Pool gate fees going up

Council OKs variance, CUP requests; sells Frontier lot

With the weather warming up, the swimming pool was a hot topic at Monday’s meeting of the Greybull Town Council with discussion centering on gate fees, lifeguards and a proposal to install a vending machine for the benefit of pool users.

Amanda McGrew suggested the last of the three, saying she’d like to put the vending machine in the sitting area to the side of the pool itself where there are typically tables.

Council members expressed some reluctance, particularly over the additional trash that would be generated and the types of snacks that would be available for purchase.

But McGrew tried to put them at ease, saying the machine’s 18 slots would be filled with chips, granola bars, etc., and nothing with chocolate that would melt in the summer heat.

Administrator Carrie Hunt said the town has generated some concession revenue, but not a significant amount, and that a vending machine would be preferred over shaved ice, which was tried in the past and left stains in the concrete.

On the topic of lifeguards, Hunt said the town is “very short” on applicants and said “it might be an issue” if it cannot fill all of its openings.

The pool’s opening day is set for June 1.  Hours aren’t expected to change, but the fees will after the council voted Monday night to hike gate cost from $1 to $2 for children and from $3 to $5 for adults.

The vote was 4-1, with Mayor Myles Foley and councilmen Gerald Crist, Blaine Jolley and Jeremy Kottman in support. Councilman Chris Dooley voted no, saying he’d prefer no change in the rates.

The council members who supported the increases cited higher admission costs at other pools in the area as well as the large gap between pool revenues and expenses.  Last summer, the pool generated about $6,500 in gate revenues while its expenses were around $56,000.

But the pool was heavily used, with documented visits by 3,621 children and 729 adults.  None of those children had to pay, however, because the Greybull Needs a Pool committee gathered donations from local businesses that covered their admission fees.

Other Business

In other business Monday night:

• By a 3-2 vote, the council voted to issue a conditional use permit to Todd Zeller, who wants to rent a cabin on the Greybull Business Park lot he owns at 916 Sixth Avenue West.

The business park is zoned for light and medium industrial uses and the lot itself lies outside the contamination zone of the old refinery, which was remediated by the DEQ.

Zeller had originally set up the cabin for office use, but would now like to convert it to a long-term rental.  Three neighboring property owners indicated support on his CUP application.

Councilmen Dooley and Kottman voted against the granting of the CUP.  Kottman said a residential use is not consistent with the zoning of the other lots sold by the town.

• A setback variance request from Larry Mayland received far less scrutiny. The council gave him the green light to add a lean-to onto an existing building at 1004 N. Eighth St.

• A second variance request, from Susan Sales, was tabled until next month.  Several council members indicated that they’d like to see the property for themselves.

Sales said she and her family are moving into the home at 325 Third Ave. N. and would like to put up a 6-foot-high fence in her front yard to keep deer away from her garden.

While fences of that height are permitted on the side of properties, town ordinance sets a 42-inch height limit for fences in front yards.

Mayor Myles Foley said he feared approval would set a bad precedent. “If we allow one person to set up a 6-foot fence in front, everyone else will want to put up a 6-foot fence in front,” he said. “Plus it’s not of the material we’ve asked people to use for fences.” 

• Lot 35 in the town’s Frontier Subdivision was sold to Donvan Seagraves. The only bidder, Seagraves came in at the minimum of $27,540.

• Councilman Chris Dooley suggested a patriotic decorating contest for businesses and residents that would be scheduled on or around the Fourth of July celebration.

He envisions it resembling the one the Greybull Area Chamber of Commerce runs each December to encourage home decorating before the holidays.

• The council voted to proceed with another Town Clean Up Month in May.  Last year, the town gave sanitation customers who requested them vouchers to dump two loads at the landfill.  

Hunt said town staff issued 155 of those vouchers last year.

• Josiah Mizel of the Greybull Area Chamber of Commerce requested and received the council’s permission to hold its Brewfest on the west end of Greybull Avenue.

The chamber is taking over for the town as the primary organizer this year.  The event is scheduled for Sept. 13, 5 to 9 p.m.  The closure will be in effect from 4 to 10 p.m.

• The council approved its annual support of the Days of ‘49 celebration, which is June 12-15.