Sorted by date Results 901 - 925 of 1198
It was announced at the Nov. 3 Saratoga Town Council Meeting that Saratoga Police Chief Tom Knickerbocker resigned. However, mayor Ed Glode called the Saratoga Sun to resolve the issue, stating that Tom Knickerbocker had not resigned and that it had been a miscommunication. The fence ordinance, ordinance 2015-831, was passed on its third and final reading by the council at the meeting. There was no discussion about the home occupation ordinance. The South Central Wyoming Emergency Medical...
Many citizens have complained publicly about the lack of daycare in Saratoga. Local mothers Sarah Chatfield and Myra Kopasz, both studying for their masters degrees, have been spearheading an effort to bring a licensed daycare provider to Saratoga. “It’s always been a problem that there’s not a licensed daycare,” Chatfield said. “You should be able to come into Saratoga and say ‘here is a licensed daycare provider, here is their name and they have room.’” While Chatfield and Kopasz praised...
The planning commission ordinances regarding fences and home occupations were read for the second time at the Oct. 20 Saratoga Town Council meeting. While the fencing ordinance No. 2015-831 passed the second reading, the home occupation ordinance No. 2015-832 had no motion on it. The fencing ordinance was subject to questions about grandfathered fences in the case of repairs at the last reading. The planning commission agreed that there was wording in existing ordinances that state that fences...
The ordinance draft regarding new tap fees was brought to the Saratoga/Carbon County Impact Joint Powers (Water and Sewer) board for discussion on Oct. 14. The ordinance as it sits now will charge a fee of $3,500 to “any permit issued to make connection or tap with a water main.” The town will supply materials (including meter pit, corporation stop, bedding, tapping saddle) tapping, trenching, service line and “all necessary appurtenances, only” for a 3/4 inch service line. This fee applies...
The Saratoga Planning Commission met Oct. 13 and announced that Kent Smith is now officially the zoning officer for the town. The commission is also officially seeking two new commissioners who would serve five-year terms. Rory Grubb, chairman of the commission, announced that there is now a Thursday deadline for action items to be presented at commission meetings. Grubb noted that any potential issues must be presented to the department of public works on the Thursday before a planning...
Two new ordinances were read at the Saratoga Town Council meeting on Oct. 6. The ordinances, a fencing ordinance and a home occupation ordinance, are subject to three readings each. The fencing ordinance, No. 2015-831, was met with some opposition from those who do not like deer in town and believe that the problem is the deer and fences are not the solution. The opposition sees a problem with aesthetics, arguing that a lack of uniformity regarding fences will not serve the town well. The...
The Riverside Town Council reviewed the draft of the proposed amendment to the South Central Wyoming Emergency Medical Service (SCWEMS) Joint Powers Board (JPB) agreement at their regular meeting Thursday. The draft amendment includes revised and newly created sections on both joining and leaving SCWEMS. The council decided to table a vote on approval of the amendment until the town’s attorney, Tom Thompson, can review and approve the document. The amendment should not open the entire a...
Saratoga Mayor Ed Glode met with Elizabeth Ridgeway, owner of Tomorrow’s Promise in Rawlins, on Friday to get the ball rolling on a daycare center in Saratoga. So far, a group has been assembled with specific tasks assigned to get the daycare implemented “sooner than later,” Glode said. Glode is interested to see what kind of revenue is possible in a town like Saratoga, and would like to see this accomplished by private enterprise. Currently, in order to keep the daycare private, the group...
The incident of shooting a deer with a projectile in town will be an isolated one, according to the planned actions of mayor Ed Glode. Saratoga Police Chief Tom Knickerbocker says there is no ordinance that says you cannot hunt in Saratoga. The code says that one may not discharge a firearm or firework, but Knickerbocker says that a BB gun, a pellet gun, a bow or a crossbow may be discharged within town limits providing the projectile does not leave the property. An incident of hunting in town...
We were disappointed to see that the town of Saratoga, the largest municipal investor of the South Central Emergency Management Services (SCWEMS), failed to send a representative to an important special meeting last week. All of the other entities, except for Saratoga, were represented at the meeting. Since SCWEMS membership is based on population, Saratoga pays more into SCWEMS than any another invested community in the county. We approached Saratoga Mayor Ed Glode about Saratoga’s governing body’s lack of presence at the meeting. Glode sai...
The Saratoga Community Garden members are eating their vegetables, Steve Deorio said before the Saratoga Town Council on Sept. 15. However, they have just begun their harvest, and Deorio said that the Community Garden Board has been discussing possible donations to the Platte Valley Food Bank. So far, the community garden has yielded 22 pounds of potatoes. The board is in the process of discussing different fundraisers to take place throughout the winter, Deorio said, and they will begin work on...
Kassey Westring, former Saratoga town council member, joined the Saratoga Master Plan Steering Committee at their Sept. 16 meeting. Westring is also a former employee of PMPC Engineering. The committee and the town’s contractors were also introduced to Jon Winter, the new Director of Public Works. The focus of the Sept. 16 meeting was on documentation that Community Builders, Inc., the contractor who is preparing the plan, hopes to obtain during the planning process. The committee is s...
Saratoga/Carbon County Impact Joint Powers Board (water and sewer board) member Craig Kopasz “let the cat out of the bag” about tactics that could spur development in town as well as well as provide necessary revenue to self-fund projects. “The thought was to charge some kind of a utility service fee,” Kopasz said, which he would want to come out either as a payment to the water and sewer board or taxes. Kopasz said that the water and sewer board needs to charge on vacant properties for utility...
Editor: In regards to the Saratoga Sun’s September 2, 2015 editorial “To grow or not to grow … that is the question”. Agree or disagree this article summed up the circumstances that we, as a town, find ourselves in today. But in order to address this issue of growth we need to address the long held premise that growth is not only bad, but the worst thing that can happen to our town. With this belief one could assume that they think that Saratoga is stagnant and holding its own so why change it. There is a problem with this thinking. We are not...
Mayor Ed Glode said the town of Saratoga has hired a new Director of Public Works. Jon Winters, of Douglas, has accepted the position and is scheduled to start work on Sept. 21 Glode said. The Saratoga Town Council was expected to ratify the hiring at Tuesday night’s meeting. Winter has experience with the permitting process, as he worked in the uranium mining industry, Glode said. Winters familiar with DEQ and the Army Corps of Engineers permitting processes. When asked about traffic c...
The Saratoga Police Department was confronted by Gary Widemshek at the Sept. 1 Saratoga Town Council meeting regarding commercial truck traffic, specifically across the Bridge Avenue bridge. Widemshek said he “just wanted the issue fixed,” noting that he had been in contact with police chief Tom Knickerbocker for the past 14-15 months. Councilperson Judy Welton said that signage is better in town, though the issue of truck traffic needs to be further addressed. Councilperson Richard Raymer sug...
If you ever wonder what the children in the Platte Valley are up to - all you have to do is look at the sports page and this week’s fair edition. While the reporters were interviewing fair participants who did exceptionally well this year, I was typing fair results. Our staff spent the first week in August covering the fair. We can’t make every event, unless of course, we camp out in Rawlins like the rest of the county. But, we also have things to cover in Saratoga and the Platte Valley, lik...
The town of Saratoga has contracted with Community Builders, Inc. (CBI), a community and economic development consulting firm based in Douglas, Wyo. to prepare an updated Comprehensive Master Plan to serve the needs of the community for the next 20 years. CBI has teamed up with Coffey Engineering and Surveying from Laramie and BHA Design from Fort Collins, Colo. to complete the master plan. The town’s existing Comprehensive Plan was completed in 1977. Since a master plan helps to guide the community’s future, it should periodically be rev...
I have been thinking a lot lately about services and businesses in the Town of Saratoga. I’ve also been talking to friends and co-workers about whether or not the town is growing or dying. My wife and I moved here a few years ago following her job and were very pleased with our good fortune. We bought a house and have since had a child. I won’t speak for my wife, but I would like to see our town grow and become more vibrant. It will give my little girl a better place to grow up and hop...
The Saratoga Airport Board recommended for council approval the apparent low bid of $746,906 at its Aug. 18 meeting. The low bidder, Mountain Construction Company is based out of Lovell, Wyo. The only other bid received by the deadline was from Cheyenne’s Simon Contractors Company. Simon bid the project at $869,000. The actual project cost will be higher than Mountain Construction’s bid. “With the new bid amount and all of the other costs, which are basically our costs, our fees and the admin...
Saratoga Police Chief Tom Knickerbocker presented a formal resolution on anti-marijuana education to the Saratoga Town Council on Aug. 18. The resolution was “in support of the Wyoming Association of Sheriffs and Chiefs of police and our local law enforcement agencies to get local citizens informed about the harmful health effects and negative social consequences of marijuana.” The resolution was questioned by councilpersons Will Faust and Judy Welton because of its vague nature as well as its...
In Minnesota a boy named Trey suffered a traumatic brain injury that very nearly killed the teen.1 As a result of this injury Trey suffers migraines and pain so great that it hampers his daily functionality. The child turned to self-harm and eventually became suicidal because of the pain. In an effort to help Trey, his mother traveled to Colorado to see if medical marijuana could help with the teen’s condition. The mother finally came across a cannibis oil that seemed to relieve Trey’s pain and...
Mayor Ed Glode does not believe the resolution presented by the Saratoga Police Department on the legalization of marijuana will come up again after the Aug. 18 Saratoga Town Council meeting. Glode agreed with the sentiments councilperson Will Faust made about whether legalization of marijuana is currently a town issue. “It’s a federal issue. I don’t even know why they’re debating it at the state level,” Glode said. “Like Judy said, it does kind of take a side instead of being neutral abo...
Police Chief Tom Knickerbocker asked the Council to issue a statement saying that they support the police in advocating for the prevention of marijuana legalization. The Council discussed the option of making a formal declaration in their support of the police. Knickerbocker said that if they get a certain amount of signatures, the Wyoming Marijuana Legalization Initiative will be taken off the ballot in 2016. Knickerbocker said he will be asking other public groups in town to pledge their...
Mayor Ed Glode attended meetings last week regarding Saratoga’s master plan, to be completed by Community Builders, Inc. (CBI). Representatives working on the plan were in town last week to work on the first steps of the plan. “I think it was a great visit,” Glode said of CBI’s time in town. “We have five people helping us and I think all five of them are real good. “The early work went real well so we should get a good plan out of it,” Glode said. “I said ‘If nothing else comes out of your...
