Town of Pinedale update April 30th
by Mayor Bob Jones
April 30, 2015
Hi, this is Bob Jones with a Pinedale update. Since the election, the town council has made a lot of changes in personnel and procedures. We have revamped our accounting and reporting procedures so, we comply with accepted accounting procedures. This gives us a much better idea where and how our money is being spent. It will also put an end to years of poor audit reports. The long hours and hard work have paid off. Our auditors are very pleased with the changes and results.
Our Public Works Department has gone through a huge change. For the first time, we have a formal safety program. All Public Works employees receive approximately 40 hours of formal safety training from Square Top Consulting. In-house, we conduct weekly safety training meetings. Training doesn't stop with safety. Every Public Works employee receives training in the operation of our sewer and water facilities. Not only do they receive training but they are required to get their state certifications in both water and sewer operations. The state requires at least one town operator have a level 2 certification for our water system and level 1 certification for sewer system. Rather than one or two people having these certifications we are requiring everyone to have them. We have, for the first time, implemented a detailed service program for our equipment. When I first went into the town shop, it looked like a bomb went of. Every time we went out to do a job the equipment was broken and needed to be fixed before we could work. We now have a man dedicated to maintenance. I am now proud when I bring someone into our shop. It is clean and organized. Most importantly, our equipment is serviced and operational. The guys have gone through a tough change, and came out on the other end trained and ready to serve our community in a professional, efficient manner.
As most of you know, we have changed the Engineering and Zoning Department. There have been personnel and organizational changes and a few procedure changes. This department needs to be rebuilt and I need your help. Zoning in this town is broken. It needs to be fixed and it is next on our list of things to fix. Recently, the owner of the Brew Pub came to me to talk about expanding his business. It became painfully obvious to both of us that our zoning regulations are inadequate and need to be changed. It is embarrassing as your Mayor to have a business owner come to me wanting to expand and our regulations don't allow it. This situation must be fixed and soon. This is where I need your help. These problems need to be fixed through a public process, and that process starts with our Planning and Zoning Commission. The council looks to the Planning and Zoning Commission to make informed recommendations to the council. We currently need three new members for our board. I am proposing that we open these positions to out of town Sublette County residents that own businesses in town. This will take an ordinance change, but I think it would be wise to have input from these people. So, if you have an interest in helping us to straighten out our zoning ordinances please call Town Hall at 367-4136 and apply.
I realize you don't always see what is going on in your local government but rest assured there are a lot of hard working people trying hard to make our town the best it can be. If you can help, please give us a call, 367-4136.
Next week, we will provide an update from the Animal Control and Code Enforcement Department.
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