Mayor wants updated report

The Hanna town council met Tuesday at 6 p.m. to allow Western States Wireless to have a lease for a tower antenna.

The council went over routine business of approving the minutes for Oct. 17 meeting, the evening’s agenda and town financials.

The town council un-tabled the antenna space lease with Western State Wireless with all members present voting aye. The lease was approved after a vote on the subject.

Banking was a topic on several fronts. The council approved removing Vivian Gonzales and Linda Wagner as signers on the municipal court checking account. Ann Calvert, town clerk, and Bob Patton, town council, were added as signers. The Bank of Commerce and Rawlins National Bank both presented applications as designates for the Town of Hanna. Opening a new checking account for meter maintenance fees was also approved.

A letter of support for Ekola Flats and TB Flats wind projects was approved by the council with Mayor Tony Poulos abstaining.

Tim Born was presented as a candidate for the vacant spot on the Hanna Parks and Recreation board. The council approved this application.

The council approved making the Saratoga Sun the town’s official newspaper for legal ads. The change cannot be made officially without passing a resolution. The resolution will be read for approval at the next town council meeting.

Visitors to the meeting were Michael Zedicker of Elk Mountain Tech, who introduced himself to the council as owner of a new IT business in the area. Aaron Spinney, Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYODOT), gave a presentation on the Highway 72 project that will begin in 2021.

Larry Korkow, Public Works Director, said several wind companies had contacted him asking about buying water from the town.

Craig Kopasz of Engineering Associates said he is trying to contact all landowners in Elmo who will be effected by the waterline project set to begin in December.

Jeff Neimark, the Hanna Town Marshal, said the speed limit sign was in, but Korkow said due to the sign’s light weight, it would be wise to have the sign made stationary versus being mobile.

“It is plastic and it isn’t very heavy and I don’t think it is going to last very long in some of these strong winds we get,” Korkow said. “It probably needs to be stationary.”

Neimark said on Nov. 3, he had a domestic call that led to an arrest for aggravated assault and he wanted to thank the Wyoming Highway Patrol for sending an officer to assist during the incident.

Matt Fox, board member for South Central Wyoming Emergency Medical Services (SCWEMS) went over the assessment report from the past SCWEMS board meeting. Fox said Hanna had been able to respond to 100 percent of its calls versus most places in the district that did not hit that level.

Poulos said he had read some comments in the report that did not describe the town of Hanna in a positive manner.

“The report talked about the ten Carbon County towns and had a little saying about the towns. For example: it talked about Saratoga being prized for it’s wildlife—where trout jump on Main Street—and a place that has 120-year-old businesses,” Poulos said, “For Hanna, it said; a town mostly known for two horrible mining accidents and while it is true, we have gone from a population of 2,500 to 850, saying we have no gas station or grocery store and is a town with a failed economy, isn’t true.”

Poulos said he realized Fox had not been involved with the wording of the assessment, but asked if Fox could talk to someone about the description of the town as it was presented currently.

Fox said he would do his best.

The next scheduled Hanna town council meeting is at 6 p.m. on Dec. 12 at the Hanna Town Hall.