SUBLETTE COUNTY – The Big Piney Town Council discussed an upcoming review of its town ordinances and how the town’s code enforcement officer can be authorized to write municipal citations with possible fines.

Mayor Shane Voss and councilmembers Kinsey Voss, Tawnya Miller and Sierra Banks met on Oct. 17 with Dalin Hughes absent.

Sublette County Sgt. Tom Hatch attended to represent the Sublette County Sheriff’s Office. Miller asked him about the Marbleton sheriff’s office progress with notices of violations submitted by Big Piney’s code enforcement officer, Greg Eiden.

“Mr. Eiden has delivered notices of violations to three (homeowners) in town,” she said. “One from June 1, Sept. 22 and Oct. 4. Has the sheriff’s office made contact with any of those?”
“I don’t think I have that information,” Hatch said, so Miller provided him with the list.

Next, former councilmember Sherri Redden asked during public comments how the mayor and council would prefer citizens to contact them with questions or complaints.

“Not at all?” the mayor said.

Banks and others said people can use official emails and phone numbers and the Big Piney Town Hall phone number is on the door.

“A lot of people are asking me about town things and they say no one responds,” Redden said. “Is the town’s new website up yet?”

“Soon,” Banks said.

Authority

Regarding Eiden’s limited authority to write citations, town attorney Doug Mason said the books of regulations need to be gathered for review. In the meantime, he looked online at how other smaller towns without police departments write citations – but quite a few don’t post them on websites.

“Most of those towns authorize a dogcatcher to write citations but only for animals,” he said. “Some only have one municipal officer, a chief of police, to issue citations. I was looking for other language that authorizes a code officer to write violations.”

It could be incorporated into the upcoming review and codification process,” Mason said.

Eiden can only write up citations for animal violations.

Marbleton has an animal control-code enforcement officer who can write both – Mary Flugel.
Pinedale has a municipal officer who writes parking citations, although “it’s not exactly in their ordinances,” Mason noted.

“Your ordinance says ‘town marshal’ – it could be the sheriff’s office that serves as a town marshal,” Mason said. “… You can add a new ordinance about authorizing a municipal code-enforcement officer within the town of Big Piney.”

Miller asked about Marbleton’s ordinance; Mason said he would look and if the council wanted, he could draft language.

“The sheriff’s office is great at enforcing state and county laws but (junk cars and buildings) are not really their highest priority,” Mason said.

Mayor Voss asked: “What’s the point of having an ordinance if you can’t enforce it?”

Redden harkened back to her years on the council – Big Piney had a part-time building inspector and a part-time animal control officer but after both left, Eiden was hired for code enforcement.

Judge Ruth Neely has overseen cases in municipal court but some offenders don’t necessarily take final actions to clear up a problem, the council noted.

Eiden commented that some of the older ordinances might be outdated, such as no houses of ill repute.

Mason said a councilmember committee could work with town clerk Kristi Gray “and redline a whole bunch of them. I could but you pay me by the hour. A lot of ordinances are not necessary and some seem to be missing.”

Most recent ordinances adopted will be added to the review of the town’s code process.

Tara Miller asked what the council wanted her do about “natural brush” growing on a Miller Way lot. The town has 2 adjoining parcels also overgrown with brush and they agreed to haul off leftover concrete and take a brush hog to all three.

Awareness

Dezi Saathoff from SAFV Task Force read the Big Piney proclamation of October as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, updating the state’s sexual assault and family violences statistics.

Nearly half of female homicide victims were killed by partners and nearly half of all men and women experience abuse from an intimate partner. Last October, 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men reported abuse. This year, it rose to 1 in 3 women and 1 in every 4 men, she said.

“Our client load shows that (increase) as well,” she said. Both men and women are reporting more often as awareness grows, she said.

The council approved the proclamation.

In other news

• The Piney Rec Center hosts its Halloween Carnival and Trunk or Treat from 4 to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 31. The Holiday Bazaar is set for Saturday, Nov. 18, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the rec center and vendor spaces are available. The Parade of Lights will be on the first Saturday night, Dec. 2.

• Wyoming Peak Electrical completed the RV power tower in Centennial Park that before had one outlet, according to parks-streets manager Kara Losik. “The sprinklers were destroyed.” Cheeney Landscaping unofficially estimated replacement at $20,000 and Great Gannett Landscaping estimated it at $14,000. The town does not need to advertise for bids for jobs under $85,000, the council noted.

• Colter Lane of Jorgensen & Associates said he’s working with water-sewer manager Mike Wagstaff on the design phase for the town’s chlorine-generation project.