Ten Sleep Council appoints new member to fill vacancy

TEN SLEEP – The Ten Sleep Town Council appointed Amy Truman of Ten Sleep to the council Tuesday, effectively filling the position left vacant by the death of Don Decker, in December.

Truman, a native of Tacoma, Washington, and resident of Ten Sleep since 2015, owns and operates Trailhead Beverage with her husband, Buck Truman. The council interviewed Truman for the position on Monday.

"This is a new experience for me, and I'm really looking forward to learning a lot," said Truman, noting that her council position will be the first time she has participated in government.

Also at the monthly meeting, the council voted to join the Wyoming Water and Wastewater Agency Response Network (WYOWARN). According to the agency, WYOWARN is a group of Wyoming water and wastewater utilities that cooperatively prepare for the next natural or man-made disaster by making agreements for communities to work together so that utilities can respond to disasters by sharing personnel, tools and equipment. The program is cost-free, and no town in the network is obligated to participate to any particular circumstance, only pledging support if needed.

Addressing an upcoming sewer project, estimated to cost $1.7 million and paid for in part by a loan and grant from the United States Department of Agriculture, the council voted to pass Ordinance No. 202 on second reading. As required by the USDA, the ordinance would guarantee a bond to cover the grant portion of the USDA loan. The ordinance in full is available for public review at the town hall.

The project is expected to begin in the spring, and will upgrade original sewer lines located in the northern section of town, along with upgrades to the town's sewage lagoon. Mayor Jack Haggerty on Tuesday announced that the bidding process for the project

began on Feb. 27, with the town engineering firm, Lidstone and Associates of Fort Collins, advertising the bid opening in the Casper area, and notifying local contractors.

The town will hold a pre-bid meeting with interested bidder son March 14 to go over the scope and physical layout of the project, then, on March 28, the town will open bids at 2 p.m. at town hall. Lidstone and representatives from the USDA will then review the bids for compliance. The final bid will be awarded on April 4, with work scheduled to begin sometime in May at earliest.

In other business, the council approved a business license request to Destry Fettig of Ten Sleep, to open a 12-car used car lot in town, pending approval from the State Board of Transportation. The council also voted to renew the annual liquor license for the Big Horn Bar, and approved a request by the Seventh-day Adventist Church to subdivide their current parking lot area.