Sixth Penny, library dollars

The Encampment Town Council met for the final time in 2018 at 7 p.m. on Dec. 13 at Encampment Town Hall and bid farewell to outgoing council member Cindy Hamilton. Hamilton, who did not seek reelection after eight years on the council, will be replaced by Shannon Fagan in January. The council also heard updates on 6th penny tax projects, began moving forward on improvements and discussed their annual donation to the Encampment/Riverside Library.

Encampment Mayor Greg Salisbury provided the council updates on the Town of Encampment’s 6th penny project requests following the special meeting of the Carbon County Council of Governments (see “Cut, cut, cut” on page 1 of the Dec. 5, 2018 Saratoga Sun).

“We rerouted, we come down from our initial asking price for $3.1 million down to $2.7 (million). We changed things around. We added some more to the sewer main replacement so now should be able to run 15 blocks, if possible, if everything goes right,” said Salisbury.

The 6th penny tax will go before voters during a special election in May 2019.

The council approved an interloan fund from Encampment’s Economic Development Loan Fund for repairs to the electrical system at the small mill located in the Encampment Industrial Park. Councilmember Gary Stull made the motion to approve the interloan not to exceed $106,875 for the repairs.

Doreen Harvey, town clerk and treasurer, was also given permission by the council to move forward with filing an application to the State Lands Investment Board for a loan of $500,000 for the purpose of lagoon repairs, a project that is also on the Town of Encampment’s 6th penny requests. Harvey informed the council that it was best to get ahead of the crowd on the loan application. Currently, the lagoon has been under scrutiny from the Department of Environmental Quality and repairs are needed, whether or not the 6th penny tax passes in May.

One of the final items on the agenda was the Town of Encampment’s annual donation to the Encampment/Riverside Library.

“We have a total of $1,250 in the budget for the library, to use however you guys see fit. We’ve given the Friends of the Library $250 before, we’ve done it different ways in the past. You guys can do it however you want to.”

Hamilton made the motion to donate $500 to the Encampment/Riverside Library, but to hold onto the remainder of the budgeted amount until a later time. The motion was seconded by councilmember Kim Loftice and passed unanimously.

“I’m not saying we don’t give money to the library board,” Hamilton said, “but for right now let’s hold off on it just because, if they’re not going to cash the checks why are we giving them the money?”

As the council meeting came to an end, Hamilton commented on her time on the council and the things she felt that the council had accomplished. She also thanked Harvey for all the aid she provided to the council in making decisions and keeping them on task.

The next meeting of the Encampment Town Council will be at 7 p.m. on Jan. 10 at the Encampment Town Hall.