Pine Bluffs dispatched a job well done

Pine Bluffs dispatcher Carleen Graves was recognized Monday evening at the Pine Bluffs town council meeting for her excellent performance on a recent emergency call.

“She was very calm and precise with her information,” said police chief Robin Clark. “Carleen remained clear and at an even level, even when handling multiple agencies. At one point, she was dealing with Kimball county sheriff, Kimball city police, our police, the Laramie county sheriffs, and the school.”

Mayor Bill Shain thanked Graves for her outstanding work. “I was just doing my job,” smiled Graves.

Clark mentioned it was “very rare” to receive recognition in law enforcement, and the dispatchers should be noticed more often for handling difficult calls successfully and professionally. “I appreciate you,” Clark said to Graves.

The council moved on to the third reading for the Black Boulevard improvements. There were no home owners from that area at the meeting. Council member Tom Mohren said he received two phone calls against the sidewalk. “One said he was too old to shovel snow and he thought his property taxes would go up significantly,” Mohren said. “The other was just against it.”

Council member Alan Curtis moved to approve the third reading of the Black Boulevard improvements, and council member Mark Ragsdale seconded. Mohren moved to amend the ordinance to not include the sidewalk, which failed to receive a second. The Black Boulevard ordinance passed.

Attorney Alex Davison said there would be no payments on the project until it is completed.

In other business, town administrator Caryn Miller said the city had received a check for $5,075 from the insurance company for the 2009 Crown Victoria. The Kelly Blue Book value if the car was in “fair” condition is $8,879.

“I would prefer to sell the courtesy car since all that is wrong with the Crown Vic is hail damage,” said council member Mark Fornstrom. The council discussed using the Crown Victoria for an extra car for the recreation department or for travel to meetings, and approved to keep the Crown Victoria for all purpose uses for the town.

The town reviewed a letter regarding the purchase of some city land that was put up for bid but failed to receive any bids. The party offered $750 for the land.

“I appreciate Caryn getting all the information on the land and its value, but just because the accessor says it’s worth $6,400 doesn’t mean it will sell for that,” Shain said. “Maybe $750 is a valid offer.”

Curtis said if the party wanted the land, they should go through the process of bidding for it. The council approved to put those lots up for bid again.

After discussing the value of another piece of land a party had offered to purchase from the town, the council agreed that land was “too valuable” to the town to sell.

The council accepted the resignation of Don Schultz. They also discussed changes to the employment policy on compensation.

“As it stands now, there is no limit to how many hours a worker can bank of comp time,” explained Miller. “Any time they have accrued the town owes them for that when they quit or retire. I think it is a huge liability for the town and think we should do away with it.” Shain recommended Miller and Davison work on the policy change and come back to the council with the recommendation.

Laramie County Commissioner chairman Troy Thompson closed out the meeting, updating the council with news from the county. He mentioned the new natural gas vehicles they are using, and if all goes well, there might be a filling station for natural gas at the Archer complex. Thompson reminded the council the legislature passed a $20 million supplemental budget to counties, with Laramie County receiving $860,000 and Pine Bluffs will get $45,000.

The next council meeting will be Monday, April 1, at 7:30 p.m.