YODER – Mayor Norm Feagler called the meeting of the Yoder Town Council to order at 7 p.m. Council members Josh Haffner, Bob Oaks and Amada Fogle were present along with town clerk, Lillian Green. Jenna Krul and Rod Weyrich appeared via zoom. Colby Sturgeon, legal counsel for the town, appeared via zoom also.

After the Pledge of Allegiance, the council moved on to approve the April agenda. The March meeting minutes were approved as presented. 

Fogle made a motion to approve the March 2025 bills as presented, which was seconded by Haffner. The council voted to approve the bills and the council moved on to public comment. 

Under public comment, Jason Gutierrez introduced himself to the council. 

“I am the new owner of the post office. My family has owned the post office for some number of decades, and I am, I guess, the next generation that’s taking that over. I’m going to see some improvements happening there as time goes on. There are several things I want to address,” Gutierrez said. “It’s going to take some time to get to those things. So far, I’ve dealt with Rod [Weyrich]. Rod’s been great. He’s helped out. I’ve got water reestablished out front there, so we’ve got some water. There’ll be more things happening. I do live out of town, but I grew up in Torrington.”

The council welcomed Gutierrez and thanked him for stopping by. Gutierrez noted he would keep the council informed on changes being made. 

The council then moved on to new business and the first item of discussion was amending ordinance number 37. Fogle motioned to accept the first reading of the amended ordinance number 37, which was seconded by Oaks. The motion passed and carried by vote. 

Green noted a representative from Wyoming Child and Family Development was going to be at the meeting however they were not in attendance. Haffner asked if the issue should be tabled until the representative could attend the meeting. Both Oaks and Fogle stated the town has supported the center for years and the issue shouldn’t be tabled for long. Haffner noted he just wondered if the program had any new changes or additions. Weyrich noted the donation was in the budget. With a little more discussion, Oaks made a motion to support the center to which Fogle seconded. 

Under new business, Troy Hunsucker with Wyoming Class spoke to the council on products and services of the company.

“I’m with Wyoming class I stopped in the office a few weeks ago spoke with Lilian [Green] so, per our conversation she asked me to come tonight and I just want to take this opportunity to explain to you what Wyoming Class is,” Hunsucker said. “I think the best way to start that is to kind of give you a background on who I am and how I got to be here. Born Cheyenne, grew up here. Went LCC, University of Wyoming. In 1995, I was a page in the state house of representatives and then dabbled in politics a little bit after that. Then I got licensed in the investment business. I got licensed in securities and for a couple of years, I realized that I knew all these elected officials and did investments and so I kind of married two. So, in 2007, I started working with local governments in the state of Wyoming managing investments for them,” Hunsucker continued.

After a bit more discussion, Oaks noted he felt the council had all of the information needed to make a good decision and he further explained the council would review the information Hunsucker provided and decide before the next council meeting. 

Moving on to discussion on the art gallery possibilities and options, Green explained to the council a member of the community requested to use the board meeting room to host an art gallery. Haffner noted there wasn’t enough information provided to make a decision. After a bit more discussion, Feagler noted the issue would be tabled to discuss after more information was collected from the artist and community member who requested the access.

The council also discussed rental deposit returns where Krul explained she had rented the community center and realized renters had to wait close to a month to have their deposit returned. Haffner agreed with Krul noting this is an expensive month for graduating families who may count on the quick return of the deposit. After a little discussion on legalities and formalities, Feagler asked Sturgeon to check into ways to handle the situation legally. 

Also under new business, the council also held the first reading of the budget and after a short explanation, Oaks motioned to accept the first reading of the budget which was seconded by Haffner. The first reading of the budget was approved and carried by vote.

Moving on, the council also discussed a building permit with an entire stack of additions. Feagler noted the resident wanted anything he made add on to his property approved as well, not just the current project. The council agreed they would only approve the initial building permit and the resident was reminded an additional permit was required for any addition thereafter.

Under old business, an announcement was made regarding the DEQ meeting which would be held for the town on Wednesday, April 23 at 1:30 p.m. in the Yoder Community Center.

Spring clean-up dates were confirmed for the town for May 30 through June 2. Weyrich explained there would be dumpsters next to the west side of the park for town residents. He further explained there would be two dumpsters. Any metal, batteries or tires should be dropped off at the hazardous waste collection in Torrington.

Next, the council discussed credit union review where it was noted due to current laws in Wyoming, a credit union was not an option for the town.

Moving on to maintenance items, Weyrich reported he wanted to verify there was money to pay for the computer for the eater system. Green noted the town had made a partial payment for the system. She further noted the company had needed to come set up additional equipment and someone from the town should be there to make sure it’s working correctly. Oaks made a motion not giving the company a check until their work had been approved by Weyrich, which was seconded by Fogle. The motion carried and was approved. 

Weyrich noted the money was reimbursable to the town.

Sturgeon noted he had nothing to cover with the council regarding legal items other than the item listed for an executive session regarding dirt bikes. 

Under administrative items, Green noted she would like to put together a welcome packet for new town residents. She would be seeking board approval on the handout which would include town ordinances and other important information. Krul suggested the town also consider a website. 

With no further business to attend to, the council adjourned to enter an executive session at 8:14 p.m.