NEWCASTLE CITY COUNCIL CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS MINUTES Monday, January 5, 2026
Mayor Tyrel Owens called this regular meeting of the Newcastle City Council to order at 7:00 p.m. Present were Council members John Butts, Daren Downs, Chris Kenney, Ann McColley, Don Steveson and Thomas Voss. Also, present were Public Works Supervisor Greg Stumpff, Engineer Steven Dietrich, Attorney Dublin Hughes and Clerk/Treasurer Stacy Haggerty. Police Chief Derek Thompson was absent.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Ann McColley moved; Daren Downs seconded to approve the agenda. MOTION CARRIED.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Chris Kenney moved; Ann McColley seconded, to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of Monday, December 15, 2025. MOTION CARRIED.
STATE OF MUNICIPALITY ADDRESS: Mayor Owens gave the State of Municipality Address thanking all Council members and all departments within the municipality for their hard work throughout the previous year.
NOMINATION FOR RECOGNITION: None
CERTIFICATES OF RECOGNITION: Pinnacle Bank for Festival of Trees; Sara Whipple and the Treble Tones Children’s Choir for caroling on Main Street and singing the National Anthem at the Rush game; City Crew for Christmas lights.
CITIZEN’S BUSINESS VERBAL:
• Bruce Perkins was present to give an overview of the WC Travel Commission’s community event and co-op advertising spending. He also requested to use the Council Chambers as a meeting space for the Travel Commission’s meetings; the request was granted.
CITIZEN’S BUSINESS IN WRITING:
• Rick’s Electric requested an electrical license: Master, Rick Phillips; Journeyman, Trenton Engle; Apprentices, Tate Engle, Cort Perino and Kale Corley. Thomas Voss moved; John Butts
seconded to approve this request. MOTION CARRIED.
• Linda Hunt submitted a letter regarding trees at the intersection of Hwy. 85 and S. Summit. The consensus of the Council was that since the area had been taken care of in July of 2025, and no further action was needed.
• Ted Penfield submitted a letter for sewer forgiveness. Thomas Voss moved; Chris Kenney seconded to approve sewer forgiveness in the amount of $131.54. There was discussion regarding investigation of the leak; the leak was under the house which does not have basement therefore there were no drains for the water to have gone down the sewer. MOTION CARRIED.
OLD BUSINESS: None
NEW BUSINESS: None
COMMITTEE/COUNCIL MEMBER REPORTS:
• Mayor Owens reported that he had spoken with Kellie Norris from Buffalo regarding the wood bank. He plans to connect her with the local businessperson that would like to establish a local wood bank in Newcastle.
• Mayor Owens stated that he had been in contact with Beth Blackwell and compiled some information on penny taxes, for possible street projects; the penny tax would need to be added to the ballot for the next election. Public Works Supervisor Stumpff stated that he hopes to have more information available for the next meeting.
DEPARTMENT HEAD REPORTS:
• Public Works Supervisor Greg Stumpff referenced a $3,822.41 quote from LinkTech for audio and video setup, stating that it was significantly less than a quote from Marco. John Butts moved; Thomas Voss seconded to approve the quote from LinkTech. Discussion was had regarding local electricians providing the equipment. John Butts amended his motion to state: pursue different options for the equipment; Thomas Voss seconded. MOTION CARRIED. He then reported on the following: Letters had been sent out to the homeowners regarding the S. Summit retaining wall; he will be attending the Select Water Committee meeting on January 21st to support the Tank 2 rehab project; he will be in Cheyenne for MRG & SRF grant applications the week of February 5th; 15 street signs and 1 tree were knocked down during the recent wind storm; no engine brake signs are on order; a leak on S. Sage Circle has been repaired; EPA unregulated contaminant monitoring requirements did not show any issues; the drive system on Well #3 was damaged during the power outage, replacement cost is estimated between $7,500 and $8,500. Inquiries were made about the following: If money was budgeted for expenses like the Well #3 drive, money is budgeted for such expenses; an individual on E. Wentworth would like to be notified about meeting for the retaining wall, this information had previously been received; the packer/roller, no one has gone to look at the roller however there are 10 in stock; if the department is at full staff, there are currently two (2) open positions; new garbage truck, currently waiting on a transport driver; lights on Main Street, they are in need of electrical repair; Morrissey Road bike path, waiting on a corrected invoice from the engineering firm to finalize the project; garbage truck driving on shoulder of the road.
• Engineer Steven Dietrich referenced his report consisting of six (6) active residential construction projects; commercial projects consisted of one (1) new building, the Dollar General possibly opening in February; total construction cost of $50,850; permit fees collected were $868.35.
• Police Chief Derek Thompson was absent.
• Attorney Dublin Hughes had nothing to report.
• Clerk/Treasurer Stacy Haggerty reported that she had emailed the response that she had received regarding the website ADA compliance and she has a meeting scheduled with Jen Womack next week. She then stated that the audit presentation had been rescheduled due to the WYDOT STIP presentation at 6:00 p.m. on February 2, 2026; the audit presentation will be on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. Ms. Haggerty reminded the Council that due to Martin Luther King Jr. Day the next meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 20, 2026. Inquiry was made about the RCAC Community Coordinator; there has not been any interest in the advertised position yet.
CLAIMS AGAINST THE CITY: Thomas Voss moved; Chris Kenney seconded to pay the claims against the City dated January 5, 2026. MOTION CARRIED.
Councilman Voss commended Mayor Owens on the State of Municipality Address. Councilwoman McColley informed the Council of an American Legion meeting that will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 6, 2026, at the VFW.
ADJOURNMENT: Chris Kenney moved; Ann McColley seconded, to adjourn the regular meeting of the Newcastle City Council at 8:14 p.m. Meeting adjourned.
Claims: 21 Electric, services, $580.65; AdPro, supplies, $16.20; Advanced Drug Testing, services, $93.60; Ameri-Tech, parts, $2,240.09; American Public Works, membership, $441.00; American Ramp, Backyard Park design, $20,925.00; Black Hills Energy, service, $2,345.41; Blakeman, propane, $339.80; Bomgaars, supplies, $1,334.34; Campbell Co. EMS, services, $9,056.25; Carr Custom Fencing, $3,750.00; City of Newcastle, wa/sw/ga, $521.83; CAN Surety, FD bond, $200.00; Craig’s, parts, $86.84; Derek’s Field Service, repairs, $466.40; Douglas Dumbrill, municipal judge/mileage, $1,091.00; Energy Lab., analysis, $327.00; Environmental Products, supplies, $3,447.45; Farnsworth, services, $3,528.00; Ferguson, parts, $280.71; First Northern Bank, loan payments, $4,305.29; Fisher, gravel, $711.82; Diane Gates, deposit refund, $33.36; Chirs Hollingsworth, deposit refund, $82.33; Hughes Law, attorney fees, $4,500.00; Inberg-Miller, services, $9,257.00; Jared Jarnigan, CDL, $45.00; Marco, copier/IT/computer, $7,030.05; Mastercard, supplies/postage, $1,363.77; Mountain Plains Audiology, screening, $35.00; Newcastle Equipment, repairs, $1,875.00; NVFD, supplies, $136.65; News Letter Journal, ads/legals, $1,753.50; One Call, services, $64.05; Aiden Patel, deposit refund, $114.16; Pinnacle Bank, lease payment, $60,338.65; Powder River Energy, service, $1,053.01; Rootx, supplies, $1,490.00; Sagebrush Marketing, website hosting, $450.00; Bryand Streeter, airport wages, $1,333.33; Summit Plumbing, services, $300.00; Lucky Teigen-Grummons, FD cleaning, $300.00; Titan Machinery, manual, $1,045.23; Verizon, PW phones, $896.44; Becky Vodopich, cleaning, $300.00; WC Health Services, screenings, $208.00; Wy. Machinery, repairs, $3,695.41.
ATTEST:
Mayor Tyrel Owens
Clerk/Treasurer Stacy Haggerty
(Publish January 15, 2026)