NEWCASTLE CITY COUNCIL CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS MINUTES Monday, April 6, 2026

NEWCASTLE CITY COUNCIL

CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS

MINUTES

Monday, April 6, 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, Police Chief Derek Thompson, Attorney Dublin Hughes and Clerk/Treasurer Stacy Haggerty. 

APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Chris Kenney moved; Ann McColley seconded, to approve the agenda. MOTION CARRIED.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Don Steveson moved; Chris Kenney seconded, to approve the minutes of the regular meeting and executive session of Monday, March 16, 2026. MOTION CARRIED.

NOMINATION FOR RECOGNITION: Kathy Levasseur for her work on bringing the Vietnam Wall to Newcastle. 

CERTIFICATES OF RECOGNITION: Sue Kettley for comforting members of the community through quilting. 

CITIZEN’S BUSINESS VERBAL: 

• Kayleigh Gould with North-East Wyoming
Advocacy Resource Center was present to update the Council on the organization and thanked them for their continued support. She reported they
had helped 23 victims of domestic violence in Newcastle. 

• Bob Svara was present to report on Mondell 

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Airport and asked the Council to consider increasing wages for the next fiscal year. 

• Sandra Martin was present to report that plans are being made for the drag races to be hosted in Newcastle again this summer. The races are scheduled for July 11th & 12th; meetings will be scheduled with all emergency agencies prior to the event. 

CITIZEN’S BUSINESS IN WRITING: 

• Melissa Hammond submitted a letter of interest for the City’s open seat on the WC Travel Commission Board. Thomas Voss moved; Ann McColley seconded to appoint Melissa Hammond to the WC Travel Commission Board. MOTION CARRIED.

• WC Children’s Center submitted a request for sewer averaging. Daren Downs moved; Don Steveson seconded to approve this request. MOTION CARRIED.

OLD BUSINESS:

• Mayor Owens referenced the replat for Wayne & Laura Oney. Engineer Dietrich stated that the Planning & Zoning board had not met to discuss the topic. Chris Kenney moved; Ann McColley seconded, to table the discussion. MOTION CARRIED. 

• Mayor Owens stated that he had received multiple references for an investment policy and requested the Finance Committee to look them over and meet to discuss them. 

NEW BUSINESS: 

• Mayor Owens read a proclamation, proclaiming April 12th – 18th, 2026 as National Public Safety Telecommunications Week. Thomas Voss moved; Chris Kenney seconded to approve this proclamation. MOTION CARRIED.

• Mayor Owens read a proclamation, proclaiming April as Child Abuse Prevention Month. Ann McColley moved; John Butts seconded to approve this proclamation. MOTION CARRIED.

• Mayor Owens referenced a digital communications proposal from the News Letter Journal. There was discussion regarding the current agreement with Sagebrush Marketing. John Butts moved; Thomas Voss seconded to table the discussion. MOTION CARRIED.

COMMITTEE/COUNCIL MEMBER REPORTS: 

• Personnel Committee had met to discuss the Building Inspector position, duties, responsibilities, and funds for the position. Don Steveson moved; Ann McColley seconded to advertise for the position. There was clarification that these funds would be coming out of the current Engineer’s Budget. MOTION CARRIED.

• Police Committee had met to discuss drafting MOU with the Sheriff’s office when assisting on calls to protect the City’s assets and personnel. 

• Streets/Alleys/Buildings Committee had not met.

• Mayor Owens reported on a meeting with Black Hills Energy regarding the proposed rate increases. He stated that reasons for the increases included the following: half a billion dollars in updates, no increases since 2013 and the need to replace generators from the 1960’s. There was also discussion regarding street light outages.

• Mayor Owens reported on the April SLIB meeting where there was discussion about the Business Ready Community grant, and the Unmet
Housing grant. The City of Newcastle may be awarded $400,000.00 for the Unmet Housing grant, however that topic was tabled until the April 23, 2026, meeting. 

• Mayor Owens referenced an article from the Cowboy State Daily which referenced Newcastle’s partnership with Upton. 

DEPARTMENT HEAD REPORTS:

• Austin Kenney with the Newcastle Volunteer Fire Department was present to give a quarterly report. He reported on the following: elected officers, frontline officers, trainings, awards, certifications, years of service, calls of service, possible building repairs and the fire prevention day hosted for the WC Children’s Center. Inquiries were made about “SLIC-ER”; this training helps to determine the best possible flow path of a fire for safe entry. An inquiry was also made about how many female members the department has; currently two certified, one probationary, and two or three explorers.  

• Clerk/Treasurer Stacy Haggerty referenced a quote and requested to replace all Clerk’s computers at City Hall Clerks as the current ones are low on storage space and outdated. Don Steveson moved; Ann McColley seconded to approve this request. Discussion was had regarding the need for more storage space. MOTION CARRIED.She referenced a proposal from Black Mountain for rate analysis software which she was not sure would be as involved as the Waterworth program that had been previously discussed; the cost difference was discussed, Waterworth being $17,575.00 for two years and Black Mountain’s cost being $820.00 per year. Clerk/Treasurer Haggerty then reminded the Council of the Budget Workshop scheduled for 5:00 p.m. on Monday, April 13, 2026.

• Public Works Supervisor Greg Stumpff referred to Beth Blackwell for her semi-annual report. Ms. Blackwell reported on the grants and loans that had been awarded as well as applications that had been submitted and ones that she is currently working on. She continues to work on the following: Countywide Consensus program with the Legislatures, funding through optional taxes, different funding sources, and continued training. Supervisor Greg Sumpff referenced changes to Chapter 26, requesting that the Council take time to look over the 25-page document before discussing it further. Mayor Owens read Resolution No. 2, Series 2026, which title reads: A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING SUBMISSION OF THE WYOMING OUTDOOR AND TOURISM TRUST FUND (ORTFF) ON BEHALF OF THE GOVERNING BODY FOR THE CITY OF NEWCASTLE FOR THE PURPOSE OF THE BACKYARD PARK PROJECT CONSISTING OF DESIGNING AND CONSTRUCTING A BIKE PATH IN THE AREA KNOWN AS THE BACKYARD PARK. Chris Kenney moved; Don Steveson seconded to approve Resolution No. 2, Series 2026. Appreciation of the project was made. MOTION CARRIED. Mayor Owens began reading Resolution No. 3, Series 2026, before discovering an error. Ann McColley moved; Thomas Voss seconded to table Resolution No. 3, Series 2026. MOTION CARRIED.  Supervisor Stumpff stated that the stakeholders meeting for the 2025 Improvement Project will be on April 7, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. and the stakeholders meeting for Tank #2 will be on May 4, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. He also reported that he would be attending an upcoming WARWS meeting and LPA training.    

• Engineer Steven Dietrich reported on 19 new active residential projects from March 16th – April 5th, construction cost totaling $107,738.00 and $1,976.42 collected in permit fees. He stated that while there are not any current commercial construction projects there are several in infancy. 

• Police Chief Derek Thompson reported on calls of service between March 13th – April 1st, NPD  215 with 2 arrest, and 17 criminal citations, WCSO 190, UPD 94, NVFD 6, WCFP 16, UVFD 4, Newcastle Ambulance 20, Upton Ambulance 6, he provided a handout for the breakdown of NPD calls. He then stated that he plans to send a thank you to the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office SWAT Team for their assistance during a recent event. He then reported that the Joint Powers Board will have a budget workshop at their regular meeting on April 15, 2026, at 4:30 p.m. The JPB had also submitted the E911 Revenue and Expenditure report to the Wyoming Public Service Commission. Chief Thompson requested $0.50/hr. raise for Jacob Esposito as he had completed his Field Officer Training as of March 27, 2026. Thomas Voss moved; Chris Kenney seconded to approve this request. MOTION CARRIED.

• Attorney Dublin Hughes referred to the Junk Ordinance and proposed to give two weeks for residents to remove junk vehicles. He would like to meet with the Police Committee, Chief Thompson and Public Works Supervisor Greg Stumpff to discuss who would remove the vehicles for those in violation. A Police Committee meeting was scheduled for Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. 

CLAIMS AGAINST THE CITY: Councilman Kenney recused himself. Thomas Voss moved; Don Steveson seconded to pay the claims against the City dated April 6, 2026. MOTION CARRIED.

ADJOURNMENT: Daren Downs moved; Chris Kenney seconded, to adjourn the regular meeting of the Newcastle City Council at 8:58 p.m. Meeting adjourned. 

Claims: 21 Electric, services, $8,184.52; Ameri-Tech, supplies, $1,142.88; American Water Works, membership, $443.00; Architectural Specialties, repairs, $1,535.00; AT&T, PD phones, $443.90; Big Horn Tire, tires, $680.84; Black Hills Ammunition, ammunition, $997.50; Bomgaars, supplies, $801.14; Cambria Supply, supplies, $429.76; Campbell Co. EMS, services, $9,056.25; Carr Custom Fencing, Backyard Park fence, $27,562.50; City of Newcastle, wa/sw/ga, $334.69; Elisabeth Conley, deposit refund, $95.60; Contractor’s Supply, supplies, $97.38; Renee Cudney, deposit refund, $54.92; Dakota Fluid Power, repairs, $384.00; Dooley Enterprises, ammunition, $1,052.83; Douglas Dumbrill, municipal judge/mileage, $1,091.00; DXP Enterprises, supplies, $2,491.39; Engineering Assoc., services, $4,212.44; First Northern Bank, lease payments, $4,305.29; Fisher, gravel, $2,039.31; Mike Franklin, deposit refund, $97.24; Gateway Travel Center, fuel, $6,819.95; Hughes Law, attorney fees, $4,500.00; ImageTrend, setup/annual fee, $4,125.00; Marchant Resources, services, $1,250.00; Marco, copier fees/IT, $3,750.49; Mastercard, supplies/training/fuel, $5,679.80; Minuteman, services/tires, $2,884.00; Wendy Morris, deposit refund, $65.98; Mountain View Plumbing, services, $487.00; Newcastle Ace Hardware, supplies, $494.69; Newcastle Equipment, repairs, $996.30; NVFD, treadmill/membership, $2,709.94; News Letter Journal, ads/legals, $1,963.50; Northwest Pipe, supplies, $3,104.27; Powder River Energy, services, $1,186.86; Range, phone/internet, $1,298.99; Servall, services, $54.36; Smith Psychological, services, $400.00; Bryand Streeter, airport wages, $1,333.33; Summit Fire Protection, hydro test, $507.00; Lucky Teigen-Grummons, FD cleaning, $300.00; Ray Templeman, deposit refund, $45.34; Titan Machinery, supplies, $325.20; Transource, parts, $70.21; USA Bluebook, supplies, $269.80; Verizon, PW/FD cell phones, $895.63; Becky Vodopich, cleaning, $300.00; Voelker’s, repairs, $137.97; Waterworth, 2yr. software subscription, $17,575.00; WC Health Services, services, $140.00; WC Road & Bridge, FD fuel, 100.38; WC Solid Waste District, tipping fees, $11,846.10; WC Treasurer, handling fee/airport expenses, $6,028.25; Western Peaks Logistics, services, $27.44; Wilder Graphics, supplies, $97.16; Wilson Plumbing, services, $576.00; Wy. DOT, land lease, $119.75

ATTEST:

Mayor Tyrel Owens

Clerk-Treasuer Stacy Haggerty

(Publish April 16, 2026)