New community food pantry will be placed in front of Town Hall

At the September 21 Thermopolis Town Council meeting during citizen participation Bradyn Harvey, representing the Odd Fellows Lodge, proposed a community food pantry to be placed in Bicentennial Park. This large metal cabinet would contain dry goods, diapers, tampons and other nonperishable items.

The pantry would operate on the honor system with no questions asked if people need items from it. It would be stocked by the Odd Fellows Lodge or any other benevolent person. Harvey explained that this has been done in other cities with success. 

There was discussion about its location in the Bicentennial Park because there was an ordinance closing the park at 10 p.m. There was also concern about vandalism.

One suggestion that was brought up was to move the pantry to be in front of the Town Hall where the soda machine used to sit. This will be more accessible during the evening hours and not be in violation of an ordinance. Harvey completely agreed to the location change. The council voted and passed the approval of placing the pantry in front of Town Hall. The cabinet will be bolted down to secure it from being stolen and they will see how successful or not it will be.

Assistant to Mayor Fred Crosby spoke on behalf of Linda McCumber to get permission to hold the Homecoming Parade on Friday, September 24. The council voted and passed approval for the parade. 

Meri Ann Rush, representing the Chamber of Commerce, presented a request for street closure for their Moonlight Madness event on October 28. Rush informed the council that the stage in Bicentennial Park is too small and too dark to hold the children’s costume contest.

Rush wanted to close off the street in front of Town Hall and have the content held in a brighter light in that area. Interim Police Chief Pat Cornwell was concerned about the children’s safety on the street in the case of a drunk driver speeding down the area. A stronger barrier was suggested. The council voted and passed to approve the street closure. 

Jackie Dorothy, director of the Travel and Tourism Board, presented an update to the council. 

Dorothy said about the county’s lodging tax, “So we have done really well in the last two months. We brought in $4,000 in July last year. This July, we brought in $33,000. That was an increase of 684%. So, it was a record year. And we have now just gotten our numbers for August, which was $29,000, again, another record month. So, so far, with just those two months, we brought in $62,700, which is over what we anticipated.”  

Additionally, Dorothy reported about the grand opening of the County Museum’s School House Program and that it received a grant of $50,000. This program and event allowed children to experience what a 1920s schoolhouse curriculum was like. The children even got to dress in authentic attire during that period and did role-playing for the event. Dorothy said there was a lot of enthusiasm from the children. Even one child who was unhappy at the beginning was later on very excited and wanted to do more.  

Shay Wilson of the Rodeo Club presented a request for a catering permit to sell beer at the Benefit Rodeo and Auction Dinner, Saturday, September 25. The council voted and passed the request. 

Carrie Ryan, representing the Golf Course, reported that there were cows and other animals on the course and they were addressing the issue. Also, they were experiencing some pump problems.

Town Engineer Anthony Barnett presented pay estimates for the Town Shop roof replacement at $52,140.75 and chip seal project at $85,096.25 Dave Loden Construction and Wild West Construction, respectively, are doing the work. The council voted and passed to approve the pay estimates. 

Fred Crosby reported that he was starting work on a property insurance renewal.

Council member Dusty Lewis, on behalf of Hot City Alliance, gave an update on their trail progress. Additionally, the council set up a work session for October 19 that will address trash collection.