do this, which is a pretty great outcome. Those extra stops are going to be at Garfield and Beach. And so given your 2027 policy goal around public transportation and link riders at around 56,000 last year, averaging more than 4,600 passengers per month, we felt that it was the right decision to recommend this budget amendment to you to give them that one-time funding and buy the city manager some time to continue talking with them about the service. City manager, is there anything you would like to add about that at this point? Okay. That's all for the general fund. The rec center fund, $2,500 for a leave payout for an employee who's exiting, so same kind of thing there. And the capital construction fund, $118,000 for an existing agreement with the Laramie Public Art Coalition for the implementation of phases two through four of the Snowy Range Bridge Temporary Art Project. This funding sat in our capital budget for a really long time and a year ago we mistakenly stripped it out of the capital plan. It got through all of us and the city manager was doing some work and Spencer did a lot of sleuthing and we found that it fell off the plan in error. And so because we have this contractual commitment already in place, we're recommending to you that you amend the budget so that we can see through this obligation. And finally, you'll notice in the wastewater fund, for reasons I've already discussed, a $60,000 amendment with the $55,000 in insurance claim proceeds. And at this time, I'm happy to answer any questions you may have.

Thank you. Questions? Councillor O'Doherty.

So it's kind of a comment question, but I'm thrilled about the helping UW link because I don't think we should reinvent the wheels on the bus. And so, but will we be advertising that like on our social media that the public, you don't have to be a UW employee to ride the bus? I think.

for capital construction, is that 118,000, is that the total amount owed to ELPAC? When we say recommended to cover fees and expenses for an existing agreement, is that the full fee that is still outstanding or does that cover expenses that are administratively on our end?

Honorable Mayor, through you. Under this particular agreement, which is phases two through four of the Snowy Range Bridge Temporary Art Project, that is the amount that is outstanding as the obligation, not due and payable at this time. Part of that would be due and payable shortly.

So those that the way that fee for service agreement is structured, that's those are payments that are rolled out based on those phases. But we need to make sure that it's back in. Got it. Thank you.

And honorable mayor, if I may, above and beyond any other appropriation. So this is an agreement that stands alone and does not interfere with any other appropriations that the council has made.

Thank you. Councilor Vigil.

Thank you, Mayor. And thank you, Assistant City Manager. ACM just doesn't sound right. I mean, I will follow the Mayor's direction. First, I love the stop on Beach. There's some senior living communities there, and so I think that's excellent. Just out of curiosity, do we know where that stop will be on Garfield yet?

Honorable Mayor, through you, I believe it's near the rec center so that they don't have to pull into the rec center. But both UW, did I say honorable mayor through you? I hope I did. I don't know. I seem to do so little. I'm kind of losing my ability to function anymore. But the UW-Link had been working with engineering on the provision of the two new bus stops that are on Garfield and Beach. And of course, as you noted, the one by the senior living, the housing development that's happened up there. And then the one next to the rec center, which will provide for concrete for those spaces too.

Further comments? Councilor Newman?

I have a comment, I guess, yeah. I've been watching council meetings all over the nation just because of the work session coming up. And let me tell you, I think our staff does a fantastic job when you get up here and explain stuff because, like the Vice Mayor, I had a couple questions. They get answered during the presentation. You guys are thoughtful when you're doing these reviews and finding questions. the mistakes and just or appropriations that need to be moved around and how you explain that. So I'm just going to give you guys like a gold star someday. Thank you.

Thank you. And I certainly agree. And thank you, Councillor Bolling, for mentioning the need for us to get that information out to the public. I do think that there's a pervasive perception that this is a student service and our partnership now really makes it official. It's more than generosity now. It's a true partnership. And I would like to see us publicize that and get it out to the public and get that ridership up. So.

honorable mayor to you, a few months back when we finished public transportation plan, we had actually started reaching out to UW about making sure that we advertise more access to the link. I'll work with Owen and Paul Conkel over at transportation to make sure that we gain some through this investment and hopefully, I didn't say much during the budget presentation, I think Jen covers it so well. I don't feel that I can add too much, but in this scenario, it's actually our maturity into provision of public transportation for our community, and I think partnership is by far the best way to go, as Councilor Doherty had presented.

Thank you very much. City Clerk, if you can call... Oh, I didn't do that? Is there any public comment on this agenda item? Nope.

Any final comments? I just have one. The ELPAC funding stood out to me as well. I do know that they have gone through a lot of change with their leadership and so understandable to a point that this was not brought forward. It is a little bit surprising to me that ELPAC didn't bring that forward. And so I think this is where we're thinking about, and I also want to note they are doing a great job of making sure that changes out with, you know, on a snowy range. So the work is being done. I think just making sure that we' ve been able to communicate with each other. If future commitments are made that we' re staying on top of who the next person is making sure we' re communicating and it' s been in flux so much that the I would think it would be their responsibility to come forward, I guess, is what I'm trying to say as well. So, anyhow.

Honorable Mayor, through you, to Vice Mayor Richardson. It was actually ELPAC that I was working with on the Third Street projects and all the pieces. And we got to looking and looking back at the past years And we actually found that we never actually finished the payment for the phase two, which is in place right now. So this completes that payment, also establishes the funding for phases three and phases four. And I will say that there's been a resurgence with Ian White at ELPAC now, and Ismael Dominguez has been really the communications way up. The work on the projects, the Third Street art projects and the different pieces, we're seeing a big turnaround at ELPAC.

if it's okay. I'm really glad to hear that because I think they're very important to the community and they provide that role that our staff does not have the time to be kind of interfacing with the public art stuff that I love very, very much, by the way. But it's great to hear that there's a little more stability within that organization. So thank you.

Honorable Mayor, through you, to all of council, so that I could let you know, we're currently working with ELPAC on proposals to maybe do something with Edgar J. Lewis Banshell, to do something with that white wall on 30th Street, and to do something on, what's the take? Zone 2. ZONE 2 TANK THAT YOU CAN SEE FROM GRAND AVENUE. SO THAT WAS BROUGHT FORWARD BY PUBLIC WORKS, AND THERE'S JUST SOME PROJECTS THAT THEY'VE BROUGHT FORWARD. THEY'RE ALSO WORKING POTENTIALLY WITH LARAMIE MAIN STREET ON THAT SECOND AND IVANSON CORNER ACROSS FROM WHERE THE PARKLET USED TO SET TO TRY TO BEAUTIFY THAT AREA, TOO. SO WE'VE ACTUALLY SEEN A RESURGENCE HERE LATELY, AND I'M PRETTY EXCITED ABOUT WHAT WE HAVE MOVING FORWARD.

THANK YOU. COUNSELOR NEWMAN.

I guess I'll answer a question and comment that you probably can't answer today, which is fine. But with the transportation with UW, is this a time that we could work with Town & Gown a little bit and see if WyoTech could kick into some of the funds and LCCC and maybe expand some stops along some of their routes as well?

Yeah, Honorable Mayor, through you, one of the impacts that UW has seen is a decrease in funds from LCCC, just to be upfront. But this is actually a time for us to look at rebirth of how we support the link. And as Assistant City Manager Wade and I have discussed, this is our chance to try to get those Westside and West Laramie routes connected and to have that interaction I've already released our grants coordinator, Sarah Reese, to start looking at grant funding for operations. And if we can find money that supplants buses, then maybe we can look at those extension. And the new relationship with the University of Wyoming is really going to bode well that I believe we're going to see some more impact and some more openness to some growth in those areas. So absolutely, Councilor Newman, we'll be able to make those reach outs and those connections.

Thank you. Further comments? City Clerk, if you can call the roll, please.

Bolling.

Aye.

Freed. Absent. Lockhart.

Yes.

Newman. Yes. O'Doherty. Yes. Shumway.

Yes.

Vigil. Yes. Richardson. Yes. Cumbee. Yes. That's eight yeses, zero noes, and one absent, Your Honor.

Thank you, City Clerk. That motion passes. And finally, is there any public comment on non-agenda items? Seeing none, counselors, is there consideration of future council work session topics? I think we have a pretty full load already. Counselor O'Doherty.

I move we adjourn to executive session regarding personnel Wyoming Statute 16-4-405 lowercase a romanette 10 and litigation Wyoming Statute 16-4-405 lowercase a romanette 3.

I have a motion from O'Doherty, second from Newman, all in favor?

Aye.

Opposed? That motion passes. We are adjourned to executive session.