Pine Bluffs council takes oath

The oath of office was read for the incumbents winning the recent election at the Pine Bluffs town council meeting Monday, June 3. Mayor Bill Shain, councilmen Alan Curtis and Mark Fornstrom accepted the responsibilities of the council for another term.

The council approved the appointments of Alex Davison for town attorney and Robin Clark for Chief of Police.

Rick Wagner requested a food vendor license for Trail Days as a fundraiser for the fire department. He said the only complaint he heard last year was that the food vendors were “too far away from the tractor pull.” Shain suggested the proceeds go towards the fireworks fund since donations for that usually run short, and the council would like to keep the fireworks “self-funded.”

Gary Roadifer spoke to the council about the Pine Bluffs Lions Club hosting a historical walk.

“The walk would begin at the Texas Trail Museum, and a bus would take the group out to the J. R. Wilkinson ranch house,” explained Roadifer. “There is so much history here, and I think it would benefit the community as well as the Lions Funds For Sight.” Roadifer asked for the use of the bus and water supplied by the town for support.

Shain said the council would be happy to support the tour and said Roadifer should talk with recreation director Sonja Fornstrom to schedule the bus.

Laramie County Fire District No. 5 spokesman Justin Fornstrom, was also a guest speaker and appealed to the council on what steps to take to renovate the fire department or plan to build new.

“We just don’t know how to proceed and would like some guidance from the council,” explained Justin.

The council discussed the police department building, and the unlikeliness that “sprucing it up” would do any good. They also discussed eventually moving the town offices together with the police department and leave the town hall for the fire department since it had existing street access. Justin explained he didn’t need a decision at the meeting, but wanted to get the ball rolling. The council agreed to begin looking into possible scenarios.

In other business, the council approved the budget on the second reading. They also approved invoices for the City Park project, Lidstone and Associates engineering services, and an amendment to the contract with Lidstone and Associates for the RV Park work and the water distribution project. The council discussed some issues with the grass in City Park being damaged and if the contractor just replaced the damaged grass as the contract stated, it wouldn’t look as nice. Curtis suggested working with the contractor to re-sod the entire area with the town paying the difference in the expense. The council agreed more damage is being done to the park’s lawn the longer the project takes.

The council reviewed and accepted two building permits.

Town administrator Caryn Miller presented the council with information on the Good Sam vouchers. She explained there was no limit on the fund as it was, and town staff was suggesting a $20 limit for gas and $10 for food, to which the council agreed.

Shannon Weller’s resignation from her dispatch position was also in the council’s packet and they accepted it.

In department reports, Shain said there were some setbacks with the pool project dealing with the frost free hydrant and some other small issues. The council showed some disgust with the mistakes but worked on plans to keep the work moving forward.

The council adjourned to executive session to discuss personnel. The next meeting will be Monday, June 17, at 7 p.m.