Jan. 20, 2026 Newcastle City Council Minutes

NEWCASTLE CITY COUNCIL

CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS

MINUTES

Tuesday, January 20, 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 Engineer Steven Dietrich, Police Chief Derek Thompson, Attorney Dublin Hughes and Clerk/Treasurer Stacy Haggerty. Public Works Supervisor Greg Stumpff was absent.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Chris Kenney moved; Thomas Voss seconded to approve the agenda. MOTION CARRIED.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Ann McColley moved; Daren Downs seconded, to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of Monday, January 5, 2026. MOTION CARRIED.

NOMINATION FOR RECOGNITION: Black Hills Energy and Powder River Energy for their quick response to the recent blackout. News Letter Journal for providing Newcastle with a local newspaper and their “dust off the Dogies” campaign.

CERTIFICATES OF RECOGNITION: None

CITIZEN’S BUSINESS VERBAL: 

• Kathy Levasseur was present to update the Council on the Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall; a contract has been signed, and the wall will be in Newcastle August 13 – 17, 2026. She also asked Mayor Owens to proclaim 2026 as year of the Veterans, he plans to read a proclamation at the next meeting. 

OLD BUSINESS: 

• Jen Womack with Sagebrush Marketing was present to discuss website ADA compliance and her thoughts on website maintenance moving forward. 

CITIZEN’S BUSINESS IN WRITING:

• Mayor Owens read the following electrical and plumbing license request: Electrical Contractor, Ace Electrical, Master Electrician, Alan Ainsworth Clark; Limited Plumbing Contractor, CMS Nextech, Limited Plumber, David Grzech; Plumbing Contractor, Precision Mechanical LLP; Master Plumber, John Benedict; Journeymen, Chuck Hoche and Tray Sharkey; Limited Plumber, Austin Youngblood. All fees have been paid and copies of their state license, proof of insurance and bond have been provided for 2026. Chris Kenney moved; Thomas Voss seconded to approve the license requests. Discussion was had regarding where these companies were located. MOTION CARRIED.

NEW BUSINESS: Chris Kenney reported the 2026 Newcastle Volunteer Fire Department election results: Treasurer, Curtis Harley; Secretary, Jessie Redo; Assistant Chief, Merrit Pederson; Chief, Chris Kenney. Mr. Kenney read a formal disclosure statement disclosing his dual roles as a Councilman and Fire Chief and recused himself from the public meeting. Thomas Voss moved; seconded Ann McColley to approve the 2026 Newcastle Volunteer Fire Department election results. MOTION CARRIED.

COMMITTEE/COUNCIL MEMBER REPORTS: 

• Mayor Owens updated the Council on the Wood Bank project, stating that a location still needs to be found.

• Mayor Owens referenced the Penny Tax with the County Commissioners and asked the Council to review the documents provided. Karl Lacey was in attendance and voiced that he was not in favor of the tax, Mayor Owens stated that the proposed tax would be put on the election ballot for the public to vote on. 

• Mayor Owens stated that he had talked with a County Commissioner about the Newcastle Engineer doing some work for the County and asked the Council’s approval to talk to the Board of County Commissioners during their 2nd meeting in February. Ann McColley moved; seconded Thomas Voss to approve this request. Discussion was had about finances, hours worked and expenses. MOTION CARRIED.

• Mayor Owens stated that American Legal Publishing is working on the ordinance revision and it may be quite some time before they reach out again.

DEPARTMENT HEAD REPORTS:

• Clerk/Treasurer Stacy Haggerty reminded the Council of the 6:00 p.m. WYDOT STIP presentation on February 2nd and the Audit presentation at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 17th. She then referenced a letter of noncompliance from the Wy. Department of Audit, stating that the City had been granted the extension that had been requested by the auditor. Ms. Haggerty asked if there were any questions regarding the financial reports provided, there were none. 

• In Public Works Supervisor Greg Stumpff’s absence Mayor Owens read an Unmet Housing Grant Resolution entitled: A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING SUBMISSION OF AN UNMET HOUSING GRANT APPLICATION TO THE STATE LOAN AND INVESTMENT BOARD JOINTLY ON BEHALF OF THE GOVERNING BODIES FOR THE City of Newcastle & Town of Upton, FOR THE PURPOSE OF: Dilapidated to Renovated project, in the amount of $5,000,000.00. Chris Kenney moved; Ann McColley seconded to pass the resolution. There was discussion about the ability to follow through with the project if the grant was awarded. MOTION CARRIED.

• Engineer Steven Dietrich referenced his report, there had not been any new permits issued since the last meeting with one (1) new building, the Dollar General in construction. He then referenced the open Building Inspector position with the possibility of sharing the position with the Town of Upton and a module within the Novo Solutions program for building permits.

• Police Chief Derek Thompson reported on calls of service from December 15, 2025; NPD 383 with 7 arrests and 21 criminal citations, WCSO 149, UPD 198, NVFD 5, WCFP 26, UVFD 1, Newcastle Ambulance 38, Upton Ambulance 5, he provided a handout for the breakdown of NPD calls. He then reported that the generator had been connected to the power system and they are now waiting for a part to put in the gas line. He also reported that 21 Electric had looked at the light by the ramp and discovered that it was set to a timer. The following were also discussed: PD dog training and behavior; washing PD vehicles. 

• Attorney Dublin Hughes stated that if the Building Inspector position is shared between Upton and Newcastle a conflict waver would need to be drafted and signed. He then reported that he had reviewed several tickets issued by the Community Service Officer.

 CLAIMS AGAINST THE CITY: After Councilman Kenney recused himself, Thomas Voss moved; Don Steveson seconded to pay the claims against the City dated January 20, 2026. MOTION CARRIED.

ADJOURNMENT: Chris Kenney moved; Thomas Voss seconded, to adjourn the regular meeting of the Newcastle City Council at 8:14 p.m. Meeting adjourned. 

Claims: Aced Embroidery, services, $161.00; Ad-Pro, supplies, $9.90; AT&T, PD cell phones, $357.44; Avenue Insights, services, $2,646.00; Blakeman, propane, $424.75; Cambria Supply, supplies, $1,491.87; Casper Peterbilt, garbage truck, $415,392.00; CNA Surety, bond, $175.00; Merritt Crabtree, VseeTV, $350.00; Decker’s, supplies, $57.98; Eastern Wy., Equip., supplies, $1,742.44; Farnsworth, services, $2,056.00; Ferguson, parts, $904.29; Gateway, fuel, $5,814.52; Hawkins, chemical, $797.86; Inberg-Miller, services, $6,120.00; Zachary Koller, deposit refund, $100.00; Marco, copiers/IT, $1,097.33; Mastercard, supplies/fuel/training, $1,977.10; Rod McMeekin, deposit refund, $109.25; Minuteman, services, $23.00; Municipal Emergency Services, supplies, $6,139.54; Newcastle Equipment, repairs, $10,221.68; NVFD, supplies/training, $2,905.53; Newman Traffic, signs, $398.33; Northwest Pipe, supplies, $892.80; One Call, services, $42.00; Travis Peterson, reimbursement/CDL, $45.00; Powder River Energy, services, $1,159.86; Range, phone/internet, $1,305.33; Servall, services, $52.07; Short Stop, fuel, $661.40; Summit Fire Protection, service, $2,379.00; Becky Vodopich, cleaning, $300.00; WC Road & Bridge, fuel, $293.26; WC Treasurer, ½ airport expenses/taxes handling fee, $2,467.07; WC Solid Waste District, tipping fees, $11,906.30; White’s Energy Motors, repairs, $2,530.45; Wilson Plumbing, services, $230.00; Woody’s, supplies, $39.97; Wy. Machinery, parts, $513.32

ATTEST:

Mayor Tyrel Owens

Clerk/Treasurer Stacy Haggerty

(Publish January 29, 2026)