Council approves 14th Street ordinance

Tuesday evening, Thermopolis Town Council approved, with council member Tony Larson voting “no,” an emergency ordinance declaring 14th Street from its intersection with U.S. Highway 20 to State Highway 120 a non-through street. Larson did not object to the ordinance, but suggested it have the standard three readings to allow opportunity for public comment.

According to the ordinance, the street is a busy thoroughfare involving a school, school bus pick up and drop off, search and rescue and fire department, and becomes too congested for required activities when used as a by-pass by truckers and other travelers.

The ordinance further states the street is not designed for the heavy traffic it has been receiving, and is deemed by the mayor and council to be a hazard to residents, schoolchildren and fire and safety if it continues to be a through street.

Under the ordinance, there shall be no through access from the intersection of Canyon Hills and U.S. Highway 20 north to the intersection of 14th with Broadway and State Highway 120, and vice versa. It shall be a violation for any driver of any motor vehicle to use Canyon Hills Road and 14th Street as a through street to bypass the downtown area from either direction, and violators are subject to a fine up to $750.

Residents concerned about speeding vehicles and the multitude of semis and other large vehicles on the street brought those concerns before council more than a year ago. Since then, various methods have been used to deter semis and improve safety, such as additional signage and flashing stoplights.

During the council’s Sept. 4 meeting, Forrest Coleman-Weisz reported the success he had with getting various GPS providers to remove the street from their maps, but he was still working on a couple larger companies. At this week’s meeting, he was in favor of the ordinance being approved as an emergency, as any delay could slow the process in getting the GPS maps changed with those companies.

Council member Dusty Lewis pointed out that it was considered an emergency because of the difficulties that can come from large trucks using the street and delaying fire department response time, as well as safety concerns with speeding vehicles near residential areas. It was noted during the meeting that it is not the council’s intent to try and nail every single driver on the street, as it was pointed out locals would still need the route to get to their jobs and homes.

An ordinance approved on first reading amends Chapter 4 of the town code, updating fines and fees as well as providing definitions for “bit or bitten” and “dangerous animal” and adding language for domesticated animals which are bitten. Among the fee changes is the increase from $5 to $50 per head of impounded animals and from $3 to $30 per head for sustenance of said animals.

Also increased were license fees, from $5 to $10 for neutered animals and from $15 to $20 for unneutered. Fees for unlicensed animals, at large animals and nuisance animals are increased from $25 to $50 for a first offense and from $50 to $100 for a second offense.

Impoundment fees are also increased from $15 to $30 for first impoundment, from $35 to $70 for second impoundment of the same animal, from $50 to $100 for third impoundment of the same animal, and from $75 to $150 for the fourth or subsequent impoundment. Each of these has an additional $10 fee for each day of impoundment or any part thereof.

Also during the meeting, council approved a road closing on South Sixth for Oct. 9, from 5-8 p.m. Ciley Andreen explained the date is National Fire Prevention Day and the fire department has worked with Pizza Hut to do deliveries in the past. This year, the business is also asking the department to help with their Kids Night that week as well, which consists of the fire department putting some stations up for community education.

A liquor permit was approved for Shorty’s for Sept. 29, 4:30 p.m. until midnight, for the FFA Harvest Moon Ball at the fair building.

Town engineer Heath Overfield spoke to the Red Lane District wanting to eliminate their storage tank and put in a pressure reducing valve. Essentially, this would mean the district would be using the town’s storage rather than having their own. During the meeting, there was discussion as to what issues could arise from this, such as Red Lane not having any water during high usage in town or if there is a break in the system.

Director of Public Works Ernie Slagle noted if any work had to be done on valves on the hill, Red Lane would be out of water immediately and once the pressure came back online they would be under a boil order as an EPA rule. He advised it was not good for the district to be without a tank. Ultimately, no motion was made to allow Red Lane to use the Thermopolis tank for storage.

A bid was approved, with Larson voting “no,” for a three-quarter ton all-wheel drive crew cab truck from Greiner Auto for $30,469. The truck will replace a town truck from the 1990’s.