City Council Meetings

CITY OF GREEN RIVER CITY COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS February 18, 2014 The Governing Body of the City of Green River met in regular session at 7 pm in the City Hall Council Chambers. Mayor Castillon called the meeting to order. The following Council Members were present: Gary Killpack, Mark Peterson, Adam Coppolo, Tom McCullough, Brett Stokes, and Lisa Maes. The following were present representing the City: City Administrator Marty Black, Director of Public Works Mike Nelson, City Engineer/Utility Manager Mark Westenskow, Accounting Supervisor Chris Meats, Director of Community Development Laura Leigh, Police Lieutenant Tom Jarvie, Assistant Fire Chief Mike Liberty, Parks and Recreation Director Allan Wilson, and City Attorney Galen West. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA The Mayor removed the Board and Committee Appointment to the Joint Powers Water Board from the agenda because the person withdrew her application. Council Member McCullough moved to approve the agenda. Council Member Killpack seconded. Motion carried. (7-0) PRESENTATIONS Sweetwater Transit Authority Resources Update Judy Owens from STAR, thanked council for their continued support and they reported ride statistics for the area. She expects the ride numbers to increase in 2014. They have received one new bus and will be getting another one later. Council Member McCullough thanked her for the work they do. Council Member Peterson asked if they were going to receive any funding from the legislature, and extended an offer to assist them in getting funding. Ms. Owens said they were told they would not be getting any funding from the State Land and Investment Board this year, and she thanked him for extending his support and assistance. Council Member Peterson asked how many vehicles they have. Ms. Owens said they have 15 buses and eight drivers. There are two vans and three back up buses. CITIZEN REQUESTS AND OTHER COMMUNICATIONS Former Mayor George Eckman encouraged council to continue developing the airport. When he was on council they hoped that future governing bodies could develop the airport. He also noted local resident James Burdick passed away a couple weeks ago. He played a large part in the current Fire Department and he should be recognized for his contributions to the city. PUBLIC HEARINGS Application to the Wyoming Business Council Community Enhancement Grant Program Mayor Castillon opened the hearing at 7:12 pm. Ms. Springer said the grant was for the Wayfinding Signage System in Green River. It directs people to what is offered in Green River, along with the branding system to make it easy to identify signage around the city. It will promote tourism and can help in economic development. The estimated cost of the project is $174,000. There is approximately $39,000 available in the budget for the project. Staff has worked together to move forward with the integrity of the project along with cutting some of the costs. The Parks and Recreation Department along with City Council Proceedings February 18, 2014 Page 1 of 6 the Streets Department has offered their in-kind services in the amount of $35,000. The URA/Main Street Department will provide $12,500. Council Member Peterson asked if directions to the grocery store would be included in the signage. Mr. Brown said there is a generic sign that says groceries. Council Member Coppolo asked if Smith’s was approached to help with this since it will benefit them. Mr. Brown said no. Council Member Maes said she likes the signage program but she thought the project was supposed to be done in-house last summer. Mr. Black said that is part of the $39,000 that is left and some work was done in-house. The Mayor recommended postponing the submission of the grant until the next cycle in July due to the uncertainty of funding for the city. The Mayor closed the hearing at 7:22 pm. Liquor License Renewals Mayor Castillon opened the hearing at 7:22 pm. Mr. Meats said the Finance Department received the completed application from Atka, LLC and it has been forwarded to the state for final approval. The Mayor asked if all of the other applications were completed. Mr. Meats said all of them except for Ardent Green River, LLC. Mr. West said two have not been approved by the state. Mr. Meats said they are waiting on final approval from the state on the both. Council Member Coppolo asked if the city has been in contact with the Ardent Green River, LLC. Mr. Meats said yes. Staff has been in contact with them for awhile and they are fully aware of what needs to be done in order to complete their application. The Mayor closed the hearing at 7:25 pm. RESOLUTIONS Grant Submission for the Wayfinding System A resolution authorizing the City of Green River’s submission of an application to the Wyoming Business Council Business Ready Community Grant Program for a Community Enhancement Grant to implement a Wayfinding System in the city. Council Member McCullough moved to table the submission of a Wyoming Business Council Grant proposal for the Wayfinding System. Council Member Coppolo seconded. Council Member McCullough said the wayfinding signs are a great addition to the city and if they can find the funds to do it in March they should. City Council Proceedings February 18, 2014 Page 2 of 6 Council Member Maes agreed. The $87,340 is not all needed in cash. What the city will have to come up with is $51,000. The $35,000 from in-kind services and $39,000 in the budget would not directly come from cash. Mr. Black said the city would still be committing $51,000. Tabling it will hold it off until the next application cycle in July. The Mayor asked how hard it is to prepare the grant for submittal for the next cycle. Ms. Springer said it would not be too difficult since the grant has been prepared. Motion carried. (7-0) COUNCIL ACTION ITEMS 2013 Fiscal Year End Audit Auditor Steve Capson said he does not have the final paperwork for approval due to technical difficulties, but the audit is complete. They did not have any findings or unqualified opinions. The finding that was found last year was not repeated this year. He will get a complete set of the audit report to the council at a later date, and if anyone has a question to let him know. Mr. Black suggested council accept the audit for filing with the state, and do a full review of the audit at the March 4, 2014 council meeting. Council Member Killpack asked what Mr. Capson meant by opinions. Mr. Capson said when an audit is performed they offer an opinion on the present financial statements. When they do a government audit they have two opinions; one on the financial statements and one on the internal controls. Council Member Coppolo said most of the opinions they have are general things they would suggest. Mr. Capson said, in the past, they have offered management suggestions. Last year there was a finding but it did not cause any concern in the financial statements just in the internal controls. Council Member Killpack asked since there was a finding last year, and there isn’t one this year, does that mean the finding was cleared up? Mr. Capson said yes. Council Member McCullough moved to approve and to accept the audit report for filing with the state. Council Member Killpack seconded. Motion carried. (7-0) Application for Technical Assistance Funding Council Member Killpack moved to authorize the Green River URA/Main Street Agency to apply for Wyoming Main Street technical assistance funding, and for the Mayor to sign the contract upon receipt. Council Member Maes seconded. Council Member McCullough asked who would be using the funds, where they were going, and how much the city was going to have to come up with? Mr. Berg said the funds are for training to be used by the board or the administrator. There is a 10% match required but there are funds available in the URA/Main Street budget so there are no extra costs to the city. Motion carried. (7-0) Contract for the July 4, 2014 Fireworks Display City Council Proceedings February 18, 2014 Page 3 of 6 Council Member Maes moved to approve the contract with Fireworks West Internationale for the July 4, 2014 display in the amount of $20,000. Council Member McCullough seconded. Council Member McCullough said it is important to celebrate July 4th, and in years past people have said they appreciated the fireworks display and think they are great. Motion carried. (7-0) Lease for WyoLink Low Level Radio Site Council Member Peterson moved to enter into a 30-year lease agreement between the City of Green River and the Wyoming Department of Transportation for the WyoLink low level radio site on Mansface Mountain. Council Member Stokes seconded. Motion carried. (7-0) Independent Fee Estimate Proposal – Airport Master Plan Council Member Stokes moved to accept the Independent Fee Estimate Proposal in the amount of $1,800 from Rood & Associates and also to authorize the Mayor to email a Notice to Proceed to Neil Rood. Council Member McCullough seconded. Council Member McCullough clarified he will vote yes on the motion but he said the taskforce needs to find private funding until he gets more citizens in support of the project. Council Member Coppolo agreed. Private entities should be the ones that move forward with the project. Council Member Maes said nothing can be done with the project until the master plan is completed. Council Member Killpack asked if the master plan was only good for five years, and if nothing is done within that time, would the plan have to have done again? Resident James Punches said Ms. Yaffa believes that some sort of development will happen within five years, so then anything else would be an airport improvement plan. Council Member Killpack asked what the city will be responsible for if there are private hangers on the property. Mr. Punches said maintenance and security of the property. Council Member Killpack said he does not see any more citizens supporting the airport project. Council Member Peterson said the taskforce is working hard on getting the airport going at minimal costs. Mr. Punches said there are individuals that are interested in bringing private businesses to the airport. Council Member Coppolo said because it is an emergency landing strip it is up to the city to maintain the property. Council Member Killpack asked if it would be an issue to delay the project until July. The Mayor said he feels the city needs to move forward with the project because we received grants for the project. Mr. Black said $65,000 was set aside in the budget for the project and $25,000 remains. The $25,000 will go back into the General Fund for the next budget year. Motion carried (6-1) with Council Member Killpack voting no. Renewal of Liquor Licenses City Council Proceedings February 18, 2014 Page 4 of 6 Council Member Coppolo moved to approve the renewal of the restaurant, the limited and the retail liquor licenses, for the period of April 1, 2014 through March 31, 2015, with the exception of Atka, LLC an Ardent Green River, LLC; and to approve the Atka, LLC and Ardent Green River, LLC retail license only if their applications have been completed and approved by the State Liquor Division before March 31, 2014. Council Member Stokes seconded. Motion carried. (7-0) CONSENT AGENDA Council Member Coppolo moved to approve the following consent agenda items. Council Member McCullough seconded. Motion carried. (7-0)  Issuance of a Catering Permit to the Ponderosa Bar, Inc. for the Muley Fanatic Foundation’s Banquet at the Sweetwater County Events Complex, on March 1, 2014  Issuance of a Catering Permit to Black Rock, Inc., doing business as, The C-Store, to cater alcoholic beverages for the Castle Rock Hospital District’s Spring Fling, Friday, March 14, 2014 from 5:30 pm to 11:30 pm at the Island Pavilion  Horse corral lease agreement with Kathy Ker for corrals #84 and #85  WYDOT M-54 License Application for the Police Department Building fiber optics placement  Minutes for February 4, 2014 Council  Financial Reports and Payment of Bills: Prepaid Invoices = $208,967.53 Outstanding Invoices = $638,238.69 Payroll Expenditures = $326,092.86 Pre-authorization Payments = $1,065,000.00 Cash & Investment Balances Report CITY ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT Mr. Black said he will be meeting with the city attorney later this week to review a couple of components on the memorandum of understanding with the URA/ Main Street Board and that is why it wasn’t on the agenda tonight. On June 14, 2014 the LDS church will be hosting a Youth Day in Green River. They are expecting 400 to 500 youth to attend. He and Mr. Wilson have met to discuss possible community improvement projects that can be done. He will be attending the Wyoming Association of Municipalities Legislature meetings along with Mr. Stokes, Mr. Peterson, and Ms. Springer. CITY ATTORNEY’S REPORT Mr. West said had no report. MAYOR AND COUNCIL REPORTS Council Member Peterson, McCullough, and Coppolo had nothing to report. Council Member Maes congratulated the Parks and Recreation Department on hosting a successful Crystal Classic event this past weekend. She attended her first Joint Powers Telecom Board meeting on Thursday and their next meeting will be on March 13, 2014, at the City Hall in Green River. Council Member Killpack said the Crystal Classic event was a great success. He agreed that Mr. Burdick should be recognized for his accomplishments. Council Member Stokes said he was upset when he found out that the deal with the Radio Network for $50 a week to have the council agendas on the radio was cancelled. He did not know anything about it. He received phone calls about it, and he doesn’t understand why it happened. He didn’t understand the email about budget cuts. The ads were $200 and Steve Core City Council Proceedings February 18, 2014 Page 5 of 6 said without the community service discount it would be around $500. It was a surprise to him and the other council members. He said there are a lot of comments made about Rock Springs. Rock Springs is part of our community, we are all in this together, and we should try to work with each other better. The Mayor said he received a letter from Ms. Hughes at SW-WRAP asking for a letter of support. She is applying for a $3 to $4 million grant to support transitional programs for Veterans and their families in the community. Council Member McCullough said as long as the city does not have to give any funding for it then it is fine. Council Members agreed to send a letter of support. Council Member Peterson said as far as what Mr. Stokes had said; he’d asked for a letter of support for the airport from the City of Rock Springs and they never gave one. He would like to work together, but that is not working together. The Mayor said he has the right (to cancel Radio Network ads) and he exercised the right. Their invoice and others like it cross his desk for approval constantly. As Mayor, he feels it is not right to use air time to editorialize the city’s agenda, mocking and criticizing the governing body and employees. He knows they have the right to say and publish whatever they want, but he does not feel they have to use taxpayer’s money to support this behavior. The agreement to advertise the council agendas was made by the former city administrator and it was not within the scope of his authority. If Mr. Stokes feels strongly that he wants them advertised, then he will have the city administrator address the issue and add it to the agenda for the next council meeting, but keep in mind this service will have to be put out for bid. ADJOURNMENT Council Member Coppolo moved to adjourn at 8:07 pm. Council Member McCullough seconded. Motion carried. (7-0) ______________________________ H. Castillon, Mayor ATTEST: _____________________________ Jeffrey V. Nieters, City Clerk City Council Proceedings February 18, 2014 Page 6 of 6