Newcastle City Council Minutes
NEWCASTLE CITY COUNCIL
CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS
UNOFFICIAL MINUTES
Monday, October 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, Police Chief Derek Thompson, Attorney Dublin Hughes and Clerk/Treasurer Stacy Haggerty.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Mayor Owens amended the agenda to add election cost to the Committee/Council Member Reports. Ann McColley moved; Chris Kenney seconded, to approve the agenda as amended. Motion carried.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Thomas Voss moved; Ann McColley seconded, to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of Monday, September 21, 2026. Motion carried.
NOMINATION FOR RECOGNITION: Kaffee Klatsch, Pizza Barn and Gateway Travel Center for their support of Veterans and the Vietnam Wall.
CERTIFICATES OF RECOGNITION: Dick & Bonnie Rich for the Shine & Show, Tasha Townsend-Lane for the Fall Festival.
CITIZEN’S BUSINESS VERBAL: Zach Lane was present to discuss Limited Plumber licenses and proposed changes; stating that he had inquired about taking the test four (4) months ago. The following was discussed: type of work Limited and Master Plumbers could do, who should hold the plumbers accountable, expense to customers, and the Plumbing Committee. Supervisor Stumpff stated that updates to the current test should be finished within a week.
CITIZEN’S BUSINESS IN WRITING: None
OLD BUSINESS:
1. Mayor Owens reported on the Use Control Area Agreement workshop with Wyoming Refining Company, stating that the agreement was about reclaiming land to industrial standards. Mayor Owens plans to hold another workshop prior to scheduling a Town Hall meeting. Councilman Kenney noted that there is no, formal agreement in play and the Refinery is currently seeking the City’s guidance for the private property that is currently owned by the Refinery.
2. Mayor Owens gave an update on his previous address to the Council reporting the following: An Economic Development Committee will need to be held to discuss a couple of the projects, reserves for street projects will be outlined in the Investment Policy, and a payment account can be set up for electronic charging stations.
NEW BUSINESS:
1. Mayor Owens read a statement proposing an Independent Contractor Agreement with Wyoming Association of Municipalities. There was discussion about what value the agreement would bring. Thomas Voss moved, Ann McColley seconded to approve the agreement with the addition of Investments. There was further discussion about the scope of work, current duties of the Clerks, enterprise funds, grants and the possible need to table the discussion. Thomas Voss rescinded this motion. Chris Kenney moved; Don Steveson seconded to table the discussion till the next meeting. Motion carried.
COMMITTEE/COUNCIL MEMBER REPORTS:
1. Councilman Steveson reported on a Finance/Personnel Committee meeting where they had discussed the individual department’s ability to pay the entire employee portion of Wyoming Retirement, with the current staff, it would be $107,400 in expense. Department Heads have been requested to give quarterly reports to see if a budget amendment will be necessary. Ann McColley moved, Thomas Voss seconded to pay the entire employee portion of Wyoming Retirement. Benefits and employee retention were discussed. Motion carried. The committee also discussed paying off the JPA loans with 4.8% interest with money from the Water Fund. Don Steveson moved; Chris Kenney seconded to pay off the JPA loans. The benefits of financial savings were discussed. Motion carried.
2. Mayor Owens addressed the following community concerns: Bagged grass clippings are allowed in garbage containers; Rick Dunford thanked the Council for the repairs at Centennial Park; Additional patrols and speed limit signs on 2nd Ave.; the need for lease agreements for the purchase of equipment due to expensive repairs.
3. Mayor Owens reported on the condition of Cash Box Ceramics wall for the Pocket Park. He plans to remove some excess stucco.
4. Mayor Owens reported that he had met with someone interested in helping with the Boys and Girls Club and community volunteerism.
5. Mayor Owens reported on the proposed Special Election for the penny tax: The museum and hospital had paid $1,893.23 each for a previous special election so he believes the cost for the City will be around $4,000; There could be separate initiatives for the Penny Tax where residents could choose to support the tax with Upton’s pool or without it; Information for the Special Election may need to be given to the County Clerk in January.
DEPARTMENT HEAD REPORTS:
1. Attorney Dublin Hughes stated that until the Limited Plumbing license proposed changes are passed with the recodification, which will need to be read three (3) times, the current ordinance is in effect. Individuals wishing to take the updated test will be able to do so when it is ready.
2. Clerk/Treasurer Stacy Haggerty reported that she is working on uploading documents to the Auditor’s and that the bulk of audit work is scheduled for November 10th – 20th. She then asked if there were any additional questions about information she had provided from WC Assessor Kara Lenardson regarding the proposed property tax cuts; there were none.
3. Public Works Supervisor Greg Stumpff reported on the following: There had been more vandalism at Centennial and Dow Parks; Frontier Addition Reconstruction Project, street portion is over $4.4 million with the City’s portion being $2.2 million; final cleanup is being done on Landfill #1 Remediation; Landfill #2 closure documents have been received from DEQ; waiting for Chlorination Building parts. Inquiries were made about the cost of the pump for the pumpstation and the MOU with the Town of Upton for unmet housing; the MOU is ready for review.
4. Engineer Steven Dietrich referenced his report, 7 new active residential construction projects and 2 active commercial projects; Total construction cost of $63,715 and $1,064.87 in permit fees were collected between September 21st – October 4th. He also reported that he had received an application for the vacant seat on the Planning & Zoning board. An inquiry was made about residents replacing water heaters; they may with the $37.00 required permit.
5. Police Chief Derek Thompson was absent.
Councilman Kenney recused himself. Ann McColley moved; Thomas Voss seconded to pay the claims against the City dated October 5, 2026. Motion carried.
ADJOURNMENT: Chris Kenney moved; Don Steveson seconded to adjourn the regular meeting of the Newcastle City Council at 8:53 p.m. Meeting adjourned
Claims: 21 Electric, services, $3,885.42; Advanced Drug Testing, services, $62.40; Advanced Pump Equip., pump, $40,326.53, AT&T, PD phones, $458.50; Bargen, sealcoat, $8,616.70; Beth Blackwell, reimbursement/training, $719.00; Blakeman, propane, $71.70; Cambria Supply, towels, $18.00; Campbell Co. EMS, services, $9,509.00, City of Newcastle, wa/sw/ga, $1,627.57; Croell, concrete, $1,380.00, Decker’s, deposit refund, $25.00; Angela Domina, deposit refund, $88.30; Douglas Dumbrill, municipal judge/mileage, $1,091.00; Energy Lab., services, $152.00; Engineering Assoc., services, $24,265.01; Ferguson, supplies, $6,972.50; Fire CAT, hose testing, $7,849.60; First Northern Bank, lease payments, $6,850.44; David & Alma Gerber, deposit refund, $9.02; Heartland Kubota, parts, $30.08; Hughes Law, attorney fees, $4,500.00; Inberg-Miller, services, $2,580.09; Kregel Towing, services, $195.00; James & Nathina Lewis, deposit refund, $84.67; Marco Technologies, IT/plotter, $3,358.18; Mastercard, supplies/travel/training/fuel, $7,497.92 Minuteman, services, $23.00; Newcastle Equip., tires, $680.00; NVFD, training/supplies, $243.69; News Letter Journal, legals, $1,155.00; Northwest Pipe, parts, $210.00; One Call, services, $234.15; PowerPlan, parts, $823.99; Quick Signs, supplies, $670.70; Sagebrush Market, hosting fees, $200.00; Servall, services, $53.58; Sherwin Williams, paint, $426.75; Bryand Streeter, $1,731.75; Strobel Energy Group, Chlorination project, $334,197.90; Summit Plumbing, services, $252.81; Sundance Extinguisher, FD annual service, $642.50; Lucky Teigen-Grummons, FD cleaning, $300.00; Thunder Basin Ford, repairs, $1,261.19; USA Bluebook, supplies, $503.40; Verizon, cell phones, $785.24; Becky Vodopich, cleaning, $300.00; WC Road & Bridge, FD fuel, $161.05; WC Treasurer, taxes handling fee/airport expenses, $1,159.04; WC Solid Waste District, tipping fees, $13,019.30; WAM, membership, $5,114.00; Wy. Machinery, battery, $234.48; Wy. Water Quality & Pollution Control Assoc., conference, $275.00
ATTEST:
Mayor Tyrel Owens
Clerk/Treasurer Stacy Haggerty
(Publish October 15, 2026)