Flushed fees, parks & preschool

During the regularly scheduled Riverside Town Council meeting at 6 p.m. on May 10 at Riverside Town Hall, the council discussed purchasing new park equipment and the best way to deal with businesses and residents who are behind on their sewer fees. The council also discussed the possibility of a new representative on the South Central Wyoming Emergency Medical Services (SCWEMS) joint powers board.

Mayor Leroy Stephenson informed the members of the council that Riverside resident Helen Weiland spoke with him about serving as the representative of the municipality on the board. The current representative, Kelly Ralston, resigned and was re-appointed in March to help the joint powers board maintain a quorum. Should the proposed amendment that prohibits SCWEMS employees from serving on the JPB, which is currently at the state attorney general’s office, pass then Ralston would be unable to serve.

Stephenson told the council that he felt a motion should be made to replace Ralston with Weiland should Ralston resign or the SCWEMS amendment pass between council meetings. The other members of the council agreed. The motion was made and seconded with the council voting unanimously for Weiland to represent Riverside in either situation.

The council then moved onto the parks department. During the town council meeting in April, Stephenson had asked Katie Cheesbrough to look at adding new equipment to Rick Martin Memorial Park.

“Did you find the covered wagon?” asked Stephenson.

“I did find the covered wagon. The covered wagon is well outside our price range,” replied Cheesbrough.

Cheesbrough informed the council that approximately $17,000 was in the budget for the parks department. According to Cheesbrough, a charge for shipping park equipment would come to 35 percent of the total cost. Jan Cook, Town of Riverside clerk and treasurer, told Cheesbrough that some money would have to be kept in the fund for the completion of the buck-and-rail fence at the park as well as the removal of the low-sitting barbecue stands.

Further discussion centered around what age group the equipment should be purchased for, whether it should be for toddlers or grade school children. It was decided for Cheesbrough to continue looking at park equipment and what would be a good fit for the area.

The council also discussed an ongoing issue with business and residences within the municipality that were not paying sewer fees while still paying water fees. One example used during the meeting was the Mangy Moose, which has an outstanding bill of about $1,200. The owners, however, left town without paying the bill and cannot be reached.

In other business, the town council voted to donate $500 to the Encampment Preschool. Deb Cunningham, who was at the meeting to represent the preschool, thanked the council for their donation.

The next Riverside Town Council meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on June 14 at the Riverside Town Hall.