LINGLE – The Lingle Town Council held their December meeting on Tuesday the 3rd. The meeting was called to order promptly at 6 p.m. and in attendance were mayor Micah Foster, and councilmembers Kathy Wihelm, Tabitha Lambert, Shelly Duncan, Jackie Hill, clerk/treasurer and Ritch Reyes.

A motion was made to approve the agenda which was then seconded. The motion carried and the agenda was approved. The council also approved the November 20, 2024, meeting minutes. 

A motion was made to accept the bills. It was explained the total expenditures were $118,214.29 and total revenue was $89,764.54. 

There was no discussion during the public comment portion of the agenda and the council moved on to departmental reports where they heard from police chief Endra Andrews. 

“Same stuff,” Andrews explained. 

The council moved on to the town maintenance report, which was provided by Jeremy Jackson, assistant supervisor. 

“We do have the landfill project ongoing,” Jackson said. “They have finished capping the first cell to the south of the one that we are currently using. Their work looks good. They’ve got all of their equipment out of there. The only thing we’re waiting on now is for the fence to be done.”

Jackson also noted stakes had been set up for the perimeter of the fence and things were moving forward. 

“As you can see, we got the Christmas decorations up. We just have to go though, like I said, change broken bulbs, all that fun stuff,” Jackson explained. “We do have, for this next week, we have an electrical project lined up Tuesday. We’re going to work with the electricians the homeowners hired, just so that we can all coordinate and make sure everything gets done right and do it all at once, help each other out.” 

The council also asked Jackson to have the town maintenance supervisor, Logan Dailey, contact them in regard to Sunny Schell, a Wyoming Rural Water Technical Assistance Provider, who spoke with Dailey regarding an Intended Use Plan or IUP. 

“I’d like to add something to their report, or ask you guys a question. I was talking to the guys in the office today and by guys I mean, Larry, Logan and Jeremy. We pay for Endra’s phone. I have never felt comfortable giving out the guys’ personal cell phone,” Nakisha Garner, deputy clerk/treasurer, said. “I was talking to the guys and I was wondering if they would be interested in a work phone that essentially the town pays for, just add it to our current bill, another line and they would flop it on the weekends that they’re on call.”

Garner explained adding the cell phone to the plan would keep the employee’s personal numbers private and the number could be associated with the town. Garner stated she wasn’t expecting a decision now. 

“And just to note onto that, that’s like my biggest thing is because when we, in Logan’s switch weekends, I’m still very new, so no one has my number,” Jackson explained. “Everyone still calls Logan and his phone goes crazy, even on his weekends off.”

Jackson noted also noted the department employees receive a $10 reimbursement on their paychecks for the use their personal cell phone. 

The council requested Garner do some research and return to the council with additional information regarding the cell phone plans. 

The council moved on to legal items where Anna Barnes, town attorney, reported she was excited for the Christmas party and thanked the council for their flexibility. She stated she had no additional updates and she had been looking into a couple of ordinances by Andrews which she hoped to work on soon.

Moving on to the fire department report, Kacey Bangerter, fire chief, spoke to the council.

Bangerter reported the department had six ambulance calls and three fire calls for last month. 

“We get to take Santa to the school Christmas program next week. Our giving tree is still at the townhall,” Bangerter said.

Bangerter also reported work is finally being done on the gas line at the firehall. 

Reyes mentioned the cost of legal notices had gone up. Reyes noted the only time the town uses the paper to advertise legal notices was when they advertise variances affecting the town of Lingle. Reyes agreed to check the state statues regarding if the town will need to utilize the newspaper anymore for notices. 

After a quick reminder about the town employee’s Christmas party, the meeting was then adjourned to reconvene Friday for the Christmas party.