TORRINGTON – The Torrington City Council convened for its second August meeting on Aug. 15 at the Torrington Council Chambers. Mayor Herb Doby was present with council members Richard Patterson, Dennis Kelly, Wayne Deahl and Shane Viktorin.

Dennis Estes, the buildings and grounds superintendent, presented Amey Peterson and Dale Mundt Jr.’s request for a conditional use permit to operate an in-home daycare in a residential zone. Their property is located at 142 Camino Del Rey.

“This went to the planning commission last week and there were very few questions on this,” Estes told the council. “No neighbors at all. There were some concerns about the narrowness of that street because it is in the narrow street section of town.”

Estes explain that while the narrowness of the street is a concern, it is not predicted to be a problem at this time. In the future, if issues arise, they will come together again to look at mitigating the problem.

Mundt said his wife will be able to facilitate up to 10 kids and has almost completed the certification with the state. Next week they will have a visit from a representative from the Wyoming Department of Health and will have a walk-through with the state fire marshal. 

The council unanimously approved this daycare permit.

Tom Troxel, the water and wastewater supervisor, presented resolution 2023-11 asking the council to allow them to apply for an emergency MRG grant to purchase a vac truck. 

According to Troxel, the city’s current vac truck is still in the shop after sustaining significant damage in a wreck. Troxel said in a recent email from the shop, they said they have not performed the inspection.

“He mentioned they are trying to figure out if they are going to have to do framework before they can drill down to complete an estimate on the repair,” Troxel said. “As of this time, he said he really couldn’t provide a timeframe as to when he believes the inspection or the estimate will be completed.”

He explained that this process has gone on for a long time already. In the beginning, the insurance totaled the truck, then all of a sudden, they received notice that a new adjuster thinks the truck could be fixed.

“This has probably been my worst ever time dealing with any insurance,” Troxel told the council.

At a previous meeting, the council approved the rental of a much-needed vac truck; however, that lease is currently costing the city about $12,000 a month. With the current truck having an undetermined date of inspection, the department would like to go a different route. Troxel is optimistic the city will get approved for the grant and the amount would allow them to purchase another truck in a timely manner. 

The council approved the resolution.

The council also approved the Goshen Care Center Joint Powers Board preliminary plat, which is acting as the final plat of the Evergreen Plaza Subdivision, and the First Congregational Church’s final plat of Coy’s first addition second filing.

During the meeting, the council approved three special event permits.

The first one was for Sara Yung with the Open Barrel Brewing Company for a cornhole tournament to be held on Aug. 19 from 2:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. The event will be confined to the alley and east row of the parking spaces in the city of Torrington parking lot behind the Open Barrel Brewery.

The next one was for Doug Mercer with Scottsbluff Valley Street Rods (RVSR) for a “Classic Cars on Main Street” event to be held on Sept. 16 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. For this event, the public street on Main Street between 19th Avenue and 21st Avenue, along with the additional half-block areas to the east and west, will be closed. Since the event is free to the public and is hosted by a non-profit organization, the council also waived the special event permit fee.

The last one was for Leann Mattis with Goshen County Economic Development for a “Music on Main Fall Concert” event to be held on Sept. 16 from 1 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. This event will be held on East 21st Avenue from Main Street to slightly east of the city lot five restrooms.

Assistant Chief of Police Patrick Connelly told the council that according to his notes from Chief of Police Matt Johnson, there were no concerns for any of these events, they should all be able to be held safely and they recommend approval.

The council also approved an open container permit for Yung for the cornhole tournament. 

According to Connelly, the alcohol will only be sold inside the Open Barrel Brewing Company and it will only be permitted inside the event boundary behind the building. Also, the staff will be responsible for monitoring the area.

The council approved a catering permit for Jan Harvey with BZ Hospitality, LLC for the “Music on Main Fall Concert” event on Sept. 16 from 3 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

During the informational part of the meeting, Kurt Evezich gave updates on the Elk Eco Cycle Recycling Center. The center is a non-profit company that was opened in April 2022.

Evezich explained when he opened, his business model was based on selling cardboard which was at $180 a ton. By selling cardboard, he planned on being able to break even on paying his part-time employees, utilities and building lease. However, not long after opening, the cardboard market plummeted. In January, it was at $0 and now it has finally come up to $35 a ton.

“I’ve saved the landfill over 150 tons of material of just cardboard and then $50 tons of steel,” Evezich said. “So, we’re at almost 300 tons that I’ve kept out of the landfill.”

Since the facility is a non-profit and is beneficial to the city, Evezich asked the council to consider waiving the utilities, which add up to about $160 a month. 

The council said they would consider his request.

During the mayoral informational part of the meeting, Doby reminded the community of the reopening of the public schools in the area. He asked for everyone to watch out for the extra pedestrian, bicycle and school bus traffic. 

Also, he reminded everyone that the last day the municipal swimming pool will be open will be Saturday, Aug. 19.

The next meeting of the Torrington City Council will take place Tuesday, Sept. 5 at 7 p.m. in the Torrington City Council Chambers at 436 East 22nd Avenue.