Town council approves landfill ordinance

Tuesday evening, the Thermopolis Town Council approved the third and final reading for Ordinance 844, which takes effect Nov. 1, regarding fees for construction and demolition trash and the disposal of tires. The resolution includes language stating that tires shall not be deposited in town dumpsters or left abandoned in the town, and an appropriate permit must be paid for in advance. Penalty for violation includes a fine of $750. The fee schedule for tire dumping is: $3 for car tires, $5 for truck, $10 for semi and $15 for tractor.

Later in the meeting, there was some discussion of sending tires to places where they are used to make shelters, or possibly bringing in a local operation to shred the tires and reusing the material in other ways.

Council also approved Resolution 530, which states all necessary personnel policies are amended to state Town employees traveling out of town, but not overnight, will not be reimbursed for costs of meals, unless that travel is unanticipated and for the convenience of the Town, as approved by department heads. Meal reimbursement vouchers will be periodically audited to ensure employee compliance.

Also during the meeting, Council approved a proclamation that October 2016 is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The proclamation further urges citizens to actively participate in scheduled activities and programs sponsored by the H.O.P.E. Agency to work towards the elimination of domestic violence.

Council heard from Linda Hughes, who brought before them concerns regarding properties she owns and harassments she has received. She said the presentation of the information was a last ditch effort to reach a solution, and warned that if the situation was not resolved she would commit an act of civil disobedience, and further pursue the matter in court. She was hopeful it would not get to that point, and apologized it has come to this.

Engineer In Training Lisa Johnson recommended the final payment for the chip seal project, which is the release of the retainage — $6,837.50 — on Oct. 26, and that payment was approved.

Johnson also said the paperwork is in place for the 1,000,000-gallon tank painting project, to be performed by Wyoming Power Wash Inc., and Mayor Mike Mortimore was approved to sign the notice to proceed.

Director of Public Works Ernie Slagle was approved to spend the money to fix a transmission on a track loader at the landfill. At a previous meeting, a motion to spend the money failed due concerns over costs and future breakdowns, as well as other items. During Tuesday’s meeting, Councilman Dusty Lewis said further research showed they would be spending as much on repairs as they would on purchasing used equipment. Slagle said the issue appears to be a seal leak, as oil is getting into other areas, and further operation of the loader could cause the transmission to fail entirely.