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About the City by Councilman Kingery I want to start by thanking Councilman Tony Reynolds and Councilman Doug Olson for their years of service to our community. Tony served for 8 years on the council and Doug for 4 years. They have given a lot of their time because they believed in our City and wanted to take their part in making this a great place to live. I also wish to thank all the people of Douglas that went out to vote and for selecting two very good new Council persons. To date they have both been great and jumped in with both feet to learn and help Douglas to continue to be a great place to live. I thank both Rene Kemper and Monty Gilbreath for putting their names and reputations out in front of the public to be judged worthy of helping conduct the business of the great place we call home. January 11th through the 13th, the entire City Council, Mayor, City Administrator and City Clerk were in Cheyenne for the WAM (Wyoming Association of Municipalities) Winter Workshop. We all learned a lot and had some good association with other city governments from all over the state of Wyoming. Rene and Monty were pleased at what they learned, as were all the rest of us. Mayor Jones had to fill in at the last moment to teach a class because some scheduled presenters were snowed in. He stepped up and "hit a home run", and even got featured in the Casper Tribune. Way to go Bruce! I had my ego boosted a little, as two other councilmen from around the state came and asked about starting a newspaper column like this. One from Torrington tried about 6 months ago, but was told by the newspaper editor that he would have his reporters write what he wanted. That Councilman is going to try again because he feels it is very important to inform the public about what is going on at the City. A councilman from Greybull feels no one in their city really tries to inform the people, so he wants to improve the communication to the public. We are very lucky in Douglas that our Editor encourages communication from the City as well as what they communicate to the citizens. We have a full day of training and goal setting coming up in February for Council and city staff. This is geared to helping new Council members get up to speed however, those of us that been around will benefit greatly also. ---PAGE BREAK--- There is never a shortage of things to learn about the City and there is always a need to be better informed. One of the things I have always liked about being on the Council is the constant learning opportunities. I enjoy learning and I get lots of enjoyment! On a "down note", our sales tax receipts from the State have continued to set new record lows, and it continues to remind us that we have done the right thing during the past boom time. We paid off debts, did important projects while we had the funds and put money away for future projects. It also reminds us to continue to be careful how we spend our money. On an "up note", we have two major projects in the works at present; the new joint law enforcement facility and a new water line replacement from the Little Boxelder Spring to Douglas. The funds are all set aside for both of these projects and the joint law enforcement facility is moving along well. The latest estimate is that it will be ready to use in early 2018. The water pipeline engineering is continuing, land easements for construction are being completed and we hope to go to bid early this summer. Since the local economy is somewhat down we are hoping bids come in lower than earlier estimates expected. Today (January 18th) we had a demonstration by the Casper Police Department with their K-9 units. Very impressive! Even our City Administrator, Tony, participated! We are planning to soon have our own K-9 unit in our police department. Dogs can do a fantastic job in protecting officers, subduing uncooperative and dangerous subjects and locating contraband. We saw all of this in a short time, and I assure you I will not try running from a law enforcement canine! Not smart!!! By the time you read this, we will have a new president of our nation. I hope for each and everyone of you that the next four years are better for everyone, that you and your loved ones prosper and live safely. Hopefully the economy will grow because we all benefit from that. I was out north and east of Douglas early this week and saw a couple of new oil wells, and I have heard ranchers say they believe oil will get moving again soon (they have been signing leases). This week's Douglas Budget gave us some great information that supports this idea. Perhaps our coal industry will return closer to former levels too. I feel positive about the future, and I hope you do too. ---PAGE BREAK--- Come on down to the City Council meetings and share your thoughts and concerns with us. We would love to have you there with us. This is your city, we just try to run it the best we can for you.