TORRINGTON – The Torrington City Council met on Tuesday, April 6, for their first meeting of April.

Mayor Randy Adams began the meeting by presenting his informational items. The first item was an update on the current state of the pandemic in Goshen County.

Adams wanted to remind people that even though the mask mandate has been lifted, the CDC still recommends that people wear masks when social distancing is not possible. He also said that Public Health will no longer use the Armory for vaccinations after May 1.

“We were informed this morning that Public Health can no longer use the Armory for vaccination clinics after May 1,” Adams said. “They have requested the use of the Pony Express Room at Lincoln Center.”

Next, Adams spoke about the potential cuts that will have an impact on local governments. The legislature has already cut 10% of local government distributions and the senate recommended another 10% cut. The house ultimately settled on a 5% cut and that decision is with the conference committee and awaiting approval by Governor Mark Gordon.

The Farmer’s Market will be moving off Main Street this year and will be back in City Park. The market will begin on June 25 and extend into October weather permitting.

Adams said the pool is scheduled to open on Friday, May 28, and that passes will be available for purchase at city hall once rates are established. After May 28, passes will be available for purchase at the pool.

Adams’s final information item was the announcement that starting Saturday, April 17, the baler site will be open to receive grass, limbs and general yard waste from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday’s. 

“The site will not be open for garbage,” Adams said. “Grass and limbs only. Also, the spring clean-up is during the week of April 24 through May 1.”

The first action item of the night was a proclamation by Adams making April 2021 Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month. The proclamation was approved unanimously.

Following the proclamation, the council unanimously approved a catering permit for Table Mountain Vineyards. The permit will be for the Eastern Wyoming College (EWC) Next Gen Healthcare Professionals Mixer. 

The next action item was the limited renewal of a liquor license for Thrifty’s Gas and Liquor which was signed on March 31 and approved by the Attorney General’s Office on Friday, April 2. They will have the license through April 28 when the trial will happen and the judge’s decision is known.

If the trial is postponed, the license will continue under its current terms until the trial happens and a decision is made by the judge. If the judge rules in favor of Thrifty’s, the liquor license will automatically be renewed and if the ruling is in the city’s favor, they will no longer be able to sell liquor.

The next action item was the first reading on an ordinance related to telecommunications franchises. It is an update to an old ordinance for cable and wired telephone companies. In the old ordinance there was no way to charge data and wireless companies to bring franchises to Torrington.

With the new ordinance structure, the companies will pay a flat fee of $500 per month, $6,000 per year. This is a five-year agreement and there is a right to negotiate every year regarding the fee.

The ordinance was passed unanimously on first reading, but Councilman Ted Kinney wanted a provision added to the ordinance to ensure the companies can’t just refuse to pay the penalty.

“I think I would like to see us put some sort of enforcement clause in there,” Kinney said. “So, if they don’t pay, we can somehow cut them off weekly.”

The next action item was the first reading on the ordinance relating to M-P mobile home parks, subdivisions and trailer park districts. The ordinance sets up guidelines that must be followed in the city for mobile home parks, subdivisions and trailer parks.

After approving the action item regarding mobile homes, the council unanimously approved the extension of contract services in the amount of $15,000 for the annual power cost adjustment computation and PSC filing. The agreement is with C.H. Guernsey & Co.

The next action item was the approval of eight different Homeland Security Grants. One of those grants is for a mobile command center for the Torrington Police Department. The total amount of the grant requests is $437,025.72.

Following the approval of the grants, the next action item was the unanimous approval of awarding the bid of the ambulance building standby generator to ECI, LLC of Glenrock in the amount of $60,838 and a reserve of $6,162 for contingency.

The final action item of the night was the unanimous approval of the award bid for the 2021 sewer line replacements. The bid was awarded to Bivens Construction in the amount of $448,910. Bivens Construction was the lowest bidder, and they are expected to start construction sometime this summer, but they have until August to start the project. The target finish date is by November 19.

The next meeting of the Torrington City Council will be on Tuesday, April 20 at 7 p.m. and will be held at Torrington City Hall.