City Council - Regular Meeting

It is 5.30, so I will go ahead and call this meeting to order of the Torrington City Council.

This is Tuesday, May 5, 2026.

It's 5.30 p.m. Good evening and welcome to all. We have here this evening Mr. Ryan Kaith from KGOS KERM Radio. This is being broadcast live on both radio stations, also on YouTube, and it will be up permanently on YouTube. We also have here tonight with us from the Torrington Telegram, Ms. Brenna Ralston, and welcome to the press. Our first order of business is the Pledge of Allegiance, and I've asked Councilman Victorin to lead us. Next item are the mayor's informational items. Tonight, I will be asking council to approve my signing of four proclamations related to services provided by the city of Torrington in an honor and support of the dedicated, skilled, hardworking city employees who provide these services. I as Mayor, along with the City Council, are charged by law with protecting the health, safety, welfare, and morals of the citizens of Torrington and the visitors of Torrington. The city has approximately 100 employees, many more during the summer season. The different departments include administration, airport, ambulance, cemetery, city shop, electric, emergency management, engineering, fire department, golf, internet technology, buildings and grounds, maintenance, museum, parks and sports fields, police department, metering, purchasing, safety, streets and sanitation, swimming pool, and water and sewer departments. The city is a big machine with a lot of moving parts that all have to work together for the benefit of the health, safety, and welfare of all of us. I like to say that the city provides many of the services necessary to allow us to live a civilized life. Tonight, I want to single out and mention Darren Yates, Executive Director of the City Emergency Medical Services and his dedicated staff. They are our ambulance corps. Later tonight, I will be proclaiming Emergency Medical Services Week. I also want to single out and mention Tom Troxell, City Water Operations Supervisor, and Chris Powell, Water Wastewater Department Foreman, and their dedicated, skilled staff, as tonight I will be proclaiming Drinking Water Week in the City of Torrington. Not everyone on this planet, or even in this country, has access to clean, safe drinking water. We are so blessed in this regard, and many of us take this blessing for granted. Finally, I want to single out and mention all our department heads, supervisors, foremen, and employees, as they are all public works professionals who are skilled, dedicated, and work hard to provide us all with clean water, sewer, streets, trash pickup, electric, parks and recreation. Again, all the services that are necessary to allow us to live a civilized life. Tonight, I will also be proclaiming National Public Works Week, which covers all our city employees, including all our clerks in the front office. Many thanks to all of them. One more time, please mark your calendars for the National Day of Prayer. This is a non-denominational, non-political gathering for prayer. There will be prayers for our country, our leaders, our children and youth, our military, and more. The citizens of Goshen County are invited to meet on Thursday, May 7th, on the south side of the courthouse. joining with citizens throughout the nation on this day, which is set aside for prayer. Those participating will be asking God to intervene in our lives in ways large and small. The gathering will last for approximately a half an hour, starting at 1210 p.m. Please join us in exercising our right to assemble and our right to free speech as we approach God in repentance, supplication, and thanksgiving. Again, the National Day of Prayer, Thursday, May 7th, starting at 1210 p.m. on the south side of the Goshen County Courthouse. Please also mark your calendars for this Senior Resource Expo hosted by Goshen County Public Health. This event is Friday, May 22nd, 2026 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Pony Express room at the Lincoln Community Complex. That's on the northeast corner of this building that we're in. Seniors and caregivers can connect with local businesses and organizations to discover a variety of resources. There is free admission, lunch, and giveaways. Over 20 vendors are expected to attend. For more information on this, call Goshen County Public Health at 532-4069 Again, for more information on the Senior Resource Expo, please call Goshen County Public Health at 307-532-4069. As always, please slow down. Please drive carefully. Please watch out for pedestrians, bicycles, motorcycles, and scooters. Please do not text while driving. A couple more announcements. We are hiring city employees. Temporary summer employees at a staff meeting this morning, I learned that the streets department is still looking for an employee and that water wastewater is still looking for a seasonal summer employee. And for anybody listening, you can go to the east end of this building down at the front of the city hall and ask about employment for the summer seasonal jobs. Last announcement I have for tonight, the grass bins are out. That's a service to the community. Please don't put anything in the grass bins other than grass because it just makes it impossible for the crews to do anything with it. So just put grass clippings in the grass bins, and I'd appreciate your doing that. Thank you for listening. Our next item on the agenda is... Approval of the consent agenda.

Mr. Mayor, I make a motion to approve the consent agenda with including the council meeting minutes.

All right. I have a motion from Councilman Deal to approve the consent agenda as presented, including the April 21st, 26th council meeting minutes as published. Do I have a second? Second. Second from Councilman Victor. Any further discussion? Hearing none, I'll call for a vote. All those in favor of approval of the consent agenda as presented, signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed, signify by saying nay. Hearing no nays, the consent agenda is approved. Next item on the agenda is the approval of the agenda itself.

Move to approve the agenda as presented.

I have a motion from Councilman Kelly to approve the agenda as presented. Do I have a second? Second. Second from Councilman Warren. Any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor of approval of the agenda as presented, signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed, signify by saying nay. Hearing no nays, the agenda itself is approved. Next item on our agenda is what we refer to as the public forum. If you want to participate in this, there's a sign-up sheet, and I don't see any sign-up sheets in that black box in front of Councilman Warren, but I like to explain this for people listening and people in attendance. This is a section of our agenda that's always there. This is for non-agenda items. There is a time limit of two minutes, and the speaker must sign up before the meeting. This is a time for the council to listen. No action will be taken. So that's the explanation for that section of the agenda called the public forum. All right. We are down on our action items. The first action item is item number one, proclamation proclaiming the month of May as National Tennis Month. And I will read that proclamation. Proclamation. It reads as follows. May is National Tennis Month, supported by USTA Proclamation. Whereas on May 21, 1881, the USTA, originally known as the United States National Lawn Tennis Association, was founded in New York City, New York, to create rules and standards for the emerging game of lawn tennis. And whereas the USTA is the nonprofit national governing body for tennis in the United States and leads the promotion and growth of the sport at every level of play, from beginners to professionals at the US Open, and whereas the USTA is the largest tennis organization in the world with over 550,000 members from every corner of the country, and whereas the USTA proudly partners with local tennis programs to showcase the important health, social, and educational benefits of tennis and make the sport available to everyone regardless of age, environment, condition, or ability through its USTA adaptive grants, and whereas the latest research by the Physical Activity Council shows that more than 27.3 million Americans played tennis in 2025, an unprecedented 6.2% increase in participation over 2024, and the highest number of players since the PAC study began in 2007, And whereas by increasing the accessibility of tennis for citizens of Torrington, Wyoming of all ages and abilities, the USTA has contributed to making our community happier and healthier. Whereas USTA has declared the month of May as National Tennis Month to encourage players, organizations, facilities, retailers, tennis manufacturers, and more to promote local programs and activities at parks and facilities to showcase tennis and spread the word about the sport and its benefit. and to help players and non-players alike find courts and play opportunities in their communities. Now, therefore, I, Herb Dobie, Mayor of Torrington, Wyoming, proclaimed May 2026 as National Tennis Month, and hereby urge the citizens of Torrington to become aware of and support National Tennis Month. Herb Dobie, mayor, attest Lynette Strecker, city clerk. That's the reading of the proclamation. And I spoke before the meeting with Curtis Berkley, who's very involved in tennis and has been for years. And he said he just couldn't make it to the meeting this evening. And I asked about Lauren Shields, who is the coach. And she's busy coaching soccer, so we don't have anybody here. But Curtis said once the proclamation is approved by council that he would like to get with me and some of the coaches and maybe a player and come down and take a photo. So that's what's going on with the tennis proclamation. So with that explanation, I would entertain a motion to approve the tennis proclamation and authorize my signing.

Move to approve and approve. Excuse me, Mr. Mayor. Move to approve the proclamation and authorize your signing.

I have a motion from Councilman Victron in item one to approve the proclamation regarding National Tennis Month and approve my signing of the proclamation. Do I have a second? Second. Second from Councilman Deal. Any further discussion? Hearing none, I'll call for a vote. Item number one, all those in favor of approving the proclamation making May National Tennis Month in Torrington and authorizing my signing, all those in favor, signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed, signify by saying nay. Hearing no nays, that proclamation is approved by council and I will indeed sign it. Next item on the agenda is item number two. proclaiming May 3 through 9, 2026 as Professional Municipal Clerks Week. And I will read the proclamation. Proclamation, 57th Annual Professional Municipal Clerks Week, May 3 through 9, 2026. Whereas the Office of the Professional Municipal Clerk, a time-honored and vital part of local government, exists throughout the world, and whereas the Office of the Professional Municipal Clerk is the oldest among public servants, and whereas the Office of the Professional Municipal Clerk provides the professional link between the citizens, the local governing bodies, and the agencies of government at other levels, And whereas the professional municipal clerks have pledged to be ever mindful of their neutrality and impartiality, rendering equal service to all. And whereas the professional municipal clerk serves as the information center on functions of local government and community. And whereas the professional municipal clerks continually strive to improve the administration of the affairs of the office of the professional municipal clerk through participation in education programs, seminars, workshops, and the annual meetings of their state, provincial, county, and international professional organizations. And whereas it is most appropriate that we recognize the accomplishments of the office of the professional municipal clerk. Now, therefore, I, Herb Dobie, Mayor of the City of Torrington, Wyoming, do recognize the week of May 3 through 9, 2026, as Professional Municipal Clerks Week and further extend appreciation to our Professional Municipal Clerks, Lynette Strecker and Sylvia Anaya, and to all Professional Municipal Clerks for the vital services they perform and their exemplary dedication to the communities they represent, dated this 5th day of May, 2026, Herb Dobie, Mayor, attest Lynette Strecker, Clerk Treasurer. And I appreciate this being on the agenda tonight, this proclamation, and I thank Lynette for her service, and I thank Sylvia for her service as professional municipal clerks. With that, it's pretty clear. I would entertain a motion in item number two to approve the proclamation regarding professional municipal clerk's week and approve my signing it.

Mr. Mayor, I would move the motion to approve the proclamation and authorize your signature.

All right. I have a motion from Councilman Kelly, item number two, to approve the proclamation regarding Professional Municipal Clerks Week and approve my signing. Do I have a second? Second. Second, Councilman Deal. Any further discussion? Hearing none, I'll call for vote. Item two, all those in favor of approving the proclamation regarding Professional Municipal Clerks Week and my authorizing my signing signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed signify by saying nay. Hearing no nays, I will indeed, or it is approved that proclamation and I will indeed sign it. Thank you. Item number three is another proclamation. This is proclaiming May 3 through 9, 2026, as Drinking Water Week. Our staff reference this evening is Tom Troxell, and after I read the proclamation, I'd ask Tom to come up. I think Tom's back there. Yep. The proclamation reads as follows. City of Torrington, Drinking Water Week, May 3 through 9, 2026. whereas water is our most valuable natural resource, and whereas drinking water serves a vital role in daily life, serving an essential purpose to health, hydration, and hygiene needs for the quality of our life our citizens enjoy, and whereas tap water delivers public health protection, fire protection, support for our economy, and the quality of life we enjoy, And whereas the hard work performed by the entire water sector, designing capital projects, operators ensuring the safety and quality of drinking water, or a member of a pipe crew maintaining the infrastructure communities rely on to transport high-quality drinking water from its source to consumers' taps, And whereas the coronavirus pandemic has shown light on the importance of drinking water for health, hydration, and hygiene needs. And whereas we are all stewards of the water infrastructure upon which current and future generations depend. And whereas the citizens of our city are called upon to help protect our source waters from pollution, to practice water conservation, and to get involved with their water by familiarizing themselves with it. Now, therefore, be it resolved that by virtue of the authority vested in me as mayor of the city of Torrington, Wyoming, I do hereby proclaim May 3 through 9, 2026 as Drinking Water Week. Herb Dobie, mayor, attest Lynette Strecker, clerk, treasurer. And with that, Tom, did you want to come up and say anything? You don't have to. I'd welcome it if you do.

Just real quick, Mayor. First, I want to thank you guys for acknowledgment of the proclamation. Second, I had a young lady come in the other day to get a water permit. And they just moved to our community. And I says, well, if you have a few minutes, I'd like to show you our water plant. And I took her out back, and we went over to the water plant. And she was blown away. She says, I would have no idea. She goes, all I do is turn the knob or turn the tap on and there it is. She goes, this is quite an operation. So with that being said, Throughout this week and clear through Public Works Week, if anybody wants to tour the water plant, just call my office at 532-2012 and set up an appointment, and I'd be glad to walk them through not only the water plant, but I'm sure any other department head would be glad to show them their operations as well.

Well, I appreciate that, Tom. And it is quite an operation to deliver water right out of your tap that's clean, healthy, and safe.

And like you said, this morning at the staff meeting, it takes a team. It takes you guys to approve the public works projects that we've put in front of you. So we have a long ways to go. But we appreciate it. Thank you, Tom.

All right, we are on item number three, proclaiming May 3 through 9, 2026 as drinking water week. Do I have a motion to approve the proclamation and approve my signing?

Mr. Mayor, I would move to approve the proclamation and approve your signature.

All right. I have a motion from Councilman Victron to approve the proclamation on Drinking Water Week and approve my signing of it. Do I have a second? Second. Second from Councilman Warren. Any further discussion?

Mr. Mayor, real quick. Some other folks on the council might help me, and maybe staff could. I think it was 20-some years ago that the city started treating its water through RO filtration. Am I right about that time frame?

No, it was longer than 20 years.

How many? 26? 26 years ago. And I think Lynette told us at a budget meeting this past week that we're about to pay off those notes. Is that correct?

Within the next two years, we'll be paying those off.

Within the next two years. And so that was a very difficult and trying time for Torrington during that upgrade. who would have thought 26 years later that we would not only be flourishing but thriving with our drinking water infrastructure and it obviously is a daily management of the system and it consistently needs upgrades and improvements but Anyway, I wanted to kind of bring that as an aside to the community's knowledge that we're that far from that moment in our history of critical water issues, and we have made significant improvements since then. So a lot of congratulations and kudos to those folks that made all that possible.

I appreciate that, too. That is quite the operation. And it intimidates me when I go down there and I look at that whiteboard with all the chemical equations on it that those guys actually understand and work with. So they're highly trained, efficient. They pass the DEQ, the EPA, all the things. And it takes skill, talent, and hard work to do that. So thanks to all those involved in the drinking water in this community.

Yes, Mr. Mayor, we are fortunate, and there's a certain irony, too, in that Torrington made the decision long ago to treat our water and that we do have groundwater that we are using, whereas with the drought, there are many communities on the Platte River system that are suffering from water shortages and will be this summer. Yeah.

Good point to Torrington. This community has always been blessed with deep water wells that are good, basically good water. I think over wasn't it over the years that the farmers put a lot of nitrates on the field and the nitrates kind of leach down and had to be dealt with. But we've accomplished that through the hard work of the water department and council and all the whole team.

So thank you, folks.

All right. Any further discussion on item three, the drinking water week? Hearing none, I would entertain a motion. Did we already do that? We have a motion, Mr. Mayor. We have a motion.

I motion. And there was a second, but I'm not sure who it was. Warren. Warren.

OK. Thank you for reminding me. We have a motion and a second. We've had discussion. All we need is a vote. All those in favor of proclaiming or approving the proclamation regarding drinking water week and authorizing my signing of it, signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed, signify by saying nay. Hearing no nays, that proclamation regarding drinking water week is approved and I will certainly sign it. Item number four, another proclamation. This is a proclamation proclaiming May 17 through 23, 2026 as National Public Works Week. And with that, I will read the proclamation. Proclamation reads as follows. City of Torrington National Public Works Week Proclamation, May 17 to 23, 2026. Quote, rooted in service, powered by community, unquote. Whereas public works professionals focus on infrastructure, facilities, and services that are of vital importance to sustainable and resilient communities and to the public health, high quality of life, and well-being of the people of the city of Torrington, Wyoming, And whereas these infrastructure, facilities and services could not be provided without the dedicated efforts of public works professionals who are engineers, managers and employees at all level of government and the private sector who are responsible for rebuilding, improving and protecting our nation's transportation, water supply, water treatment, solid waste systems, public buildings and other structures and facilities essential for our citizens. and whereas it is in the public interest for the citizens, civic leaders, and children of the City of Torrington, Wyoming to gain knowledge of and maintain an ongoing interest and understanding of the importance of public works and public works programs in their respective communities, and whereas the year 2026 marks the 66th annual National Public Works Week sponsored by the American Public Works Association, Now, therefore, be it resolved that I, Herb Dobie, Mayor of the City of Torrington, Wyoming, do hereby designate the week of May 17 through 23, 2026, as National Public Works Week. I urge all citizens to join with representatives of the American Public Works Association and government agencies in activities, events, and ceremonies designed to pay tribute to our public works professionals, engineers, managers, and employees, and to recognize the substantial contributions they make to protecting our national health, safety, and advancing quality of life for all. In witness whereof, I have here unto set my hand and signature as the Mayor of the City of Torrington, Wyoming, this fifth day of May, 2026, Herb Dobie, Mayor, attest Lynette Strecker, Clerk, Treasurer. and tom did you want to come back up for public works or you're good okay well again as i said my informational items i appreciate the skill the talent the energy of all the city employees that make this big machine work so thank you to all With that, we are on item number four. I would entertain a motion in item number four to approve the proclamation of National Public Works Week and approve my signing of it.

Mr. Mayor, I move to approve the proclamation as presented and your signing thereof.

All right. Item number four, I have a motion from Councilman Deal to approve the proclamation presented regarding National Public Works Week and my signing of the proclamation. Do I have a second? Second. Second, Councilman Victor. Any further discussion? Hearing none, I'll call for a vote. Item number four, all those in favor of approving the proclamation relating to National Public Works Week and my signing thereof, signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed, signify by saying nay. Hearing no nays, that proclamation is approved and I will indeed sign it. Last proclamation of the evening. Apparently May is a big month for proclamations. Item number five, proclamation proclaiming May 17 to 23, 2026 as Emergency Medical Services Week. And the proclamation reads as follows. City of Torrington, EMS, proclamation. Whereas emergency medical services is a vital public service, and whereas the members of emergency medical services teams are ready to provide life-saving care to those in need 24 hours a day and seven days a week, and whereas access to quality emergency care dramatically improves the survival and recovery rate of those who experience sudden illness or injury, and whereas emergency medical services fills healthcare gaps by providing important out-of-hospital care, including preventative medicine, follow-up care, and access to telemedicine, And whereas the emergency medical services system consists of first responders, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, emergency medical dispatchers, firefighters, police officers, educators, administrators, pre-hospital nurses, emergency nurses, emergency physicians, trained members of the public, and other out-of-hospital medical care providers, and whereas the members of emergency medical services teams, whether career or volunteer, engage in thousands of hours of specialized training and continuing education to enhance their life-saving skills, and whereas it is appropriate to recognize the value and the accomplishments of emergency medical services providers by designating the Emergency Medical Services Week Now, therefore, I, Herb Dobie, Mayor of the City of Torrington, Wyoming, do hereby proclaim the week of May 17 through 23, 2026, as Emergency Medical Services Week. The 52nd anniversary of EMS Week theme is EMS Week, Improving Outcomes Together. I encourage the community to observe this week with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities in honor of the EMS profession and the essential service it provides. Herb Dobie, mayor, attest Lynette Strecker, clerk treasurer. And I spoke to our director of EMS, Darren Yates, this morning at staff meeting. And he said, I may not be there this evening because I'm on call. So if Darren weren't on call, he'd be here. I just want to express my appreciation for an absolutely fine ambulance service and EMS system we have in Torrington, and it takes that crew all a lot of hard work and effort, and this city supports that. Any questions of council or comments on this? All right, hearing none, we are on item number five. I would entertain a motion to approve the proclamation regarding Emergency Medical Services Week and authorize my signing.

Mr. Mayor, I make a motion to approve the proclamation.

All right. I have a motion from Councilman Deal to approve the proclamation of Emergency Medical Services Week and my signing of it. Do I have a second?

Second.

Second, Councilman Kelly. Any further discussion? Hearing none, I'll call for a vote. All those in favor of approving the proclamation of Emergency Medical Services Week and authorizing my signing, signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed, signify by saying nay. Hearing no nays, that proclamation is approved and I will sign it. All right, we are on item number six, bottom of the first page of the agenda, special event permits. Leanne Mattis with Go Goshen is requesting a special event permits for a series of summer concerts to be held on May 21, 26, June 17, 2026, August 5, 2026, from 3 PM to 9 PM at the intersection of East A and 21st Avenue. And my staff reverence is Chief Matt Johnson.

Thank you, Mayor and Council. This is the 2026 rendition of the summer concert series. Slight difference in having three dates instead of four. We've used essentially an identical plan as past years focused on that intersection there at East 21st and East A that has proved to be very successful and it's convenient for everybody and minimizes impacts to the surrounding community we would be looking at a street closure just for that intersection at 3 p.m. The advantage of only closing the intersection and not the actual streets themselves are that while it does impact some traffic flow, it allows all area businesses to be accessed while the stage is being set up. And then the closure would expand at 5.30 p.m. after business hours. We really only had one business that's impacted by that, and that's the coffee shop right there, and they have signed off on the event. One of the issues that we always look at on this is the financial impacts to the city. um let's see here under paragraph 10 we're going to be providing some additional cleaning services and stocking services at the city lot 5 restrooms the go goshen or i guess main street really has agreed to help out with that cost. Ed and his team will be delivering 30-odd barricades, which will take about four hours of staff time. There's a potential or estimated cost on that of about $140. Go Goshen requests that that be waived. Ed and his team agree with that as they're helping out for a public community event. They're also needing the delivery and use of four rollout trash containers. Normal cost on those would be $39, including delivery. As they're gonna be delivering those at the same time they do the barricades, they proposed a $20 per container for those events. Total cost of $80 per event, which Gogoshin or the Main Street folks have agreed to pay. And then we'd be looking at about an hour and a half of total staff time to help set up and tear down barricades at an approximate cost of $77. Go Goshen and Main Street request this be waived, and we would agree that's a fairly nominal amount of time for us to assist on a public event. We're not mandating an officer to be present at the event. The alcohol is well managed inside of the service area. We haven't had problems with that in years past, and we generally have officers stop through and check on the event throughout the evening as part of the regular patrols. I think that's everything that pops to mind to talk with you about, but I'd be happy to answer any questions that you might have.

And you have any questions for chief Johnson.

I did I guess I forgot to note that they are paying the special events free fee for all 3 events.

And as you're too I see that. If you guys have more for the chief. All right Leanne Mattis is here to go Goshen. Tell us what's going on land.

Good evening, Mayor and Council. Thanks for having me. Yeah, mainly when I step up to the mic here, I just really want to offer my thanks to you all for, gosh, I think this, we're going on year four, five? Oh my goodness, I can't even keep track. But it's just been a really great event, and we're just really grateful for the support to allow us to continue this. It's been shown to bring a lot of families downtown. It's helped those businesses that are participating. It's just been a really great event for our downtown. I also want to thank, of course, the Torrington Police Department and Chief Johnson, especially for all of the help that they put into this in keeping this event safe for the community. And of course, all the city staff and crew that help with all the stuff behind the scenes with the barriers and cleanup and all of that stuff as well. So we're excited to bring it back again this year and hopefully just keeps getting bigger and bigger.

Now, this came up at staff meeting this morning. I think last year there were four here. There's three here this year, right?

Correct. So there will be a fourth event, but it's going to be in Lingle at the Whipple Park at Banshaw there.

That's the big difference is rather than four here, you're going to have three here and one in Lingle. Correct.

Yep.

Gentlemen, do you have any questions for Leanne? You're contracting with the same group this year, Leanne?

Correct. Yep, that's Crossroads Music out of Scotts Bluff. And we kind of just tag along. They have this series set up with Scotts Bluff, Alliance, and Torrington. So we're able to kind of catch a little bit of a break in the cost there, because it's ALONG WITH THOSE COMMUNITIES AS WELL.

WILL THE JULY ONE BE IN LINGLE?

JULY 7th, YES, IN LINGLE.

AND OVER THE YEARS, THERE WERE SOME BUGS. THE BUGS SEEM TO HAVE GOTTEN THEMSELVES WORKED OUT?

I THINK SO. YEAH. YOU KNOW, I JUST KEEP HEARING MORE AND MORE POSITIVITY GENERALLY, YEAH.

And one thing that sticks in my mind is the speakers will be there in that intersection and they will be aimed toward the Northeast. So they'll hit the courthouse and go over around or whatever. Correct. Once they hit there. And that has been successful in the past and limiting any concerns of noise down.

It seems to have, yes, mitigated that. So, and we're really pleased with that location. Um, It's nice to have the grass area with trees. And if it's a super hot day, folks can cool down a little bit better. I did go to the county commissioner's meeting, not today, but it would have been their previous meeting, to get approval for use of their lawn again. And of course, they approved that.

And you have different genres of music, right?

Correct, yes. So we'll have an 80s night, which the community seems to really love. That'll be our first one. We've got kind of a soul blues singer. Chris Logger is his name. And then we have the band Ivory will be the band playing in Lingle. They've been here in our community a few times. They just love coming back to Torrington and request a performance each year for the last few years. And then our last band, they're called the Doohickeys. It's kind of a country comedy duo.

When it first started, didn't they have a concert every week?

Yeah, so we've kind of changed up a little bit every year just to kind of see what works best. Every week is a little tedious for kind of a skeleton crew, if you will. You know, I really have a great group in my Torrington Main Street board. It's a working board. They volunteer their time for this. it's a little tedious to do one a week. So we've kind of gone back and forth with every other week. And this year, we're doing once a month. So hopefully, we'll find that sweet spot.

And rain outs, do you have plans if there's a rain out?

And that's kind of the idea with holding these once a month is that we kind of can maybe help mitigate that. If it rains one week, we can kind of tag on to whichever band they've got lined up in Scotts Bluff and Alliance maybe the next week.

OK. Well, maybe this year we can get more rain with it.

That's what I keep telling everybody.

It's not on these days, right? Yeah.

You know, if we hold a concert, there's a chance for sure. So we kind of need it.

Do you have any questions for Ms. Mattis? All right. Thank you.

Thanks so much for having me.

All right. So just to sort of sum up so I can keep my mind straight on this, they're asking approval of the special event permits for those days. They have already paid the $40 filing fee for the application. They will pay the special permit fee, which totals 600. And they will pay the little bit that it takes to maintain that restroom over there in the parking lot and are asking the city only to, what were we waving? Waving the barricade delivery. barricade delivery, and the PD time, 1.5 hours.

And there's a little difference in the sanitation costs, but pretty minimal.

OK. From 39. OK. All right. So if somebody's brave enough to make a motion. I would entertain a motion.

I can do it, Mr. Mayor.

OK.

I would move to approve the special event permits as set forth in item six of our agenda and approve to the stipulated fee schedule as presented by staff.

All right. I appreciate that. Item number six, I have a motion from Councilman Victorin to approve the special event permits as stated and approve the stipulated fee schedules as presented by staff. Do I have a second?

Second.

Second from Councilman Kelly. Any further discussion gentlemen? Hearing none, I'll call for a vote. Item number six, all those in favor of approving the special event permits and the stipulated fee schedules as presented by staff, signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Any opposed, signify by saying nay. Hearing no nays, item six is approved with those stipulated fee schedules. And I appreciate that well-stated motion, Councilman Victor. Thank you, Leanne. All right. Council will leave regular session and convene as Board of Adjustment. I want a brief explanation. We had an item on the agenda regarding Tammy Foose's request for a conditional use permit last meeting. I had closed the public hearing, so the public hearing is closed. If you look in item A, that's a motion to take the following item from the table. That's the Tammy Foost is requesting a conditional use permit to operate an in-home daycare. The property is located at 132 Hawley Drive. While I'm explaining here at the top, I did contact a representative from the group of citizens that live in the neighborhood and explained that the public hearing was closed. And I got a hold of Ms. Foose and also explained the same to her. So tonight, what I expect to happen is a motion to remove it from the table. And then it's removed from the table. And then we would be on item B there, a motion for Tammy Foose requesting a, or the issue is Tammy Foose requesting a conditional use permit to operate an in-home daycare. The property is located at 132 Hawley Drive. and once we get to that motion i would expect a motion and a second and the way it works a motion is made a second is made and then we enter into discussion and i expect a full and complete discussion amongst the five myself and the four councilmen up here so that's what i expect to happen here um so Given that little bit of explanation, in item A, I would entertain a motion to take the item from the table.

Mr. Mayor, I would move to remove the item from the table.

All right. Item A there. I have a motion from Councilman Deal to remove the item from the table regarding the conditional use permit. Do I have a second? Second. Second from Councilman Victor. Any discussion on that motion, gentlemen? Hearing none, I'll call for a vote. All those in favor of removing the item from the table regarding the conditional use permit, signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed, signify by saying nay. Hearing no nays, the item is removed from the table. So now we are on item B there. Tammy Foose is requesting a conditional use permit to operate an in-home daycare. The property is located at 132 Hawley Drive. So with that and that bit of explanation I gave, I would entertain a motion.

Mr. Mayor, I would make a motion to approve Tammy Foose's request for a conditional use permit.

All right, I have a motion from Councilman Deal to approve Tammy Foose's request for the conditional use permit. Do I have a second? I would second. Second from Councilman Victorin. All right, now we're in discussion. There's a motion to approve the conditional use permit from Councilman Diehl. There's a second from Councilman Victron. Now is the time for discussion. So I have a lot to say in discussion time, but I'd certainly offer the opportunity for any councilmen if they want to join in the fray early on or wait till I'm done.

There's some very brief comments, Mr. Mayor. did do a little bit of research on present daycares in the city and the interruption of traffic flow and parking issues. And as nearly as I can tell, that doesn't seem to be a concern with other daycares.

Okay. All right. Thank you, Councilman Deal. Any other councilmen? All right. Councilman Kelly, anything right now?

I have a few comments, Mr. Mayor. I, too, did a little research concerning what Councilman Deal said. I did contact the Department of Family Services And they directed me to a website where you can search for daycare providers in basically any neighborhood or any community in Wyoming. What I found was, and I'm welcome to a correction if necessary, but what I found is that the city of Torrington is home to about 10 various providers. And those range from in-home to full daycare centers. In-home daycare centers for the entire city is about five. So there's five others, roughly five others that are what the state considers to be daycare centers that can accommodate more children, more staff, more services. But of those 10, about half are in a home and are limited on employees and amount of children that can be under their care. I had prepared a few remarks for tonight and what I wrote was that I want to preface by saying that the reasoning for my motion last meeting was to allow the neighbors in the neighborhood a little more time to be neighborly. talk about their concerns, talk about their differences, talk about the plan, if you will, for an in-home daycare in that neighborhood. And that was my intent. And whether that was received well amongst the neighborhood or not, I'm not entirely sure. But I always think that more time for everybody is a good thing. But my prepared remarks are this. I wrote down on some paper, I typed rather, that to me, neighbors or neighborhoods are meant to be places where all kinds of people can live. And it's not just one group of people, but it's not one group of people necessarily or at one stage of life. Neighborhoods are filled with retirees and working adults, and there's also families with young children. And it's completely understandable that many retirees value their peace and quiet in their neighborhood. And that's certainly worth respecting. At the same time, neighborhoods aren't made up of just one group. They also include working families who rely on access to childcare to be able to do their jobs and stay here in our community. From my perspective, a small licensed in-home daycare is a reasonable way to meet that need without creating a major disruption. Small licensed in-home daycares are limited in size. They operate during normal daytime hours. And the activity that comes from those daycares, some cars in the morning and the afternoon and kids playing during the day, in my opinion, that's no different in kind from what already happens in a typical neighborhood in the city. In most neighborhoods, we see On a daily basis, the pizza delivery man, garbage trucks, the mailman, Amazon, UPS and FedEx delivery trucks. These services are in every neighborhood which increase traffic and noise, yet we don't hear complaints of those temporary interruptions. In this entire issue, my effort has been about balance. Respecting the desire for safety and quiet is important, but also making sure the community works for people who are raising families and trying to stay employed. Without accessible childcare, that becomes much harder for younger families to live and work locally, which affects the long-term health of the neighborhood and the city. So this to me isn't about changing the character of a neighborhood, but it's about keeping the neighborhood, capital N if you will, where people of all ages can live and where the community continues to function and grow in a healthy way. In my opinion, allowing a small, well-regulated daycare helps keep the community stable, connected, and supportive of people at every stage of life. Those are my comments.

All right. Appreciate that, Councilman Victor. I'm going to say a lot, OK, because this issue deserves a lot to be said. We allow conditional use permits in the city of Torrington. We have zoning But I think when the legislature or the council attempts to make ordinances, we try as best we can to foresee all the ramifications, all the possibilities that can arrive. And since we are not the Lord, we don't have that good a foresight. And so there's things built into the law, because for most rules, there's always an exception to a rule. And council in the past has dealt with this by coming up with the concept of a conditional use permit. And let me explain what that is because these don't often come before council. This is not a change in zoning. This is still an R2 zone. It is not a change in zoning. A conditional use permit is personal to the applicant. The applicant is Tammy Foose. If she gets this and she ceases being a daycare, then she does, right? If she and her husband choose to sell the property, then the permit dies. It doesn't run with the property. She is not allowed to sell the property with an agreement from the new buyer that the permit runs with it. That's not how a conditional use permits. And forgive me, but God forbid She's no longer with us on Earth. It also goes away too. So it's personal to the applicant. It's not a change in zoning. That's how they work. And I think the foresight of past councils was to say, we're going to have these zones, we're going to have regulations in these zones, but there's always going to be something that we can't foresee that may come along and we need to build in some way to deal with the exceptions that prove the rule basically. So that's my explanation as to what a conditional use permit actually is. And we had an extensive public hearing two weeks ago. And that's what we're required to do, sitting here as Board of Adjustment. And I don't sit here and watch the clock. I really don't. And I don't remember how long we were in that public hearing. But I'm guessing it was about an hour. Okay, and Tammy Foose presented, and Amy, I think, presented, and I think the Martins presented, and then there was the other neighbors that wanted to visit with council about the matter, and I gave everybody a chance to come up here and say what they wanted to say. I want to acknowledge that I did get some, well, all of us, council, got follow-up letters that we listened to, that we read, And the follow-up letters were from Mark and Donna McMahon. And the follow-up letter from Sarah Munson and Deb Crookshank, basically, on an email. And we read those, and we reviewed those. And then I also spoke with Mr. Tim Pieper a little bit. So we did that. I did speak with Tammy a little bit just to let her know, like I'd let Mr. Pieper know that we are not having another full-blown hearing because I think just about everything that could be said was said, okay? And I want to compliment both sides I'm an attorney, right? And both sides presented every bit of their case for their case. And both sides have reasonable arguments. I cannot say that one side's argument is not reasonable and the other's is. Both sides of the argument are reasonable. And both sides of the argument were very well presented. I give you guys kudos for being articulate and able to present it in a way that Myself and the other councilman can actually understand what you're saying. So kudos for that. So I want to talk about what we understood and heard from the other neighbors that weren't Tammy and weren't the Martins. This is what I think I know I heard and I think the councilman heard. There was concerns about traffic increase. That was a concern. There were concerns about potential parking problems. There were concerns about the expectations of buying a property within an R2, and then all of a sudden it's not really an R2, but it's changed. Well, again, we're not changing the zoning. We're allowing, if we do allow this, a conditional use permit, as I explained it. I know and I got this in my head from Mr. Dennis Estes. When I look on that road and I've been up there and I've driven through there a couple of times and did that this afternoon. It's a beautiful neighborhood. As I said last week, what a great neighborhood to drive through at Christmas time because it's a wonderfully decorated neighborhood. It's just a pleasure to drive through there. It's, I wouldn't call it a through street. I don't think in the sense that, you know, the streets on either side of it and below it and above it, it's not a through street. It's basically a cul-de-sac. As Mr. Estes said, it's probably the closest thing we have to a cul-de-sac shape in the town. So I get the appeal to that and I get why somebody would want to buy on that sort of a street. I understand that. I think a lot of the folks on the street are retired, but after, as Mr. Victor explained, it's a neighborhood. So it's mixed. It's not just retired folks, it's families. We had the Martin speak to it. I don't know if there are other families up there perhaps, but I know retired people have grandkids and families are families. And so it's not a, just a one person or one type person neighborhood. It's a mixed neighborhood. Um, I know that the Davers expressed fear of potential liability in case somebody were to go onto their property and slip and fall or something like that or trespass on their property and end up getting hurt or something like that. Those are reasonable concerns. I think most property owners that talked about that up here two weeks ago had insurance because they were talking about insurance on that. They're concerned about noise. I appreciated what Councilman Victon said about UPS trucks driving through, the FedEx people in the private cars nowadays. I don't think there's many FedEx trucks, maybe some. There's concerns about noise. It's going to be noisier, perhaps. There was concern that it would set a bad precedent. It's kind of like you let... The daycare lady in and pretty soon you got the beauty shop and the gun shop and the whatever kind of shop. Well, we can speculate till the cows come home about that. Okay, it hasn't happened. And then again, if somebody wanted to do one of those businesses, they're gonna go through the same process that Ms. Foose is going through. They're gonna have to go through the paying the process and applying and go on to the Planning Commission and then go on to this council sitting as Board of Adjustment. Um, people talked about their expectations when they're purchased their home. I know there's been, there's folks up there that have lived there for a long time. I think Deb Crookshank said she lived there 27 years or thereabouts. Um, and when they moved into that neighborhood, they had expectations. Uh, they liked the neighborhood. They liked the shape of the street. Those houses are big homes. They're nice homes. Uh, it's frankly a night, very nice area of town. Um, I had one person comment, you know, hey, this is America. Basically, more of us are against it than for it. Well, that's one thing to consider. And again, I want to repeat, that's such a beautiful neighborhood at Christmas. I asked my granddaughter this evening, you know where Holly Drive is? She goes, yeah, that's that street where we go down at Christmas. So you've got a reputation, and it's a good one for that. Again, I received, or all of us received letters from Mark and Donna McMahon. I did speak to Tim Pieper and we received a letter from Sarah Hanley Munson. And then part of that letter from I think Ms. Munson was Deb Cruikshank too. I appreciate the research that I know council has done. They may not even told you what kind of research they did. I also did some research on the lack of daycare. So let me go through the other side and explain some of the things that the other side presented. There is a lack of daycare in Toronto. It's common knowledge out there. And I won't call it tragic, but it's darned hard on some parents. Sometimes there's six month waiting lists for appropriate daycare. Um, you now have Friday school or we don't have Friday school, which has changed the community. So if certain age kids, the parents are scrambling to figure out what they're going to do with their kid on a Friday, if he or she is not able to, you know, be at home alone or have an older sister or brother or aunt or uncle, somebody take care of them during the work day on Friday for the parents. Um, The traffic in there is going to be drop off and pick up. And my experience with daycares, I've had kids of my own years ago, they don't all arrive at once. It's staggered. I think the hours, I don't remember exactly what Ms. Foose said, but it might be from five in the morning drop off for people in the National Guard or whatever their situation is to probably five minutes till eight when somebody's got to be at work at eight. that sort of thing. I heard her say that she expected five to 10 children, a maximum of 10 children, daycare age children. And I'll tell you another thing, there is a real problem for parents trying to find childcare for infants and toddlers. That's the critical thing that parents look for. And in this day and age, most parents, you know, even if they want to take an extended maternity leave or something, they can't afford to do it. So there's many parents that are going back to work two weeks, a month after the baby's born, and they need infant care or toddler care. I also talked to the local Department of Family Services supervisor in town and asked her about her knowledge of the shortage of daycare in the area. And she said, of course, there is a shortage of quality daycare. And she said the problems we run in at DFS is because when DFS takes protective custody of children, which they do if they're neglected or abused, then DFS is scrambling, finding a foster care placement for that child, and then helping the foster care family fill the gaps on daycare because the foster families work too. And so she says we're scrambling to fill those gaps in when we take in abused and neglected children and place them in foster care. I think Amy last week talked about six month wait lists and getting phone calls from desperate parents. desperate parents because they've gotten nowhere to put their child and they have to work. They may not have a grandma and grandpa or an aunt and uncle. When I talked to the supervisor at DFS, she said, here's a problem that I have witnessed. Parents get so frustrated about not being able to find daycare that they often end up putting their child in an unsafe daycare with a not appropriate person just because they're between a rock and a hard spot on what do they do. And so there's then been that situation that's come up. I also called, there's a lady that works out of the DFS office at Wheatland, Katie Gerringer, or not Katie, Kathy Gerringer. And I spoke at length with her today. She's familiar with Tammy Foose. Tammy Foose, as she said two weeks ago, she's had daycares. And Kathy has been involved in this, and she inspects daycares, and she licensed daycares. And she said, every daycare I've seen operated by Tammy is spiff, spick and span, not junky. She said, I go into daycares all the time in my job. I go in certain daycares and it seems like chaos when I walk in the door. And she said, I walk into one of Tammy Foose's daycares and it's not. It's quiet. The kids are under control way more than other daycares that she visits. She reminded me, too, that oftentimes a parent may have two or three children in the daycare. So if you've got five or six and one parent has two or three, that's one car coming in the morning for two or three children and one car picking up in the afternoon for two or three children. So it's not like... you're gonna have 10 children and 10 cars all arriving at once and then 10 cars, 10 children all leaving at once. I just don't think that's the nature of pickup and drop off in daycares. But she was very complimentary of Tammy. She said she's always been easy to work with. She's an excellent daycare provider. She's always had clean and attractive property. The facilities are always well maintained and the children are well behaved. So, those are the two things, those are the two sides I looked at, okay? And I may have missed something that one side or the other said, but I don't think so. And you've got five minds up here taking in information, okay? And so it's not just me or it's not just one of these guys that may not have heard something or heard something different. So there's wisdom in a group, okay? And I just wanted to say that. I want everybody to know, whether it's you, Ms. Foose, or the other neighbors, this council carefully considered your arguments, your presentations, your facts, all of those things. And as Mr. Victorin said, this is a community, okay? It's not just one group, and we're all individuals, yes, and thank God, this is America, right? You can be an individual in this country. But we're also a community, and we have to work together. And I'm constantly hearing, when I hear the economic development people talking, not just local but around the state, how do we keep our young people in this state? And if we can't provide the necessary services, those are jobs for one thing, and the necessary services, daycare, we've got a problem. because it's nice to be retired, it's nice to have peace and quiet, but there's other things going on in the community. I mean, they forced me to take my social security, right? Now I'm still working, but who's paying to, now that I'm drawn, somebody else is paying, right? And those are younger people, you know, you don't, Nobody's in a vacuum here. We all work together as community. And if you don't have young people in your town working and upholding the community, you don't have a future. You just don't. And there's just been a crying need for years for an adequate amount of daycare. Safe, comfortable, well-run daycare. That's... Too rare. I did speak with Miss, what's her name? Geringer. Geringer, sorry. And she said, you know, there's a couple of, been a couple of inquiries on some commercial daycares in Torrington. But she says, you know, they get all excited about doing it and then they just fall off the radar. and I don't hear from them again, okay? So there's a couple of commercial daycares that people have inquired with her about, but they just haven't got off the ground, so maybe they will in the future. But she said, you know, I work with both of them, and then they go away, and I don't hear from them again. So that's a possibility, too. So I just, if anything else tonight, I want... Two sides of an issue, to understand that they've been heard, this council has listened to them, I have listened to them, and I want to reiterate what I said at the beginning. This, I heard Councilman Victorin whisper last week, it takes the wisdom of Solomon on some issues, okay? Both sides made perfectly reasonable arguments. Valid, backed by facts, well said on both sides. So that puts us here, it's like a judge in a court when the evidence looks really even up. Well, he's got to make a decision and I tease judges. That's why you get the big bucks, okay? But that's what you're asking council to do tonight is to make a decision. one way or the other way. So with that big, long speech, um, gentlemen, do you have any other, we're in discussion. Do you have any other comments or questions? Mr. Kelly?

I just wanted to say that years ago, I experienced daycare in our home. My wife did it. And most of your concerns that the neighbors have never materialized. We don't just ever happen. We didn't keep it very long, but you know it's still good was the opportunity that it could have. And I don't think that. The depriving. Anybody from making it living is reasonable in this case either so. But. I think that the fears that the neighbors are coming up with are not totally out of the realm, but slim pickings.

We're in discussion, gentlemen. Any further discussion? Seeing none, we've got a motion before us. The motion to is approve the conditional use permit as requested by Tammy Foose at 132 Holly Drive. We have a motion and a second. We've had discussion. I'm gonna call for a vote and I'm gonna ask one more time, is there any further discussion gentlemen? Hearing none, I'll call for a vote on the motion. All those in favor of approving the conditional use permit for the daycare for Tammy Foose at 132 Holly Drive, signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed, signify by saying nay. Hearing no nays, the conditional use permit is approved. Thank you. All right, we are in, still is sitting as Board of Adjustment. We're on item C now. Diversified Services Inc. DSI is requesting approval of the final plat for the two lot subdivision to be known as DSI subdivision. So on issue C here, or item C, I will open this up for a public hearing. So we are now in public hearing. Are there any public comments for Any public comments against? Mr. Estes, do you want to just give us a little update before I close the public hearing?

Thank you, Mayor and Council. I really have no updates. This plot has not changed since you've seen it last. I've had no public comment, and staff would recommend approval.

All right.

Any questions for Mr. Estes?

Yes, Mr. Estes, could you briefly explain? Last week we did the preliminary plat. Now we're doing the final plat. And then we're going to create the zoning for the area later in ordinance. Am I correct in all of that?

That is correct. The procedure for that is a preliminary. It goes through the whole system. And then usually the final goes back to the planning commission. But in this case and in some other cases, we don't do that every time. It's just not a necessary step. So this plat hasn't changed. If you approve it, zoning has to be done by a separate ordinance. So then we would start zoning through the ordinance.

All right. Thank you for that explanation.

Any further questions for Mr. Estes? Thank you, Dennis.

All right. With that, I will go ahead and close the public hearing on the Diversified Services, Inc. matter. Uh, so now we are in the section on a council vote board of adjustment, and I would entertain a motion regarding diversified services, Inc. Request approval of the final plat for the two lot subdivision to be known as the DSI subdivision.

Mr. Mayor would move to approve the final plat as presented in item seven C.

I have a motion from Councilman Victorin to approve the plat as presented in item C. Do I have a second? Second. Second, Councilman Warren. Any further discussion? Hearing none, I'll call for a vote. All those in favor of approval of the final plat in item C, signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed, signify by saying nay. Hearing no nays, that final plat is approved. All right, we will now leave. Thank you, Mr. Estes. We will now leave sitting as Board of Adjustment and will return to regular session. So now we are on item number eight, ordinance on first reading. Mr. Eddington, would you please read that ordinance by title?

Thank you, Mayor. It's an ordinance amending and reenacting Section 18.16.020, the Torrington Municipal Code 2026 revisions relating to the City of Torrington, Wyoming, amending the zoning district map by establishing I-1 zoning for Lot 1 and C-1A zoning for Lot 2 for attractive land to be known as the DSI subdivision.

All right, thank you, Mr. Eddington. All right, with that, I'd call you back up here, Dennis.

Mayor, what this is is just two different lots so they can sell that off. Once they get this zoning done, I'm sure they'll get it sold. We've had some interest. Don't know if it's going to come to see it all, but there's some people wanting to buy that building. Different uses in there.

And DSI is completely out of that area?

No, they're still there. They're just selling off some of their assets, I believe. They're going to stay in that upper lot where they have their buildings and their classrooms.

Okay.

This is the south end they want to sell? Yes, that big building on the south, yes, sir.

So right now there's two zones, two different zones?

Yes, sir.

What's the difference between them?

It's a light industrial for the bottom one, so there's kind of different industrial stuff, maybe a light welding shop, maybe a trucking outfit, whatever. That's all got to be held within that building. The upper portion is more like medical offices, dental offices, those professional office type of deal, much like we did the Marsh dental office.

As I recall, the lower part of the building, which DSI took over, was a manufacturing plant at one point. Correct. They're taking it over.

Correct.

Bed frames, right? Was it bed frames?

No. No? Tom Scott and Ant Morris had a manufacturing plant there. Now ANC Sheet Metal moved out of that and then moved out of that industry.

All right, any further questions for Mr Estes? Thank you.

You're welcome. Thank you, Dennis.

All right, we are on item number 8, ordinance on first reading, establishing I-1 zoning for lot 1 and C-1A zoning for lot 2 of the DSI subdivision. Do I have a motion? Approve the ordinance on first reading.

Mr. Mayor, I'd make a motion to approve the ordinance as presented on first reading.

All right. I have a motion from Councilman Deal, item number eight, to approve the ordinance as presented on first reading. Do I have a second?

Second.

Second. Councilman Kelly. Any further discussion? Hearing none, I'll call for a vote. Item eight, all those in favor of approving the ordinance on first reading as presented, signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed, signify by saying nay. Hearing no nays, that ordinance is approved on first reading. We are now on item number nine, ordinance on second reading. relating to recreational backyard fire pits, barbecues, and smokers. And I'd call on, I'm going to get you some exercise, Dennis. Any comments you've gotten over the last couple weeks?

I'm talking to the chief today. The police department and my office have not received any comments from the public, so we would recommend approval.

And I think at staff meeting, Chief Johnson was going to say this is going to be very helpful to dispatch because it gives them solid answers when people call and make inquiries. Correct. Don't call 911 for those inquiries. Call 7001. And I just want to, we talked about this at staff, this was a collaborative effort. I know Sylvia and I worked on it, and Dennis did, and the chief did, and I appreciate that cooperation and teamwork on putting this well-written, I think, simple one-page ordinance together. Any questions for Mr. Estes or Chief Johnson?

Mr Mayor, should we not have the the title read into?

Oh yes we should. Thank you for reminding me. I appreciate the help. Sorry about that. Item number 9 ordinance on second reading. Mr Eddington, would you please read the ordinance by title?

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

Thank you, Mr. Eddington. All right, we are on Item 9, the recreational backyard fire pits. I would entertain a motion to approve this ordinance on second reading.

We have one question first, Mr. Mayor. Go ahead. Is there a separate section somewhere that, like if somebody violates this, is there another section somewhere that deals with the penalties phase?

What was the question? Can you repeat the question, Dennis?

Well, if somebody violates this, starts something in the backyard, is there someplace in another ordinance that deals with the penalty phase? Or like if they just want to do the burning yard waste or construction debris in their backyard? Is that dealt with someplace else?

I don't know.

I believe at the front of our ordinance book, it states what the purpose of the ordinances are. And if they violate, it's a misdemeanor generally. But we can check into that. And if you want it written in there, we can sure put it in there.

Well, there's usually a penalty somewhere. Yeah.

It's pretty general throughout the whole ordinances.

That's a good question, Mr. Kelly. It's not a bad one. I'm sorry. Go ahead, Chief. I apologize, Mayor. Go ahead.

Honestly, that's not a bad suggestion. I do believe it is in another section of ordinance that we can tie it to, but it's not a terrible idea to clarify it in this one and just have it fully self-contained so we're not referencing different sections of ordinance for enforcement on this. I take Jim's opinion, too, but that's mine.

No, I agree. We can clarify that for third reading.

Okay. Good question, Councilman Gallows.

Good question. Thank you.

So it can be amended then for third reading? Yes. Absolutely.

All right. Any further questions for the Chief or for Dennis? And I can't recall.

Do I have a motion a second?

I'll call for motion then. Item number nine. Ordinance on second reading. I would entertain a motion to amend it as we discussed and approve it on second reading.

I'm going to do something different, Mr. Mayor. I'll just move to approve the ordinance on second reading, and then we'll look for those amendments on third reading.

All right, appreciate that. Councilman Victorine. All right, item number nine. I have a motion of Councilman Victorine to approve the ordinance on second reading. Do I have a second second second from Councilman Warren? Any further discussion? Hearing none, I'll call for vote item nine. All those in favor of approving the ordinance on second reading as presented, signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed, signify by saying nay. Hearing no nays, that ordinance is approved on second reading. Thank you. We are now on item number 10, ordinance on second reading. And Mr. Eddington, could you please read that ordinance by title?

An ordinance amending and reenacting chapter 12.36 of the Torrington Municipal Code

2026 revisions relating to the municipal cemetery all right thank you mr eddington uh mr estes have you had any public comment or anything on this ordinance again mayor we've heard no public public comments from anybody so again staff would recommend approval okay gentlemen do you have any questions for mr estes

I just appreciate the rewording on item DS. It's clear now that somebody will be or can inspect the weapons.

That's yeah, we that we talked about that on first reading, right? So thank you for that change. Item D on page one. If there aren't any further questions or comments by Council, we are on item 10, ordinance on second reading relating to the cemetery. I would entertain a motion to approve the ordinance on second reading.

Motion to approve.

All right. I have a motion to approve the ordinance on second reading and item 10 from Councilman Deal. Do I have a second?

Second.

Second. Councilman Kelly. Any further discussion? Hearing none, I'll call for a vote. All those in favor in item 10 of approval of the ordinance on second reading as presented, signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Any opposed, signify by saying nay. Hearing no nays, that ordinance is approved on second reading. We are now on item number 11. Amendment number six to the Agreement for Professional Services with Enberg Miller Engineers. Staff recommends approval of amendment number six to the Agreement for Professional Services with Enberg Miller Engineers, IME, in the amount of $41,980. And with that, I'd call on Mr. Jeff Harkins, Director of Public Works.

Thank you, Mayor and Council. What this is is the annual renewal for the required well monitoring, testing, and state reporting to the Wyoming DEQ for the Torrington Landfill. The estimated cost for that part of it is $31,980. The additional $10,000 is set aside for as needed miscellaneous surveying or permitting work that may be required during the year. We will be requesting this $41,980 be established in the fiscal year 27 budget under account 5445740 in the sanitation department. That means 10. Glad to answer any questions.

I usually hear good news on the monitoring. We're passing all the tests, right? We have not failed any tests to my knowledge. That's the same thing to my knowledge. So all's well with the testing as far as I know. And I'm getting a nod of agreement from Ed Hawley back there. And that's just the 39,000 ish for 31,000 ish is just annual continuing monitoring all the things that need to be done out there.

Yeah, what they do is they do two reports to sampling events each year. And then report those results to the Wyoming DEQ.

Okay. And then the 10,000 is things are moving forward on the new Baylor project and that gives room to allow for some surveying or whatever.

That's actually separate. Usually what will happen with the landfill, if we need some surveying work, a lot of this, uh, was performed when they were developing the cell 14. They had to make sure that certain elevations were correct, and we may have to add some material or take out some material. And then as far as the permitting work, sometimes there may be some minor amendments that we have to make to the permit. And those are usually accomplished through a separate, well, not a separate agreement, but through this. as needed part of this agreement.

any further questions for mr harkins mr mayor seeing no further questions i would move to approve amendment number six as indicated in item 11 of our agenda

Alright, I have a motion from Councilman Victim to approve Amendment number 6 as presented in item 11. Do I have a second? Second second from Councilman deal. Any further discussion gentlemen? Hearing none, I'll call for vote. All those in favor of approving the amendment number six as presented in item 11, signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Any opposed, signify by saying nay. Hearing no nays, that amendment number six is approved. All right, we are down on item 12, approval of the bills from April 22, 26 to May 5, 26. And we'd call on Mrs. Strecker.

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

On the first set of bills, and it's just a comment, under low-fink panhandle for weed spraying, that total is like $11,000. That's not on a bid basis or anything, is it?

He's about the only vendor we can get to do all that.

What's that?

He's about the only vendor we can get to do all that. We used to have a local guy here, and he's out of business. And I think Lofing actually bought some of his business.

So he does offer us a discount if we sign early with him. So I think that's what this is.

I'm assuming if we're paying the bills that the pool and the kiddie pool both passed their inspections.

They haven't had inspections yet.

Oh, okay.

Just license.

We're just paying the license fee up front so they will come inspect.

Oh, they'll send their fee every week, every year. We have not seen an inspector. I don't think he was there last year either, but it should pass with flying colors.

Lynette, I see on the second set we're we're paying. A lot of money for background checks and and you ways and drug testing and all that. And I think learning from staff this morning we were only short. Two seasonal jobs. For employees for two seasonal jobs, I believe so, yes. Okay, well, I think that's good. We're still looking for somebody in streets, and we're still looking in somebody in water and wastewater. So if anybody's listening, still two job openings for summer help.

On a second set with Goshen County Construction, Homestead and Museum building, is that the final payment on that?

I don't believe so, no.

Mr. Mayor, if there are no further questions, I make a motion to approve the bills as presented.

All right. We're on item number 12. I have a motion from Councilman Kelly to approve the bills as presented. Do I have a second?

I would second.

Second from Councilman Victor. Any further discussion? Hearing none, I'll call for a vote. Item 12, all those in favor of approval of the bills as presented, signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed, signify by saying nay. Hearing no nays, the bills are approved. We're on item number 13, public comment. Thank you for attending Fire Chief Schick. You want to give us a report, please?

Good evening, Mayor and Council. Pretty mild last couple weeks for my department. Probably the two most notable calls that garnered some attention from the community was the 18th of April. My department was dispatched to a vegetation fire while en route that was upgraded to a working structure fire. That was a trailer house that was luckily vacant. Some investigation by the sheriff's department found out that some miners had been playing with a lighter and fireworks, and that grew from the vegetation to a shed to an unoccupied trailer house. The other one would have been the 27th of April. That was a semi-fire east of town out by John Deere. The back end of the trailer was malfunctioning and caught on fire. My guys made quick work of that, and we kept that to the trailer and kept it on the highway and out of the vegetation. Other than that, pretty quiet. Just had four members return this last weekend from Cody Fire School, ranging from pump operations to firing operations in the wildland sector. So they returned Sunday. That's about all I have for you gentlemen. Stand for any questions.

That fire with the kids and the fireworks, that was on Hope Road, right?

That was Hope Road, correct.

And I think the deputy found the kids and at least dealt with them to some degree, right?

Yeah, they all pointed to one individual. And I think he got the talking to the best he could with being a minor and no parent around. But I do believe there won't be further incident there.

We hope, right? Yeah. All right. Gentlemen, any questions for Chief Schick? I don't use the Q word, but good work. The less that happens, the better. Yes, sir. Thank you, Chief. Thank you. Any other public comment? Got Mr. Estes coming up.

Real quick, Mayor, just give me an update on the pool.

We fired the new heater today.

Pool's full, it's clean, it's operational, and so far, across our fingers, everything's working. A month ahead of time. We have not fired the slide or the baby pool, but we'll see what happens.

And all I heard was optimism this morning at staff meeting and we'll continue in the optimism. And gentlemen, do you have any specific questions for Dennis? Thank you. Appreciate it. All right. Chief Johnson.

Thank you, Mayor and Council. Yesterday was May 4th, International Firefighters Appreciation Day. And I always like to take a moment to comment on that because our fire resources really kind of get the short end of the stick. They only get one day, and every other first responder group gets an entire week. And so I just really feel like it's incumbent upon us to recognize and appreciate the fire resources that we have in our county. We rely entirely on volunteer firefighters, and I appreciate all of the fire departments that we work with, but I particularly want to call out the Torrington Volunteer Fire Department. having had the opportunity to work in a lot of different places with some really professional fire services. We are blessed to be served by a group of men and women that are professional and responsible and incredibly sacrificial with their personal time and sometimes their safety so that the rest of us can be safe. And I feel like we owe them a great debt of gratitude and appreciation. And I never want to miss the opportunity to call that out, in this case, on May 5th. So thank you.

Appreciate it. Thank you, Chief Johnson. Gentlemen, do you have any public comments? I don't see anybody out there got a comment. I don't see any takers. I'm going to say let's take a short recess, a short break, before we move on. Anybody needs a break? Take one.

Should we make the motion right quickly? We can do that. Mr. Mayor, I make a motion to move to executive session pursuant to state statute for personal litigation, potential litigation.

All right. I have a motion from Councilman Victorin to leave regular session and enter executive session.

Councilman Victorin.

I'm sorry. I have a motion from Councilman Deal to leave regular session and enter executive session to discuss potential litigation. Do I have a second? Second. Second, Councilman Victor. Any further discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor of Leaving regular session and entering executive session to discuss potential litigation. Signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? Signify by saying nay. Hearing no nays, we will leave regular session and enter executive session. Now we'll take a break.