Good news for childcare

The Saratoga Town Council had a flurry of items to address at their December 6 meeting.

Issues ranged from a shortage of water treament chemicals to continued childcare discussions to the ongoing Spring Avenue project.

Councilmember Ron Hutchins gave an update on a potential shortage of chemicals used in the Town’s water department. Hutchins reported there should be enough to last until April. The vendors are in Salt Lake City and they currently have chemicals available if needed. Hutchins said he and the water department will check on supplies. Councilmember Jon Nelson said he didn’t have a problem with committing the rest of the budgeted amounts to stockpile. Mayor Creed James agreed.

James then read correspondence from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 8. A notice of noncompliance was sent to the Town of Saratoga due to samples of lead and copper wire which were supposed to be taken between June 1 and September 30 and sent to the EPA. Samples were not taken and submitted in a timely manner.

James said according to Supervisor Chuck McVey, the samples were taken and sent in. Hutchins said they have one more set to send in, and will be taken care of this week.

Ellie Dana, representing Valley Village Childcare, spoke to the council about a proposal Valley Village had submitted to the council on November 18.

The proposal is that the Town of Saratoga lease property on the corner of River St. and Constituton Ave. to Valley Village Childcare for $1. Valley Village is also working on a contractural agreement with Excel Preschool they will continue as a partner. According to Dana, Wyoming Statute 15-1-12 says the town can sell the property without a bid or public offer if the town believes it is in the best interest of the community. Dana referred to the 2016 Master Plan which said child care is a critical need for the community.

Valley Village currently serves 23 people. The Excel preschool is currently in trailers and is in need of an upgraded facility. The joint proposal is they would be in a single building which will support 30 to 35 children, enabling the addition of 10 infants. Dana said the total cost to update the facility to meet the state requirements is over $600,000, without furnishings. This would accommodate 80 children. Dana said they have funding to address the deferred major maintenance and repairs.

Dana also presented a signed document from the Corbett Medical Foundation permitting the sale. The building does need to be appraised. Nelson wanted it made clear there must be a reverter on the deed that said if Valley Village and Excel ever cease to utilize this building for Early Childcare development or public development that benefits the community, it reverts back to the town. This allow the council to carry on the legacy of the Corbett Medical Foundation.

Dana said their board had approved up to $2,500 for the appraisal. It was agreed the appraisal will likely take place next year due to the holidays. Dana said Valley Village and Excel, are meeting with an attorney to create a memorandum of understanding. Dana said she spoke Jamie Stein, executive director of Excel, and they are both in agreement the contract needs to state clearly that should Valley Village cease to exist, Excel will be responsible for putting a child care in the other half of the building or, if Excel ceases to exist, Valley Village will be responsible for putting preschool education in the other half. Nelson reiterated there will be a hearing before any of this is finalized. He asked the current council and the incoming council ensure that before any decisions are finalized, they have the assurance the partnership between Valley Village and Excel is in place. Nelson made a motion to order the appraisal with Valley Village funding up to $2,500, with additional cost of up to $2,000 for the Town. The motion passed.

Caleb Tygum of Lewis and Lewis construction spoke to the council concerning the winter shutdown of the Spring Avenue project. With several options given to the council. Lewis and Lewis’ hot plant—or asphalt plant—is shut down so that is not an option.

Option No. 1 from Lewis and Lewis is they be allowed to put down blacktop pavement using recycled asphalt pavement millings, with no liquidated damages (LDs) assessed. Lewis and Lewis would agree to reimburse the town for any emergencies that may come up, such as a water line break or some other issue associated with their project. They would also be willing to come and assist

Option No. 2 is based on the town choosing to assess LDs based on the work completed. Lewis and Lewis would ask the town to accept a partial occupancy which, as stated in paragraph 6.5 of the agreement, does say it would be used for the intended use of the town. This, in turn, would grant substantial completion.

Option No. 3 is to shut down the portions of the project which are not fully functional, don’t have paved roads and don’t have concrete gutters. Tygum said this would be in the best interest of the contractor and the traveleling public. If option three is chosen, LDs will be assessed. Lewis and Lewis will keep everyone off the project so there’s no liability on their end and keep traffic off of it. Traffic would push frost farther into the ground which may make it difficult to start the project as early as they want in the next season.

Lewis and Lewis submitted a tentative start date of March 20, 2023. They would hope to be done by the end of April, providing a good product.

Attorney Ray Martin recommended against option 2. He felt option 1 was a reasonable option. Martin pointed out with this option, LDs would be held in advance during winter shut down and start up again when the work started or council could set a certain date when the LDs resume. Martin also said the Town is not limited to LDs. In the event the town incurred other damages, they could have an election of remedies if there were still problems and damages which weren’t covered by liquidated damages. Martin said he didn’t think the Town is exposing itself to loss at the end of the day. Martin said he thought it’s more fair to the contractor and to the Town. The LDs accrued to date look like they could take care of a good share, if not all, of what damages the town may incur in the future said Martin.

Nelson raised concerns about not following the contractural agreement made back June. He said he understdood the town had options to suspend the LDs, but didn’t see the benefits. Nelson felt the negotiation of LDs should take place once the project is finished. He said there were already provisions in the contract which talk about the need to proved access, the need to protect work, the need to provide traffic control for public safety and pedestrian safety. Nelson said he didn’t see any incentive to deviate from what was already in the plans and specs when it was clearly outlined.

Martin said if the Town didn’t work with contractors or individuals for whatever reason, when they put out their next bid, they could run the risk of getting fewer bidders or higher bids. Martin called it the Draconian approach. He said even without taking LDs over winter shut down, he felt the town is still protected. Martin said he felt it doesn’t serve the town’s interest to assess LDs throughout the winter.

Nelson rebutted saying he appreciated everything Martin had to say, but speaking to the fairness component, being sensitive to what happened on the ground, there weren’t any changes in condition or any unforeseen conditions. The Town did not hinder the contractor’s progress or the work area. Nelson said, had any of these conditions occurred, they would be talking about an amicable way to adjust contract times and/or price to account for what would be fairly compensatory towards the contractor.

Tygum said when they first had these workshops it was “literally just to get this project budgeted to move forward. We did say that we had a lot of faith that we would get these projects done.”

Lewis and Lewis chose to waive their construction phase costing at the beginning of the project to allow the Town to get the project awarded and moving forward. Tygum said there were things that had shown up that, if Lewis and Lewis hadn’t addressed them, the town would be dealing with them now. Tygum said that they had to figure out the dewatering on this project. He said it was the first time they’ve done any type of dewatering like this. After they had dug the boar pits they had to spend extra dollars to dig 60 foot wells and wait for this to be dewatered. Tygum said it was a “changing condition.”

Nelson asked if the ground conditions were different than what was indicated. Tygum said it was dry at the time they dug. He said another condition that changed was they found wet vegetative material. Rather than wait for it to dry out, they went to the Town and told them if they had to wait for it to dry out, it would take a lot of extra time. Lewis and Lewis went to the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) and got free material to haul in and put back in the hole. He said they did it on their own, at their cost as a good faith effort.

After a good deal of discussion, James summed said Lewis and Lewis was planning to be out of by December 15. James said there were currently $85,500 in LDs already assessed. Lewis and Lewis has said it’s going to take six weeks to complete the project when they come back. James said with spring storms, this could get pushed back. Assuming six weeks, another $73,500 in LDs would be assessed for a total of $160,000. He said he was having trouble wrapping his head around what other damages there may be.

Jame said Martin pointed out that there were other provisions in the contract for getting paid for other damages. James asked Nelson his opinion. Nelson reiterated he couldn’t see any reason to suspend LDs. He said once the job is done, they can take acceptance and get a certificate of substantial completion, but until then they don’t know what is going to happen. Nelson said they need to stick to the contract and keep the playing field level and make sure that the rules of the game are played the same way by everybody.

Councilmember D’Ron Campbell made a motion to choose Option No. 1. Hutchins seconded. Nelson reiterated his concerns about “blindly adhering to the advice of the attorneys.” He felt there were more factors involved. Nelson said the safest decision isn’t always the best. The vote was taken with Hutchins and Campbell voting aye and Nelson and Beck voting nay. James broke the tie with a nay. The motion failed.

Nelson reported on the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) Project agreement grant. The purpose of the grant is to do a pedestrian Transportation Corridor study for a bike/walking path between downtown and the grocery store. He said they were awarded the grant, up to $200,000. Nelson said they will talk to WYDOT since there is a solicitation process to identify a consultant to do the planning. They will then put together a plan. Nelson made a motion to have the mayor sign the document and accept the grant. The motion passed.

James said he wanted to bring Black Hills Energy down to get a better resolution about responding to gas leaks. Currently, the fire department can’t do anything to top the leak, except make sure the public is safe. They have met with Black Hills before. James said the gas company’s protocol is the local technician can’t go into a hot zone. If it’s a Hot zone they have to call a response team and the nearest one is in Rawlins. A hot zone is an area with actual or potential contamination and the highest potential for exposure to hazardous substances. Firemen are volunteers and are often on their jobs when a gas leak call is paged.

Nelson made a motion to send a letter to the Public Service Commission with signatures from the mayor and chief of police requesting they look into the response times by Black Hills Energy to Saratoga and surrounding areas. The letter would ask for the Public Service Commission to get back to council with a resolution. The motion was approved.

The next Saratoga Town Council Meeting will be at 6 p.m. on December 20, 2022 at Saratoga Town Hall.

Saratoga Town Council

Other Business

A Letter of Interest for 2023 Depository was submitted by Bank of Commerce will be handled next month by the new council.

Treasurer Georgia Gayle reports that they are close to having bank reconciliations wrapped up for 2022.

Food will be distributed on December 21. There are currently approximately 40-45 families and older folks on the list.

Liquor License renewals approved

Bella’s Bistro - bar and grill license

Valley Liquor - retail liquor license

Lazy River Cantina - retail liquor license

Saratoga Resort and Spa - retail liquor license

Rustic Bar - retail liquor license

Hotel Wolf -retail liquor license

JW Hugus Co - retail liquor license

American Legion Post #54 - restaurant liquor licensed

Firewater - restaurant liquor license

Snowy Mountain Brewery - microbrewery license

Approvals

Work order 22-02C Stevens Project.

Radio upgrades to close out 2020 State Homeland Security Program (SHSP) grant per Saratoga Police Chief Ken Lehr’s request.

Recreation Department director Sarah Laughlin to purchase a rowing machine and two treadmills. James to sign a personnel action form to move two employees from the pool over to the recreation center.

Purchase of 100 tons of gravel and 100 tons of road base to replace stockpile depleted by recent water leaks.