in for an Overhaul — Newcastle City Council to repeal and review ordinances
Following a presentation by Newcastle Police Chief Derek Thompson regarding ordinances that raise concerns for him, the City Council directed City Attorney Dublin Hughes to draft language to repeal two ordinances that have been on the books for a long time.
In addition to the two ordinances that he would like to see repealed, Thompson also presented an ordinance regarding the storage of junk and junk vehicles to the council at their May 5 meeting and asked them to consider amending it.
Two for repeal
Thompson presented an ordinance to the council that appears to make it illegal to carry a weapon and another that prohibits certain types of attire. He believes both Sec. 17-27 — Weapons — Carrying on person, and Sec. 17-14 — Obscenity — Public appearance in nude; dress not belonging to wearer; indecent exposure; lewd or indecent behavior, are unconstitutional.
Sec. 17-27 states that “It shall be unlawful for any person, except officers of the state or of the city, to keep or bear on his person any pistol, revolver, knife, slingshot, bludgeon or other weapon. The chief of police and other police officers of the city shall arrest, with or without warrant, all persons found violating this section and may take any such weapon from the person of the offender.”
“That is a direct violation of the second amendment,” Thompson said.
The other ordinance covers several areas, but the specific concern raised by Thompson involved the restriction of clothing.
The ordinance states that “it shall be unlawful for any person to appear in any public place in the city in a state of nudity or in dress not belonging to the sex of such person or in an indecent or lewd dress or to make any indecent exposure of his person or to commit any lewd or indecent act or behavior.”
Concerns over the restriction of dress to the gender of the wearer have been discussed in the past. Both former County Attorney Jim Peck and Hughes have brought the ordinance to the attention of the council, but in both instances, the council decided to leave the ordinance on the book for historical reasons.
This time, however, the council instructed their attorney to prepare a measure that will allow them to remove these laws from the books.
Junk and junk vehicles
Thompson also raised concerns with the ordinance addressing junk and junk vehicles stored within city limits. He proposed that the city consider removing the 30-day period before a penalty is assessed in the current ordinance and implementing a referral program that will better allow and encourage residents to correct the issue.
Thompson also suggested that the city consider allowing the city or a designee to remove the junk from a property and then charge the resident for the cost of doing so. According to Greg Stumpff, public works supervisor, the city practiced this process up to 2000.
Hughes said that other municipalities use a similar process in which the city sends a letter warning the party to abate the nuisance or the city will hire out the work and send the landowner a bill. If they don’t pay the bill, he said, it becomes a state lien to the property.
“It has been pretty effective,” Hughes said.
Councilman Ann McColley supported the idea.
“Even if that person, that is all they do. We have to get serious about it,” she said.
Mayor Tyrel Owens agreed with McColley.
“It gets tiresome to always be getting talked to by citizens about the condition and the look of our town,” he said. “To go around town and see the junk and the trash.”
Owens added that there is a definite need to expedite the process in the ordinance to allow for faster cleanup, although he acknowledged that violators often don’t care and aren’t going to comply.
No official decision on a way to streamline the junk and junk vehicle ordinance was approved.
Moving forward
In addition to reviewing the above ordinances, the council discussed hiring an outside firm to review the city’s ordinances.
According to Thompson, many of the city’s ordinances are outdated, lack definitions and are vague with convoluted language, among other issues.
Hughes told the council that Sundance recently had an outside firm conduct an ordinance overhaul. The council entertained the idea, but determined more information on the associated cost would be necessary.
City Beats
Notes from the May 5, 2025, meeting of the Newcastle City Council
Jen Womack, of Sagebrush Marketing, discussed the proposed fee for a permit to allow businesses to use the sidewalk for displays and merchandise. She said that fees add up for local businesses, and suggested there are more concerning issues — including crosswalk and speeding enforcement — that deserve the council’s attention. Later in the meeting, engineer Chuck Bartlett asked the city to table the permit until more research can be done on past records from the planning and zoning board.
The council approved Ordinance No. 2, Series 2025 referencing public nuisance, dogs or cats on second reading. See the Newcastle City Council minutes on page B4 for the language of the ordinance.
The council approved a memorandum of understanding for the use of Field 2 at the sports complex by the Newcastle Softball Association for youth softball. The MOU was originally approved by the Newcastle Baseball League and Newcastle Soccer League.
The council approved a Wyoming Department of Transportation special event application to request road closure for the Classic Summer Drags.
Greg Stumpff, public works supervisor, reported that the Department of Environmental Quality wastewater treatment facility report was complete and that there were no violations.
The council approved the hiring of Channing Lutz for the Community Service Officer position.
A motion was approved to allow Police Chief Derek Thompson to draft a letter to up to three college graduates that have associate’s degrees in law enforcement offering a potential sign-on bonus to join the department. Graduates will be from Western Dakota Tech and Sheridan College.
A full recap of the council meeting can be found on B4.