Council approves funding for downtown lights

At their regular meeting Tuesday evening, the Thermopolis Town Council approved paying the utility costs for some new lights planned for the downtown area.

Forrest Coleman-Weisz, who has been working to eliminate 14th Street as a route around the town from GPS mapping systems, explained he and Thermopolis Main Street have discussed putting up string lights downtown, running from the black lampposts to the building and back to the posts. The lights, which will be clear and Edison-style, will not cross the streets.

Businesses have already pledged funds for the project, and now that traffic is being diverted from 14th Street the goal is to create more interest in the downtown. “We’re one of the few cities in Wyoming where our Main Street is not our main street,” Coleman-Weisz said. The first phase of the project would include the 500 block of Broadway.

Shurie Scheel with Main Street Thermopolis said the lights would be LED so utility costs would be minimal, and they would be on a timer to only come on when it gets dark.

Director of Public Works Ernie Slagle expressed concern about how the lights would be attached to the poles, as they are spun aluminum and can break easily. The plan is to attach the lights to the poles and buildings with zip ties. Coleman-Weisz brought an example of the wires to demonstrate the weight of them, and Slagle appeared to approve.

Coleman-Weisz also provided a brief update on the work he’s done in having GPS providers update their maps to not include 14th Street as a through route. He has gotten four of the five major providers to update, but is still working on Google Maps, with the response being that they will get to it when they do. He noted he will continue to work on the company until it gets done.

Coleman-Weisz said they would like to expand the lights further, though lighting the first block will be something of a “litmus test” to see how well it goes. Also during the meeting there was some brief discussion of possibly putting in more lights along Highway 20 on the south end of time, to better indicate to people that they are coming into a town.

In other action, the seventh pay estimate, $432,476.32, was approved for the pipeline replacement project. Town Engineer Anthony Barnett said paving is complete, and punch list items for the state park are being worked through. In town, he noted, there are still some spots where diamonds are being installed around valve boxes in the streets, and he hopes most of the cleanup work will be complete next week.

Council member Tony Larson raised concern that juveniles are climbing on the roof of the restrooms in Candy Jack Park, and asked Slagle to think about ways this might be deterred. Slagle and the town crew were also commended for the work put in on the rack to hold the town’s Christmas wreath decorations.