Town approves first reading of ordinances

During their meeting on Tuesday, July 3 the Thermopolis Town Council approved two town ordinances on first reading. The ordinances will go through two more readings before they are adopted.

One ordinance repeals and replaces Town Code section 14-104 concerning liability and expense for repairs and maintenance of water service lines to place responsibility on the town for a portion of the line, with the balance being the responsibility of the consumer.

Under the new ordinance, responsibility for expense of repairs and maintenance of water service lines is on the Town of Thermopolis from the connection at the water main to six feet behind the street curb or to the consumer’s property line, whichever is closer to the main. Water service lines in any alley are excluded and the responsibility is solely on the consumer.

Also under the ordinance, from the point where the responsibility of the town ends, responsibility for expenses of repairs and maintenance of service lines to the point of use by the consumer, with noted exceptions, is on the consumer. These expenses include but are not limited to the lines, curb stops and boxes, saddles, valves and equipment, labor and other materials.

If there’s no operable curb stop at the point of the commencement of the responsibility of the consumer, a new curb stop will be installed with the expenses falling to the consumer. In any event all curb stops shall be operable and accessible by town employees and all costs associated with curb stop installation, repair, accessibility and operability are on the consumer. If the service line is under concrete, including but not limited to driveways or extended sidewalks, the town may decline to accept responsibility to the point of commencement of the consumer’s responsibility.

A second ordinance amends and replaced Town Code section 15-1106 and 15-1102 concerning fencing regulations. The new ordinance is meant to address corner lot fences and street visibility by including alleys, requiring fences to align with buildings and eliminating appeal to the Board of Appeals.

Under the ordinance, no fence shall be constructed or maintained in a way that blocks vision from a public street or alley to prevent adequate visibility of the street or alley from a private drive or access road.

Restrictions are put on front yard fences as well. For an interior lot, fences are restricted to a maximum height of four feet.

For corner lots, fences with a woven wire with a minimum of three inch by three inch weave or chain link, or are otherwise capable of being seen through are limited to a maximum height of four feet; fences made of other material have a three-foot maximum height restriction.

Also for corner lots, fences with a maximum height of six feet are allowed to extend into one front yard on corner lots but not both, as long as they align with building setback requirements on the second front yard and pose no street or alley visibility issues.

The ordinance further allows for property owners to dispute conditions imposed by the town, through the codes administrator or town employee designated by the mayor. The property owner no longer needs to appeal to the Board of Appeals.

Both ordinances will go through two more readings before final approval.

Earlier in the meeting, a right of way agreement was approved for a fence at the corner of Seventh and Arapahoe. Mayor’s Assistant Fred Crosby explained the property owners would like to put up a six-foot privacy fence on the corner lot, and noted he did not see where it would impede anyone’s vision.

Crosby further added the last few Board of Appeals meetings have been for corner lot fences. The board meets every month, with meetings advertised 10 days prior, and such meetings really set people back in terms of time and money. He said there are a lot of instances where there is no problem.

In other action, council approved the closing of Fifth Street from Broadway South to the alley for the annual Red Dirt Master Gardener’s Farmer’s Market. The first market is the last Saturday in July, then on consecutive Saturdays through the last Saturday in September. Though there was some concern the water line work would not be fully completed for the section of Fifth Street, council approved allowing use of Bicentennial Park for the market if necessary.

Town Engineer Anthony Barnett noted the work on the service lines in Hot Springs State Park is completed, short of paving and getting curbs and gutters back in.