Council - Regular Meeting

I now call the uh April 14th, 2026 uh city council meeting, council work session to order. 60 two two oh three 603 Oh yeah, that one's a little Yeah. 6:03 p.m. Uh we're going to go ahead and start with the the pledge of allegiance and that'll be with Councilman Larson, which is why we were waiting. Oh yes. All please rise and then I will give the invocation.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Heavenly Father, we're so grateful to live in this community and to rub shoulders with these good people that are here. We're grateful for the things that they do to serve their fellow men and uh how dedicated they are to the missions that each of them carry out on a daily basis. We're so grateful for the service of our first responders and our city staff and the many capacities that they serve and ask that it please protect them as they serve. help them to be able to know what will best um what will best help build better relationships and help build a stronger community. We're so grateful for the uh opportunities that we have been given in this country and ask that please bless us to be grateful for them and ask the please bless that we can have the moisture that will be necessary for our community uh to not be in drought conditions and to be able to reach our goals that we have in this coming year. We ask for these things and say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Amen. All right, Miss Harris, could you please give us a roll call? Yes, your honor. Council member Eric Carr here. Council member Rebecca Brothers here. Council member Mike Bailey here. Council member Carlo Borders here. Council member Kyle Larson here. Council member Karen Johnson here. Mayor Tim Hancock, I am here. I declare we have a quorum. I'd entertain a motion to approve the agenda as presented. So moved. Second. We have

you. Oh, it's all good. Motion from Councilwoman Brothers, second by Councilwoman Borders. Any discussion? All in favor say I. I. Any oppose say nay. I vote I. Motion passes. Um I guess if we could start with your report, Miss Harris, and then we'll kind of uh go from there.

Okay. Thank you. Um historically, as part of our um annual budget process, uh the city council allocates a specific amount of funds uh dedicated to supporting local programs and organizations that provide services benefiting Riverton residents. These organizations operate independently independently and they're not part of our formal municipal structure. For the fiscal year 202526 year, the city council approved $240,000 in community service funding distributed amongst eight organizations. On February 20th of 2026, staff initiated public outreach to announce the application period for the fiscal year 2627 community service funding. The application window remained open through March 31st, allowing all interested organizations to submit requests for consideration prior to the development of the upcoming budget. A total of nine organizations submitted applications requesting $549,429 in combined funding. This work session provides the opportunity for the city council to review the submitted funding requests, hear brief presentations from applicants, and ask questions to support future funding decisions. Information gathered during the meeting this evening will assist the staff in preparing the proposed funding distribution for council consideration during the budget process. And with that, I would just open the floor, mayor, for you to direct um the meeting as you desire.

Thank you. I appreciate it. I guess what I would say first off is this has been a long standing tradition. I guess I don't know what else to call it. um as long as I've been on the council, as long as I've been mayor, we have had um we've had contracts for services and it's been I don't know if I want to call it competitive, but it's been something where we've had folks come in and present. The general process tends to be they'll come in and present on this week and then at a future meeting, we'll get together and cuss and discuss after we've usually filled out our own forms in terms of what we are thinking of where the funding will go. There's two things that are different this year that I just want to make people aware of. Three things actually. Number one, there's a really cute baby in the back. So, that's one of them. Uh the second thing is funding this year has traditionally been something where the state of Wyoming has provided um what we've usually called direct distribution um to the cities uh using a model uh that's been around longer than I've been around that has been to make up for things like overthecap mineral royalties, the lack of um the lack of groceries being taxed and sales tax, that kind of thing. So that was meant to be something that was kind of a stop gap measure. And every year it's been a situation where we've had to go to the legislature hatinand and say, "Please give us the money that you've given us every other year and this amount." What makes this year unique is that has changed. The state has now modified the percentage of sales tax that are collected in our community so that rather than having us have to go to them and ask for additional funds as we have in the past, it's automatic. It's not an every year let's decide and city

cities have to come and speak. It's there and it's available. That's a good thing and it's a bad thing. The good thing is we don't have to go hatinand and say please give us direct distribution. The bad thing is years that we have high sales tax uh collections, that's great. We might even have more than we have had in the past. But years that sales tax collection might be lower. We might have less than we've had in the past. So, I'm just telling you that because that's a new process that we're going through that is going to really color a lot of the discussion here. Um, so just wanted to make sure people are aware of that. Um, so as we go forward, I guess I would ask first. I've already had uh our wreck that is asked to go first because of the said baby. Um, and I'd said that's fine. We could have our recreation go first. I can justify that because Mary Axfelm's name starts with an A and we could just say, well, we'll do it that way. That would probably still mean we'd have to have Grace Andress go first. So, is there anyone else who has anything urgent that's going on tonight that would suggest that they'd need to get out of here quickly that would like us to prioritize their presentations for any reason? Okay. So, then we'll start with our wreck and then we'll just go from there to Eagle's Hope, Juvenile Justice, Mercy House, Chamber of Commerce, Volunteer Fire Department. Well, we should probably make you guys go first because last time you got called out midway, don't you? Let's do the fire department after our wreck just in case.

Uh and then from there, Pause for Life and then Willow Creek Elementary School. So, if we could go in that order, we'll do that. I'd ask each of you to keep your presentations to about two to five minutes. We have all of your written materials that have already been sent out. Um this is really just an opportunity for us to be able to ask questions and to be able to get a better feel for what you have going on. So, if we could start with our wreck and then we'll go from there to the uh Riverton uh volunteer fire department and then from there we'll just go down to Eagle's Hope, Benson's first city council meeting. Yes. Thank you guys for accommodations.

Yes, we appreciate that very much. Thank you Eagle's Hope and for letting us hop in front of you guys. We're we're grateful. So, thank you city council for your support last year. It was some creative financing and we loved it and appreciated it and it was much needed to have that extra funding from the district 25 rec board. It was a wonderful blessing. Um, included in your packet you have our contract for services request. You also have our fiscal FY27 budget that we give to the CWC business office for them to load into whatever they loaded in and manage what they do. Um, the letter that I sent this year is a little bit different. I took you through kind of a 30-year journey from when I first moved here because recreation looked very different then than it does now. And I'm pleased that we're the partner to have done that. Um, when I moved here 30 years ago as a young professional in the recreation field, I was stunned after coming from two different parks and recreation departments to learn that Riverton did not have a parks and recreation department, just a parks department. So, the whole outline of our presentation kind of came about from a conversation I was having with my brother-in-law, the Honorable Judge Wes Roberts. And he said something that triggered all of this. He said, "Wasn't theou in 2008 a temporary solution to a municipal gap in services?" And that's exactly what it was. It was a um a temporary substitute. And it was amazing. So for 18 years, your guys' support has been helped us build something that did not exist. And that's really an honor for us to be a part of that. And that long-term investment shapes the quality of life in our community to a significant degree. And what began as a small effort in 2008 became a comprehensive recreation program that we run right now serving

thousands of people every year um through our youth and adult sports, our enrichment programs, various community events, and our wellness initiatives. And um let her look a baby.

Um the participants we've seen in the last year have been as young as 18 months old and as old as 81 years. Um, with that being said, some programs that we are proud of that we brought this year that are new to our um, programming this year alone is adult summer volleyball, Splash Mob, Wild Game Processing, Sourdough 101, Dads and their princesses, Jingle Bell Ride, Candle Workshop, Viking Weave, a self-care summit, Junior Wolverine Basketball League, a youth softball clinic, a mini mover gym time, and then more that we are looking forward to adding to the rest of this year this coming summer is um two different youth volleyball and basketball camps, a CPR certification for teens, beginning band boot camp, and a women self-defense se seminar. So, with all of our growth, we are constantly trying to add new programming as well.

Yes. So, thank you for all that we were able to add this last year. It was really exciting. So over the years we've continued to expand and part of that letter I showed you that in um 2013 there was an Encana grant ran through the Gear Up program at Central Wyoming College for $80,000 that ran the summer academy program and they can ceased that funding in 2013 or yeah 2013 and so we picked it up at $36,000 is what we budget. It's amazing when you cut out snacks and t-shirts how much money you actually save. So, we're very proud to run that program, but we did add it with no additional funding increases. And then in 2021, following COVID, CWC eliminated their community education coordinator position who worked with me to build the whole robust thing. So, they eliminated that. We absorbed it again with no additional funding. And um we've been able to broaden our access still yet through all of that by maximizing more limited um resources. Recreation should not be extra. It's an essential service to our community that supports youth development, family stability, public health, and community engagement. It's one of the most direct ways that you invest in Riverton. And I was thinking about every negative thing that's said about Riverton, every negative statistic that's associated with Riverton, our recreation is a direct protect pro protective factor against that and we're happy to it's just an honor to be able to do that. Over the last year, our community has made it clear through a variety of ways through participation in our programs. Everything went up this year. was amazing feedback to us and public response to you about how these programs matter deeply and that they're very valued by our community. We've reached a point where continuing to grow and even

just sustain the level of service requires renewed investments and renewed funding. We're stretched we've stretched our resources as far as possible between the two of us and the funding that we receive and that just we never say no. In fact, we got two requests today that I said yes to both of them. Cindy,

so we we are always growing and we're extremely extremely grateful for the last 18 years of partnership and with your continued support, we would like to ensure that recreation remain accessible to all people, impactful, and a cornerstone of our community. And with that, we would take any questions that you'd like to ask about what our packet or anything we've said. Any questions? Your honor, go ahead. Mary, thank you for coming today. Um truly it's amazing that what you're able to do and listening to you and hearing how um things have been cut. It's very sad because uh your services are needed here in Riverton. And thank you. What's the baby's name? Benson.

Benson. Benson. Beautiful. and good job. Um I I want to know first of all uh I want to make sure that you can connect with the youth council um that that the city has Aurora Baldes as our Instagram and it would be awesome if like maybe she could promote um our wreck on our Instagram. I think that would be very cool.

Um uh and then I have a question. Is the CPR um class that you're doing for the youth um do they pay for that? Is it free? you know, how are you promoting that? Because that's very cool. Um, since we have so many kids that work there as the lifeguards um at the, you know, um, at the pool, right? That was feedback we got last year. We had a CPR class, but it did not contain a certification, and that's what people were looking for. So, this year, our instructor revamped it and did add the CPR certif AED certification and first aid. So, it's a do a multiple certifications in one and it there is a fee and it's we contract with Life Essentials LLC. So, she charges her rate. Okay, cool.

Pass that on. That is awesome that you guys are doing that. But we would love for the youth council to promote that amongst their peers. I love that. And I love that you guys, you know, we only have 10,000 people in Riverton. Really, you're reaching half of Riverton is what you're reaching. That's phenomenal. And you only have like two forms of funding, right? Us and then you know you go to wreck the district 25 rec board and but it's funding you'll see in our budget. It goes in and out but that's it. That's all you have. So really you you know this is it. So yeah and then you'll see our program fees line. We always that's our goal every year to make that much money in our program fees to help offset some of those costs. Thank you for all that you do.

Thank you. Any other questions? Um, this had you had previously been more of a CWC program. CWC involvement though has been basically just housing. That's been it right now. Is that correct?

Yeah, they have a percentage. It's like 47% of your budget is what they attribute to grants as their cost of what they do because they not only rent utilities, we have IT support, budget oversight. Um, all of our hiring goes through HR. So, we utilize all of their departments. And it's I actually feel a little bit guilty when we're summer hiring our summer staff and I take a stack of hiring authorizations to the HR department and now they have to hire them and then they go to IT and they have to do the IT trainings and so they treat us exactly as if we were a line item in their budget. We follow their policies, their procedures, their trainings.

That's good to know. So, okay. So, when you're hiring folks, you're going through their HR and everything. You've got that it all of that's covered with them. Correct. What else in terms of how you're able to function? Um, all tech, phones. Yeah. Phones, computers, copers, all any all the office supplies and business daily business activity. So, they treat you as quasi employees. Oh. Without paying you anything. Correct. Yes. And they treat us. I mean, we have to go to all the trainings, all the budget meetings, all of the things where sometimes we're like, "Yes, graduation matters, but not to us that much." We go to them, the in services, all of it. Yes.

Makes sense. Yes. And we we want to make sure that we are also assisting CWC with one, for example, one year they needed help with their um concussion testing for their was that what it was? Yeah. for their athletes and they didn't have enough people to do it. So Addy and I volunteered to do it. We tried to make sure CWC sees the value in what we do as well because they could boo us if they wanted to. Yeah. So they hit you over the head to see if you got a concussion. What? No. We had to do a baseline concussion test for all the athletes. Gotcha. Yeah. So we just I'm glad CWC isn't hitting you.

No, you're not. Not yet. Um, we've got classes going on pretty regularly. Regularly. What do your days look like in terms of I mean, you get done with your day. You go home tonight. What's tomorrow look like for the both of you? Yeah. Um, well, maternity leave a whole different situation for her. Um, we are working on our summer brochure. Our summer brochure actually is in in Add's hands. It's being edited. So, I'm working on getting all the online registration up and running while we still have programs. We have a Medicaid program that was on Monday nights, a hunter safety class on Monday nights. We have a couple programs coming up that a mom and me,

community garage sales, community garage sales, Medicare, Medicaid and Medicare spa day. We have a lot of so we're so we're managing the programs that we're running being at those events in the evenings, weekends, and then our the expectation is to have an 8 to5 office open as well because if a community member comes up at noon, we need to be there to accept their registration. Okay. It's a bad look if you're not right. The dayto-day kind of changes depending on the season we're in. Like she said, right now it's a lot of getting the summer ready as well as upcoming events. But yeah, and then in June it's summer academy and we're not doing as much office work. It just kind of bounces around.

Gotcha. Anything else? Okay. In the interest of trying to make sure we can move along. Yes. I I I could just sit here and chat all day, but these are watch her baby. And some of these are things that I I already know. I'm just asking for the purpose of our audience members. Yes. And you guys have our my contact information. If any questions come up in the discussions, please don't hesitate to ask. We'll do. Okay. All right. Thank you, guys. Thank you. Thank you.

All right. RF RVFD. Mr. Mayor, members of the city council, my name is Jesse Cassidy. I'm the fire chief for the Riverton Volunteer Fire Department. This is Eric Nand. He is the assistant fire chief for the Riverton Volunteer Fire Department. First off, I'd like to say thank you for your cons continued support in years past and your consideration this year. Um, the fire department is requesting the same amount that we've requested for many years now. Um, we're requesting $5,000 in funding. That funding will be split across three accounts, all used for the direct benefit of our volunteer firemen. $2,000 will be placed into our benevolent fund. This account is used to directly benefit Riverton firemen um past firemen and and retired firemen. For example, in the case of medical emergency, we can assist them with with bills and other expenses. $2,000 will be placed into our profit reserve account. This account is used uh to complete projects that better the fire department for all its members um and for the community. Um, an example of this is we had a custom trailer mounted grill built several years ago that we used for our events and pull around to other events including National Night Out and several others. And lastly, $1,000 will be placed into our mutual aid account. The mutual aid um is a statewide program that pays a uh death benefit to members beneficiary in the event of their passing to help with funeral costs and other expenses. Um, and we cover that cost for all of our members and that $1,000 goes into that fund to help provide funding for that. Um, lastly, real quick, I'd just like to end with some statistics since I don't get to talk to you guys very often. Last year, we ended the year with 351 alarms and calls for service. Um, for direct comparison, Lander Fire responded to 240 alarms. We're a very busy fire

department. Um and that actually lander was marketkedly up from the year prior of 160 alarms. So we are um extremely busy and it looks like we're going to continue to be busy. This year our latest numbers are coming in. We have we've responded to 96 alarms so far this year and last year during that same time period we've responded to 75 alarms. So we're already ahead of schedule. It looks like it's going to keep getting worse. Thank you. Any questions? I don't have any questions, Sharon, but I would just like to say thank you for what you guys do. You're valued and appreciated very much for what you do for the city of Riverton.

Well, thank you. We we appreciate that. Um our volunteers work very hard covering calls and as well as doing all of our light maintenance and the training that's involved in staying current. And these guys are um exceptional at what they do. They work very hard and do a good job at make sure things get taken care of. Um I am term limited out and in my last term as fire chief for the city of Riverton. So this will be my last time addressing the council in that capacity and hope and we'll be passing it over to somebody that'll do another another couple years of doing a great job. So Assistant Chief Naland has been willing to step up. You bet. Councilman Bailey,

your honor, um how many volunteer members do you have? So, our roster is sitting around 37. Um, we have about 40 40 active responders. Yep. Very nice. And I'm sure you always are needing more help.

Always. Yeah. We uh we have a member cap at 60. So, we're running at 60% of what we could we could to we could have. Those numbers are actually up over the last 10 years or so from where we were sitting. Um, and we're we're uh we're happy about that. Volunteer across the country is struggling to find enough members to get things done. And so around here, we've been pretty lucky. And um the guys that we that we have are very dedicated and work very hard to get things done. And that 40 number seems to be working really well for us, but we could always take more.

Yeah. If you were to just briefly summarize anything that would restrict or make it so that someone couldn't volunteer, is there anything?

So, there are requirements to volunteer. Um, for for membership on the fire department, you must be 19 years of age. You have to have lived within um the Riverton Fire District for 6 months. Um, you we you have to have a valid driver's license and no felony convictions. Essentially, those are our requirements. Then they apply. They have to pass a background check and then go through um a voting process with the members of the fire department. And and then if they make it through all of that, they have a six-month probationary period in which um they sit down with the review board every month. They respond to calls. They are completely geared. They come to everything, start their training, and that at the end of the six months, they either receive their badge or or don't.

And you haven't regretted Tyler Goff at all? Not at all. He's one of He's one of our best. I'm just curious, you know. He's actually Tyler Tyler is serving as fire four currently. He's uh he's up there a ways, so be he'll continue to move up, I'm sure. I'm glad he's here. All right. Well, thank you very much uh for your report. Thank you for all your service and uh let us know what we can do to support you going forward. But uh you're extremely appreciated and I can't say enough how much it means to us that you're willing to serve. So, keep up the good work. Absolutely. Thank you. Thank you, Chief. All right, let's go to Eagle's Hope, then.

Um, my name is Devin Anderson. Uh, I am the director of Eagles Hope Transitions. Um, I'd like to thank the council, Mr. the mayor and all the staff for taking the time to consider funding us again this year. Um, last year was a very big year for us. We were able to complete construction on many projects. Um, in fact, uh, all our rooms are now fully functional and being used. Well done. That is a big deal. Yeah. Thank you.

Um, when we began construction, we had 16 livable rooms. We are now up to 19. Um, in in addition to the 10 regular rooms, the three family rooms, and the three economy rooms, we have added two more family rooms, and we fixed an existing apartment. Um, I'm proud to say that even though our capacity has increased, I managed to bring our utility cost down by a very substantial amount. Um, I did this by replacing old heaters, uh, installing LED lighting and also our winter helped a lot. Um, so the city has had a very meaningful impact on Eagles Hope and its residents over the years. Uh, due to my history with Eagles Hope is, um, being a prior resident and now, um, working for Eagles Hope, um, I have a unique perspective. Hang on, I got lost. Okay. Um, I have personally felt this impact uh on a level that I feel is unique. Um, if it were not for the city's support over the years, we would not be able to do what we do. Um, so with that in mind, in addition to funding this year, um, we've been toying around with the idea of sponsors. Um, and if the city would like, I would like to list the city as a sponsor. um on our website, social media, you know, any any ideas you come up with. But I would like to publicly acknowledge the city's help in our mission. Uh my projected cost for utilities based on 20202 2025 and uh more than likely rate increases and a harsher winner for 2026 is $32,000. Our building insurance policy is projected to be roughly 13,000.

So I am humbly requesting $45,000 from the city to be used toward uh utilities and insurance costs. Um some statistics. Um last year we housed a total of 62 people. Um seven of them were families. Um adult men was 19. adult women was 27 and children we had 16 of them. Um we had 45 transitions last year with a 64 success 64% success rate. Um so far this year we've housed uh 31 people. Um we have currently have three families staying there and two more on the way. Uh 10 men, 16 women, and seven children. So far this year, we've had 11 transitions um with a 72% success rate. So that's I'm pretty proud of that. Um the services we offer is fully furnished rooms, 24 access to the kitchen, food pantry, laundry room, clothing pantry, financial and job readiness, case management. We have a church group on Tuesday nights, um sober support and life skills group. Monday nights we have church sponsored dinners once weekly and lunch once weekly. Uh the residents have 24 support access to Shannon and I. They have our phone number so they can get a hold of us anytime they need. All utilities are covered by Eagle's Hope um along along with their movein necessities. Um, we have been doing a few of our residents, um, we've been helping them with their taxes, um, maintenance, housekeeping, transportation services, referrals,

uh, two-year wraparound services, moveout expense assistance, um, one-on-one meetings once monthly or as necessary. Um, I've been having our residents as part of a requirement of staying there is they need to engage in 10 hours of community service a month. Um, and then finally, encouragement and support with civic responsibilities. So, I read an interesting study that people that participate in the voting process, jury duty, that kind of stuff. Um, I forget the percentage, but they are a lot less likely to be out committing crimes or reaffending if they have a sense of, you know, community. So, I've been trying to work on that with folks, too. Um, notable successes. Um, last year we housed an 80-year-old woman with dementia for 2 and 1/2 years. She had been living in her car in Riverton prior to coming to us. During her time at Eagles Hope, we managed her finances until we could arrange a payments for her. Um, we helped her obtain identification, medical insurance. She had some legal issues that she had to clear up and we were able to get her into an assisted living facility. She has no family or friends, so Shannon and I still visit her regularly. Um, we also helped a 60-year-old man who was having a very rough go living on the bike trail. Um, he experienced homelessness and alcoholism years ago, and he's been staying on any couch he could find forever. Um, after staying at Eagle's Hope for two years, he was able to get all his documents, uh, apply and start receiving his retirement benefits, and he even learned to pay his bills reliably. So, um, he transitioned into a very

stable home. And then currently, we are working with a woman who was in a very abusive marriage for years. She came to us very broken and scared. And over the two years she's lived there, she's maintained her sobriety, made significant progress in living independently, and she also um any opportunity to give back, she likes to do that. Um we have also helped multip multiple families not just reunite but um prevent them from splitting up. So, um I have included a couple letters of support that um you guys can um read on your own just in in the interest of saving time. Um so, thank you. Do you have any questions?

Um questions? No questions. Just again, thank you. I think you're providing a real needed service for the community and I like how you're asking them to give back as well and um I appreciate that. Thank you. I think you guys are doing a wonderful job. So, thank you. It means a lot. Thank you. Questions.

Um good relationship with cast still have a couple of clients. I I'm just it's all going to be about the gooffs today. Every single person is going to be asked a question that has to do with either Tyler or Sage. I'm joking. But um I know we've had some cast clients that have been staying there. That's an ongoing thing. Um appreciate what you're doing there. That makes a huge difference for them. Yeah. Yeah. Um doing good. Yeah. Yeah.

Had a couple of graduates lately, so that's good. People that don't know, CAST is the court assisted supervised treatment. It's a program that is run by the county, funded in part by county funds, state funding, state requirements. It's it's a it's a big ask and um I know that they've had a good relationship with you over the years and people that have been willing to go stay at Eagles Hope and it's just been a perfect combination. Mhm. So, it's nice that there's uh accountability all around. So, Right. Yeah. Yeah.

Sounds good. And then I I guess last question was I see opioid settlement funding you had listed as another uh source of funding $12,000. Tell me about that real quick. Oh, so the opioid work group, the Fremont County opio opioid work group, um they we applied for $12,000 to um cover the rent expenses on two rooms. Um, so yeah, we got approved for one family room and one just regular size room. And the idea behind that is this is going to be people that have only people that have been impacted by the opioid crisis. Yes. Yes. Great.

Um, they have to be um they have to have some sort of uh substance evaluation or doctors stating they have opioid issues. Fentanyl, heroin. Yeah. Opioids of any kind. Uh yeah. So, um, what that does is I don't believe in people having their rent paid for them and living rentree, but what it does is it guarantees that those that can't pay don't lose their housing. Perfect. Um, yeah. So, that was pretty exciting.

And that's a one-time thing. You're going to have to go back depending or saying that's going to be yearly. Um they I think we can re reapply for the next after this one two more years we can reapply but we do have to reapply. Okay, good deal. Your honor. Yes, sir. On the same note as the ARPA or the uh uh opioid opioid settlement. The ARPA funding when are those going to sunset? 27. Um the end of this year is end of this year is the end of the ARPA money. So 27. Okay. Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. All right. Keep up the great work. Thank you. Thank you for all you do. Thank you.

Appreciate you. Okay. All right. Fine. You can come up. Say, should we make you bring up Tyler, too? Is he kind of an honorary juvenile justice of Fremont County? No. He's going to critique me on the way home, so it's fine.

Be nice to her. U mayor, council men and women. Um my name is Sage. I am the director of uh juvenile justice here in Fremont County. Uh Hattie Calver is the assistant director. And I apologize as I am new to this role. And um as mayor has stated, I've been a part of CAST for a long time. So I am learning a lot more of the juvenile justice. Um, I do know it was established in 1994. Um, the focus has always been promoting accountability, positive community engagement with our youth. And over time, the program has developed. We offer MRT, which is a moral recognition therapy, um, for a lot of our high-risk juveniles. Um, since coming into this position and in conversations with Hattie, we have decided that we are seeing a lot more high-risk activity than we have in the past. Um, we are implementing a risk needs assessment. Um, going to work on case plans so that we can easily identify what those high-risisk needs are for our juveniles and how we can incorporate the family support in that. Um just this week we also got in a new curriculum um that is going to help in supporting um those high-risisk high needs um so that it's more tailored to what that individual is going to need. Um it's not just a one-sizefits-all package um as it kind of has been in the past. Uh, juvenile justice is a pre-court filing diversion program. Um, a lot of our juveniles can be offered a threemonth pre-court diversion, a six-month diversion. Um, we do have some

cases that need a little bit more help and support. And so, we offer a 9 or 12 month pre-court diversion. um really hoping to keep juveniles out of our court systems and get them directed onto a better path before it impacts their criminal history and potentially um leading to impacts of of their adult life. Uh some of the components that have not changed over the years um all of our diversion participants, clients um are required to do community service. Um what is that range? 10 to 20 hours depending.

And they we use community service as a a sanction at times too. If things are not going well, they can earn themselves in some additional hours.

Yep. Uh we also offer uh drug testing um to monitor their compliance, help with any substance uses that they need or are any substance uses that they are having in need of referral services. Um so we often try to connect them with the appropriate mental health substance use um assessments and um then Haddie and the other probation officers also offer a lot of school attendance supports checking grades um checking to see if there's things that we can offer and help the school district with as well. Um so that there's kind of that compliance all the way around.

Your turn.

Perfect. So um our uh unfortunately we apologize our current system is down. So like pulling data was kind of a little bit of a task. So um in 2025 we had 256 citations. Um substance use citations are always our uh biggest referrals. Um in we had one or 110 alcoholrelated citations. Uh 56 of those coming out of Riverton along with um five DUIs and um gosh, where are we at? 25 uh substance or substance uh drug charges. The thing we see is mostly THC. Um, actually that's all we've seen in the last year. Um, and then we one thing we did pull this year that was unique and I think is really important to kind of um, understand is a lot of our kids right now we're seeing is not normal experimental high school drinking. Um, we're seeing far beyond that. And the way we track that is through our blood alcohol content on our citations. In 2025, um, out of the 110 citations that we saw in Fremont County, only 59 of those had blood alcohols on the citation. And our average blood alcohol content was a 148, which is uh, you know, alarming. Yeah, it's alarming. Um our range there was 0.044 to a 392. Um so there is you know that is rises far beyond normal experimental drinking and what we would consider high school. Um, so we're like Sage said, we're really trying to, you know, support our kids in, um, a different way. Uh,

connect them to substance abuse services, connect them to mental health services, and, um, you know, increasing community engagement. That is a a big piece of importance, and like they said, protective factors. Um, people who are engaged in their community usually do not commit crimes in their community. Um, so a lot of that goes into, you know, we have, you know, like say a lot of our monitoring. We do have the ability to do in-house monitoring on like a GPS system. Um, we do that for for some of our kids that have uh rised to a level that they need to be monitored like that. Um, the other thing is our day reporting center. Our day reporting center is always a little undertalked about, but it's such a great resource for um our community. It helps keep kids who would be otherwise expelled or long-term suspended um engaged in their curriculum. Um right now we have seven uh females down there and it's been an absolute blast having the girls around. um Miss Brothers knows your reporting well and um you know we've seen you know an increase in attendance and engagement with our with our young ladies and that's been a lot of fun this semester

I have any questions

I have a few or just few comments and questions but yeah uh juvenile service is great that was my first job was day reporting center and I'll tell you I remember like it was hard um trying to do really good things with these kids without any funds. I remember, you know, asking Melinda Cox was in charge of things then and we were like, we need to help them do these things because the entire point of juvenile services is to prevent recidivism and and you can't do that without funds. So, um, and one of the things that they do, and I know that you guys stated on this, is like they actually go to the kids' houses and pick them up and bring them to school and you, and so they're talking about like needing money for fuel and things like that. So, they have a van and they go to the kids' house and they and they go around the county, guys. Like, so they're they're driving. It takes them like two hours every morning and two hours every afternoon to pick up all these kids and take them to school. It's not a small thing and you know fuel's going up. So I saw that you listed on that and that's really important. So anyway, so um that's that's my biggest thing that I was going to say. But yeah, thank you for what you do and you know it's I understand how important it is having worked in there and doing that for so many years and and watching you guys do that and it is important and and I remember doing that and it did prevent recidivism and it is you know they're our future so you have to right

you have to absolutely have money in order to try to help them. So thank you. Do you have an organization for the juvenile probation agents that's a um accrediting kind of organization or anything like that? I know cast kind of has a lot of different requirements in terms of you know state wants you to do this that or the other thing. How about juvenile probation? We have to meet certain requirements through our community juvenile service boards.

Okay. Um, not necessarily like I mean I would say that that and then we do receive uh OJ JDP funds. Um, and we have to obviously meet requirements with that as well. Yeah, they have to have like counseling. They each have to have counseling and they have to have several of them have like the drug um drug monitoring. Yeah. And um and the drug counseling I don't know what's it called like substance abuse. Yeah. So yeah, they have um each of them like have specific requirements based on whenever they're put in the program. Okay. Yeah. Yeah.

I'm just kind of curious in terms of what sort of requirements there are for your probation agents. It's just a different program than CAST. I'm trying to get a feel for it. So you're on. Okay. Go ahead.

And you may not have the answer to this. That's fine if you don't. Um and and it's going to take you some time in terms of success rate. Um with the amount of stuff that you guys do with these youth to keep them out of trouble and keep them on the right track, what is the the youth that are discharged from the program or released from your program? What is the rate of reaffending that you see coming back to you? I know the year it was the last year I was in Melinda and I remember that statistic

I think gosh in like in probably youth services or recetivism and it it's really hard to say because you have probably about like 15 to 20 kids or so every couple of years that that generate most of your citations. Um, so I would say our recetivism rate is probably like I don't want to misspeak but I would say 35% or so there you know we do see a significant um you know uh one single theft and then we don't ever see that juvenile again. Um we do see you know gaps of you know they got in trouble when they were 12 and then we haven't seen them till they're 17. Um, but there is, you know, that that that portion of reaffenders that reaffend to get five, six, seven, eight citations is that's a pretty small number in the community.

Okay. Thank you. I think Melinda had said it was smaller than that. Yeah. But she might have been looking at like and and for day reporting it's smaller. I think that's what she was looking at. Our day reporting uh recidivism is a lot smaller than that. I think that's what she was looking at. Just day reporting. Yeah. She had seen in 5 years out of 250 offenders there was one.

Yeah. Yeah. We've we've uh we don't see repeats in day reporting as much. It kind of depends. Right now we have um two middle schoolers. So that kind of you know when you're at day at day reporting at you know in the sixth grade there's a chance that you might come back at some point. But um you know transition is an important part of that. Making sure that we get a good transition plan set up for our day reporting kids, making sure they're connected in a good district that's going to support their needs and just kind of further their education. So um you know we work really hard on getting kids transitioned where they are best going to be served.

Just one more. I'm sorry followup. So just just so that I'm understanding correctly. So you said 56 citations came from Riverton. Is that correct? Um that was of the alcohol. Yes. Okay. So would you say half less than half more than half is your clientele from the city of Riverton? Yeah. Oh yeah. Being generated from the city of Riverton. I would say um 70% is from the city of Riverton. Oh yeah. Yeah. Thank you. How many people are employed with uh juvenile justice then? Five.

Five. And then um 35,000. That was the ask. What does that represent? I mean, we've had some of these. So, for example, fire department was able to break that down. Uh really appreciate Eagles Hope do very well at saying this is what we're projecting. This is what we're wanting to use it for. What does that represent for your program?

So, for our program, it would represent um continuing to um purchase the our evidence-based uh curriculum um pay for urinalysis and urinalis testing um pay for if we have to have like an ankle monitor um just in that supervision aspect. um the risk needs assessment that we are going to be doing. Um that was $4,000. Um and then fuel. Okay. Any other questions? All right. Thank you. Appreciate it.

Thank you guys. Have a good evening. You too. All right. Next up, Mercy House, I think. Yep. Yes. Good evening. Hello. You have more people up. Bring them up. They're just not Let me

Thank you, mayor, council, city staff. Um, our director is actually taking a final exam tonight and so wasn't able to be here, so I'm filling in. And um, other board members of ours also had previous engagements. It does not show a lack of support at all. Um, they just could not make it. So, I do apologize for that. Much of what I'm going to say is in the packet that I gave you. Uh the citations on exactly where I got the statistics I'm going to quote are there uh for your reference. Uh and for to save time, I'm just going to make this brief. So, um this is our first time presenting and uh basically um we are a homeless shelter. We established Riverton's Mercy House in October of 2024 as our board. Our mission is simple but urgent, and that is to provide a path forward for individuals struggling with homelessness in Riverton, helping each person regain independence and becoming a thriving contributing member of our community. We envision Mercy House as a true sanctuary, a place of radical hospitality where individuals are met with compassion, dignity, and real support. So the reality in Riverton is according to the 2024 feasibility study, which this council and the county commissioners funded. At that time, 89 individuals in Riverton were unhoused. Since then, we have had multiple requests for help, and the majority of these have been from women with children, which actually surprised us. That was not what we were expecting. Our population in 2024 was 10,953 according to the US Census Bureau. That means that 0.81% of our population was homeless at that

time. The national average for homeless individuals is 0.23%. So, just to get that um to sink in a little bit, uh 89 people might not seem like a lot and some may wonder why should we as a community spend money to help 89 individuals, but perspective is important. So, in Riverton with our 0.89% 89% of our population as homeless with the national average of 0.23. That means that we are 252% higher than the national average. That was stunning to me. Three and a half times the national rate of homelessness is what we're dealing with. It's not an a a distant urban problem. This is a Riverton problem. And they're not just numbers. These are men, women, and children in our community. This greatly affects our entire community. As homelessness increases, according to studies which I've quoted there for you, it fosters a sense of fear, insecurity, and decreased community cohesion among the housed population. Public spaces such as our parks, sidewalks, trails, and businesses are negatively impacted. Riverton has always valued our children. We've heard tonight how much we value our children. We spend thousands of dollars each year as individuals and as community to support our youth. We are constantly looking for ways to help our youth with activities, sports, recreation, child care, etc. And while these are all positive community and family endeavors which I personally support, we are missing the mark on protecting the youth in our area. Some of the youth in the community experience

homelessness or difficult situations where there where they need different sheling shelter options. These are for our youth or those of our youth that are sheltered experience insecurity of noticing unhoused population when they want to visit their parks or use the skate park or walk to and from school or visit the library. Directly addressing these needs of the unhoused population of our community will also directly impact our youth if we do nothing to handle this issue. What will happen to our community? If we look at other areas, we can see cities where they've used band-aid approaches or they've had the idea of ignoring the problem. Maybe they'll go away. Um, this has caused long lasting and permanent damage. And those communities include Los Angeles, San Diego, Miami, Austin, Sacramento, Phoenix, Atlanta, Seattle, Oakland, Portland. Need I say more? One example of a community that was proactive in working on the homeless issue is Houston, Texas, and they were able to reduce their homelessness by 63%. We are not large like these other communities, but we can use them as examples of what to do and what not to do. In Wyoming, homelessness is isn't just uncomfortable. It is and it can be and has been fatal. Extreme weather conditions have already resulted in tragic outcomes. No one in Riverton should have to face freezing temperatures, isolation, and the real risk of not surviving the night. Mercy House exists to ensure that that never happens again. But we have a gap. In 2019, the Samaritan House closed and Riverton has lacked a local consistent

shelter solution. Individuals either need to travel long distances or sleep outside. Our neighbors on the reservation have been helpful. However, according to their website, they are there to quote serve members of the northern Arapjo, Easter Shashonne, and unaffiliated FE federally recognized tribes end quote, which includes their recovery center, homeless shelter, and warming hut. In 2025 alone, according to a press release in February, this past February by Wyoming Rescue Mission, Wyoming Rescue Mission served 117 individuals from Fremont County. That was 10% of their population. So, Wyoming Rescue Mission highlighted two realities. One is there is a significant need here. and two, the the services are currently not local and they really do need to be. When Mercy House opens, we will offer safe overnight shelter, showers and laundry facilities, nutritious meals, a stable, structured environment, and most importantly, human dignity and support. This is not just a shelter. It is a launching point for restoration. From here, individuals can receive the help they need either with substance abuse, trauma recovery, or accountability partners as a few examples. We know not everyone will desire to not live on the streets, but it's our aim to show them that there is a way out if they want it. And each day they choose to be sober, it has there is an issue. Um, excuse me. Um, there will be increasingly more comfort and help along the way. So, why does this matter financially? Of course, I'm going to hit on that because I'm a financial adviser, right?

If homelessness is not addressed proactively, our communities will in face increased public cost, emergency room is typically three times higher, police and jail costs will increase, and crisis response becomes the default. Studies have shown that it costs three times more to manage homelessness through emergency systems than through shelter and support. Second, public health and safety risk. Studies have shown that there's spread of disease such as HEP A and tuberculosis, increased fire risk from encountments, and higher rates of victimization and trauma. And number three, community impact. Strain on law enforcement, health care, reduced quality of life, and decreased economic vitality. Bottom line is ignoring homelessness is not saving money. It's spending more money less effectively. So, what have we accomplished so far? Through the community generosity in 2025, including limited donations and limited grant money, we've raised $68,46.75. And we've received donations of beds, furniture, supplies, and skilled labor. We have already remodeled the entire modular unit. We have beds and bedding prepared, and we've hired our part-time director. We've turned a vision into visible progress. So, our board, so just so you know who we are, our leadership, I'm a the chair right now. I serve as um the chair and I'm a financial adviser. Scott Comr's former law enforcement is our vice chair. Rowena Bland, local business owner, is our treasurer. Christy Dunn is a registered nurse and our secretary.

Cindy Snyder, financial paraplanner and a member of our board. Ethan Flick is a contractor and local business owner. Ian McFarland is a pastor, a non- voting member of our board. And Richard Martin is our local business owner and director. And by the way, just in case you don't know Richard, he actually graduated from Eagles Hope. Okay. Um, we do collaborate with Eagles Hope. We are so blessed that they uh gave us a property and I'll go into that in a moment. And we also work very closely with Wyoming Rescue Mission. We are a nonprofit 501c3. Originally when we started um our estimation was we would need $550,246 in startup costs 80,726 a month in expenses or to cover our expenses totaling about $1.5 million for one year. However, through donations and partnerships like the property that Eagles Hope so graciously donated to us, food costs through the pantry um have red been reduced by $41,062 a month and volunteers that are ready and waiting to serve has helped um tremendously with staffing costs. So, right now, what we need is $23,400 and that will open our doors and cover us for one year. Now, can we put a pin in that for just a moment because I don't want you feeling like we're going to come back every year asking for that. We're not. Okay. I hope we're not. Um, we're very close. We need funding to hire essential staff and we need a security wand for safety and a few additional beds. We're asking for um the city of Riverton

to help us with $100,000. We are actively working on raising an additional $100,000 to meet that need and we do have a little in the bank to cover that extra. So for the city, what this would re do is reduce strain on law enforcement and emergency medical services. It would prevent costly crisis interventions. It would improve public safety and health. It would strengthen community stability. It would support our youth, housed and unhoused alike, and support our local businesses. This is not just compassion. This is fiscal responsibility. So, back to the pen. Um, once we're open, at that point, we will be eligible for additional grants that we cannot apply for right now. And since we are faith-based but open to all without requiring religious conversion, the grants include from the public um emergency solutions grants, continuum of care, community development block grants, emergency food and shelter program, and VA veteran affairs from the public sector. Donor advice funds, Lily, uh Chatlos, and Walmart all have grants that we can apply for once we're open. what we can't. Now, we are our intention is and what we will do is build long-term uh sustainability through proven effective results and create lasting solutions. But we cannot again we cannot access those opportunities until the doors are open. And so we really need help just getting open so that we can start then showing our results and applying for those additional grants to have sustainability. Riverton has always been a community that takes care of its own. Right now, we have a plan. We have the leadership. We have community support. What we need

is your partnership. With your help, we can save lives, restore dignity, and strengthen Riverton. This is the moment to act, and we respectfully ask for your support of a $100,000 grant to help Mercy House open its doors. because when we care for the most vulnerable among us, we strengthen the entire community, including our youth. And I'll stand for any questions. Thank you, Miss Andress. Any questions?

I do, your honor. Um, just you actually address several of the questions that I have already, but the only other question that I have is a contract for services with you. If the city of Riverton or the council um does agree to funding of any sort, can you um ensure that the Riverton Police Department would always have a bed for those individuals that they would need to bring to you to reduce costs like you stated, or is there ever going to be a time where you would have to turn them away?

I really appreciate that question. Um, as I mentioned, our vice chair is Scott Comr, who is former law enforcement and um, we have actually talked through that and I've reached out to the police department to set up a meeting to have that conversation and go through what that might look like. I don't have all the details on all of the um, the needs right now that the city has, but that would be our goal. And just so you're aware, um, we have a a couple of other things in the works. We've been working extremely hard um to actually build our capacity out and um that uh I will find out next week if we will be able to get that done very quickly. Like our goal is through the summer so that then um in the fall we would have capacity to actually um be able to promise that

next fall. This fall, this coming fall. Okay. Thank you. It is on our priority list. Mhm. We've discussed it and it is one on our priorities and it's a goal and it's something you're wanting to do. Absolutely. Awesome. Yes. Any other questions? Just a comment. I just think it's really awesome what you guys have done in such a short amount of time. It's something that we really need. So, thank you. Thank you. Appreciate that. Other questions?

Yes, your honor. I um thank you so much. this was excellent looking at and I really hope that um this is able to you know come to fruition. Um so you're saying I guess my big question I was saying that the construction this fall that's really what you're you're hoping to have it.

So we have the modular unit done. Um we have a few more beds we need to add with that. Our capacity is about 25 or so right now. Um uh what we need the money for is to have our four paid staff. We have volunteers to fill the rest of them. And then our our intention is um one of our uh board members is um has a construction company and we're we need to take down the large building because we can't put anyone in that building. Um we um like the insurance company won't insure it. So we have to remove that and add um additional units. And the our our um plan is and our hope is that um we will be able we have some funding um specifically for construction. And our goal is to have that together over the summer and have that done through the summer so that in the fall those units will also be open and then we'll be able to to help with um anybody that's brought in. the uh the money isn't for we can't pay for staff, right?

There's no my understanding was when we applied for it that that it there were no stipulations on what I guess that's my question. That's and and the reality is that's that's part of the whole purpose and why I was wanting to have a committee that would kind of look at that's my question being able to figure out what do we want to have this funding go for. I'm not I'm not saying yes or no. I'm asking I'm I'm clarifying. Fair. Okay. So good. That's what I need to know. And then uh and then the fall. This is that would be great before winter. Um thank you. That would be really wonderful. Yes. I have Yes. Just a few questions. First off, the feasibility study that started some of this

uh was a collaboration between the county and the city, which I think was excellent. Um have you or do you plan to approach the county as well? And do you have plans to approach the city of Lander? Uh, we have not yet and um we have been so busy. I hear we just have not done that yet. Okay. But that Thank you for that comment. We'll definitely think I just think it's if if we want to have this be something that's regional,

I think having it be the discussion being much like just about every other uh organization here, being able to go through and ask for funding from other regional communities that benefit from it, I think would make a lot of sense. Um, as it stood, we we had an interesting situation where the county basically said, "We'll match what the city pays." and that worked out pretty well for everybody involved. So, I think being able to continue to speak with the county with Lander would be good. I know the tribes already have their own program going. I don't know that they've really expressed interest in financially assisting. Okay. Yes, sir.

And now is budget season, so don't wait. Yeah. Okay. Because after June or so, they'll we'll already have it all figured out and you won't be there. Okay. I appreciate that. Thank you, sir. And I think it'd be good because they have a similar program as we do for the contracts for services. And I think being able to approach uh Lander and the county would be beneficial. Okay. And I think it would help because it always I think it turns out well for the applicants when you have governments that are like, well, we'll put in this if the other government puts in this matching funds. Okay, that's great. Thank you. Does Does anyone

I I do like that. I just have one more question, Grace. I'm sorry. Does this mean that you're going to be accepting um clients or folks from around the county wholly? So, um originally our thought was to service Riverton. However, and I and I believe that the the study was specific to Riverton. Am I incorrect? Am I correct? I mean, part of the whole purpose of it was to was to point out something that you had already pointed out, which is there's funding that's going to Casper and there's people that are going to Casper from here,

correct? And part of the discussion and and something that I wanted to bring up as well, but part of the discussion was okay, if we bring the people back to keep funding, if that makes sense.

Correct. Um that was my question. I think so we already have enough of the issue here to be bringing why I asked. So um so we are working very closely with with um with Wyoming Rescue Mission and one of the things that we've discussed is that there are a few people not not 117 which is what they currently have served in from Fremont County. Um but a few people that absolutely need to be out of Riverton, Lander, wherever for um to get better

for a better

and there are some people that are from Casper that need to be out of Casper. So what Riverton res or what Wyoming Rescue Mission does is they do work in collaboration with other um rescue missions throughout Wyoming is my understanding. Okay. And um if there's a a person sometimes they may swap to help out each other on a temporary basis. Temporary basis. I understand that brings a lot of stress and anxiety and all of those things. Um but it it it is not a situation of okay now Riverton is going to take on you know 500 people or 200 people from all over Wyoming because we have a rescue mission. It's not like that.

Yeah. I mean, I'll just I I'll be real honest. I don't even want to take on one more person. I um I I don't We have enough issues to try and manage. So, that's why I asked, but thank you for that explanation. I appreciate it. And may I ask just a clarification question? Um I if lander has an issue and they don't have a home, but they're willing to help fund, is that acceptable or not acceptable? Because we have not reached out to them yet. So, we we hadn't even thought about it actually. I mean, I agree with with uh Mayor Hancock's suggestion, get funding where you can and and you know, and in terms of emergency housing, Yeah.

to keep somebody out of the cold. Absolutely. I just I I'm not sure that I would be ecstatic about bringing people in from other communities that have issues already in other communities. Mhm. And and to be honest with you, our ours is like first first responder type situation. Um I in talking with Wyoming Rescue Mission, I feel like and there because they have a basically if you if you took Wyoming Rescue Miss or excuse me, Riverton Mercy House and Eagle's Hope and combined them, that would be Wyoming Rescue Mission, right? So I think um on their end it was less emergency help. It was more of people who have gone through their emergency part and is now are now trying to stay sober. And so maybe it's more of a conversation that Eagle's Hope and and Wyoming Rescue Mission need to have. I don't know. Like I'm I don't want to get in the middle of that.

Well, I appreciate it. That makes sense. Okay. Okay. So, um, right now the ask is 100,000 and the idea is is that with a h 100,000 you're hoping thinking you could get your doors open and then you'd have more permanent funding solutions available. You're not in intending on having this be coming back next year for another 100,000. Correct. But wanting to have this be something where you can get on your feet and get the program going. Correct. Okay. Any other questions? Sorry, we kind of kept things long. That's okay. Does anybody need an invitation to the dinner on the 23rd or 24th or 25th of this month? We have invitation if you would like one. I have one. I think I already RSVPd. Yes. Okay, good. We have you on a table.

Coming. Coming. Anybody else? All right. Thank you so much. Thank you very much for what you're doing. I do have the invitation and I'm balancing between Dancing with the Stars. Maybe I get with you later on that. Okay. Thanks. Thank you for what you've got going on and for what you've been willing to do. That's a exciting program and I'm glad you've been able to take that torch and run with it. Okay. Uh chamber and visitors center. And Cindy, I said the full thing this time because I wanted to make sure it was clear in terms of the visitor center.

Okay. I'm about to talk about that. Thank you. Okay. Good evening, Mayor and Council. Um, for all those watching, I'm uh Cindy Olsen Rhoden, the executive director of the Riverton Chamber and Visitors Center. Uh, I want to thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight. I have three board members in the audience from the Riverton Chamber and Visitors Center and our administrative assistant. Well, I'm on up here with you. Don't be shy. They said no.

Oh, come on. Um, I'm a little easy. Social pressure. That's how we do things here.

Yeah. So, um, just I would like to make a quick clarification. Um, while on the application and ag and agenda, it referenced the Riverton Chamber and Visitor Center together. Uh, it's important to distinguish that this request is mainly for the Riverton Visitors Center, which operates as a division of the Riverton Chamber of Commerce. That distinction matters because tonight's request is focused mainly on the work and impact of the visitors center. Uh so what is is the Riverton Visitors Center? Uh we're located uh at 524 East Main Street with a side entrance on 6th Street. You may uh have noticed our large banner flags. Uh more importantly, we serve as the front door to Riverton, welcoming both visitors and residents alike. Every day we provide information on local attractions, events, dining, lodging, and outdoor recreation. We help visitors make the most of their stay and we help residents stay connected to what's happening in our community. Uh if you Google visitor center Wyoming, our website comes right up there. And if anyone's looked at our website, it is uh half visitors center and half chamber. Uh since we are that that combo, um the wayfinding signs have been excellent. I think there are probably five or six that have visitors center on there uh directing people to where where we're located at and I and I'm really excited about that going into the tourist season. Uh that will help people. Um but our role goes far beyond handing out maps and brochures. Uh the visitor center plays a key role in supporting the local economy. We actively promote Riverton businesses, encourage longer stays, and help increase spending throughout the community. We answer questions, connect people to local services, highlight

events, and showcase everything that makes Riverton a great place to visit and live. In many ways, we are the marketing arm for Riverton. We act as the community community concier, and we serve as a hub for hospitality, promotion, and community pride. How are we different from the Wind River Visitors Council? Wind River Visitors Council is the tourism marketing entity for Fremont County funded through the lodging tax. Uh they do mark river uh market Riverton to a degree, but they have the whole county to market. We as Riverton need to market ourselves as we are unique and don't have physical assets that our area in the county other areas in our county have. Uh it is not easy to sell Riverton as a destination per se, but we have many assets that we can sell and that is why the visitors guide that will be published in May will demonstrate. That is what the uh guide will demonstrate. We hope to distribute 40 to uh 4,000 to 5,000 guides because our visitor dollars because every visitor dollar spent in Riverton directly supports our local businesses and in turn strengthens the city's tax revenues. Tourism is not just about visitors. It's about sustaining and growing our local economy. City support for the Riverton Visitor Center and the Riverton Chamber doesn't stand alone. It multiplies. It leverages private investment from the business community and expands the reach of our efforts. Together, we become an extension of the city itself, promoting economic development, supporting tourism, providing critical community information, and strengthening the overall business environment. Uh, at the end of the day, the impact is simple. When businesses succeed, the community succeeds. and the Riverton Visitor

Center and the Riverton Chamber here are here to make that happen. Um, what I handed out is a little uh copy, a remade copy of a little brochure uh that the Wind River Visitors Council actually came up with, but it's for Riverton. Um, because we didn't have an very many of these, I reduplicated it onto a one sheet that we put in our visitor bags. We hand them to visitors uh that come in to see us. uh we'll put them in mailings going out. So, it's just one little tiny sample of something that we do. Um our visitors guide, as uh Sarah just put down on the counter here, is very very close to being done. We are super excited about it. It is 40 pages. Um it will it's all visitor information. Um so that that's kind of my speech. I didn't really go over what was in the packet, but I'm ready for questions. uh for what what anyone has.

Well, I appreciate the breakdown here, Cindy, and and um I know some of what we had discussed, for example, was chamber membership and had discussed, okay, Riverton has been paying to the chamber. What can that look like? What could that look like in terms of membership going forward? So, I appreciate that. And you've broken down really what we would want to invest in, correct? If we were saying, you know, what we're going to pay to the chamber, if we wanted to say, okay, last year we would have basically said we did 5,000, which was basically membership. Mhm.

So, that would be an option. But then we also have the the maintenance uh for the website. We have the events, calendars, those kinds of things. Um, hospitality and tourism conferences. That almost surprises me that that would be something that would be paid by um the Winds River Visitors Council. Yeah. No. Nope. They've not done that. Yeah. We And we don't get any money from the Wind River Visitors Council except for when we apply for TAD.

Okay. And then I know you've had the visitor and event bags. So that's like the contents, making sure that those are ready to go out. The the visitors guide, which you've been hard at work at for months. So breaking this down this way makes it a lot easier that as we discuss this with the council, we can say these are things that we want to be paying into. These are things maybe we don't or do. So just a very helpful breakdown. It'll make it a lot easier to discuss going forward. Thank you. Any questions? I just have one. I'm sorry.

First of all, thank you. I I've told you this privately. I'll tell you publicly. I think you have done an absolutely amazing job with the chamber and stepped up and you're doing a fantastic job. So, I appreciate that about you. Um, what does the $5,000 gold membership get the city of Riverton? So, there is, and I did not I failed to include our tier um structure in the uh application. What that does, that is our top uh level. Um it gets um we do our advocacy of course all the things that we do for our lower members. Um you're an upper tier of course we do a membership spotlight every year. Uh you are um a sponsor on a lunch and learn probably once every five months, 6 months. Uh and then we mix that up with a couple of bronze members. Um, and I can get you if you want the tier structure. I can sure get that to you. That was my fault. Um, but uh along with that, we also throw in um Oh, you do get a sign at the Riverton Regional Airport. I don't know that that would be advantageous, but city of Riverton supports the city of Riverton. Um, so

probably not as big of a deal. Yeah, but I do you you had given me the breakout of that and if you could send that in an email to everyone on the council that'd be helpful just to be able I will do that. Yeah, because it lists it all. Um there is a lot of advantages. We have um additionally that's not in the packet added a tuition for anyone from the city to uh join leadership Fremont County per year. That is one added benefit. Um trying to think of the others. I don't have those off the top of my head, but um I will send that over and let you guys look at that tomorrow. Does that help a little bit? Okay, maybe questions.

Cindy, thank you so much. You've done a really great job. We appreciate you coming each month and letting us know how it's going. Um because, you know, economic development really is the key to moving Riverton forward. I love this little thing that if you have an hour, three hours and a whole day, this is super cool. just for residents and anyone visiting too. Um, and thank you for breaking everything down for us. This is appreciative. And to build on Karen's question, you had told me that like similar um communities to Riverton that you have like uh don't you have like numbers as to how that 5,000 like joining the chamber like how does that move us forward um as a city because you had said that that similar communities as they buy in to the chamber um how does that help us.

Um, you know, one of the things we treat you just like, you know, any other business. Um, any of your employees can come to our lunch and learn. We in, uh, which we are always putting on presentations. Those are once a month, you know, that have to do with business and other community aspects, very informational. We have our after hours networking. Uh, that is always a good contact form. Um, you know, as far as I did a comparison with other cities of like, uh, population and, uh, a good share of them, not all of them, uh, you know, are a member of their local chamber, usually at higher levels at the, you know, in that gold range. Then they also do receive money. Um I know for Lander for instance, they're at a $5,000 level with the Lander Chamber. They also get I don't know 167,000 a year for their visitor center. Um, I checked with Cody, um, Douglas, uh, Sheridan, real similar. One of them, Cody, they did not get any support other than the building that they're in is owned by the city, and so they get a very reduced amount of rent. So, that helps a lot in that case. But each one is different. They're not all alike. I'm not going to say that every city, you know, does it exactly the same because they're they're definitely not. Some cities get $100,000.

Oh, wow. Or some chambers, visitor centers get $100,000. I think that might have been Green River. That's pretty cool. Um, so it's all over the board. Yeah, it's all over. Yeah. But but they do usually buy into that membership is what you had told me. And that's pretty cool. And

it's a partnership, you know, we a lot of times I don't know. Sorry to interrupt you. Um, no, you're fine. you know, there's there's a fine there's not a fine line. A lot of people think the chamber is part of the city. Um, and kind of vice versa. We field a lot of calls that we have to direct them to call to the city. People think they need to come there for their food truck permit. Um, different things. So, there is that in in the mentality, you know, there is a connection there even though we're not directly related. You know, back in the day before internet and social media, the chamber was the place to come for information of any kind. Um, so people still have that mindset. Um, so

well in building on that, Denise, so how many um views like since some of this is going to your website, how many views have you had on your website? How many active users? And then also like how many event bags did you hand out last year? Sure. Do you have that number?

I do. I do. I have a a statistic here. So on the website uh which is a combo like I said between chamber uh and visitor center. And so members of the chamber have a member directory they go to um and they can put their logo, they can put their con information and then they come up in a Google search. Now, as far as the tourism, um, la from last year, I had our web people go back from the 1st of, um, starting the 1 of March, no, 1st of April back to the end of March. And we, our views, our number of visitors were 23,500. Page views were 41,640. Um, so that was quite a bit. We still have a little work to do on that. Um, I'm hopefully getting going to get that finished by early June. Um, but there's already some real real good content on there. Uh, we do a member spotlight, several a month. Those are coming out through County 10. Then we uh they also are getting posted to the website as well. So, it's kind of fun to be able to look at all those member spotlights. Um, as far as bags, I know in the last year we did about,450. And we we try to be real selective. I get with um the three major hotels and say, "Okay, what what do you have come in the next quarter, next 3 months?" Um, and let's talk about are these good ones to provide event bags? You know, what kind of uh conferences, small meetings, what do you have coming? because that's really the only way I know what's coming. And so we work together. I work with them. Uh I bring event veags to the hotel to give to them and just to show what we have in Riverton. And like I

said, I know Riverton is not a destination. But if we show the the things that we do have and our um event, our visitors guide is going to um market as a brand of where the uh base camp to adventure. And so, you know, you can do some things around here, but if you want to stay a couple days, stay here and do your day trips uh to Lander Duboce Thermopoulos. And so it's another option to advertise our area and and get people to come here, spend money. That's the that's the goal. Um I hope I answered the questions.

Okay. Well, uh we have done really well at having everybody go two to five minutes. It's been excellent. We've gotten through so many people and it's 7:30. I I I'm being sarcastic in case No. Who was it that said? Was that you? Or wait a minute.

Um, we're at an hour and a half. This is usually when we would take a break. I know we don't have that many left. Uh, thank you very much, Cindy. Didn't mean to just kind of say you're done. Had the had the shepherd's crook come and just pull you off the stage. Um, so I'd like to take just a five minute break. We're going to come back. Um, do we have any restrictions on time for WRTA, Pause for Life, or Willow Creek in terms of who needs to go first for any reason? Okay, so we're going to take a fivem minute break. We'll be back. We'll do it in that order. WRTA pause for life. Willow Creek. Thank you.

We're not adjourned. Recessed. Recessed at 7:36. Recessed.

Thank you, mayor, members of the council. Always wonderful to come to Riverton City Council and present. It's my favorite, just so everybody knows. And that's on the record. Um, also I want to highlight a couple things. Uh I I don't remember the the individual who was speaking, but she was mentioning uh Houston's um homeless reduction. Uh I was trying to find the TCRP report, which is the transportation coordination research program. Anyways, it's where I, you know, nerd out on all the transportation, but what she's talking about is a legitimate. like those statistics are legitimate and there was a piece of it that was analyzed by the TCP board because they positioned public transportation as a core piece of their response to their homeless situation. So, it was fascinating. I was trying to find it so that I could kind of source it in there, but she absolutely Anyways, I'll get started. Um, Wind River Transportation Authority. Um, I I kind of evaluated how best to go about presentation this year. I threw a lot of statistics out last year, but I I wanted to go a bit of a different direction, but also showing what what we accomplished in FY26 through Riverton's uh investment.

So, unknowingly at the time when we made our request, we didn't understand we would have to be going through an unprecedented in integration of public transportation programs for Wyoming with the Riverton Senior Center. Um, last fiscal year, Riverton invested $42,000 and then later that fiscal year we found out we had to integrate that service in order to preserve it for the community. Um so through some strategic application um we were able to leverage out $96,00068 or 6 $96,685 of FTA 5311 operating funds to integrate that service and provide those services right here in Fremont or right here in Riverton. Um, so what we did is we turned that limited local investment into an extremely uh expanded public benefit. We expanded public transportation services in Riverton by 59%. We reduced the overall cost of provision of that service by 29%. The existing service was not just preserved, but it was expanded. was made more efficient. Uh mobility became more practical, more available, and more sustainable in Riverton. Thanks to that investment in those funds that are leveraged, WRTA will transport over 50,000 passengers in fiscal year 26 before close. That is huge. That is greater numbers than WRTA has reported in passenger ridership in over a decade. It is huge. So, what does that actually mean for people? It means that they're getting to work. The community is getting to their appointments with

dignity. And a person without a car in the city of Riverton can go get groceries. They can meet they can get to their service and they can meet their daily necessities without having a vehicle. Families are facing fewer transportation barriers in the city of Riverton and opportunities are becoming reachable. not theoretical. Riverton is on the brink of something huge. I've spoken about it for two years now and we're there. The city's FY26 investment has helped bridge the opportunity gap in Riverton. WRTA on demand, which is the the microtransit system we're launching, is transforming access within Riverton. The foundation is now in place and the question is no longer whether it can work. The proof of concept has been proven. The question is whether we're secure it for the future. So why is FY27's request going to look a little bit different? In FY26, we got lucky. I'm not going to lie. There were a few opportunities out there that we leveraged out. The governor's office through their program of I of infrastructure investments and job act local match granted WRTA $244,448.50 for its local match obligation. That was a one-time grant. We also had some additional support from our limited half percent reserves to use for local match and those sources will not be available in fiscal year 27. FY27 reflects uh our request reflects the need to replace that temporary support with stable local match. And unfortunately, that conversation for every public transit agency always lands at local subsidization. So, what does our FY27

asks look like? Well, our total operating local match will be $510,662. So transparently and I believe you all have an Excel spreadsheet that uh took that total uh local match requirement allocated it per capita and by utilization of service. So in other words Shosonyi is not paying anything because they don't receive service. Dubo receives very limited service so their allocation is really low. Hudson's per capita benefit you. So it blends per cap with service utilization and then it's allocated out to each individual. So request for the city of Riverton 112,000 city of Lander, Fremont County, town of Duboce, town of Hudson and there is a tribal piece there. We we'll be bridging those conversations soon.

Question Mr. Nichols. Yes. Have you received anything like this from any of those organizations except for the city of Riverton for last year? For last year? Yes. No. So Riverton was the only one that funded. You were. And you were the one that got the most service provision. We prioritized that strategically. Pay to play. I get it. Pay to play. But but the idea though is you're saying this is what you're going to be asking from each one of these entities. Correct. But have not received yet. Correct.

Okay. And then my next question, I'm sorry to interrupt you. Theoretically, if this 75% tax is funded and we start having that received, are you going to need this 510662? Negative. No. Uh, no. So, that'll take care of it all. that we'll take care of. Not and I should I won't use this as a as a podium to to communicate that the proposed threequarter, but not only will WRTA not need its operating local match or its capital, but neither will the remainder of all public transportation agencies in Fremont County.

So, in other words, right now we have how many other public transportation agencies in Fremont County? We just lost one because it Yep. We it it merged with WRTA which was the Riverton Senior Center. Yep. Which was according to federal grant and all of that its own public transportation entity. Now there's one. Yes. There. So we have four. So we have WRTA. We have Lander Lander Senior Center. We have Shosonyi Shosonyi and Boyce. New Boys and did I get a child development services

child development services. So all of those are needing to have local match funding and they struggle and they try to make sure because there's all these federal funds out there but the federal funds can only be accessed if you get local match funds. Correct. But with the proposed 3/4 cent tax that would take care of every single one of them for local match. Guarantee the future of each of them for at least the next four years. Make sure if you need a ride from Head Start, you need a ride for any of these things from the senior centers, it's taken care of. Oh, it seems like a good idea. Okay. Thanks, Mr. Nicholas.

Yeah. Um, I do want to highlight too that we did include WRTA at 37%. So, what what that means to us is that WRTA will guarantee 37% of its local match will be self-generated to the best of our ability. Right? I've mentioned that a couple times. I know to this board um but but others as well is we're very limited in what we can generate uh through allowable contracts. But that is our our commitment. We're not just simply saying this is our local match. Here's your invoice. Please help us out. We are obligating ourselves in this request as well. So um what Riverton's investment would help secure uh WRTA on demand mobility within Riverton has continued the protection of the expanded service access um retention of operational efficiencies that we've already achieved and and continue uh to investigate um stable local match to leverage outside funding. Right? We'll continue to do that. uh and then the continued movement toward a community where mobility is truly accessible. So the question kind of corny but will freedom of mobility remain a dream or will Riverton choose to make it a reality. I'll have answer any questions you would like.

Well, but for my questions, you probably could have just about done two to five minutes. Any questions? I have another question. Okay. If Riverton pays 112,000 and nobody else pays anything, what happens to WRTA?

I'll always strive to remain optimistic, but reserves are are diminishing quickly. Um we're going to have to make some service. We're doing so informed. Uh we have our ongoing study that's evaluating and in it will show us a pathway forward uh of how we can start throttling back services um in order to meet that that local match. Um the other side of that reality is that every penny that we don't leverage out will be reallocated. Right? So all of those public transit dollars that go into the community currently from our our FTA funding, uh, Y dot will reallocate those to probably Jackson. And so, um, we'll lose that, uh, likely for for considerable amount of time. The the those funds take a while to to allocate out. Um but that's that's the probable reality of if we don't secure our local match for fiscal year 27 uh we will have to start making service adjustments. I know I've said that but we WR or uh the city of Riverton and the governor's office were the only two entities in fiscal year 26 that invested in WRTA in that year. Um there was some discussion amongst the city of Lander and the city of Hudson as well. Uh but those never came to fruition. Um this year we would make a similar ask with a little more emphasis on uh the severity of of the consequences should uh that local match request not be met.

Mr. Bailey. So and you may have already answered. If so, I apologize. But so the $100,000 that we would contribute, how much money comes into the system with that $100,000 match, I mean, is it a I'm not really good at mental math, so I'll take take that. Uh that would be the 43.44 local match requirement for the 56.56% of uh operating funds from uh the 5311 program. So for So So we would get an additional 100,000 in rough numbers. Yes. 50/50ish. Yes. 40 rough. Yeah. If you rounded that would be

which is the same way that we've leveraged federal funds to be able to have a very nice airport that has commercial air service. Yeah. In that we pay a very small percentage for multiple improvements, runways, that kind of thing. Same sort of idea here. We have all these tax dollars that we've already paid, by the way, that the federal government holds on to and says if you match it, then we're going to pay it into your community. If you don't match it, we're going to give it to somebody else. We're going to give it to somebody else. Yeah. So, the point is when Riverton was making that investment and the governor was making that investment, that opened up federal funding. Absolutely. Any other questions? Your honor? Yes, sir.

Just to be clear, when you say service adjustments, that's service diminishment, correct? That is correct. Yeah. He's trying to be a PC. So, so as service has diminished, as does go economic vitality, unfortunately. Thank you.

Yeah, I would uh I I would like to um when things stabilize a bit more, we now have a subsection of 5311 funding, but 530 5304 funding, which is planning uh state planning funds. I'd like to secure a bit of that because I I'm determined to to quantify an exact dollar amount of economic activity generated through public transportation in Fremont County. not not our national average average average statistic of $1 to5 return, but I want to know exactly what Fremont County has generated because I in uh uh Senator Kell case um have a suspicion, but he he would know far more than I that that number is going to be greater for the rural setting in Fremont County than it would be on the national stage. And so I want to I want to be able to quantify that directly for what Fremont County sees with public transportation. But you you did hit a excellent point. You're saying maybe $1 spent in New York City would lead to $4 in economic development, but in somewhere like Fremont County, it might be 10.

Yes. Yeah. And I guess I just I think in the employment area, most businesses that I see are really struggling for more employees. And one of the big hurdles that we have is them getting to and from. You know, we all love living in a rural environment until it makes it hard to get somewhere. And so, so you got to go to work at 8 until Yeah. You got to go to work and you don't have a car and it's 20 below in a foot of snow and you can't ride your bicycle. So, and how are you supposed to buy a car if you don't have the money to buy a car because you don't have a job? You don't have a job. There you go. So, there's a big multiplier effect there. Absolutely.

Yeah. All right. Well, thank you, Mr. Nichols. Thank you. appreciate your hard work. We'll keep at it. Pause for life. If nobody else you wanted to outnumber every other board that came here. So um if you could Lonnie just introduce who you have here. Well I have everybody here. So as as you all know Lonnie Slack director pause and I will let these guys introduce themselves. Meanwhile I have handouts for you. Great. Now, may I approach? Yeah, go ahead. Okay. I'm Santa Perry Mason, so I know,

but I would also like to say I think my students are watching to make sure I am where I am. And this is the first time in 28 years of being a college professor. I have handouts in a plastic bag. I do apologize for that. That's my thing. What do they normally come in? Velvet bag or crown royal bag? We're not spiralbound either, by the way. No, this looks old schooling it here, sir. Is this like a syllabus size or Yes. Okay. Yeah. If you're working on your big syllabus,

I'll take one for you. You forgot Sarah. from hot off the press. Did you need God bless you?

I have one. All right. So, I may not be in quite order that you guys are in. So, did you guys introduce yourselves? Go ahead. I'm Deon Kellerhol. Emily Can give their official titles. Board members, co-director, uh, treasurer. My secretary's she's out. She's trying to perfect. Don't, uh, stand closer to the microphone if you would, please. Yeah, it uh she uh Nita's missing today, so she's perfecting brownies for this weekend.

Oh,

so that's I have everybody. So anyways, we're here for our to to go over the um costs and balances that you guys all that you all have received. So um you know, PAUS has been at this for 21 years, you know. So we we we serve the community in managing a local stray population, rescuing thousands of animals over these years and these efforts directly um support public health safety. Um however, raising operational costs, the increasing animal intakes have created significant final challenges. Our annual budget currently is between 350 and 400,000. Um, we do get some donations, sometimes pretty sizable, that can kind of help us with our vet bills, which are still way out of control. It's just cost of doctors, healthc care for critters is is quite costly. So, in the last year from April 2025, March 27, 26, uh, we processed 321 critters for RPD. It's not counting any that were just picked up or that were delivered owner surreners which are minimal because we don't really have a lot of space out of them 321 critters that we took care of for RPD. These going to be the numbers for 5 days. Veterary care 33,000 food 11,000 staffing 72,000 and a total of 117 rounded up on that. That's what it takes for us to manage, keep control of the critters for their first initial intake. Of course, obviously after that, they become they're no longer city animals and they become paws. After that, then we try to get them out

um adopt them. We're transferring animals. It doesn't serve anybody, the critters, any purpose to keep them, have them for as long as as that we minimally can. It's just all shelters, all communities are having a huge abandoned animal problem. We're not any different. It's just getting trickier for us to manage it. Do you guys have any questions? Okay, a couple of things I wanted to ask about. So, donations 10294. What are we talking about there? Because I see pause and pearls is separate. 43,000 by the way. Nicely done.

My sheets are out of which one are you on? Sorry. This is page three on my sheet. This is statement of activity.

Okay. And it and I have a a line that says donations 102904 and I have a line that says paws and pearls specifically. Um so for donations um that would be um if somebody were to pass away and leave us um money then that that number that that money would contribute to that number. Um it also is people uh we have people that donate to our PayPal. So that that number um we people make d uh like weekly donations to PayPal, monthly donations to PayPal. Um we also just have people that will randomly send us a $100 check. Um $50 check, $10 check. Um sometimes people will round up what they uh adopt an animal for. They'll give us extra funds there. So donations like the money that where it shows the amount for the donations then that all of those different things would contribute to that number.

That's incredible. $100,000 last year. Mhm. How does that range uh rate versus prior years? Um,

so um I'm I just I know over um I I'm I'm seeing Devon here and I'm seeing you're looking at it and that's all good. Um so we did this year um someone left us an inheritance of $50,000 for estate. Half of that was an estate. Yes. A gift. Yes. Incredible. Okay. So, um I'm that traditionally probably doesn't happen every year, Devon. No, no. We did get very lucky last year where um you know, Whitney had been working with Jackson and they were kind enough to donate something as sizable for us for uh vet care, but that is not Yeah.

And how many employees do you have? I'm just looking at payroll expenses here. We just lost a few. You should have 10. 10 full-time, part-time. How does that work? Five full time, five part. Five full-time, five part-time. So, 10 total. And you just lost a few, huh? Yeah, we're working on replacing. Just made a post today about hiring. Okay. We had one join the military. Yeah, one join the military. Didn't want to take care of dogs anymore. Wanted to He's leaving Sunday. Yeah, I'm sure he'll miss the dogs. We're putting a few dogs in his pockets when he leaves. And you arranged that?

Yeah. So he'll remember us. Okay. Then we've got city funding from last year. So I'm looking now at last year. And and when I say last year, I mean last fiscal year, April 24 to March 25.

Yes. We received 45,000. So currently we're asking for 75,000 to half offset halfish of what we're actually spending just doing city animals. Okay. Now, we are by far, other than very kind people that leave funds behind as part of a gift through a will or whatever, 45,000 compared to 5,500 from the county. Don't receive anything from any other entities like Lander or anything like that.

No, Lander is their own entity. We have noou with Hudson Shosonyi unless it's it's picked up through the sheriff's department. Sheriff's Department. They spend so many dollars. They give us so many dollars, but they're build out at $15 a day. No. We're out of money. They stop bringing us animals. No tribal funding? No. Not currently. No. Have you asked? We've tried to work. Actually, there's been several entities um tribal housing authority has talked to me several times. We're trying. The problem is they don't want to own a building. They don't want to own the building,

a building for themselves. So, they're trying to figure out a way to be able to um have animal control without owning a building. So, that would mean that they're going to have to transfer animals to us, which isn't going to work because we don't have space. there is the ability for them to give us money to increase operations as far as space. But then there became a problem that I really was not aware of and they've not got back to me. If they're tribal entities, their dogs, they're not sure if they can transport them to Riverton. it. Some of it is going to be is just very similar to the our work with um RPD. Say you get a DUI. It is they have to take custody of that animal for 5 days. If something happens on the reservation, they're not sure if Riverton city limits an entity can take control of that animal. All right. So, I'm I'm curious because I know part of the whole idea behind this contract is we bring animals to pause and pause is going to take them and the idea is is PA's going to take them for a period of time and then it's going to just be let's say general population. We're not imprisoning them, but that's the best example I can think of, right? I

I would look at it as Riverton gifts us these animals. So we have we have dogs that are taken in for a period of time and then they go into general population and then from there the idea is is you're trying to get them adopted. Correct.

And the thought has been city of Riverton for the most part is bringing in a lot of these animals, but you have a lot of stray animals and you have county that brings in animals. I guess I'm kind of like how do we compare? How does Riverton bringing in animals compare to what you're getting from the county versus just stray animals? What what percentage are we talking here? Total animals are bring in 68% over the last year. Wow. 68%. So then the what were the others? Just strays or how many of them were brought in by county?

I didn't pull the numbers exactly for county. I know they didn't bring in very many over the last year because we've been overcrowded. Um once the county reaches their amount that they um give us gift us, they're not they can't bring us more animals. So they give you 5,500 and then the idea is is you're going to that's that's a that's it. Again, I'm not trying to use this phrase too much, but that's paytoplay. Yes. Correct. They're like once they reach that 5,500, you're not taking any more dogs. They just don't they don't want to go over that amount, so they just don't bring them in. So, how much per animal is that? Yeah. I'm curious about dollars a day. It's what? $15 a day. County dollars a day for the county

times five up to seven days is what they pay. Do they pay for the Oh, because their ordinance is different. No, they they're running basically the the $15 a day for five, seven days. there. Then we assume the veterary care just like we're doing with RPD. It it's just then after their time limit, we get their their critters. Where do you take Sorry, your honor. Can I ask um where do you take them for the vet fees or where do you take them for the vet? Currently be we generally have to use the stock dock. Uh because it's

we don't there's no other vets that can handle the amount that we do. We are good at getting them to Jackson for the the free spay and neuter. So, we are shuffling them, but then that's uh kind of gets a little crazy because we have to have a van and it needs to run and we're running all over the county to get them places. So, county right now is paying you 15 or I'm sorry, 5,500. At least last year they did. You haven't received anything from them yet this year. I mean, we're just going off of last year. Correct. And the idea is that's $15 a day. And that's just kind of once they reach that amount, then you're done. Correct.

Okay. And then if it's somebody that's just a surrender or a stray animal that comes in that doesn't involve law enforcement, that's not part of that 68%. That's part of the 42 or 32. That's just kind of other animals. Correct. That we and we're in a catch with that. If we tell them we're if we tell somebody we're full, we're not able to take your animal, we'll see it in the next couple of days because animal because they let it out in the street.

Yes, we we do charge a surrender fee and then if you don't want to pay that, it's easy to come over here to city hall and drop your dog off and drive away and then RPD is getting a call. animal control picks them up and we have them within the next day or two. So, I I know that you kind of delineate this out in terms of city funding for last year is 45,000, but it's a lot more than that in terms of the building that you're in as a city.

Correct. That's not added in there. And I don't remember, unless Mr. Butterfield remembers off the top of his head, I'm sure he's told me half a dozen times where we're at with that. We are not charged for rent a dollar. Uh city pays for our electricity, our water, our heating, that type of thing. The uh we're a 50/50 with maintenance on most things. Sometimes the city just fixes some things for us. Yeah. So, we're we're there. So, it is a bit more I don't know what it I I don't know unless you know off the top of your head, Mr. Butterfield of what our expenditures are for um utilities.

Your honor, I do not know that off the top of my head, but my computer was fast enough that I could pull it up. Um I ran this um last year, so forgive me, the data is a little stale. It's fine. Um but as it relates to uh Rocky Mountain Power and Black Hills Energy, um just make sure my cells right. So about uh 2300 or 2500 a year in power costs and roughly the same in Black Hills Energy. So it's and I'm going back through time to find some averages. So I would say it's uh about $5,000 that's paid in those utilities. So utilities were at about 5,000.

Does that include water as well? That's what I was going to ask. What about water? What about waste? Uh waste water. Your honor, I do not have that data in front of me. Okay. So, 5,000 on top of that. I'm I'm just trying to kind of parse it all out. You know what I mean? Yeah. No, I I've had a lot of people that ask questions and a lot of people that get frustrated and I'm just trying to say let's talk about actual numbers here. Right. Correct. Your honor, I'm sorry to interrupt. My computer reminds me that I had to scroll down a little bit. What I have is an average for water, sewer, and sanitation is about $4,000. Sanitation. So that's a in a year in a Yeah, that's an annual.

So water and sanitation, that's about uh 4,000 total. Water, sewer, sanitation. And I'll go back and verify these numbers just um so they're accurate, but nine grand. So about nine grand $9,000. And that's not even counting that we're This is a I'm not calling this prime real estate, Lonnie. Okay. Okay. But the the space that you operate in is provided by the city of Riverton. Correct. The utilities are completely covered by the city of Riverton. Correct.

I And so we've got about 9,000 there and then we have 45,000 that were give gave you last year on top of that. Not that I'm saying that that's an incredible amount either. That's not a penthouse suite either. So then and then we're bringing in about 68% of your business and I'm not saying that is necessarily a positive, but 68% of your business is coming from animal control in Riverton. Correct. Okay. All right. Just wanting to figure some of that out. All right. Any other questions? I I've been hogging it. But

so by your numbers, if you take that 116915 divided by 321 animals, that's $364 per animal is what you're saying that your cost is for five days per the animal. Not obviously not counting the building, the water. No. Yeah. Just and yes, your little list here of what you spend on those five day animals that we bring you is $364 per animal. Correct. You're doing it for the county for $15 a day times seven, which is 105. I see what you're saying. You're saying the county is

the countyy's getting a good deal. That number is total care, not just the five days. told care for the life of when they're there or we're talking just the food number. Is that what you're asking? Veterinary care? No, we're we're talking we're trying to compare out the the county versus the city. And so the county animals don't get we that number that you have that you're referencing is including the spay and the neighbor and the microchipping and everything that we do for the dogs that RPD brings in. Okay. The county dogs that doesn't happen that doesn't happen to the county. That's

what do you do with them? That total isn't included in that $15 a day. So what do they So what do they So do you still spay and neuter them too? We just only include the numbers that pertain to the city itself. No, I understand. But the So the county's getting free spay and neutering and you're including it in the the county doesn't we don't pay for their emergency vet bills. So if a dog gets hit out of town, they transport to whichever care they want. that doesn't come to and they they pay that themselves. Correct. Yes. Okay. All right. So, some of that's being covered by them in addition to the $5,500 for the

Yes. And fortunat we worked out with the with RPD. Um it's no surprise anymore to pause. They they're very good. RPD's dispatch is very good at notifying uh Devon or I if they're transporting. So, we know when they're going. We don't the county doesn't they don't utilize that with us. We don't pay for that. They just show up with a dog. Yes. If it's intact. If it's later needs emergency care, then we can they can transport later. We can pick them up. But they're they're paying that vet bill.

Okay. And and um I know you're wanting to talk. Sorry. Woman Johnson. It's okay. I it's it's a common issue and Carla knows it and you sit back and so my left side I just don't see as well. Um okay so county in terms of what's going on with them they you're not kind of taking on this fiduciary obligation in terms of saying if you're going to bring a dog to us and that dog needs care from the city of Riverton. You're saying we're going to cover that, but then we're going to bill you for it and you're going to pay us for it later. Pretty much is is what we're doing here with the city. With the city.

Well, I wouldn't say that we're billing back after the care. I mean, the we are very specific on how vet care should be handled, which we've worked out very clearly with RPD as far as when emergencies are put into the vet. as long as they are impounded properly, we take that bill regardless of the time frame, first five days stray hold or not. And if for some reason that impound procedure is not taken care of properly, then that in turn goes back to RPD or to the city. However, you know what we're doing is asking for help to make our process sustainable in caring for these dogs, but we are definitely not billing back to the city um you know the whole cost of care for animals. So, if a dog gets hit on the road, RPD takes it to Stock Dock and does not do the proper impound paperwork in accordance with the timeline in ourou, then that dog's accident is then taken on by RPD. if they notify us in the proper time frame in our agreement with theou and we take over unfortunately the cost for these emergency cares situations.

Okay. So, and that's where Mr. Bailey and that's what I'm trying to figure out here is in terms of what's the difference there. If if we have animals that the city of Riverton is bringing to pause, I'm seeing here that you're saying veterinarian care, the cost associated with it is 33,000. So you're wanting us to pay 116,000 with part of that being veterary care. We're asking for 75,000. Okay. Gotcha. I'm looking at the wrong number. That's fine. A picture of of what it kind of cost to I gota

that volume of dogs. Okay. All right. Thank you. That's where I was looking at the wrong number and I knew I had seen that before, but I was looking at this and getting distracted. A lot of numbers tonight. I Councilwoman Johnson, go ahead.

Yeah. So, I I mean, let me start by saying I think that the work that you guys do is commendable. I think taking in every animal that you possibly can, saving them and caring for them is commendable. However, I think that one of two things is occurring here. um a either the city of Riverton is bringing in far too many animals and it exceeds their ability to fulfill the contract for services that is in place or we need to look at um devoting some money to expand the building to make it more accessible so that um there's not an overcrowding. several times in the last several months. You guys are over capacity and I'll finish please.

You guys are over capacity. Okay. And you're not accepting our animals, which puts the city of, our police department, our animal control officers and citizens in a predicament, so to speak. um we have an obligation to fill to the citizens and the community when they call in a stray animal and it needs to be picked up and we have to have a place to take that. And when we discussed this last time, I had brought I I brought this up that we do not have alternative options where we can take them. And I think that that's causing us to provide a disservice to the citizens of Riverton. Um, and if we're just talking about facts, by your own numbers, it costs roughly $117,000 to run the facility for the city of Riverton's animals, not not including the ones that you take in as drop offs or strays or surreners or whatever the case may be. Um, and we're already covering that substantially. Um, and I I think that there are other organizations, mayor, that hold interest in providing services for the city of Riverton, and I think that those need to be explored. Um, I'm reluctant to agree because the the contract has been broken. Our our um staff is unable to fill requests to pick up animals. There is not guaranteed space um in any other contract in any other setting would be dissolved. And and I think that

we really need to look at what our options are here. We can't continue to fund and not receive the service that we need in order to provide to the city of Riverton. I didn't quite

I hear what you're saying and I I don't want to have this get too far off track because I agree with you in terms of being able to look at what we're going to fund and everything, but that's really our conversation for our next meeting. I think for right now, if we have specific questions, that kind of thing, to try to be able to make our decisions at our next meeting, I think that would be what we would want to focus on here. If we want to advocate for one thing or the other that's going to be a change in how we fund it, I think we would want to save that for our next meeting and just keep this focused on information gathering for right now. Okay, fair enough. Can I at least just respond to a little bit of what you just said? Sure. While I understand that you're saying that it's the contract's been broken. Close to the mic there, Deon.

While I understand that you're saying the contract has been broken on our end, um based on our meetings with RPD, it has also been broken vice versa to accommodate the city and the overflow of dogs that are being picked up. So, we are exceeding numbers dictated in theou to try to accommodate. We are adding freestanding kennels to put dogs in. We are taking them across the state to get them adopted out. We are going out of our way to do everything we can to open up those spaces. We are also looking into what we can do to try to establish a facility that is much larger that can accommodate more dogs. However, we are doing what we can with the dogs in our care currently. So, while I understand that five five days and they need to get out of the city's kennels or RPD's kennels, if there's not a hole for them to go into, where do they go if we can't get them transported up into a foster, which we have, I believe, 22 dogs currently in foster homes. We are begging for fosters daily. So, we aren't just asking for the city to subsidize our situation. We are going out of our way with monthly fundraisers. We are asking everybody to help us generate funds so that we can do what we can to get these animals out and create the space for RPD to be able to bring the dogs in.

All right. Just real quick, I'm not downplaying at all what you guys are doing. I'm not saying that it that the contract has been broken on both on both ends, if that's how you want to look at it. But what I'm saying is wholeheartedly that either the city of Riverton has outgrown your guys' ability to accommodate us or we need to put more funding into it in order to make it operate correctly because we can't have broken contracts on both ends and expect us both to operate smoothly. I agree with you.

That's what I am saying. Okay. I'm not saying you've done anything wrong. I'm not saying we've done anything or I'm saying that the totality of what we have going on and the number of animals that we're seeing is larger.

The math the math isn't math as far as Councilman Bailey brought up. Okay. If if we're only going to be allowed animals that you have space for, then we should do pay to play as well. $105 or whatever the county is being charged on top of that. Um, but I I I just don't see the math working the way it's been presented. That's what I'm looking saying.

Yeah. All right. Thank you very much for being here. I We could sit here all night and try to figure this out with every single detail and it's complicated and I think we all know that. I wanted to hit a couple of high points because I want the community as well as PAS to know this is the city's contribution is more than just cash

and I want to make sure that the community knows that and I am well aware that we have issues in terms of that's a good point. You're saying it's one thing to say we need to have four or five kennels available for city dogs, but you're saying if those are getting through that and we don't have space for them, where are we going to put them? So that makes sense. I hear what you're saying and we'll have to talk about that further in terms of what that's going to look like down the road. Do we have any other questions in terms of funding right now that we can take care of without this turning into ours? Not anything against what anybody's doing. I really I mean honestly there's been some really good things that have been hit and some good highlights and it's it's good to be able to have that. But

can I just address something for question please? Um, when you're looking at those numbers, were you given the spreadsheet of all the animals that were brought in and the cost? I don't know. I did not go through every page.

No, I'm not saying I'm not saying go through. Um, I would just urge you to look at the difference between um on average about $200 to $250 for regular care, spay, neuters, things like that, versus the other ones that are much higher because they needed emergency care or care like on that route. but also how many of them say zero for how much we've tried our best to keep that cost as low as possible. Um, as far as the sheriff goes, we do not get emergencies from them. So, that would play into their number as well, right? Um, I just wanted to make that clear on

and and again, I'm just crunching the numbers sitting in front of me, so I don't know if everything's included in both sides, okay? But to me, it comes down to what does per animal per day it cost you to house those animals, right? Is a number that would be valuable to me. Okay. Okay. And that would have to include everything you do divided by how many animals times how many days are there times the whole pile. Right. So, I was actually trying to get that number for you before we got all this submitted. However, I spent months cleaning up files in the computer from previous management.

And so now, hopefully now, as of this year, April 1st, for our fiscal year, I should be able to pull those numbers for next year to be able to have those because I can actually pull a daily average versus however many animals have been in the system for the last six years that nobody accounted for. Okay, so hopefully by next year I can get that number for you. I was really trying for this one. And to me it would be valuable to know what is the like average stay per animal. Is it right days 15 90 180? I I don't know.

Also what I was trying to figure out but the way our system was working if I move them to foster they're still in the building. So I I cleaned all that up. So now as of April 1st this year we should be okay to move forward to pull those types of numbers next year. And I'll have that ready for you next year for sure. I want to float an idea past you and I don't want you to tell me what you think about it now because everybody's going to react with horror and that's okay. But as far as I'm concerned, there's an easy solution to this and that is after 5 days if you don't have space they get euthanized. And I know that sucks.

And I know that you advertise yourselves as a nokill shelter and that's part of the whole point of your program. But it's also the whole point of a city that we have to be ensuring that these animals aren't just released or anything like that. And so I I'm just telling you that as we're talking about solutions and we're trying to figure out what can we do, that's a reality that we have to deal with.

Correct. And um to answer that that solution, I've been faced with it a number of times. We all have. uh you will no longer have a staff at pause. They will quit immediately. Riverton will become the only town in Wyoming to euthanize for space. Then we have that problem. And I know and that's just the point. It's it's it is it's it's hard. It's tricky. It's uh the balance on it is really just what's hard and we don't want to sit there and say, "Oh, you know, to try to save money or whatever, we're going to do that." But the point is when we have an obligation that animals don't run loose in our town and that's our obligation. Correct.

Nobody else has that but this council and this staff. And so when we have that obligation, it's like whatever else we do, that obligation is first and foremost. So, if we're in a situation where we're bringing animals to somewhere and there's no space for those animals and there's no space for those animals because we had animals that were brought there before they went into the general population and now we don't have the space. I I just don't know what else to do. And and nobody likes it. And you're saying there's not going to be staff. That's the way it is. And I don't want to I don't want to turn this into a long discussion about it,

but I just want to say that in terms of where we have to be looking and what this can look like, that's kind of one of the realities we need to be thinking about. It is solution. It is a it's not delicate. No, no, I didn't say that. It's a solution. I didn't put But it could be at the direction of the city and as the responsibility of the city council because we are a no kill shelter. We are a separate entity and our entity will not do that.

Sure. And that's just exactly it. So if we had a situation where because of the way we're contracting things, you would have five kennels, four kennels, whatever it is that's available for the city. They're not pause kennels, they're city kennels. I mean, I'm just saying what we could have this do going forward. Those city kennels, if there's no pause kennels available and those city kennels, they get to the end of their time. I don't know. I'm just saying this is a nobody likes it. I have two dogs. I have a cat. I got one of my dogs from you guys. He's the greatest dog of all time and I love him. And I dread the fact that he's 14 years old and he's going to die one day and I'm going to tell you. Are you?

What? Yeah, I I know. And he was a foster to adopt. He's a great dog. And I see dogs out on the reservation. I'm like, "There's your cousin, Scout, because they're all running around out there." Um, so I don't want that as a solution. But when I'm looking at what we have as a statutory obligation as a city to be able to ensure the health care and welfare of our community, I can't just sit there and say it's okay for my animal control officer to go to PAUSE and you guys say, "We don't have space for your dog." And then we just kind of have to scramble around and figure it out. It's not a blame thing with PAUSE. I'm not trying to say you guys are the worst because of this, but because of that obligation, it puts us in an untenable position. So, being able to figure out what that can look like where you can maintain the idea of this is a no-kill shelter and not lose all of your staff, I I don't know. So, we need to talk about what that could look like and and it's just it sucks and nobody wants it, but it it is what it is and we're going to have to figure out what we do,

right? Yeah. Yeah. You're absolutely right. It's uh I pause needs your help as much as the city needs Paw's help somewhere in the middle. We've got to match up, you know, not only to help pause, not only to help city, but also to help critters, all of the critters that we can. It's uh I I I don't pause is always ready to be able to um negotiate that, talk about that, to have that ability for some for us somehow to meet in the middle. And and is I don't even mean to say we're trying to meet in the middle because we can't get along with each other. We just have this problem that none of us can get a grip on, you know? No, it's I can't say that. Well, the city keeps running around finding all these animals. It's not the city's problem. It's not our problem that we have all these animals and we're trying to figure out where to ship them and get them to when we

You certainly spay and neuter them trying to solve the problem.

We do and then yeah, still five more pop up. You know, it it's but yeah, it it's not I've never for as long as I've been on pause that we've been sitting here. I've never once thought that it's pause against the city, pause against RPD. I we pride ourselves in having the ability to work together, work with RPD. I think both of us have come to the point in time that we need your help, you need our help, and I'm not sure what that middle looks like, but we've got to do something. Yes, Mayor, I'm in agreement with you. I drive down the road, there's critters running all over. Uh, you know, and I it's it's unfortunate for them. It's unfortunate to the critters that they have people owners that didn't really care for them. Um, you know, and it's it's it's troubling. It's heartbreaking. Some of the things that we see down there is horrible.

Yeah, it just is.

I apologize. I will not take up much time, your honor. Um, I just wanted to say, you know, we are uh a unique community. Uh, Riverton is we are on a reservation. Okay. Um, and so we may, you know, be the only community that decides to euthanize in Wyoming. Uh but if we look at numbers comparatively to the other communities and I know we haven't done that but if we do um maybe that's the important thing to do is to look at our numbers compared to other communities and make that decision if we need to make that decision and not feel bad about it. um because uh or or maybe feel bad about it but still make that decision because um uh we you know sometimes comparing ourselves to other communities um you know I know we do that but Riverton is a unique community and we have to remember that we have to understand that and we have to act accordingly. Thank you

your honor. Yes ma'am. Okay. So, this is just a troubling Yeah, I'm gonna have it with me now. You did great.

It's It's very troubling to me that uh we're considering euthanization. I know it's just it was just brought up. What's the city going to do when pause steps away and says we're not euthanizing these dogs? What is the cost to the city then? Well, and I think that's the point and that's what Lonnie's saying. And so my point isn't so much saying that pause needs to be involved in that at all. I don't think that that would make sense one bit to say we're going to bring you a dog and if you don't have space for the dog, we want you to euthanize the dog. Heck no. You do not have the staff to do that. You guys have some of the greatest hearts of anybody I have ever met. And so I would certainly never say that we're going to put pause in that situation. All I'm saying is we've got to be able to get a handle on it. And pause as an organization has goals. They want to maintain their status as no kill shelter. And I certainly support you in that 310%. 315 on a good day. But we also have an issue in terms of what we need to do to ensure that we actually have space for these animals because we can't have our animal control officer coming over there with them. you don't have space for him and then what? She's supposed to just stick them in her truck for a couple of days. That doesn't work. So, I I I'm just saying as we continue to talk, I think that you're exactly right, Lonnie. There's some different ways we can kind of reach some agreements. And here I am, and I'm asking Councilwoman Johnson to try to keep it to the money. And I brought it completely out and I apologize. And you can call me a

hypocrite. Anyway, no. Here's here's just a thought and this just came to me. It was nice meeting. Go ahead. Here's a thought. Our Riverton Youth Council would like to work on a project I think that is truly transformative, something that they can be proud of. Yeah.

And something that they can um claim a little bit of ownership to. I'll wait until Councilman Larson listen. Maybe tasking youth council with finding a solution to this problem could be helpful. Utilizing the resources that we have at our fingertips if PA is willing to work with us on that. maybe reaching out to um JobCore students, seeing if they could build maybe maybe like a a a 10 or 12 space heated emergency placement kennels aside of the pause building. um you know, looking at kids that need to be doing community service, whatever the case may be, let them work through the ideas of how to solve a true issue like this, how to come up with funding when there is very little or no funding. But that's going to require the help of pause too and to be open to those those solutions and work with youth council in order to do that.

Okay. You like that woman? um a suggestion. I I I don't like the idea of euthanization. Is it Is it necessary at times? I believe it is. I Nobody wants to. I'm dog lover. I don't want to see him euthanized. But I also don't want to see us fail as leadership not providing to the community what's expected of us through ordinances that's been adhered to. I know you said keep it to funding and that's what I'm doing. Let's t let's task youth council with finding funding to emergency placement for animals and help them out. The problem that I see with that is and I have to be fully transparent on that. More kennels means more cost. Correct.

You're still going to have it. If if you're funded partially this year, next year you can't come back and ask for 90,000 because now we have 10 additional kennels to take care of. It's just what you're going to have to do. That's your business model. It's how you run. you have to manage those funds on top of what we're providing you. But I think that that is a solution to the issue. At least something to consider. The the youth council, can I I'm sorry. No, go ahead, Lonnie. You're the youth council, that's the high school group, right?

I you know, as a college professor, I'd be more than willing to sit down with them and work through this. That's not a problem whatsoever. I think it would be nice on pause in to gain some insight of some younger people. All the service industries are dying a slow death because no one's getting any younger people in there. So, I would be more than willing to sit down and and and and do that. As far as space at the shelter, we have space. It's not enclosed and it's not heated. And we've worked with that over this last winter or prior coming into this winter. I did with the chief and Mr. Butterfield that we could take on more. But the problem that got scary was if we took more and then suddenly it's below 20 below. Now we're now we're really stuck.

So I I think if we increased that it was helped we could get it bigger. It was it was heated. Yes, you're you are correct. We increase by 10. We're going to have an increase on funding. But I think it would also help pause if this became a a city uh just a line item that says 75,000 and we know every year this is what we're operating on and anything above that relies on pause.

Right. All right. We could we this is the one thing that we could be here all night. We all know it. And actually, we've had some really good ideas and some good insight. And frankly, even like the job core being able to expand what we have in terms of um heated space is a a good idea and they'd probably like doing that. So, and concrete, there's all kinds of construction opportunities there for them to learn. I I know we're not really taking action tonight, but I think we should think about in the future looking at creating some kind of task force, for lack of a better term, to sort of kick around some of these things that we've been talking about and come down to some, you know, try to get to some real solutions that could solve some of these problems. So,

you know what, and we can't finish that tonight. And I think that, you know, even if um we just had some really good work done by the FCAG task force, this is a regional issue. This is not just a Riverton. It's not just Riverton. Yeah. It's Riverton. It's the county. It's it's Lander. So being able to think and and figure out some ideas, I I think having somebody that actually sits down and that's an assignment we've given them is incredible. So these are all good. You're on.

Yes, ma'am. Um, I I heard an idea that I think sounds really good, too. Is maybe we This is a true partnership. Out of all of the applicants tonight, PAUSE is a true partnership with the city. We depend on them to take care of these stray animals. It's a health issue. So maybe we should look at making this a line item in the budget rather than them having to come every year to beg for more money. Well, then they know what they're getting. Absolutely. It's not something that's going to be adjusted or changed or modified.

It's much the same as what we just dealt with from the legislature where we uh were able to say, "Hey, we don't have to go every year and ask for direct distribution funds anymore." So, good discussion. I Your honor,

yes, sir. One question. We've been kicking this can down the road for the last 10 years. Well, actually 13. And And you know, things change, ideas change, costs increase. the idea that we're responsible to harbor and to keep and to take care of. Maybe that idea is I mean how many how many people are watching certain movies they're not things change things move on and we need to think about different ways of solving the problem instead of just kicking the idea down and maybe next year it'll be better. Well, I think that's kind of the idea of even a task force that's specifically tasked with that. Mr. Butterfield, let's put on our next agenda. Um, I'd like to give us a week here for everybody to kind of give some thoughts as to what this could look like. We don't want to. Again, we could be sitting here spending hours, but at least what I'm thinking about is is being able to walk away from this this budget year and say, "Next year, we're actually going to have some actionable ideas rather than just saying kind of like Councilman Larson said, kicking the can down the road. We've been doing that enough. Let's let's get some ideas figured out." And I think a a task force model would be a great way to do that. I don't that was youth council one brothers or was it you council

but yeah look at this genius but I mean it kind of started with councilwoman Johnson saying hey maybe we could have the youth council do it

so let's let's kind of look at some ideas and what this could look like the point is though I really want pause to walk away even though I'm talking about this idea of euthanasia or whatever I value what you're doing I believe in it I think it's important and I certainly want to celebrate life and the animals that we have in our community. I'm just saying I don't know how to be able to balance that against the obligation to make sure that we don't have a ton of stray animals walking running around that bite people. I mean, we've had animal attacks a lot lately. I have not called animal control about six or seven times within the last couple of months when I've seen a stray dog. Why haven't I? Because I'm afraid they're going to come, they're going to pick up the animal, going to be brought to pause, and then what the heck are we going to do about it? And I know there's other citizens that do the same thing. and I don't want that to be the response. So, let's figure it out. Your

honor, I've received messages from people who are actually upset because they've been told that they're not getting the animal picked up and they're concerned about their child's welfare. So, it it it is a problem and it needs to be resolved. I agree. So, okay. I think operation stop kicking the count down the road is in full force and we'll get it figured out. Okay.

One quick statement. I'm agree with that we are dealing with a building that is outlived it capacity. It was built 21 22 years ago and we need to start considering maybe bigger better options and like you said getting those school kids involved in the job core all of that need to get more space. Well, and I think if Pause really wants to get more space, here's what you need to do. This is my brilliant idea number two. You guys need to be getting ice for all of the hockey guys and then we would probably let you use their space. That's really big. Yeah,

we're looking into options. We have been, but for ice or for ice? No, to get to get more space. and we're just playing around with the ideas and what we could do and what we could manage. But it is on I do want to agree that that is a lot of our problem. Yeah. And it's it's 20 years in the making. And honestly, it might be that the the idea of what we're talking about in terms of being able to kind of have our animals be intermixed with a lot of what you've got going on with PAS. Kind of like Councilman Larson said, maybe that's outlived its usefulness, too. I don't know. But I think a task force being able to kind of say what are alternatives is the way to go.

It it'd be good to explore then we then we would know but we start you involving youth comm community the student the youth in the community other people with this task force then it starts to become even more pride and ownership especially into Riverton pride and ownership of living here helping. Yeah I agree for sure. All right. Thank you. Sorry that we went so far over and I am so sorry that I am about the most hypocritical person. Thank you for hearing us. I wouldn't say that either. Have a good evening everybody. Thank you. All right. Well, I gave you the opportunity to be up here earlier. I didn't know what I was getting myself into.

I know what I I have a little index card with some notes on it. Came prepared. By the way, when we got the whole packet and we got a little bit of an explanation about this that um it's so frustrating and I've gotten emails from Fremont County School District 25 and because of your whole system and everything, it just comes in with no like explanation and Right. My email was kind of right turned away and we were on spring break at the time so I couldn't Yeah. I wasn't there to answer. Yeah. But tell us what your proposal is and I guess what I would say is do do we have an electronic version of this? I didn't ever see it. Oh, of the form I filled out. Yes, your honor. I sent out a revised council packet. Okay. Well, the one that I got.

Okay. And it's available on our website also. Perfect. Okay. Aron, please tell us who you are because I don't think most of us have met. Okay. Yeah. Thank you for letting me represent my school. My name is Aaron Leau. I have been a paraprofessional at Willow Creek Elementary for about three years now. I'm working on getting my teaching degree because I love working with kids so much. I love my job. So, um, we, uh, wanted to go ahead and propose for our school to get a, um, outdoor learning space, a little garden, a school garden.

Um, so the idea is nowadays students spend so much time of their learning on computers and that is coming from national and state mandates, all the testing, all the assessments that need to be done. Kids are inside on computers for so much of their of their school experience. And there's so many things that our teachers and staff do to try to offset that. So many creative ways. And we have a wonderful staff. We put we have such high standards on academics and um our student well-being. We're trying so hard, but one little thing I think our school is missing is a little outdoor space where kids can just be outside. Um this would be different from our playground. Thankfully, elementary gets a um a few breaks in their day to go out and be on the playground at recess, but that's black top and pavement and man-made equipment and um seeing little opportunities for kids to get outside and get their hands in the dirt and see where their food comes from a little bit. Just start to get an idea of that. It you just see kids light up when they get the chance. A lot of them are not exposed to that. So, um I got an opportunity in February to take part in kindness day where um our staff organizes our kiddos to go out into the community and do acts of service for their community. And the one I got to help um host was a group of our kids going out to a little spot that we have set aside for that at our school. It was set aside a few years ago and then we never because of funding we never got to do anything with it. So, it's just lied dormant for a few years. So we put them on clearing out the weeds, digging into it, cleaning up the space just to get prepared for something like this. So to see kids that have never done that before, hauling sticks around and digging stuff up was really neat to see them come alive, to be exposed to something new like that. So, um, yeah, this little this little modest request

for our school, um, I think it's just one more thing that we're doing to help our youngest citizens be exposed to different things and be ready to go out into the world and be productive citizens. Have you spoken at all to the wreck board? Um, Maria Rrek is the was the one I originally kind of got the idea to do this from. She's she's wonderful. Not this specifically. Is that what you mean by the rec board? No. And this is this would totally I'm new to Riverton, so I don't know all the ins and outs of it. Welcome to Riverton. Thank you.

We have in Riverton a lot of different organizations that a lot of people don't have any idea what the heck they do. So, here's what I will tell you. Fremont County School District 25 has funding that they have specifically that comes through um the mill levy that they are able to get from voters here that's earmarked for recreation. Okay. Um part of that they also have a portion of it that's specifically for beautifification. Okay.

And I will say when I was on the board I don't think we hardly spent a dime of the beautifification funds just because nobody came in with proposals. And then they just recently had a large recipient who did not end up receiving about to the tune of $120,000 that was not obligated. Is that right? Yeah. So your honor, they Willow Creek did come and ask Oh. and receive funds for um their new playground. Now I'm not sure which this is completely separate. I took the initiative on this myself. This is about three years ago. And um no, this is this year.

Okay. this year and I'm not sure which fund it was. I don't think it was I don't know if it was the beautifification. I don't know which one it was. Um I don't think it was. So um and the other part of this is we just passed a thing that says we won't take any new requests after like uh you know April or something. No, it was like after the January whatever you know. So, we're not taking any new proposals. Proposals. Yeah.

That's in the bylaws now. So, you have to hit you have to hit them up on that January, you know, request. But I will say this is perfect for it. And I think everyone would love that um on on that board. Um so, you're right. But was it not be until January? but

until next January. Okay. So, I'll be honest. That's what I really thought that I was applying for because I heard when I had a conversation a few years ago with Mary from Rrek, she put that bug in my ear. We were talking about a community mural at the time. Um, so, so that's where I heard about that. And when I typed it into Google, beautifification grant for city of Riverton, this is what came up. Maybe because time-wise that's what was closest to when I was looking into it. So, well, and don't think this isn't a great proposal. It's just I mean, you've you've sat here through most of this. This tends to be things that are we've sat here through all of this.

This tends to be things that are, you know, it started as these are things that we have to do as the city if nobody else does them. And so, that's kind of where we started with PAUSE as one of our main recipients. And then it turned into our wreck had had their funding sorted out and then that didn't work out anymore. So then we took on our wreck and that's been 2009 or something before any of us were on here. So it's it's a little bit of a unique thing and I've actually been trying to figure out a way that we can actually specifically say this is what the the funds are used for. This is the kinds of things that are eligible. Okay,

I'm not saying that this isn't. I mean, as was indicated previously, nothing about this has like been you have to meet this, that, or the other criteria to be funded. But um just was a thought. Okay. So, just because I have a worthless computer and I didn't see it, what was the amount requested? I was requesting $2,500. It would get us some raised beds and fill those with dirt and some stools for our kids to like stackable stools to go out there like a classroom at a time and just kind of have some outdoor learning space to just sit and outside pretty much.

How many raised beds are you looking to get? Um, I was pricing things out at Tractor Supply and it was about $100 a piece for a galvanized, you know, kind of a galvanized tub. So, I was thinking about four of those. Just something to start with. If you want a wooden raised bed that looks very nice, I have a friend that sells them. I was going to say somebody in town that does those. It's a fair It's a fair price. It's a great price and they're beautiful. We would love to support Yeah. local business with I'll have to get I'll get their contacts. Yeah.

Thank you for being here. Um, other than pause, for the most part, we were just getting getting requests tonight. So, um, we'll have another, uh, meeting here in the future and we'll kind of visit about how it'll all look. But, uh, definitely would encourage you to keep in mind the, um, the rec board. I will say the way that they work out rather than getting the funds up front, you expend the funds and then you get reimbursed. Oh, gotcha. So, okay. Not that I'm saying you have $2,500 sitting around that you would expend and then get reimbursed, but we Yeah. Okay. So, thank you. Thanks so much. Appreciate it. All right. We've been here for three hours,

but we've gotten some good work done. Actually, I feel like we've had some good things answered and some good discussion. Um, so I'd entertain a motion to adjurnn. So moved. Second. Motion by Councilwoman Borders, second by Councilman Carr. Any other discussion? Oh, why did I say car? Oh, I heard him. Second, too. He was out there. Second. Everybody's ready. The oppos say nay. Motion passes. We're adjourned at 9:05. 9:05.

Could I get used to there? would you be? You did a good job sticking with it. Didn't you? I did. I couldn't help it. I was sitting there and I was like just in terms of a process that could work that were about because we kind of all three of us have similar ideas for kind of what we want to do. Yeah. We'll have something and I do like the idea. Honestly, so I was Kyle about this and I was like, first off, we're gonna have a department. I said this to you and I don't know if you're here but actually no I'm gonna we're gonna have to actually have some sort of

governance last that's what you were saying