Town of Guernsey
Regular Meeting
Platte County, Wyoming
Present: Mayor Paustian, CM Harris, CM Augustyn, CM Kelley, CM Delgado
Staff: K. Farmer, J. Michaels, M. Montgomery, M. Mindieta, M. Allred, Chief Smith, Judge Conner, Officer Chavez
Guests: Dennis Brinkley, Lori Ibarra, Danielle & Gordon Noggle, Troy & Shawna Reichart
Via Zoom: Christa Bartel, Christopher Martinez, Shane & Misty Clevenger
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 March 2, 2021, as written, seconded by CM Kelley. A vote was taken, and the motion carried with 5 ayes.
Consideration of Claims: Mayor Paustian presented the vouchers for approval. CM Augustyn moved to approve the Considerations of Claims for $265,361.46 seconded by CM Delgado. A vote was taken, and the motion carried with 5 ayes. Vouchers follow in their entirety: B.A. Lawernce – 1085.00, Baymont Inn & Suites – 114.00, BDO – 5900.00, Benchmark of Torrington – 1179.50, Black Hills Energy – 1459.41, Brown – 600.00, Bryant – 64.14, Capital Business Systems – 437.04, Caselle – 1140.00, CenturyLink – 2293.24, Charlies Repair – 30.00, Dana Kepner Co of Wyoming – 232.68, Drube Supply – 122.94, Energy Laboratories – 125.00, Frank J Jones, Attorney at Law – 2217.70, Howshar Hardware & appliance – 181.53, Inber-Miller Engineers – 5057.60, John Deere Financial – 44.28, Knife River Corporation – 299.88, Mobius Communications – 404.00, Mountain States Pipe & Supply – 1226.61, Newcomb Heating & Cooling – 80.00, Noggle – 1800.00, One-Call of Wyoming – 4.50, O’Reilly Automotive – 152.94, Price Pump Company – 2812.91, Reserve Account – 150.00, Sarah Mosley Cleaning Services – 350.00, Soapy Suds – 140.00, Syncb/Amazon – 258.49, TDS Collection Services – 13020.22, Team Laboratory Chemical – 4166.45, USPS – 164.27, Verizon Wireless – 338.16, Vistabeam – 449.55, Walker – 2039.92, Warner – 10.00, WCBO – 200.00, Wex Bank – 2600.47, Wheatland Automotive – 98.15, Wheatland Garage Door – 318.57, Wheatland REA – 78.81, Wyoming First Aid & Safety Supply – 223.62, Wyoming Law Enforcement Academy – 325.00, Wyoming Municpal Power Agency – 100958.74, Wyoming Office of State Land & Investments – 2500.00, Wyoming Retirement System – 516.31, WyoPots – 1740.00, Wyrulec – 1067.74, Payroll – 59743.54, Taxes & Benefits – 44848.55, Total Vouchers – $265,361.46.
Camp Guernsey Back Brief: Camp is planning a controlled burn on April 29th in the North Training area, alternate day is May 5th. It will be a training and fire mitigation exercise that includes Camp staff, Wyoming Military Departments, helicopter assets, and local emergency management. This is to ensure processes in place are current and will work. They are hiring multiple state and military positions. Wyoming Military Department is at Health Protection Level Bravo+. Masks are required if 5 or more people are in a location and/or social distancing is not possible. Soldiers are receiving their COVID vaccines through their units. Other employee statuses have been notified they can receive their COVID vaccines free through local County Health Departments. Camp is projected to be busier in June and July pending any Department of Defense restrictions due to COVID.
Ordinance 2021-001 – Sewer Rates, 3rd Reading: CM Augustyn moved to approve Ordinance 2021-001 on 3rd reading, seconded by CM Kelley. Mayor Paustian opened the motion for comments and Joe Michaels said the ordinance is poorly written and he would like to work on it with Kate to address some issues. CM Augustyn made a motion to withdraw his motion to approve Ordinance 2021-001 – Sewer Rates on 3rd Reading, seconded by CM Delgado. The vote was taken and the motion carried. The ordinance will be tabled until April 20, 2021.
Tri-City Parks & Rec – Swimming Pool Proposal: Lori Ibarra, Administrator, and Danielle Noggle, Chairperson of the Board for Tri-City Parks and Recreation District spoke with the Council about the budget and keeping the schedule the same due to the cuts. Lori addressed the request from Dave Lycan to be open from 5 am to 9 am and justified that they cannot fund the cost of the early morning swimming. CM Augustyn moved to approve the Tri-City Parks & Recreation Swimming Pool Proposal, seconded by CM Delgado. The vote was taken and the motion carried with 5 ayes. Lori discussed the baseball field and the maintenance for it. The Town Parks crew will do all of the weed spraying, watering, and mowing. There was a miscommunication between town departments last year, but that has been taken care of and the baseball field will be better maintained going forward.
Catering Permit – JWPerk’s Corp – May 22, 2021: CM Harris moved to approve the catering permit for JWPerk’s Corp for May 22, 2021, seconded by CM Kelley. The vote was taken and the motion carried with 5 ayes.
Oath of Office – Judge William Conner: CM Augustyn moved to approve Mayor Paustian's appointment of William Conner as the Town of Guernsey’s Municipal Judge, seconded by CM Delgado. The vote was taken and the motion carried with 5 ayes.
Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month Proclamation: Mayor Paustian proclaimed April 2021 as Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month.
Public Comment: Shawna Reichart, Director of the Platte County Chamber of Commerce said that they can move forward with events. The Ag Banquet will be on June 26th at the newly remodeled 4-H building in Wheatland. She invited the council to a ribbon-cutting for a new member Wyoming 307 Woodworkers, a group of Guernsey-Sunrise Students, on April 27th at the school by the shop. Visitor numbers are starting to climb as we get into the traveling season. The website hits increased by 152% over the last month. She would like to get better information out for Guernsey to increase page views. Dennis Brinkley wants to address the cleanliness of the town. It's been two years since he was here to discuss the aesthetics of the town. Why are the ordinances not enforced? I am blaming the council for this problem, he is living in a garbage pit, he has lived here for 48 years and it was clean and it no longer is. He wants the staff to enforce the ordinances. He works hard to keep his place and alley clean. Look out your doors and see how dirty this community is. He doesn’t want to come here again. CM Delgado said it is the council's duty to enforce ordinances. Kate is working with the police to get nuisance ordinances enforced. Mr. Brinkley is ashamed of our community. We have got to start somewhere to get it cleaned up. He has been told this every time he comes here, that we are working on it and we will get it done but it doesn’t get done. Kate Farmer read Rose Martinez’s letter in regards to the relationship between Tri-City Parks and Recreation and the Town. It is as follows: When Guernsey split from the Platte County Parks and Recreation the budget amounts to about 20% of the county’s funding for parks and recreation. She was on the Platte County Board and then the Guernsey board for many years, often as president. The town has always allowed the Recreation District to use city parks for activities at no fee. This includes the ballpark. The town always took responsibility for mowing, weed control, etc., just as the school does at “Sticker Stadium”. Parks and Recreation provide for supervision, lining the field, and scheduling. The school provides office and activity spaces at no fee to Parks and Recreation. There has never been a contract between Parks and Rec and the Town or between Parks and Rec and the schools as far as she knows. Parks and Rec can only afford to pay part-time staff, usually the director and an activity supervisor on the limited tax funds they receive. The weed control and maintenance Lori discussed with her is the town’s responsibility. She thinks that this would be a high priority because it affects the swimming pool park as well.
Department Reports: Kate Farmer let the council know that the financial statement as of March 31, 2021, was provided to them. She let them know that revenues are coming in as projected and all of the departments are staying within their budgets. The audit is waiting for the final review from the supervisors at BDO and she will share it with the council as soon as she receives it. She will also schedule for the auditors to give an overview of findings during a council meeting. Chief Smith has given warnings for illegal vehicles to be moved or registered, as of June the problem vehicles will receive tickets or be towed. He has been working with the local lawn care providers to help elderly citizens take care of their property and address the nuisance ordinance. April 19th Officer Chavez and Officer Brown will start online training for certified peace officer certification. Mike Montgomery reported that the electric system has been running smoothly. They did have to rebuild the service that feeds Kelley’s Bar after a semi-truck ripped down the line, pole, and riser. Water samples for March came back good. Sewer jetting is on an as-need-basis due to COVID. He is planning to get the street sweeper out this week to get some of the gravel picked up. They are replacing street lights with LED bulbs as needed. Matt Allred asked the council if they had any questions about his report and answered questions. CM Harris asked about Jeff Martinez’s property on South River Road. Matt said he is waiting on a site plan so they can address the drainage issues and not affect where Mr. Martinez would like to build. Mike Mindieta got the big pumped fixed at the golf course and they will get it running tomorrow. There is a lot of cleanup to do. Everything should be ready for opening on April 15th. He knows that the greens will be fine, but they will be slow to recover until the nights consistently are above 50 degrees. Judge Conner reported for the end of March that he dealt with 21 cases and carried over 15 into April and he collected $1,982.00 in fines. He thanked Dana Bell for helping out while he was in retirement.
Mayor and Council Report: CM Harris said that the crew did a great job after the snowstorm. CM Kelley had some complaints about dogs at large. His granddaughter had a dog attack her when she was getting out of her car at her house. CM Delgado wants to see the leash law enforced as the ordinance is written. He asked Mayor Paustian about sharing the costs of the ambulance with the County Commissioners. Mayor Paustian said he will make contact again with the commissioners. Mayor Paustian said the crews have done a great job with the snow removal.
Announcements: 4/7 - Guernsey Volunteer Fire Meeting @ 6 pm, 4/17 - Mobile Food Pantry @ Town Hall Parking Lot, 4/20 – Town Council Meeting, 4/23 to 4/30 – Spring Cleanup
Executive Session – Personnel: CM Harris moved to go into executive session to discuss personnel issues, seconded by CM Kelley. The vote was taken and the motion carried with 5 ayes. CM Augustyn moved to reconvened into the regular session at 8: 57 pm with no decisions made, seconded by CM Harris. The vote was taken and the motion carried with 5 ayes.
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 8:58 pm, seconded by CM Augustyn. A vote was taken, and the motion carried with 5 ayes.
Attest:
Nicholas Paustian, Mayor
Kate Farmer, Clerk/Treasurer
Public Notice No. 1917 published in the Guernsey Gazette on April 13, 2021.
