Vacancies filled

Vacancies on two boards were filled, Saratoga filed final paperwork to receive state and federal funding for an airport project, and the police department transferred old equipment to Encampment. Routine business was the order of the day at an Oct. 4 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council attended by about five members of the public.

The appointment of Cindy Talbot to the South Central Wyoming Emergency Medical Services (SCWEMS) board was a sign of progress for the organization, which faced personnel challenges over the summer. The SCWEMS board still lacks a full-time secretary and is also advertising for an assistant ambulance director to help its one full-time employee. Despite these difficulties, SCWEMS has a new chair in Jeb Steward, and the appointment of Talbot as Saratoga representative appears another positive indicator. Talbot is a dispatcher for the Saratoga Police Department and also has medical training from time as an EMT.

Though not a life and death matter, a longstanding opening on the recreation commission board was also filled at the Oct. 4 meeting. With council member Richard Raymer abstaining, the council unanimously appointed Abby Raymer to the recreation board. The council likewise voted to reappoint Joe Elder to that board.

From the Saratoga Police Department (SPD), chief Robert Bifano asked for and received permission to donate one of its old breathalyzers to the Encampment Police Department. Last month, the SPD received funding for five new breathalyzers valued at $3,000 from the Prevention Management Organization of Wyoming.

Bifano said he had several ideas for the remaining four retired breathalyzers. The other units could be sold for several hundred dollars a piece or given to area bars that expressed interest, he said. “It’s always amazing when you let people see what their Blood Alcohol Content actually is as opposed to what they think (it is),” Bifano said. Until a course of action is decided on, the old units will remain in police storage.

With permission from the council, mayor Ed Glode signed finalized requests for reimbursements for bills accrued while the finishing touches were put on a taxilane rehabilitation project at Shively Field. The final reimbursement requests, for $19,060.50 from the federal government and $1,270 from the State of Wyoming, represent around the last 4 percent of the total project cost. The federal government and the State covered the vast majority of rehabilitation costs.

Director of public works Jon Winter reported that his department had collected water samples required for a routine Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) three-year screening. The samples were collected at the end of September, and will be tested for lead, copper and volatile organic compounds, among other agents, Winter said.

Winter also noted that the heat exchanger for the Bridge Avenue sidewalk heater had been cleared out, and that town sprinklers were also being prepped for cold weather.

Estimates on a proposed project to clear gravel out of the Platte River between the Bridge Avenue bridge and the HWY 130 bridges are still forthcoming, Winter said. The cost of the project will depend largely on volumetric data on the material to be removed that are not yet available, Winter said.

The next meeting of the Saratoga Town Council will be 6 p.m. Oct. 18 at the town hall building.