2007 Minutes
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2007 MINUTES XX1 City council met in regular session on January 2, 2007. Mayor Kaumo called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Members present included Councilmen Neil Kourbelas, David Tate, Kent Porenta, Harry Horn, Rob Zotti, Chad Banks, Joyce Corcoran, Carl Demshar, and Mayor Tim Kaumo. Department heads present included Mike Lowell, Vince Crow, Vess Walker, Brad Sarff, Paul Kauchich, Dave Silovich and Lisa Tarufelli. A moment of silence was observed in honor of President Gerald R. Ford, 38th president of the United States, whose funeral was held today in Washington, D.C. Paul Thomas Glause, municipal court judge, administered the oath of office to re- elected Mayor Timothy Kaumo and to re-elected council members Neil Kourbelas, Chad Banks, Kent Porenta and newly elected council member Joyce Jansa Corcoran. Mayor’s Address To begin his new term of office, Mayor Kaumo thanked council members for their support and dedication to the city and to his family for their understanding over the past four years. He quoted Ann Richards who said, “In politics your enemies can’t hurt you, but your friends will kill you.” He attributed council with being one of the hardest working councils Rock Springs has seen in many years and having brought great projects and great ideas to the city as well as replacing outdated policies and ordinances with updated ones based on constituents’ needs. He added, “Taxpayers should feel proud of the representation from these councilmen in each of our four wards. Communication has been the utmost importance to not only ourselves and our staff, but to our legislators and governor of the great state of Wyoming as well. What will be written in this new chapter as we move forward will solely be decided on our ability to maintain our relationships with one another and to continue to work toward common goals and ideas which are created by great minds and great citizens who stay involved with city government. Ideas are great arrows, but there has to be a bow and politics is the bow of idealism if used correctly.” Mayor Kaumo thanked all volunteers who have accepted positions on boards and committees without whom goals would be greatly diminished. He also thanked city employees, the chamber of commerce and SWEDA for their support and roles by ensuring council ideas become reality. Mayor Kaumo stated that going forward there is a great amount of work to do. He said he is “ready to begin another term in the hope of accomplishing great things for our city with the help of this council, our city employees and the entire community. We will have to continue to work together to see continued success. We cannot change the world, but we can begin by changing who we are and by working to repair the problems which may exist in our own community. Then, maybe by the leadership roles in which we have asked the voters to allow us to serve in, we will have created a positive example for future leaders to follow and a brighter future for our citizens to enjoy.” He quoted Confucius, “To put the world right in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life; we must first set out hearts right.” He asked city council to represent Rock Springs as best they can—from the heart. Election of Council President Nominations were opened for council president. Councilman Porenta moved to nominate Councilman Demshar. Seconded by Councilman Banks. There were no other nominations. Upon roll call the following voted in favor: Council members Corcoran, Banks, Zotti, Horn, Porenta, Tate, Kourbelas, and Mayor Kaumo; abstained: Councilman Demshar. Motion carried. Councilman Zotti moved to approve minutes of the December 19 council meeting. Seconded by Councilman Tate. Motion carried. COMMENDATION Military Personnel Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom Mayor Kaumo presented a plaque and T-shirt to James T. Wilson III, who has been serving in Bremerton, Washington and will be deployed to the Persian Gulf and the western Pacific. His first tour of duty eleven years ago was to the Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf. Mayor Kaumo thanked James for his service to our country. Employee Years of Service Mayor Kaumo recognized firefighters Rick Cozad and Lee Reese each for their 15 years of employment with the city. He thanked them for their service and said both employees are good to work with and do everything they can as firefighters. PRESENTATIONS Wyoming Chocolate Festival Kandi Pendleton, committee member of the Urban Renewal Agency, announced plans for the Wyoming Chocolate Festival to be held on February 10 at the old post office. The festival will tie in with Valentine’s Day and will feature competition among amateur and professional chocolatiers from across the state. Mayor Kaumo praised the URA for their innovative fund-raising events. Ambulance Service Larry Macy, general manager of Sweetwater Medics, presented an overview of the newly formed ambulance service. He said Sweetwater Medics is a fully licensed and insured ambulance service that will provide the highest quality professional paramedic services to Sweetwater County. He described qualifications necessary to achieve technician, EMT and paramedic levels of providers that will be associated with the company. He said their three ambulances are equipped with state-of-the-art cardiac monitoring capability; a supervisor’s vehicle is equipped to render aid until ambulance responders arrive. Sweetwater Medics will provide service to the eastern two-thirds of Sweetwater County and will assist other providers who respond to Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County. They are prepared to offer services 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Their station will be located at 2481Foothill Boulevard. Field supervisors/paramedics associated with Sweetwater Medics are Paul Berry, Steve Kourbelas, Kelly Kennedy, and Ron Gatti. PUBLIC HEARINGS Proposed Vacation of College Drive Right-of-Way Adjacent to Echo Point Subdivision and The Bluffs Executive Estates Subdivision There were no comments. Action to be taken under Resolution 2007-08. PETITIONS There were no petitioners to come before council. OFFICERS AND STAFF REPORTS Councilman Kourbelas moved to accept the Bar Incident Report for December and place it on file. Seconded by Councilman Demshar. Motion carried unanimously. COUNCIL COMMITTEE AND BOARD REPORTS Joint Powers Telecommunications Board Councilman Kourbelas reported the JPTB met on December 20 at which time the board accepted an amended agreement to provide fiber connectivity with the required band 2 January 2, 2007 width to the city of Rock Springs free of charge for one year after which they will reconsider the contract. The amendment was proposed by city council before accepting Resolution 2006-225 on December 5. Councilman Kourbelas advised that the board’s attorney has given notice to US Metronets, the board’s technology & business advisor, that they are to deliver a provider within 45 days or their contract may be terminated due to non-fulfillment of contractual obligations. Councilman Kourbelas stated to date neither the collateralization of public assets nor the deferral account has been contractually agreed upon. In addition, since a provider was not contracted by December as earlier promised by US Metronets, the board’s attorney advised the 45-day notice was the most expedient direction for the board to take. Mayor Kaumo asserted that although the basic fiber connection between governmental entities as originally proposed is in place, he wondered how much longer the wait for provider services can continue. Councilman Kourbelas responded that the 45-day notice to produce a provider is the first step in initiating the process to terminate the contract with US Metronets. Board member Brad Sarff reminded council that in May or June Metronets requested additional time to find a provider in exchange for giving up their right to the deferral account as well as the collateral of public assets. He said the collateralization and deferral account have presented a problem because language in the contract has gone back and forth between the board and US Metronets and nothing definitive has been achieved. He added that board members have disagreed on the method to proceed and there has been uncertainty on how to best accomplish the original contract. He said US Metronets has not supplied service providers or new services; therefore, trying to get out of the current contract appears to be the best direction to take once the original terms of the agreement between the board and Metronets can be ironed out. Councilman Kourbelas opined that a year has passed and US Metronets has failed to fulfill its contract by reaching a definitive agreement with an anchored service provider who will guarantee a cash flow along with providing voice, video and data services. Councilman Banks asked when the 45-day notice was sent. Councilman Kourbelas assumed it was shortly after their December 20 meeting, but assuredly before January 1, 2007. Mayor Kaumo insisted that after 45 days aggressive action will be taken. Legislature Mayor Kaumo apprised that several city officers met with Sweetwater County legislators on December 27 and discussed the necessity of continuing impact funding, the need for population count revisions, food tax exemption, and eminent domain issues. He urged citizens to contact legislators on these issues and the impact they have on Sweetwater County. He also noted that the Sweetwater County commissioners pledged $1.5 million for a new senior citizens center and added the city supports this project as well. CORRESPONDENCE The following correspondence was received: 1. a letter from the Wyoming Business Council announcing board recommendations for Business Ready Community projects; 2.