City council sees busy 2015

Green River started the year with a few new faces joining the city council.

A new mayor, Pete Rust, along with new council members Ted Barney and Allan Wilson, set to work on one of the city’s biggest issues at the beginning of the year: finding a new city administrator. After making a change to the criteria utilized by the city’s human resources department, the council decided to focus on candidates already living in Green River. After a series of executive sessions discussing applicants, the council unanimously voted to hire Reed Clevenger to the post. Clevenger initially was head of the Sweetwater One Foundation in Rock Springs and served as a board member for the Green River Chamber of Commerce.

Concerns over Flaming Gorge Days also materialized during 2015. The long-running weekend of fun has encountered difficulties fundraising during the past couple of years, resulting with members of the Flaming Gorge Days committee saying the event could end as a result.

Flaming Gorge Days is one of the few county events placing a focus on Green River. Business owners and managers speaking to the city council said the weekend is one of their biggest revenue generators for the year.

“Flaming Gorge Days really is the signature event of Green River, Wyoming,” Councilman Gary Killpack said during the council’s May 5 meeting. “It’s brought thousands of thousands of thousands of dollars to the community.”

A statue commemorating miners was placed in Mining Memorial Park this year. The statue sculpted by Green River resident Bryan Cordova and titled “Shift Change,” was revealed during the annual River Fest and Art on the Green celebrations in August.

The statue was initially commissioned after the design won a sculpture competition during the 2014 Art on the Green. The statue was later placed in the memorial park and dedicated during Mine Rescue Day Oct. 30.

Discussion about the fate of the U.P. Depot building also took place throughout the year. The city council discussed several options regarding the building. The city decided to seal the building for the time being, but some councilmen worry about the depot’s future if it’s allowed to sit too long.

“I’m a firm believer the longer we let the building sit, the more likely we’re going to have problems with it like Lincoln (High School),” Wilson said, during the council’s Sept. 22 meeting.

The depot is considered as a possible home for small businesses and a restaurant. The city did receive a $200,000 grant from the EPA to deal with asbestos and lead-based paints within the building, but that is only paid if the city plans to renovate the building.

The city also continues to deal with reduced revenues, which have dominated the headlines throughout 2015. They’re not alone in this problem, as Rock Springs faces similar problems. Those revenue concerns will likely continue throughout 2016 as both cities will continue to budget conservatively.