TORRINGTON – The Torrington City Council convened for its second November meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 21 at the Torrington Council Chambers. 

Mayor Herb Doby was present with council members Richard Patterson, Dennis Kelly, Wayne Deahl and Shane Viktorin.

To kick off the meeting, the mayor and council recognized the Torrington Trailblazers for their victory in the 2A Football State Championship against Big Horn. In honor of their achievement, the council invited the whole team and coaches so they could congratulate them in person.

“On Friday, the 10th of November 2023, Torrington High School beat Big Horn Rams by a score of 28 to 26,” Doby said. “It is my understanding that this is the first state high school football championship for Torrington since 1990, [33 years]. That’s a wonderful achievement and I’d like to give you guys a hand.”

“I’m proud of these boys,” Torrington’s fifth-year head coach Russell Stienmetz said. “We also went on to win [several] postseason accolades. We had eight all-conference football players, and all eight of those ended up going to be all-state also.”

“Very proud of them,” he continued. “Out of those we got 2A Offensive Player of the Year and 2A Lineman of the Year.”

The team was congratulated by everyone and received a standing ovation. 

City Clerk and Treasurer Lynette Strecker read the ordinance relating to alcoholic beverage permits in the city of Torrington. 

“This is a pickup from our conversation in the work session earlier this year related to catering permits, open container permits and alcoholic beverage permits,” Chief of Police Matt Johnson explained. “One question [that was asked] was about clarity for what we were doing as a city related to those permits. [The other question] was to give you folks the freedom of not having to be involved in each and every single permit that comes through as a request.”

Johnson said after digging into it, they found out the ordinance for the different types of permits was only loosely based off of state statute and was lacking in several areas. 

“We felt like it was important to essentially create an entirely new ordinance that just laid out a lot of clarity for each one of those permits, what [applicants] are required to do and what the approval process is,” he continued. 

There are a few slight differences, like with the open container permit. The open container permit is based strictly on the municipal ordinance, while the wine permit has a few different requirements and statutes that have to be abided by. 

Johnson said the fees were raised from $30 to $50. There was also a late fee added in that will be added if the permit is submitted less than 10 days prior to the event. This is important because the city promises a turnaround of five business days, and they would also like some time for planning and advertising. 

The council approved this ordinance reading. This is the first of three required readings. The last reading will take place on Dec. 19.

Strecker read another ordinance relating to liquor licenses and permit fees.

Johnson explained this ordinance change is just reflecting the change in permit fees from $30 to $50. The new amount is the maximum amount allowed for the permits. The price has not been changed for several years. 

The council approved the ordinance reading. This is the first of three required readings. The last reading will take place on Dec. 19.

Johnson presented his request to the council to buy a vehicle from the Wyoming Highway Patrol. 

“I wanted to touch base with you this evening to seek your approval to make the purchase of another one of the Wyoming Highway Patrol Dodge Charger police vehicles,” Johnson said. “[They] have another vehicle, a 2019 Dodge Charger police package. It’s very similar equipment from the last vehicle that we purchased.”

Johnson said the equipment is very high-level and high-quality police equipment that will come with the purchase. This vehicle has 120,000 miles and is outfitted for a trooper vehicle, so it has a transport cage in the back. 

“The mechanic and shop manager speak very highly of the maintenance protocol the cars receive at the state patrol,” Johnson continued. “We believe that this would be a good purchase for us to make.”

Unlike the city’s civilian model Dodge Chargers, the highway patrol’s Dodge Chargers are police models, which are designed with police work in mind. 

Johnson said the purchase would be funded by the funds they received from the settlement for the vehicle that was totaled by hail damage this summer. After the vehicle is outfitted for the city’s specifications of use, they will look at their current fleet of civilian Dodge Chargers and select the one with the most maintenance problems to sell. 

While the city is trading for vehicles with higher mileage, the current models are having a lot of maintenance problems. The patrol cars from the state department are outfitted with not only high-end equipment packages but also high-end suspension, braking and engine packages.

The council approved the purchase. 

Golf Professional David Dent presented the proposed fees and tournament schedule for the 2024 golf season. 

While a few of the fees stayed the same, several of the fees were raised from last year’s prices. The most significant raises were for the annual fees for single, couple and senior couples. These fees were increased by $45. 

“We’re not the lowest, but we’re certainly not the highest,” Dent said. 

The proposed 2024 annual fees are junior/student $160, single $595, couple/married $810, family $895, college student (12 credit hours) $170, senior 62 years and older $520 and senior couples (both must be 62 years of age or older and married) $760. Daily fees are $25 for nine holes (seven days a week) and $35 for 18 holes (seven days a week).

The proposed tournament fees are $25 for weekdays and weekends for guests (guests are non-annual golf license holders). The trail fees are $250 for an annual license and $20 for a daily license. The golf cart rental fees are nine holes per rider (tournament players pay this amount per seat as well) $10, 18 holes per rider (tournament players pay this amount per seat as well) $15 and a one-year city cart lease (one person)/(couple) $475/$625.

East and west golf cart shed fees are $130 for gas and $160 for electric. Driving range pass fees are couple (must be married) $270, family $310, junior $125, single adult $220 and college student (12 credit hours) $135. Locker fees are $50, a large bucket of balls (60) is $7 and a small bucket (30) is $5. 

The golf course is also offering a punch card this year for 12 rounds of golf for the price of 10 for $350.

The council approved both the 2024 golf fees and the tournament schedule.

Strecker also presented resolution number 2023-12 concerning amending the 2023 fiscal year budget. 

Strecker said two of the amendments were to the general fund for the police department reimbursement for officer coverage and insurance proceeds for hail claims. The other two amendments were to the sewer fund for insurance proceeds for Vac Truck and funds for the new Vac Truck taken from the reserve. 

The council approved the resolution.

The council approved a proclamation to proclaim Nov. 25 as Small Business Saturday. This is a day to buy local and support local businesses.

The council ratified a catering permit for Sara Yung with the Open Barrel Brewing Company that was approved on Nov. 15. The permit was for a Goshen County Economic Development Annual Meeting that was held on Nov. 16 from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. at 21st & Main.

The council approved a catering permit for Ethan Fitch with the Mint Bar for a Goshen County Public Library Fundraiser Event. The event is to be held on Dec. 2 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at 2001 East A Street.

The council also approved a special event permit and waived the fee for Leann Mattis and Moriah Harkins with Go Goshen for the 2023 Christmas Parade. The event is to be held on Dec. 1 from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The public street on Main Street between 19th Avenue and 27th Avenue will be closed for the event. 

During the mayoral informational part of the meeting, Doby wished everyone a happy Thanksgiving.

Doby also announced the 2023 Christmas Parade will be on Friday, Dec. 1 at 6 p.m. on Main Street. 

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