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Council approves motion for judgement against county

Following an executive session Tuesday evening, the Thermopolis Town Council, with Councilman John Dorman Sr. absent and Councilman Dusty Lewis voting "no," approved a motion to authorize the filing of a declaratory judgment against the County, for clarification of the County's duty under Title 25 to pay for detention, treatment and transportation of persons in need of mental hospitalization.

The judgment will hopefully provide better definition of the state statute.

Also during the meeting, Council briefly discussed upcoming budget meetings. Mayor Mike Mortimore plans to go over the budget a line item at a time during the first meeting in May, but added there's not a lot of blue sky with it. He indicated the Council, during the budget discussions, would get a good idea of how much the town relies on its savings.

Council approved the purchase of a copier from The Office Shop, Inc.

Mayor's Assistant Fred Crosby explained the current office copier continues to break down more and more. Though the initial price of the new copier comes in at $27,458, The Office Shop offered a $16,010 trade in of the old copier, as well as knocking off the $840 fax board, which brings the final dollar amount to $10,608 for the new copier.

According to a letter accompanying the offer, The Office Shop only ordered seven of the machines in a closeout special; the business was able to hold one for Thermopolis. The letter further states the new copier will drop the service contract down to .64 cents per copy from 1.6 cents, saving nearly a penny per copy. The new machine has the capability to scan, email copies directly, print and fax, and also comes with a stapler and hole punch.

Mortimore noted the service agreement also provides for toner, which can often be one of the higher additional expenses.

Council member Dusty Lewis suggested, in the future, considering using an online site that provides higher end copiers for free, with service and maintenance agreements, though ink is a bit more expensive.

Crosby added that, two days after the offer was received from The Office Shop, the current copier broke down; the service technician who responded noted parts for the copier would not be available within a year or two.

Also during the meeting, Town Engineer Anthony Barnett noted the Upper Fremont water treatment project is going well, though the wet weather has slowed things a bit. Barnett noted there is about a week left to install pipe, and then they will perform pressure checks and chlorination.

In other projects, Barnett updated Council on the Cedar Ridge tank maintenance. After sandblasting the paint of the interior, a lot of corrosion was found, Barnett said; in one area, a person could see daylight once the previous paint was blasted off.

Some of the welds look like they've broken down, Barnett said, and he is hopeful they are easily fixable.

 

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