Council - Special Meeting

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I now call the June 30th, 2026 special meeting of the Riverton City Council to order at 12 p.m. Councilwoman Brothers has agreed to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance, after which I will give us the invocation.

If everyone could please rise and remove hats. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for

Heavenly Father, we're so grateful for the opportunity we have to meet here as a city council and to discuss the business and the needs of the city. Please bless us as we do so. We will be able to... Make decisions that will benefit the greatest number of our citizens that will recognize the importance of our role and that will allow for people to be able to do things that are important and appropriate and safe. We thank you so very much for the many blessings we have asked to please bless us with more moisture and that we can. Avoid continued drought conditions here in our area. We thank you so very much for those who serve the city in multiple capacities, firefighters, as police officers, as all the first responders with EMTs. And we thank you so very much for their service and ask that you please bless them with guidance and with safety. We also thank thee for those who serve in many other capacities as public servants throughout our community and ask that you please bless them with safety and with a greater ability to be able to make decisions that will benefit our community. We thank thee so very much for all of our blessings that we have and ask that you continue to guide us. We say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Amen.

All right. Administrative Services Director Harris, if you could please conduct the roll call.

Yes, Your Honor. Council Member Eric Carr.

Here.

Council Member Rebecca Brothers. Here. Council Member Mike Bailey.

Here. Here.

Council Member Carla Borders? Here. Council Member Kyle Larson?

Absent, but he'll be late, I believe.

Council Member Karen Larson?

Karen Johnson.

Johnson. My apologies. That's okay. My apologies, Council Member Johnson. I'm here. Mayor Tim Hancock.

I am here. I declare we have a quorum. I'd ask for a motion to approve the agenda as presented.

So moved.

Second. Motion by Councilwoman Borders, second by Councilman Carr. Any other discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed, say nay. Motion passes. I also voted aye on that, or vote aye on that, whichever. First item that we have then next is Resolution 1558. This is the fiscal year 2025-2026 budget amendment. Ms. Harris, if you can tell us about this, please.

Thank you, Your Honor. I hope I can get this report out a little better than I did roll call. Apologies.

No worries.

Mayor and council, each year the city conducts a year-end budget amendment to reconcile our actual expenditures and our revenues with the adopted budget. This process ensures statutory compliance. It reflects our final year activity and prepares the city's financial records for audit. The amendment incorporates adjustments across operating funds, capital projects, special revenue activities where expenditures exceeded original appropriations or where revenues were received after adoption of the budget. The governing body must authorize transfers between cost centers when the bottom line appropriation of the cost center is increased or decreased. And this amendment includes the following adjustments. So for the general fund, we are seeking adjustment out of four different cost centers. A review of the year end activity identified these cost centers that exceeded their adopted appropriations. Staff is not requesting an overall increase to the general fund budget. All overruns will be restored through targeted transfers from unspent appropriations in the capital outlay budget line item, which has sufficient remaining balances to cover the differences. So I'll go over each one of these individually. The city administrator line item is over expended by $8,225 due to unbudgeted culture ID software. and additional travel and training costs. Staff recommends a transfer of $9,000 from capital outlay to support that cost overrun. The municipal court prisoner housing budget exceeds the adopted budget by $223,940. While some of those costs can be absorbed within unspent line items, the remaining deficit requires additional support. Staff recommends a transfer of $180,000 from capital outlay. Fireman Pension Cost Center is also overextended by $656 due to final year benefit payments. Staff recommends a transfer of $700 from capital outlay to support that overrun. And then the last one is the Public Works Cost Center in the General Fund, and it is overexpended by $2,085, driven primarily from higher than anticipated health insurance costs. Staff recommends a transfer of $3,000 from capital outlay. In summary of the General Fund budget, these adjustments will result in a total transfer of $192,000 from the capital outlay to cover all general fund overruns, and there is no increase to the overall general fund budget. In the enterprise funds, there are several enterprise funds cost centers that have exceeded their appropriation. They're not large, but they do require adjustment. These overruns are modest and primarily the result of unbudgeted health insurance costs and final year capital activity. Staff recommends resolving all deficits through internal transfers within each fund. In the water fund, the customer service division is overexpended by $630 due to unbudgeted health insurance costs. Staff recommends a $1,300 transfer from unspent capital. The wastewater fund, again, customer service is overexpended by $565, also due to the same unbudgeted health insurance costs, and we recommend a transfer of $1,300 from unspent capital. And then finally in the sanitation fund, that fund is overexpended, and this is the sanitation capital fund, is overexpended by $17,660 due to an overrun in fleet capital. Staff recommends a $20,000 transfer from unspent operations. All enterprise fund adjustments can be resolved through internal transfers without increasing any budgets. So thus far we have not requested an increase in the overall budget. So in the special revenue funds, with the half percent economic development tax, no budget was allocated for this fund in fiscal year 25-26 following the taxes failure. Although the fund was closed at the end of fiscal year 25, the city continued to receive residual tax distributions from the Wyoming Department of Revenue. Per council action on December 3rd, 2024, the proportionate share of receipts was distributed to air service and ground transportation with the 70% economic development portion remitted to air service. To reconcile fiscal year 25-26 activity, staff recommends increasing the revenues and expenditures by $53,513.46 to fully account for the residual remittances and zero out the fund. Future residual receipts will be addressed through a later budget amendment as no budget was adopted for fiscal year 26-27 for the half percent economic development fund. And I had placed a call to the Wyoming Department of Revenue inquiring on why we're still receiving these. And these are late remittances with sales tax. So they said we can see this up to about a three-year period of time. The final fund that I have is the Riverton Rendezvous Fund. And the Riverton Rendezvous Fund requires a $1,000 increase to support overruns associated with an unbudgeted balloon repair. A cash transfer will be required to support the expenditure and restore the fund to a positive balance. resolution number 1558 represents the city's routine year-end reconciliation process and ensures all funds actively reflect final activity prior to the audit and we appreciate your consideration and it's available to provide additional detail upon request the proposed changes increase the city budget total from 38 million 27 231 dollars to 38 million eighty one thousand seven forty four forty six And that includes the $53,000 for the Economic Development Fund and then the $1,000 for the Riverton Rendezvous Fund. So those are the two totals that we're asking to increase the budget for. All other adjustments reflect inter-fund transfers and do not impact the city's overall cash position. And with that, I would stand for any questions you may have.

Thank you. If you could please read Resolution 1558, Director Harris.

Yes, Your Honor. Resolution number 1558, a resolution providing for the 2025-2026 budget for the City of Riverton for the fiscal year beginning the first day of July 2025 and ending with the 30th day of June 2026 inclusive.

And that wasn't the full resolution. That was just by title only, but apologies. I'd entertain a motion to approve Resolution 1558 amending the fiscal year 2025-2026 year-end budget. So moved. Seconded. Councilman Larson with the motion. Councilman Carr with the second. Would note that Councilman Larson is now in attendance. Came in at about 12.06. Thank you for being here, Councilman Larson. Also had Councilwoman Borders who stepped out and came right back too. So everybody is present again. discussion on the resolution. Councilwoman Johnson.

I just had a question for Ms. Harris. In the enterprise funds, the water fund and the sanitation where the deficit is or the overexpenditure is 630, but we want to transfer 1,300 in both of those accounts, why are we transferring more than what it's

Your Honor, that's a great question, and thank you for asking that. The reason why is because we have not reconciled the June bank statement because it's just now June 30th, and we will have some service charges that we will be posting as far as our bank service charges to those funds. And I wanted to ensure that we had adequate balance in there to cover those final postings.

Okay, thank you.

Any other questions or comments, discussion?

Your Honor. Yes, sir. Just thank you again. The Finance Department runs a very, very tight ship. And I just want to point out that this is 0.7% of the overall budget, which I think is exceptional for a year-end budget reconciliation. So very well done.

Thank you.

Anything else?

All in favor, say aye. Aye. Aye.

Aye.

Any opposed say nay. I vote aye. Motion passes. Next up on the agenda, resolution 1559, July 4th fireworks restriction. Mr. Butterfield, tell us about this item.

Thank you, Your Honor. Riverton Municipal Code 804010 permits the use of consumer fireworks classified as 1.4G or otherwise known as Class C fireworks between the hours of 6 p.m. and 11.45 p.m. on July 4th, unless otherwise restricted by resolution of the City Council. A recent activity by governing bodies appropriately takes into account the dry season that we have right now, and you as a council could, if you so choose, restrict the operation of consumer fireworks that is allowed by municipal code through a proposed resolution. The resolution essentially pulls back the allowable timeframe, but you as a council could consider other restrictions pursuant to location or even other types of fireworks saying you don't want anything aerial. And that really is up to you as a council. So this resolution is in place for your action, but you do not have to take action. but in light of the dry vegetation, low humidity, and continued wildfire risk, the community has expressed some concern, and this is your opportunity as a governing body to consider whether or not you want to restrict the use of fireworks.

All right, thank you. Ms. Harris, could you please read resolution 1559 by title only?

Yes, Your Honor. Resolution number 1559, a resolution of the governing body of the city of Riverton, Wyoming, restricting the use of fireworks within the city of Riverton on July 4th, 2026.

Thank you.

I'd like to start with any public comment before we get into this. I think we have the police chief or police chief, fire chief. We do have the police chief, but we also have the fire chief. And anybody else who wanted to make any comments before we actually have the motion on the resolution if that's all right, so do we have anyone who wanted to say anything either in support or against the resolution first.

Mr. Mayor, members of city council, my name is Jesse Cassidy. I'm the fire chief for the Riverton Fire Department. This is Eric Nallen, the assistant chief for Riverton Fire Department. It's the position of the fire department and the Riverton Fire Protection District that we strongly support this resolution to restrict use of consumer grade fireworks for the 4th of July. As all of us know, fire conditions are fairly severe right now. 98% of the state is in active drought, with 53% of the state in severe drought. We're seeing and have seen throughout the entire year that fires are starting with ease from minor ignition sources. Two weeks ago we had a string of fires between here and Hudson set by presumably either a lock trailer bearing or dragging trailer chain those fires are typically things that we're seeing in the end of August or early September that's not something we should be seeing in June and we all. can, I'm sure, remember the river bottom fire that we had in February. Again, those are not fires that we should see that time of year. The main problem that we're seeing is the drought. Fuel conditions are extreme. The amount of moisture in the soil and in standing fuel is insufficient to restrict the combustion process. So fires are starting quickly, and we're seeing rapid fire spread and extension of those fires extremely fast. Wind conditions and other weather conditions have exasperated all of this. As we know, the reservation as well as Fremont County have enacted fire bans along with the BLM, Bureau of Land Management. Those fire bans are very restrictive. Any open flame is prohibited through all those fire bans. The things that I think the council should consider in this resolution is that The resources in the county as far as fire goes are all connected. The county and the BLM and the reservation have all seen a major risk. and have acted on that risk. That if we allow fireworks to go forward and have major fire events throughout the county, not only will that tie up county resources, that could potentially tie up city resources as well, as we have mutual aid agreements with all these other agencies, and vice versa. If we don't restrict fireworks and see a major string of incidents in town, as we've seen before, I believe it was in 2022, On the 4th of July, local fire departments responded to 35 calls in three and a half hours. That is a huge impact on our resources and our ability to get from call to call, extinguish the fire, overhaul, and move to the next one. And the conditions now are more severe than they were then. the impact to the city broadens out with everybody else as well as these resources across the entire county will be will be out of strain if if we see these events and the last thing i would say is that uh just noting the last couple of pretty major river bottom incidents we've had our wildland urban interface is a concern that the fire district and the fire department have We've been working to mitigate that through equipment and training. But those, think to Los Angeles and the Palisades fires, and Boulder, Colorado a couple years ago. those kind of events where a fire starts, a wildland fire in the county and quickly comes to town. And in fire conditions like this, what we're seeing right now, it becomes nearly impossible to stop them. So those are our concerns. Like I said, we strongly support restricting the use of consumer grade fireworks in town for the 4th of July.

Okay. What I think we'll do then, just to make sure we keep this in order, is if we get a motion to pass the resolution, then if we have any questions, we'll call you back up, okay?

Sounds good.

Anything to add, Assistant Chief Nowland?

Nope.

Okay. Thank you. Anyone else in the audience who wishes to speak about the resolution? Okay. All right. Do we have a motion for passage of Resolution 1559 by the Council?

So moved.

Second. Motion by Councilwoman Borders, second by Councilman Carr. All right. Discussion?

Your Honor.

Yes, ma'am.

I just want it known that we don't take this lightly. This is our 250th birthday. This is a big deal this year. Fireworks are a big deal. But I think, for me, there are three reasons. that I think this is just, it's just what we have to do. The first one is our resources. I don't wanna put an undue burden on our resources. That could end up being a really bad deal where it could turn into a tragedy in several areas of our city. If we have some wildfires break out, maybe they're all busy, what happens? Somebody's house burns down. you know, a firework lands on a roof or something and maybe they're working on a dry field. So I just think that putting that burden on them is just totally inappropriate. I should have written these down. I've had a lot of feedback from people. I did a survey on my personal Facebook page and the overwhelming majority did not want to see fireworks this year for the reasons I've listed. And then I also had some phone calls, and they were all 100% against having fireworks. So I'm reluctant to do it, but I think that that's what we need to do. So my vote will be no.

OK. Anyone else? To be clear, no to fireworks, yes on the resolution.

Yes. Now, if I could just interject one more thing. So if the little kids want to do sparklers, I think that's one thing. I think where we run into a problem is people always, without fail, take advantage. So that might be a conversation we can have about maybe doing the lower grade fireworks. But again, it's hard because people wanna take advantage. And ultimately, we're responsible for that, so.

So you would be in favor of non-aerial?

Yes.

Councilman Larson?

That's what I wanted a definition of when we're talking about firecrackers. What was mentioned was rockets, but we're not talking about rockets. We're talking now about sparklers, fountains, ground stuff. Is that also included in this, or are we saying no fireworks, meaning no combustibles?

This, as I understand it, the resolution as it's worded would be none. It doesn't have to just be aerial, it would be nothing.

Your Honor, that is correct. Your current ordinance allows for the grade 1.4G or that consumer class C as previously allocated. And so the restriction removes that. And as examples, just really quickly, 1.4G products include consumer cakes, consumer reloadables, consumer rockets, crackers, fountains, sparklers, assorted, this is funny, weirdness. So I don't know what that means. I'm sorry. Powderless igniters, and another one called punk, and I don't know what that means either. But I can continue to provide a list. But essentially, the resolution as currently written Is all encompassing it removes the allowable timeframe to do consumer based fireworks and so sparklers included. Any other ground based fountains any aerials that they are excluded, excuse me, they are not allowed to be used, meaning.

Right. So the resolution as it is worded now, and not that I'm saying we couldn't consider different options, but the resolution as it is worded now would be no consumer-grade fireworks. So no sparklers, nothing like that.

But that's how it's worded.

We just had to get a vehicle for this to get in front of the council, and that was what we had discussed, was having a...

I mean, not... The enforceability of this is impossible.

Right. You're talking about either police running from call to call trying to enforce it, or firefighters running from call to call trying to put out fires. It's a little difficult.

I mean, I've been on Airport Hill, and from the golf course to... The extension clear out of Riverton is ablaze at 8.30, 9 o'clock. I mean, I just don't see, I mean, we can hold our breath and do all kinds of stuff, and we can pass this, but it'll be for naught.

And I think, yeah, I hear you. Anyone else? You were, I think, clearing your throat, Councilwoman Brothers.

Thank you, Your Honor. I'd like to ask the lovely fire folks over here. Lovely. The word that you used several times was restrict. So could you please, thank you. What would your recommendation be? Prohibit or restrict? And could you give us an outline of what your recommendation would be for the 4th of July, please?

Absolutely. So my recommendation is exactly what the resolution says, to remove the allowable time frame for people to use fireworks on the 4th of July. And so obviously the big aerial fireworks are of concern. They start a lot of fires. So do sparklers, so do garbage from fireworks that get put into garbage cans or into burn barrels or lay on the ground for several hours and come back later. It's not uncommon for us to see dumpster fires and structure fires later in the evening after everybody's stopped after that midnight time frame from the debris from all of these fireworks. Any kind of ignition source right now is the potential for a major problem. And obviously, to Councilman Larson's point, it's going to be very, very difficult to enforce. That is true. The idea is to limit the risk as much as possible. Some people are going to listen and follow the resolution. Some people are not. We put out the fires that we're called to. What we're trying to do is make it manageable for the resources that we have at our disposal.

Thank you. Anything else, Councilwoman Brothers? Councilman Larson?

Did we have any reported incidents from the baseball diamond that we just recently had?

There were no fires from that particular incident, no.

But you guys were there available?

It's one localized shoot by a commercial company with commercial grade fireworks. And we are on standby. in a mowed field that has been wetted down. We provide all those resources for that particular commercial shoot. All that fuel down there in the immediate vicinity is mowed super short and then is wetted down. That night, we didn't have to wet it down because it had rained that day and the ground was wet. Current weather, so just to bring this up really quickly, sorry. Current weather for that weekend is trending warmer and trending drier. Humidity levels, I talked to the weather service today and got a spot weather forecast for our vicinity. It's still four days out, so it could change. The chance of precipitation is around zero. We could see minor storms here or there, but it's not predicted. Winds are variable. They're light right now, but could see some afternoon winds coming in, sounds like, but no crazy wind events. The issue becomes a humidity level. Humidity levels at 10% and trending down as the temperature trends up. The only good news is that the recovery period at night, humidity is coming up to about 40%. That's a good thing. That means that when we do have large fire events, they will lay down and give us a chance to make ground at night. But we're talking about having to fight wildland-type fires in town, which is not good.

And I have a question for you just in terms of, How much of a difference does it make where most of what would be discussed would be people doing this in the street right in front of their house? Probably have a hose nearby. People there keeping track of it. Hopefully, I mean, if you're responsible, it's not just a bunch of. kids nothing against kids i have kids i like them sometimes um but some supervision that sort of thing does that make much of a difference to you i mean we are talking about what i would think would be generally watered lawns stuff like that still a lot of ignition sources though is your concern correct and um the the main problem is that

It takes, at conditions where we're at right now, it takes one fire out of control to become a very, very large event. And so if we can bring that down, obviously, actually, we are, normally, we prefer allowing fireworks in town. For a certain amount of time, several years, quite a few years ago, we didn't do that. And we would run tons of calls on the 4th of July. And now that people are able, because they would go to the rendezvous ponds and set them off, we'd have grass fires all over on the outskirts of town. Now, having allowed people to use fireworks in town where things are irrigated, we've seen fewer calls. The problem is the weather is so severe and we're in such severe drought conditions right now that with that being said, we could still see an event where we have serious fire conditions inside city limits. That's why we're here with these concerns.

And I and I appreciate you delineating that because I remember when we had discussed having fireworks in town many years ago when we we first passed this ordinance, I think the fire department was against it. But then since then you've been like, you know, it actually helps us. because now we're having fewer incidents out of town because people are using them in town.

Yes, where it's irrigated, and that's absolutely correct. And most years, that's true, this year being the exception. Obviously, it's drier, and we're seeing the fall-type wildfire conditions in June over the 4th of July. That's our concern. Most years, we're pretty happy to have people shooting them off in town. We've had better luck with that. and it's been a less strain on our resources. This year, we're seeing conditions that could be very hazardous in town.

I'm gonna ask one more question, and then I'm not trying to interrupt the council's discussion. So just thinking in terms of a little bit what Councilman Larson had said, no matter what we do today, there's going to be people that are going to set off fireworks. whether it's because they generally don't have respect for the law or because it's basically this idea of it's the 250th anniversary of the United States of America and the government is not gonna tell me what to do. And I'm just telling you that's what I think is gonna happen. People are going to do it. If we, said, and this has just been the thought that I've had, and I've had some feedback that has been like Councilwoman Larsen, everybody's Councilwoman.

We're Larsens today, girl.

Like Councilwoman Borders had said, this idea of I've had feedback that has been negative about it, and I've had feedback that's been positive about it. I feel like if we're going to have people do it no matter what, I would rather have them do it in city limits. not because I want the risk to property, but because I think there's less of a risk of wildland fires if we do have it in city limits. That's just been my thought. So that's kind of where I was at. But you feel differently because we've got weeds out in city limits. We've got people that aren't watering their lawns, that kind of thing, where there is fuel.

Your Honor?

Hold on, I just want to get a response to that.

Is that kind of your... Mr. Mayor, the real problem here, I have a printout that we can give to you guys on this. So the main issue in town is fine fuels. In the wildland world, we call that one-hour fuels. What that means is we're talking about light grass, weeds, short fuels, not big, heavy trees. These type of fuels at the moisture content we're seeing ignite extremely easy and move very, very quickly. So it's not necessarily the very well irrigated portions in the interior of town. It's the areas on the out... on the edges of town where wildland urban interface, where they come together, where these fuels become a major problem. There's areas in town where we could see this issue. We fought grass fires in town before. And no matter what you do today, there's a pretty good chance we'll probably do it this weekend. But what I'm saying is that the condition for those fuels right now is extremely dangerous in town and out of town.

OK. Thank you. Could we designate an area that a baseball diamond, a city park area with cut grass and fire extinguishers available where people could come as a unit or as a group of people to light firecrackers off and garbage cans be available to them so that we could clean up the area after we're finished or

Councilwoman Johnson.

I have struggled with this, like seriously struggled with it, because I'll be real honest. I'm a fireworks hound. I love fireworks. I spend a lot of money on fireworks. It's the 250th celebration of our nation. And I find it ironic that we're discussing bans on a day that we're celebrating our freedoms. so i have a hard time with that that's that's just being honest but i also have an obligation to the community to hear them out in their concerns and i've done that i too have received calls and posted on facebook and the vast majority of people would like to see them banned i am also in agreeance with mr larson we're not going to be able to enforce it either the fire department's going to be running or the police department's going to be running and I think people need to understand and prepare for this day coming along. I think there's other things that I considered as well. We are trying to get started a tradition in Riverton for celebrating the 4th of July. And if we banned fireworks and they're allowed in Lander, guess where people's gonna go? They're gonna go to Lander and they're not gonna stay here and celebrate the festivities that so many people have worked hard to put forth. um and so you try to find a happy medium with all of this um so i i would which i don't normally do but agree with mr larson no but i know shame on us um i appreciate your input on it um and i was hoping that you would be here today to do that but what i would recommend is Because you supported through the letter with the fireworks for the Little League down in that area, I wouldn't be opposed to having that area mowed down and flooded, watered down, whatever. At least it's in a controlled environment and maybe restrict the hours so they're not running all day, but it still allows for the community to be able to shoot them off. in a specific area controlled with maybe a couple of engines on standby or something for the couple hours that it's allowed not completely taking it away from the community but giving them a safe place to light them or as safe as we can be and i think that that would mitigate the an alternative and an alternative and keep people from leaving messes all over in the street that city crews have to go around the next day and clean up. There's respectful people that do it, and there's disrespectful people that do it. And I think if we can limit that as much as we can, but still allow for the celebration, that would be what I would do. any way you go it's you can't enforce it i mean and then and then the police department gets the blame of well they're still shooting them off all over and somebody's angry about it somebody's going to be angry but i think if we can find a happy medium and find a safe place and agree on a safe place watered down with maybe a couple hours of standby versus an all-day event for these guys

And that's the question for you, Chief. If we did something like that, and one of the nice things about the ball fields is that it's already under city control. We have access to it. It's large enough that a lot of people could go down there and do it. I know that when it's a special event, you stand by and you're there. Would you have the resources available to have someone standing by there?

So I can't make that guarantee because we take calls as they come, and we are limited to our manpower and our equipment. And right now, county is anticipating being extremely busy. As we've talked about, Lander isn't restricting their use of fireworks. So we place this scenario out for you. If Lander has an event, on the 4th of July that evening from fireworks and has structure fires and fires in town. County is their first mutual aid partner. So as they have a need for more resources in City Limits and Lander, Fremont County will respond, leaving portions of the county under staff. So if there's an event in the county, then it comes to us. We will send what we have available while still covering town. But you can see how these things start to compound very, very, very quickly. And it doesn't take much to have an issue. So I'm not opposed to making a designated place for people to go to set fireworks off. I agree, it's the 250th anniversary of the country. People are gonna shoot fireworks no matter what. If we provide them a safe avenue, that's great. We will do what we can to have equipment and personnel available to stand by. And I mean, I also understand there's, people have spent a lot of money on fireworks. I understand all of that. My concern is the risk to lives and property throughout the city. County and everybody else has put this ban on for a reason. If we give them a place, the ball fields is an option. The little league fields, I wouldn't recommend that area. That is right on the river bottom. right by the rendezvous ponds, we've had major incidents down there before. If we get called out and have to leave and have an incident trying to get back there, traffic in that area is a major problem. We only have one thoroughfare through there on Smith Road. When we do the Little League fireworks, we only commit a few trucks to that area because if we have something else in town, we can't get there. We can't physically get out of that area when there's that much traffic. So I wouldn't recommend the Little League fields

somewhere I don't I mean I don't know this would make a mess for the city city park I mean somewhere that's well irrigated that we can get to and get around would probably be a better option city hall parking lot I just I mean if we say that there's going to be a place then I think we need to have enough room for a lot of people if we're saying the expectation is you're going to go there and do it city hall parking lot is pretty large but I don't know if it's large enough or not. Councilman Carr, I think you had raised your hand earlier, and I think I missed you.

Yeah, I had a few comments. I think you're saying there is no safe place. Given the current conditions, the unprecedented conditions that we really have, there is no safe place to have incendiary devices.

I would say that's correct, yes.

And I think you're absolutely right. There is no way to enforce it. But what... I think a ban does is provide recourse post-event. We do have, heaven forbid, we do have something that draws all of our resources and definitely, hopefully not more resources than we have. It's not that enforcement would have probably stopped it, but it provides recourse for insurance companies later, private citizens that get injured through no fault of their own. It provides just more teeth to that. And so, and it also limits those that would normally utilize the fireworks and don't because there's a ban. And so you're limiting or at least trying to minimize potential events. And this is a situation that nobody likes to be in, but this is the gray area where I guess we make our money, is when we have to accommodate a want from the community. I want to have a wonderful 250th celebration. Everybody does. There's no one in dispute of that. But we have to face facts that there is a very, very valid safety concern given our weather conditions. And so I would err on the side of safety versus fun.

Councilman Bailey, did you have anything to add? Just because I know it's hard to raise your hand or ask to be recognized.

Again, I have had some calls and some input from the public. And again, it's split. I mean, there's a lot of people that really like fireworks. There's a lot of people that don't. Um, yeah, I, I would think I would have to vote yes on this. If we thought we could find a place to make a place for people to do it, I'd be okay with that too. Um, but I don't know if the baseball field is the only one I can think of that are big enough to handle it. And if they don't feel like it's safe to do it there, then I think we better just ban them all together. So. That's all I have. Thanks.

Councilwoman Johnson, I think you were talking about City Hall parking lot. Did you have anything else to add to other locations?

I I just I in of no disrespect whatsoever um but the fireworks were held down in that same location last week with the the knowledge of the drought and it was supported by the fire department by a letter at that time and I think that that's what we have these organizations in place for and um I understand people's concerns. I do. And I am normally I'm the one that's saying safety, safety, safety. And I'm still saying that. But I think that it's an influx of calls for just even putting a ban on it. It's either an influx of calls for the fire department or it becomes an influx of calls for the police department. And it's overwhelming for dispatch centers. Everybody's got a complaint on the 4th of July. Everybody's got a complaint on the 4th of July. And I think if we try to find a happy medium, soak the ball fields, I mean, plan ahead. Hopefully there's engines available and restrict the times to which it can occur. I think we're trying to meet both sides of the spectrum and I'm going to support our freedoms tonight. OK. Or today. Today. Sorry.

All right. So the resolution as it stands right now is worded as such that it would be a complete ban. If there was going to be something different that the council wants to do, we'd either have to vote down the resolution or we'd have to have a motion to amend the resolution as it stands. In that regard, are we ready to vote or are we ready to have a motion to amend it? Where are we at?

Your Honor, I'll make the motion to amend it to find a mutual safe location with adjusted times. You can try that first.

So just to be clear then, would your motion be, let's see, now therefore be it resolved by the governing body of the City of Riverton discharge and use of all consumer fireworks otherwise authorized are hereby prohibited within the corporate limits of the city of Riverton on July 4th, 2026, except for, but we'd wanna have a location in there.

I would say the ballparks. That's where it was done last week.

So the little league fields.

Probably the most space.

I will second that.

Okay, so we have a motion to amend the resolution just to add at the end of the paragraph where we have the resolution, except for the Little League fields, and we could put the address there.

And I would say between the hours of like 8 PM and 11 PM.

Well, I think we already have hours limited of 6 PM to 11.45 PM. Do you want to modify those?

I think that's good.

The one that's currently in place?

6 PM to 11.45 PM. It's good for kids.

My only concern with that, Your Honor, is that the animal shelter is down there and that amount of fireworks for that amount of time could be hard on the animals. So I would just like to give them a couple of hours to be able to light off what they've gotten and enjoy the holiday and call it done and not put every resource that we have available to us.

okay so then your motion is for 8 p.m to 11 p.m then yes i don't support that i'd say to 11 but not i'd say with kids i like the six six to eleven forty five okay so i don't like eleven forty five i'd say six to eleven do you say okay to that karen i have kids going to bed by like you know the younger ones go to bed still on fourth of july at like eight

You're lucky.

Or we can do 7 to 11. Do you like 7 to 11?

I could go with 7 to 11.

I think that's fine.

All right. So the motion is for...

I don't have an opinion on that. The motion is...

The motion is for adding to the end there except from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the Little League ball fields on Adams. OK. Is that clear enough? Or not on Adams, on Smiths.

Smith Road.

Adams comes down and ends there, OK? So sometimes I think of that and I shouldn't. That's true. OK. Is that clear enough motion and second for? OK. So we have a motion by Councilwoman Johnson, a second by Councilwoman Brothers with that amendment. Any other discussion on the amendment?

Your Honor. Yes, sir. Just real quick. that's too much of a burden for you?

So what I will say is that the little league fields, if and the only thing I would recommend is that we need to restrict them to the fields themselves. The field behind them where we set off the commercial grade fireworks is not an appropriate place for consumer grade fireworks. Those conditions, again, Had we not had that rain, we would have probably called that firework show off and canceled it due to current drought conditions. So the field behind it is not an appropriate place directly on the river bottom. That's a recipe for having a major incident involving us and the county. In fact, in shooting commercial grade fireworks off at the bail station in years past, we've had fires down there, major fires. The other thing to consider is the city's mulch piles are down there. And when those things start on fire in conditions like this, it's nearly impossible to put them out, just like a haystack. So the ball fields within the chain link fence itself and the irrigated portions of the little league fields I think is appropriate. Outside of that, I'd say you're putting on undue risk.

Okay, thank you for that clarification. That language can help, I think. All right, any other discussion on this? That was your question?

I just wanted to clarify something. In my little spiel before, I said I was going to vote no on the resolution. I actually should have said yes. I just want that on the record.

We've been having that issue, so I hear you. All right, any other discussion on this motion? All right, so this is a motion to amend... Modification is noted for this to be at the Little League fields. And I guess we could clarify the irrigated portion of the fields, is that? Within the boundaries of the actual Little League fields, not outside.

Yeah, it may not go outside the boundaries of the fields.

Okay. Any other discussion on that?

So to clarify, in the outfields of the fields inside the chain link fence. Right. Okay. I just wanted to... Well, and I think it's the property there.

I mean, I don't know. Would it be a big deal if it's in the parking lot area that's mainly just dirt and stuff? So just be within the boundaries of the Little League fields, the park there. So they could be in the parking lot, could be in the fields themselves, but you're specifically wanting it to not be in the unirrigated portion there outside of it, as long as you're within that area. Mayor?

Yes, Chief, just trying to think ahead for the enforcement side. Can we add language that maybe as designated by the fire chief? That way we can post fireworks beyond or in this area. And that way, if we need to, there's an enforcement. avenue to say you're outside this boundary and that way it'll give the fire chief time to look at the area and where he might feel comfortable and we actually post it do you feel comfortable with that i know it's a little weird because it's almost like hey the fire chief is signing this off that this is a good place does that put you i'm i think it makes sense for enforcement i i agree that makes sense for enforcement that gives us the ability to go down there and find a safe place to do it i don't have an issue with that um uh just because if we

we're gonna do this and say that this is the appropriate and safe place to do it we need to make sure that that is the safe place to do it what I don't want to do is say that this is the safe spot to light off consumer-grade fireworks and burn down three houses in the mobile home park across the street that would be that would be very bad for all of us so yes I think I think that's that's appropriate chief we can go down take a look and help designate exactly where it's where it's appropriate to set

So we would say something like, just to make sure the language is right, designated locations within the vicinity of the Little League fields? I mean, or within the Little League fields on Smith Road?

The complex. The complex.

Hey, that's what I've been waiting for.

Baseball and softball complex.

As, as indicated by the fire chief, I think he, I think that's appropriate as designated.

That's correct. Okay. Designated inside the complex down there. I think that's the easiest way to word that and enforce that right now. Anything outside of that facility would be a potential issue. So I think that's correct.

Okay. Your honor.

Yes, sir.

Can I just raise a question as well? If this is the designated area, so that Saban honey cut fields, which would include softball and little league, we're hearing that. the landfill directly east of the area is very dry and it's hard to access and also the yard waste facility is is very close by so is there a concern about the aerial type consumer fireworks versus the ground level or do we do we need to distinguish that or does it matter because when you fire something in the air it could go east west south or north And so could the sparks. And this is just a question. Obviously, we'll support whatever you choose, but I thought I'd bring that up because we have had fires that are self-igniting. at the yard waste facility that as the chief mentioned are very, very hard to control and manage. And so if the honey cut softball location is right there and something is lit into the air, it could migrate beyond that area that you've designated.

Well, and that's true too with that field right next to it, that's right.

Yes, sir. Just real quick. I like KISS. Keep it simple, stupid. It's getting very convoluted very fast. It's just so much easier to just say no.

I hear you. Okay. Any other discussion on this? So far, I think the... Are you in agreement with having it be the area designated for both the motion and the second? OK. So with the area designated there, that's the motion and the second. I agree we could spend all day talking about the details. And really, the thing is we've hammered it out enough, and we'll have to put it to a vote and see what the council thinks. So all in favor of the resolution with the amendments as noted, say aye. Aye.

Aye.

Those opposed say nay. Nay. Okay. You need a roll call vote. Well, I think we've got it pretty clear. We've got the ayes have it so far, and we have two nay votes.

Your Honor, I think for our clerk, we do need to have that. Okay, fine. And this is just a vote on the amendment?

Not the vote on the amendment, not the resolution itself. Could we do a roll call vote on that, Ms. Harris?

Yes, Your Honor. Council Member Eric Carr.

Nay.

Council Member Rebecca Brothers. Aye. Council Member Mike Bailey.

Aye.

Council Member Carla Borders. Nay. Council Member Kyle Larson.

Aye.

Council Member Karen Johnson.

Aye.

Thank you.

And I vote, sorry, I'm just writing down the votes here. I vote aye. I didn't need to explain that anymore, I think.

Your Honor?

Yes, sir.

One second. I love rockets, but I hear what Kyle is saying. And I hear what the fire department is saying. So in this situation, firecrackers, flashers, ground stuff could be all very possible without injury, or it still would be a very good Fourth of July. But aerial rockets, all we have to have is a, and we could have a Fourth of July to remember. And those trash piles or those yard waste piles could be very well seen from Dubois. And so I'm wondering if we cannot think about firecrackers but no aerial devices, which would satisfy most people.

OK, let me just be very clear, though. The resolution had been passed, or not the resolution, the amendment to the resolution was passed. Yeah, I know. So I want to make sure, I just wanted, I hadn't noted that yet, so I apologize. Are you making a motion then to have this for another amendment that would restrict aerial fireworks? Is that your motion, Councilman Larson? Yeah. OK, so we have a motion. We can quibble about the language, but the motion is these, The resolution as it stands right now is for at the Little League Fields, 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., areas designated by the chief, and your motion is to amend that to restrict it to be non-aerial fireworks only.

Yeah, that would allow fountains and all types of stuff without... the possibility of extending the firing range into the area that could really be nasty.

Okay. So we have a motion to restrict aerial fireworks as part of this resolution. Do we have a second for that?

Good.

Do you have a second?

I would second that.

Okay. We're going to pass it for, yeah, keep them out of the air.

right we have a motion by councilman larson second by councilman carr discussion on that yeah i know i agreed with you but now i gotta ask you that how do you enforce that i mean all of these restrictions hey let me finish all of these restrictions you can do it here you can't do it here it's this type of firework with that not top of our work you can do it it's getting too complicated for the public to be able to understand what it is we're requesting of them it's just a simple can we shoot them here or can we not What I would implore is a zero tolerance for anybody who is going outside this and how do you have it furthermore, how do you get this information out to the public in an adequate amount of time, so that they understand what they can and can't be doing how I mean. you're going to have we're going to have all kinds of people showing up down there to shoot stuff off and not everybody knows what every firework is going to do. You can't we can't complicate this to to a point that is understandable. We have to we have to just say you either can or you can't in this area or you don't as designated by our fire chief. And if winds become too much and the fire chief says no more, it's too dangerous. They're going to drift. It could cause a fire somewhere else. Then he should be given the authority to shut it down. just it's just that simple it's not safe to to to shoot them off anymore or people have been reckless but i think it should be at the fire chief's discretion down there if he sees dangerous inconsiderate shooting off of the fireworks shut it down give him full authority to do so okay your honor i agree here's the deal we're trying to satisfy two different types of people i've heard from as everyone two different people and i've actually heard more on the yes than i have on the no

And it's tricky because, as everyone has said, Landers going to be lighting off their fireworks so here's the thing so how do we satisfy this um without getting too in the weeds without you know too late not in the weeds and you know but also try to keep it safe the only way really to do that is to make sure there's one spot that we can do this one spot only that there's really no restrictions in that spot necessarily, that we stay safe, that we keep it wet. We say, hey, if you want to light off fireworks, here's where you do it. I think that's the best way to do it. Okay, I withdraw. You know. you're you're convinced well i think that's this i think that's a safe way i understand your concern i think it is but i think that that's a safe way that's a good way to tell it to the public we're still satisfying the safety concerns we're still saying hey everyone we hear both sides of you we get it the best way and we're saying we don't got to go to land or

to you know see all that you can still stay here and we can just have a big old party in one spot you know and and we'll try to keep it as safe as we can i just think that anyway thank you okay so councilman larson let's be clear here are you withdrawing your motion councilman carr are you still that is that still your motion to restrict aerial fireworks it doesn't sound popular so move the meeting along i hear you okay so we no longer have that there we had another discussion so that that motion is off the table uh we had other discussion about restriction in terms of whether those could be lit at times at at this point the only discretion we've given the fire chief is at the location in terms of in the Little League fields. Are you wanting to give him additional discretion, Councilwoman Johnson? Is that your motion?

I think discretion between the chief and the fire chief, the chief of police and fire chief, if they find that conditions become unsafe or people are not being respectful and responsible and shooting them off, if there is a fire that is caused because of it near the station that's going to take up their time, then I think between the two of them, they should be able to pull the plug and say it's not safe any longer. We have fires we have to tend to, and that's it.

Okay, and I think the thing that makes that difficult is number one, you're giving that authority to the fire chief who has expressed he's not wanting to have fireworks at all. Not that I'm saying that's a problem, but you're also, your complaint was about the ability of people to be able to know what they can or can't do. And that just makes it hard. That's my only issue with it.

All I'm trying to get at is just keep it as simple as possible.

I agree.

That's it. I mean, I'm just throwing out ideas here. I mean, I'm thankful for our fire department. I've worked the 4th of July for several years and never got to enjoy it with my family, so I understand wholeheartedly what they go through. They're literally call to call. The dispatch center doesn't stop. There's debris all over the place. Dogs are running crazy because of the fire. I get it. I understand. And I... i get it but this is one day a year that people celebrate their freedoms and we're trying to do it in a in a safe manner that still allows people to be able to do that and that's all i have to say about it okay so let me just

I know I voted in favor of the amendment to the resolution, but let me just be clear as to my position. I haven't quite laid it out. I'm actually against the resolution altogether. And I know that sounds terrible, right? I had said, I think we need to discuss this and have it here, but here's my concern. And it's what I had kind of expressed to the chief. No matter what, there's going to be people that are going to be lighting off fireworks. And I would like to have that to be encouraged in city limits because I think we need to expect and demand of our citizens that they're responsible with it. If you're going to be letting off fireworks in your yard, wet it down. If you're going to be letting off fireworks, make sure you're supervising it and doing it in a safe way. I think we have an unprecedented year in terms of how dry it is. We also have an unprecedented year in terms of for whatever reason, we've decided that even numbers divisible by five, or just numbers divisible by five are important ones and we celebrate them and we make a big deal about them. So I think trusting the citizens, saying, hey, be aware there's a fire ban in the county. If you're gonna do fireworks, do it in city limits. Be careful. That's my belief. Now, that's just me.

I'm just explaining why I intend to vote against the resolution, whether it's amended or not.

I think my concern is the enforceability of it, like Councilman Carr, like councilwoman johnson were saying you can over complicate it and it just makes it hard and i think we've got to just make a simple eye you know yay or nay and to be frank most of the people i've heard feedback from have been in favor of it they've been reaching out to me concerned about it now this is weird because when we initially considered the fireworks in city limits i was against it i voted against it i was one of the only people i think i might have been the only one and um But I've changed since then. And I think hearing from the chief that it makes a difference in terms of encouraging it or discouraging it in county limits, the unincorporated areas of the county, I think giving people that area and having it be in the city makes sense. And that's just where I'm at. Anyone else? We've had a lot of discussion. This meeting could go on for hours.

I would actually vote against the entire thing as well. I was just trying to find a happy medium, but since we're there, let's call for the vote.

All right. Anything else, Councilman Bailey? Just because I know it's hard for you to get the attention here.

Nope, I'm good. Okay.

Your Honor. Yes, sir. Prior to the vote, is it okay if I read the language that we've adjusted on the fly?

Please do. That's helpful. Just specifically that paragraph, now therefore.

Yep. Now, therefore, be it resolved by the governing body of the City of Riverton, Wyoming, that pursuant to Section 804010 of the Riverton Municipal Code, the discharge and use of all consumer fireworks otherwise authorized under that section are hereby prohibited within the corporate limits of the City of Riverton on July 4, 2026. except for locations designated by the Riverton Fire Chief at the Honeycutt Softball and Saban Baseball Complex adjacent to Smith Road from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Perfect. Somehow you've gotten the language that was discussed perfectly.

Always. Okay.

All right. All in favor of passage of the Resolution 1559 as amended, say aye. Aye. Any opposed say nay. I am the only person opposed this time. Who'd have thought? And people say you can't change. Okay, so that motion passes. I guess just as a directive to staff would ask, I think the consensus of the council is asked that we keep those fields wetted down in preparation for that, if we could.

Your Honor, and if we can ask our chief of police. fully enforce with no exceptions those that are shooting off in town dangerously. They need to be accountable for it. This is why we're having these kind of conversations and not just to drive by, hey, you can't do it. Stop and give them a citation. They have to learn.

All right. Well, thank you very much, everyone.

Let's let nobody say that we aren't carefully considering every single thing we discuss.

Not that I'm, this could have gone longer, but I appreciate the feedback and everybody participating. With that, I would entertain a motion to adjourn the special council meeting. So moved.

Second.

Motion by Councilman Carr, second by Councilwoman Johnson.

Thank you.

All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed say nay. Aye. I vote aye. Motion passes. We are adjourned at 1.09 p.m. Chief Assistant-

you