NEWCASTLE CITY COUNCIL CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS MINUTES Monday, July 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, Attorney Dublin Hughes and Clerk/Treasurer Stacy Haggerty. Police Chief Derek Thompson and Engineer Steven Dietrich were absent.

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

APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Thomas Voss moved; Chris Kenney seconded, to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of Monday June 15, 2026, special meeting and executive session of Monday, June 29, 2026. MOTION CARRIED.

NOMINATION FOR RECOGNITION: American Legion and VFW for their work on the 250th Anniversary – 4th of July events, Bucky Rawhouser and Farnsworth Services for the contributions to the Veteran’s Memorial, Bernie Terry for the cleanup and decorations at the 4-Way stop, We Go Girls for their donation towards the banners, Chamber of Commerce for the laser light show, Newcastle Volunteer Fire Department for the pancake breakfast, First Northern Bank for the donation of their parking lot.

CERTIFICATES OF RECOGNITION: Newcastle Wyoming Veterans Memorial, Chuck Bartlett, Mick Bohn, Kasey Keeler, Doug Keierleber, Duke Ottema, 21 Electric – Josh Liggett, and Pinnacle Bank – Justin Tystad for their dedication and support of the Veteran’s Memorial.

CITIZEN’S BUSINESS VERBAL: 

• Linda Hunt referenced a recent public meeting for the S. Summit Pathway Project and provided information that she received from WYDOT regarding the jurisdiction of the section of road from Subway to Duff Ave. She inquired about reducing the speed from 30 miles/hr. to 20 miles/hr. since the speed limit had been a concern during the public meeting. There was discussion about enforcing the speed limits. A speed study will be conducted.

• Sandy Martin and Chuck Bartlett were present to give an overview of the upcoming Classic Summer Drags event and requested relaxation of the open container laws. Thomas Voss moved; Chris Kenney seconded to approve the relaxation of the open container laws within the designated areas for the drag races on July 11 & 12, 2026, from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. MOTION CARRIED. Thomas Voss moved; Don Steveson seconded to approve the relaxation of the open container law for the street dance on July 10, 2026, from 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. within the designated areas. Councilman Butts voted nay. There was discussion regarding garbage containers. MOTION CARRIED. Ms. Martin notified the Council that Don Taylor would be providing transportation for those that may need transportation during the drag races. She also mentioned that the Council may want to consider charging vendors a fee as this is something that she has had to pay in other communities, Attorney Hughes will investigate vendor ordinances. There will be a meeting with responders on Thursday, July 9th at 5:00 p.m. to review the final details of the drag races. 

CITIZEN’S BUSINESS IN WRITING: Bruce Perkins submitted a letter requesting to be appointed to another 3-year term on the WC Travel Commission Board. Chris Kenney moved; Ann McColley seconded to approve this request. MOTION CARRIED.

OLD BUSINESS:

• Mayor Owens reported that Vera Huber had been hired as the new Community Coordinator at the recent special meeting; she will begin training with RCAC.

NEW BUSINESS: None

COMMITTEE/COUNCIL MEMBER REPORTS: None

DEPARTMENT HEAD REPORTS:

• Attorney Dublin Hughes reported that he will bring edited ordinances to the next meeting and will begin investigating vendor ordinances. There was a consensus that the vending ordinance would not be implemented until a later date.    

• Clerk/Treasurer Stacy Haggerty reported that Judge Dumbrill had agreed to serve as the Municipal Judge for another year. Thomas Voss moved; John Butts seconded to appoint Doug Dumbrill as Municipal Judge for the ensuing year. MOTION CARRIED. She referenced the recodification with American Legal Publishing; department heads will meet with Attorney Hughes then schedule a workshop for the Council the week of July 27th.

• Public Works Supervisor Greg Stumpff requested the following: Purchase of a replacement pump that had been damaged by lightning in the amount of $39,160.42, there was discussion about budget and insurance, Ann McColley moved; Thomas Voss seconded to purchase the pump, it was mentioned that the pump had been on a previous replacement list. MOTION CARRIED. Purchase of a chlorination shelter from Tracom in the amount of $23,685.00, the shelter had been discussed by the committee, and they recommended the purchase. Don Steveson moved; Chris Kenney seconded to approve the purchase of the shelter, there was discussion about the location. MOTION CARRIED. Offer of full employment to David Gulas with one (1) year probation at the rate of $18.50/hr. pending pre-employment screening. Thomas Voss moved; John Butts seconded to hire David Gulas. Thomas Voss rescinded his motion. Thomas Voss moved; John Butts seconded to offer employment to David Gulas who is moving to Newcastle in
August from Minnesota, $18.50/hr. with one (1) year probation, pending pre-employment screening. There was discussion regarding advertisement of the position. MOTION CARRIED. Mr. Stumpff then referenced a Consultant Services Policy; the Council will review for the next meeting. He then gave an update on the 2025 Improvement project; then asked what should be done with the 250th Anniversary Banners, this will be discussed at the next meeting. An inquiry was made about striping Stampede Street; stencils have been purchased and will be done when staffing and time allow.   

• Mayor Owens read Engineer Steven Dietrich’s report, 17 new active residential construction projects; Total construction cost of $157,413.21 and $2,454.14 in permit fees were collected between June 15th – July 3rd.  

•Police Chief Derek Thompson was absent. 

Councilman Kenney recused himself. Ann McColley moved; Thomas Voss seconded to pay the claims against the City dated July 6, 2026. There was discussion about $9,000.00 in repairs to the 2004 E-350. MOTION CARRIED.

Mayor Owens reminded the Council that decorum should be kept during meetings. 

ADJOURNMENT: Don Steveson moved; Ann McColley seconded to adjourn the regular meeting of the Newcastle City Council at 8:19 p.m. Meeting adjourned

Fy25/26 Claims: 21 Electric, services, $477.50; Ad-Pro, supplies, $22.46; Advanced Communications, supplies, $80.00; Alpha CPR/1st Aid, training, $1,950.00; American Equipment, annual inspections, $1,868.25; AT&T, PD phones, $446.10; Bobcat of Gillette, key panel, $505.33; Bomgaars, supplies, $1,672.97, Cambria Supply, supplies, $275.62; City of Newcastle, wa/sw/ga, $1,934.36; Display Sales, banners, $2,336.00; Energy Lab, services, $253.00; Engineering Assoc., services, $49,345.88; Jacob Esposito, reimbursement/boots, $191.16; Ferguson, supplies, $2,072.97; Hot Iron, 2025 Imp. Project, $747,209.36; Hot Iron, retainage, $39,326.81; Inberg-Miller, services, $2,406.50; Kings Plumbing, services, $1,111.49; Marchant Resources, services, $1,000.00; Marco, computers/IT/copiers, $10,483.92; Mastercard, supplies/fuel/training, $6,607.73; Matthew Bender, 2026 WY statutes, $143.61; Maxwell Products, patching supplies, $17,675.67; MidStates Equip., supplies, $2,695.00; Mission Communications, annual services, $5,286.60; Newcastle Ace Hardware, supplies, $787.50; NVFD, supplies/travel/training, $2,807.88; Newcastle Wy. Veterans, donation, $2,619.05; News Letter Journal, legals/ads, $1,853.25; Northwest Pipe, supplies, $11,851.69; One Call of Wy., services, $310.80; McKinzie Parrish, reimburse/boots, $192.99; Pollard, supplies, $58.30; Powder River Energy, services, $1,059.37; Range, phone/internet, $962.41; Rapid Diesel, FD repairs, $9,139.77; Justin Runyan, deposit refund, $130.86; Sagebrush, web hosting, $400.00; Dustin/Jade Stoudt, deposit refund, $41.90; Sundance Extinguisher, services, $570.00; Lucky Tiegen-Grummons, lawn service, $800.00; Scott Thomson, reimbursement, $15.26; USA Bluebook, supplies, $1,756.16; Alana Van Wyk, deposit refund, $9.74; Katina Varner, deposit refund, $92.25; Verizon, PW/FD phones, $794.72; WC Road & Bridge, FD fuel, $359.94; WC Solid Waste District, tipping fees, $12,415.20; Wy.DOT, plate transfer, $2.00

FY26/27 Claims: Douglas Dumbrill, municipal judge/mileage, $1,091.00; First Northern Bank, lease payments, $4,305.28; Hughes Law, city attorney, $4,500.00; King’s Plumbing, services, $492.50; LGLP, liability insurance, $15,616.00; Marco, copier/IT, $3,010.96; Bryand Streeter, airport wages, $1,731.75; Becky Vodopich, cleaning, $300.00; W.A.R.M., property insurance, $39,092.49; WC Fire Protection Dist., ½ building ins., $1,277.00; WC Peace Officers, membership dues, $120.00; Wy SLIB, trails lease/loan payments, $19,793.08

ATTEST:

Mayor Tyrel Owens

Clerk/Treasurer Stacy Haggerty

(Publish July 16, 2026)