December 3, 2019
Town of Guernsey
Regular Meeting
Platte County, Wyoming
Present: Mayor Paustian, CM Kelley, CM Whitworth, CM Harris, CM Augustyn
Absent:
Staff: K. Farmer, M. Allred, D. Lent, Chief VanDam, K. Montgomery, Sergeant Clevenger, J. Michaels, Judge Conner
Guests: Mike and Sonja Klipstine, Beverly Spungin, Lt. Colo. Patton, Mike Beard, Dave Lycan, Ada Pulos, Mark Borders
Mayor Paustian called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm. The assembly joined in the Pledge of Allegiance and was welcomed to the meeting.
Agenda: CM Kelley moved to approve the agenda as written, seconded by CM Harris. A vote was taken, and the motion carried with 5 ayes.
Minutes: CM Harris moved to approve the regular minutes for November 19, 2019, seconded by CM Augustyn. A vote was taken, and the motion carried with 5 ayes.
Consideration of Claims: Mayor Paustian presented the vouchers for approval. CM Whitworth moved to approve the Considerations of Claims for $166,265.94, seconded by CM Kelley. A vote was taken, and the motion carried with 5 ayes. Vouchers follow in entirety: Absolute Solutions – 8792.40, Allred – 202.51, Anton Collins Mitchell – 2500.00, Axon Enterprise – 2080.00, Baker & Associates – 1160.50, Border States Industries – 1422.08, Burns Insurance Agency – 50.00, CenturyLink – 1155.83, Continental Concrete – 295.45, Dairyland Donkey Ball – 125.00, Energy Laboratories – 13134.00, Ferguson Waterworks – 3335.15, Guernsey Super Foods – 147.50, Holtz – 270.00, Interstate Energy – 432.00, Lent – 750.00, McGuire – 105.74, Mobius Communications – 2288.72, Montgomery – 350.00, Motorola Solutions – 16488.32, Mountain State Pipe & Supply – 253.94, Northern Tool – 311.99, Purchase Power – 200.00, Ramkota Hotel – 166.00, Rose Brothers – 683.47, Roy’s Tree Service – 2250.00, Safeguard Business Systems – 333.77, TDS – 16182.09, Team Laboratory – 2280.50, USPS – 172.55, Warws – 450.00, Wheatland Automotive – 795.44, Windbreak Cable – 54.94, WYDEQ – 250.00, Wyoming State Land & Investment – 43557.88, Payroll – 34255.97, Taxes & Benefits – 8982.20, Total Vouchers – $166,265.94.
Public Comment: Ada Pulos thanked the town employees for all the hard work clearing the streets and alleys. They did an awesome job! Mike Beard thanked the council and the community that donated to the Thanksgiving Dinner at the Guernsey-Sunrise School could be served. CM Whitworth gave Mike Beard a $1,000 donation from Lowenbrau that came in after the dinner. Mayor Paustian gave recognition to CM Whitworth and CM Augustyn for rallying the troupes for the Thanksgiving Dinner donation drive.
Chugwater Street Property: Matt Allred brought the Council and guests up to speed on where the Town is with the development of the property. Dave Lycan said that they currently have 60 individuals that work in Guernsey and 90% of them live outside of Guernsey. The Air Force just had a family move to Guernsey and it added 6 children into the school system. Air Force is looking at increasing its workforce in Guernsey to approximately 97 individuals. If there is adequate housing in Guernsey the Air Force will mandate them to live within so many miles of Guernsey. The age of school kids is generally kindergarten through seventh grade for Air Force families. CM Augustyn has spoken with Jodi and Eldon Garver about helping the Town sell the property and get it developed. The Council needs to figure out what they want to do with this property in terms of housing size and type. Mike Beard said that the family that moved here for the Air Force would have gone somewhere else if the house wouldn’t have. The biggest drawback for teachers with families not taking a position in Guernsey is the housing issue. He thinks there is a great opportunity to add as many families as rentals we have available. Ada Pulos is wondering if we have been looking at providing housing for our older citizens. Matt and Kate said that senior citizens have been kept in mind during the housing talks. Mayor Paustian hopes to have some answers by the end of the month on the property.
Golf Course Pumphouse & Transmission Line: Bids came in for the Golf Course Pumphouse & Transmission Line project. CM Whitworth moved to approve the bid and Notice of Award to Rocky Mountain Sand and Gravel, LLC for $133,796.00, seconded by CM Augustyn. A vote was taken, and the motion carried with 5 ayes.
Department Reports: Matt reported that we received a funding recommendation for the Guernsey Water Transmission Pipeline. We will have a public meeting on November 11, 2019, at 9 am with the Wyoming Water Development Commission regarding the Transmission Pipeline. We are working on the water tank restoration and trying to make sure that the Town still has fire suppression during the restoration. The diagnostic meeting with WyDot and BNSF about the Rail Spur Expansion Project went well and there a few things that need to be adjusted with the signage and some line of sight issues. Matt has been in touch with the contractor and they are going to make a schedule to address the problems. It will have to be reevaluated before the new spur will be able to be put into use. The airport passed all of the DEQ requirements for its annual inspections. Eaton Sales and Services will be installing new leak detector systems on the fuel tanks at the airport. The Klipstines have applied for an exception to the construction style for residential zoning for building their new shop. They have met with the Planning and Zoning Board and are complying with all the requirements the board has asked of them. Planning and Zoning voted unanimously in favor of the exception. CM Augustyn moved to approve the exception to the construction style for residential zoning for Mike and Sonja Klipstine, seconded by CM Harris. A vote was taken, and the motion carried. Chief VanDam reported 268 total calls for November and December is starting off to be very busy. Operation Warm Hands, which collects winter clothing items for children in Guernsey, is in full swing and they hope to give out the items out over the Christmas Break. March 19, 2020 will be Donkey Basketball at the Guernsey-Sunrise School. Judge Conner reported 69 cases for November, disposing of 39 and carrying over 30 and revenues were at $3,652.00. Kate Farmer let the Council know that the Volunteer Fire Department meeting has been moved to next Wednesday at 6 pm. Joe Michaels reported the outages started in Alliance during the recent snowstorm. It turned out to be better than expected for getting the electric back on.
Mayor and Council Report: CM Harris and CM Kelley thanked the crews for all the hard work during the snowstorm. CM Whitworth and CM Augustyn thanked the community for donating to the Thanksgiving Dinner for the school. Mayor Paustian said that the community did a great job of coming together and supporting the school.
Announcements: 12/4 - Winter’s Eve, 12/7 – Toy Run, 12/11 – Guernsey Transmission Pipeline Public Hearing, 12/11 – Guernsey Volunteer Fire Department Meeting, 12/17 – Town Council Meeting, 12/17 – Santa @ Wyoming Child & Family Development, 12/20 – Sant @ G-S School, 12/24-25- Merry Christmas & Eve, 12/24-12/27 – Town Hall Closed, 1/1 – Happy New Year & Town Hall Closed, 1/7 – Town Council Meeting, 1/20 – Martin Luther King Day, Town Hall Closed, 1/21 – Town Council Meeting
Adjournment: With no further business to come before the Council, Mayor Paustian called for a motion to adjourn. CM Harris moved to adjourn the meeting at 6:47 pm, seconded by CM Kelley. A vote was taken, and the motion carried with 5 ayes.
Attest:
Nicholas Paustian, Mayor
Kate Farmer, Clerk/Treasurer
Public Notice No. 1833 published in the Guernsey Gazette, December 10, 2019.
