Town approved for last cell in landfill

At the July 20 Thermopolis Town Council meeting, council member Bill Malloy gave a report about his attendance at the WAM Convention. Malloy said he enjoyed it and that 167 people registered for it with many vendors in attendance. During the reception at the botanical gardens Malloy said about 300 people participated. Malloy commented that it was “a good visiting time.” 

Malloy discovered in his conversation about how many of the issues the town of Thermopolis faces are very similar to other jurisdictions. This was comforting that “we were not alone in our problems.”

However, Malloy also learned how there are more positive things happening in Thermopolis compared to other areas. He mentioned that just this year Thermopolis held the Brewfest, the Car Show, rodeos, the class reunion, the coming demo derby and the football camp. Malloy said, “We have more stuff than other towns put together.”

Malloy also noted some classes and workshops he attended. Main speaker Doug Griffin presented “13 Ways to Kill Your Community.” They are: 1. Forgetting the water, it’s quality or quantity. 2. Don’t attract businesses, competition is actually good. Malloy spent some time expressing that competition helps the business community and not hurt it. 3. Don’t engage the youth. Malloy said it’s important for the older generation to listen to young people’s ideas. 4. Deceive yourself. Strategic planning is good and needs to be followed through. 5. Shop elsewhere, instead shop locally. 6. Don’t paint: the issues of curb appeal. Malloy commented that Thermopolis needs to improve its looks and not have trash or an unappealing appearance for tourists driving through town. 7. Don’t cooperate. Malloy described the years of lack of unity amongst different groups in town. 8. Live in the past. Malloy said there is one part of our community that wants to see growth and another part that doesn’t. 9. Shut out your seniors. 10. Reject everything new. 11. Ignore outsiders. 12. Grow complacent. 13. Don’t take responsibility. 

The council voted and passed Resolution #564 for a budget adjustment that shows what they did and what they had planned. They also voted and passed an asset deletion action for items that were no longer in use or were broken and unrepairable. 

Under citizen participation, the council voted and passed catering permits for Shorty’s for the pig wrestling event August 3, the Wyoming Discovery Days event August 7 and 8, and for the Demolition Derby August 14.

Town engineer Anthony Barnett reported that they are taking pre bids for their chip seal project at 10 a.m. Thursday. He added that oil prices have held but money for hauling gravel has increased in cost. There will also be a sanitary survey with the DEQ and EPA on Wednesday to go through all the distribution systems.

Assistant to the Mayor Fred Crosby reported that they had a sudden, unexpected expense of $27,000 to replace four tires for the landfill’s scraper. One tire blew up suddenly while parked. Fortunately, no one was around as the explosion of the tire blew chunks apart, and it could have killed someone if they were nearby. Crosby said that the tires were old and needed to be replaced. There was discussion whether the extreme heat caused the tire to explode.

Crosby also said they have received a lot of calls to Town Hall about nuisance issues. Crosby requested that any notices related to that should call 864-3114 to the dispatch office to speak with the Nuisance Officer there.

Barnett also reported that the DEQ engineers the town has worked with in Casper has changed to their people in Lander. They approved the town to work in their last cell in the landfill. Crosby anticipates that they will be able to put waste in it for the next couple years. They also are in the process of turning in samples for their wells in the landfill.