Document Laramie_doc_5d970a8d4f

City of Laramie August 2013 1 City of Laramie I Community Newsletter I December 2013 I Vol. 1 No. 2 Biking is a Breeze on Ivinson Avenue Bicycling from the University of Wyoming campus to our beauti- ful downtown just got a whole lot easier. The City of Laramie recently unveiled a pilot program for com- muter bike lanes on Ivinson Avenue. Commuter bike lanes, designed to allow cyclists to travel safely and quickly along city streets, make the travel experience more enjoyable for motorists and bicyclists alike. Typically, commuter bike lanes are five- to seven-feet wide and provide for single-direction travel, or may be separated into two lanes of travel. Commuter bike lane locations are signified by striping the bike lane area with paint and posting signs along the route. The importance of creating bicycle amenities throughout our community is emphasized in both the City’s 1998 Bicycle Facility Master Plan and the 2007 Laramie Comprehensive Plan. Recently, a group of bicycle-commuting citizens requested that the City consider establishing one or more commuter- cycling routes along City streets. After review of the City’s current alternative transportation plans and the University of Wyoming’s Long Range Development Plan, the City believed that Ivinson Avenue between 1st and 15th Streets would be the appropriate street for a pilot project. City staff met with the University of Wyoming Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Committee. The UW Committee concurred with the City that Ivinson Ave- nue should be pursued as a bicycle commuter corridor to connect the UW Campus and Downtown. The following factors make Ivinson Avenue the choice: • Ivinson Avenue is currently a heavily traveled commuter bicycle corridor between the University campus and Downtown. • Retrofitting Ivinson as a bicycle commuter route will not require the removal of any on-street parking. • Street and driveway intersections are minimal on Ivinson. • Ivinson Avenue is already slated for future reconstruction from 9th to 15th Streets, which could extend these commuter bike lanes. • The commuter route is short enough to be retrofitted for a minimal-cost pilot program. The commuter bike lanes along Ivinson are located in between the parking areas and the traffic lanes on Ivinson. The enhanced bike lanes along Ivinson Avenue between 5th and 9th Streets are painted, and additional way-finding signs will be installed. We invite you to use the bike lane as you move from east of 9th Street to the Downtown area. Consider shifting your normal bike route to take advantage of the newly enhanced bike lane along Ivinson Avenue. Motorists on Ivinson Avenue are also asked to use extra caution when entering or leaving parking spaces. Be sure to look for any cyclists before crossing the bike lane. The commuter bike lane corridor on Ivinson Avenue will be in place as a pilot program for the next 12 to 18 months. City staff wel- comes feedback on the pilot program, including any suggestions on improve- ments or further enhancements. Creating a bike-friendly com- munity is an involved process, and the creation of the commuter bike lane along Ivinson Avenue is an important step in ensuring safe and effective bike transportation throughout Laramie. We hope cyclists will enjoy travel- ing along Ivinson Avenue and that the bike lane will help to increase non- motorized access to our lively, historic Downtown Laramie. Safe cycling! PHOTO COURTESY MATTHEW IDLER I IDLERPHOTOGRAPHY.COM ---PAGE BREAK--- City of Laramie 2 —Dave Paulekas, Mayor WARD 1 PAUL WEAVER, VICE-MAYOR 742.2471 pweaver@cityofl aramie.org VICKI HENRY vhenry@cityofl aramie.org the third position is currently vacant WARD 2 DAVE PAULEKAS, MAYOR 742.7687 dpaulekas@cityofl aramie.org JAYNE PEARCE 742.0393 jpearce@cityofl aramie.org JOE SHUMWAY 742.9951 jshumway@cityofl aramie.org WARD 3 KLAUS HANSON 745.4982 khanson@cityofl aramie.org JOSEPH VITALE 745.3426 jvitale@cityofl aramie.org LEE KEMPERT 745.7978 lkempert@cityofl aramie.org Laramie City Council three seats per ward Greetings from the Mayor EMERGENCY 911 Dispatch–non-emergency ..721.2526 INFORMATION 721.5200 Animal Control Accounting City Clerk City Manager's Offi ce ........721.5226 City Attorney Code Administration .........721.5274 Engineering Greenhill Cemetery Fire Administration............721.5332 Human Resources Municipal Court Parks and Recreation Planning Police Administration ........721.3547 Solid Waste Streets Utility Billing Water and Sewer City Contacts W ith winter closing in and schools looking toward the holidays, it is my pleasure as Mayor of Laramie to connect with everyone through this edition of the GEM CITY SPARK. I trust everyone is looking forward with optimism and enthusiasm at the possibilities the New Year brings. Communication with residents is a key goal of our City Council. GEM CITY SPARK, the City’s website at www. cityoflaramie.org, press releases and public service announcements, and the City’s Facebook and Twitter web pages are all timely communication tools updated regularly as we aim to inform residents of city news and happenings. Coverage of city news is often in the Laramie Boomerang newspaper. We welcome residents to attend municipal meetings, which are always listed on the City’s website. Summer 2013 was a strenuous construction season in Laramie with many projects completed and several more wrapping up as winter sets in. Fund- ing for many of the projects related to water and sewer infrastructure was acquired through the Specifi c Pur- pose Tax (SPT), as approved by voters in 2010. Nearly all of the SPT-funded projects will be completed this year. The new Laramie Landfi ll project is also under way, and is funded with SPT funds and State of Wyoming grants. This landmark project should be completed in early 2014 and will bring to both Laramie and Albany County a modern landfi ll operation as required by Federal and State regula- tions. In this issue of the GEM CITY SPARK you’ll fi nd a full article on this, and current progress can be viewed at www.newlaramielandfill.com. We are appreciative of the support shown by residents for these projects. Another endeavor recently- completed by the City is creating our Mission and Vision Statements. Development of the Mission State- ment was an organization-wide effort with spirited discussion and debate. The City of Laramie’s Mission and Vision Statements are: MISSION: Building Our Community through Respect, Integrity, Teamwork and Stewardship. VISION: Commu- nity Excellence in the Gem City of the Plains. Laramie City Council and staff look forward to ful- fi lling our mission through service to our community, while demonstrating a strong commitment to the core values of respect, integrity, teamwork, and stewardship. Roll-out of the MISSION AND VISION is in process with a public awareness campaign coming soon through the City’s Public Relations Committee. There are few places better than Laramie during the winter holidays. As our community joins in activities throughout the public and private sectors, I encourage everyone to enjoy the fun and festivities offered in our great City. Mayor Paulekas with Northern Arapaho Tribal Health Director Allison Sage in Ethete, Wyo. Read the full story on page 5 December 2013 ---PAGE BREAK--- December 2013 3 www.cityofl aramie.org Construction is underway THE LARAMIE LANDFILL IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT went out to bid on April 30, 2013. Five qualified contractors submitted bid packages. On June 18th, 2013 the project was awarded to DelHur Industries, Inc. Construction began in mid-July 2013. Construction progress may be seen on the project website’s “Project Photos” section. An Overview The City of Laramie’s landfill is located ~1.5 miles north of the City limits on Rogers Canyon Road (North 9th St.). Operated through the Public Works Department, Solid Waste Division, it serves both City and Albany County residents. City collection crews, a private company, the University of Wyoming, and the public use this facility to dispose of all local-area generated solid waste. Volume and Operation The landfill’s annual solid waste volume received is 72,000 cubic yards (or 36,400 tons). One attendant and one to three equipment operators are on site daily. The landfill is a Type I permitted facility, employing a multiple-trench design with “haul-back” operations, encompassing 250 acres, with an annual budget of $1,204,349. Landfill-Life Expectancy The landfill currently has a remaining life-expectancy of 40 years at current disposal rates. However, in the last 10 years, significant State and Federal environmental regulatory requirements in the landfill industry have occurred. The new landfill meets all current Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations, thereby assuring protection of our area’s land, water, and air resources. THE LANDFILL will employ new solid waste handling approaches, with the next phase located directly north (and adja- cent to) the existing area. The current landfill has minimum infrastructure: no electricity, no water, no sewer, and no scale to measure how much waste is received. The new landfill will have all of these ameni- ties; and—most importantly—it will have waste disposal pits (“cells”) that are more protective Laramie’s New Landfill A COMMUNITY PROJECT of the environment because each cell is constructed with an “Engi- neered Containment System.” THE WYOMING STATE LEGISLATURE passed a law in 2006 requiring operators of existing landfills to prepare 20-year integrated solid waste management plans. The intent was to encourage operators of these existing facilities to carefully consider using larger regional facilities and systems that are more cost-effective to operate and provide more environmental protection. THE CITIES OF LARAMIE and Cheyenne, and the Eastern Laramie County Solid Waste Disposal District, joined in evaluating future planning alternatives for solid waste handling. With no economical regional facility located nearby to accept Laramie’s solid waste, the July 2009 report recommended Laramie move forward independently to the next phase of Federal and State requirements. LARAMIE’S CITY COUNCIL approved the 2009 report recommendations and requested City landfill facility upgrades funding through the Specific Purpose Tax. Through competitive selection, in September 2010, the City hired an engineering team: Trihydro Corporation, Coffey Engineering & Surveying Associates, and Contour Consulting, to design the new landfill. VISIT www.newlaramielandfill.com for construction updates and photos Required by State and Federal Regulations, liners help protect groundwater. Liners consist of a layer, topped with a 60-mil. HDPE liner. A protective soil cover is then placed over the liner; baled trash is then stacked for fi nal disposal. ---PAGE BREAK--- City of Laramie December 2013 4 T he City of Laramie was recently identified by more than one Fortune 500 company as a highly desirable loca- tion for data centers. Laramie has key components necessary for these types of developments: a cool climate, consistent and redundant power source, land avail- ability, and a highly-educated workforce. It was quickly determined a plan needed to be put in place to ensure that development in the area happened in a planned and organized manner congru- ent with the vision of the community. Partnering with Laramie Economic Development Corporation, the City worked to create the CSTP Develop- ment Plan (the Plan). The Plan provides a clear direction for technology and business growth for Laramie’s emerging data and technology sector. The Plan was adopted by the City Council on August 13, 2012. The Cirrus Sky Tech Park (CSTP) will clearly have a significant impact on both our State and local economies. Implementation Earlier this year, the Wyoming Business Council approved a Business Ready Community Grant awarding the City $5.4 million for construction of the project’s infrastructure. Phase 1 infrastructure improvements include construction of 22nd Street, paving of 30th Street, construction of an eleven foot wide multi-use trail along the bluff overlooking the City. The new trail will connect to the existing trail system that currently dead-ends north of Bath Street and Plains Street. Open Space and Recreation Preserving the open-space and recreational value of the bluff overlooking north Laramie is an important element of the master plan. Residents refer to this area as the “ridge- line” and frequently use the open space for recreation. The ridgeline dominates the Northern edge of the City and housing developments have recently been built there. The CSTP project gave the City a unique opportunity to protect some of the last undeveloped ridgeline areas qne ensure development does not encroach onto the ridgeline. What does this mean for the City? It is estimated the project will require 10‐15 years to be fully built-out, with private investment of ~ $255 mil- lion. These investments are anticipated to generate 3,499 construction jobs with a payroll of $131 million. State and local taxes of $3.6 million will result from construction alone. Filled with technology and data centers, the development is anticipated to create 273 new jobs with a payroll of $10.5 million, and a total economic impact of $34 million. The University of Wyoming was the first purchaser of CSTP property with the Trustees approving acquisi- tion of 22 acres to be developed into a home for high-tech firms that result from the University’s business develop- ment efforts. Many of the existing tech firms in Laramie sprung from University research. “CSTP capitalizes on the natural synergy between higher education and technology businesses,” notes City Manager Jordan. “This type of high-tech clean development is precisely what residents called for in the City’s Comprehensive Plan and it’s exciting to see the community’s vision becoming reality.” T h Ci f L i l f h irrus Sky echnology Park CT www.cityoflaramie.org/cstp ---PAGE BREAK--- www.cityofl aramie.org December 2013 5 I n 2012, the City of Laramie was awarded funding through the State Lands and Investment Board (SLIB) to replace an emergency medical ambulance (EMA) unit that had been destroyed by an accident. In discussion, the City Council agreed that the previous EMA might be useful to a smaller Wyoming agency with a less intense call load. Council voted unanimously to forego the ambulance’s small trade-in value, and instead donate the unit. Emergency service agencies throughout the State struggle to pay for operations and equipment. Donation of the EMA allows the State's investment to continue paying dividends for residents. The EMA unit, partially paid for by SLIB monies, became available for donation in late 2012. Soon thereafter, the State of Wyoming Office of EMS, who vetted interested Wyoming organizations, determined the Northern Arapaho Tribe emergency medical agency would benefit from the donation. The State Manager of Emergency Medical Services, Andy Gineapp, with assistance from Kelli Perrotti, Bob Community to Community —Paying It Forward northern arapaho tribe receives ems unit through laramie city council donation Dean, and Skip John- son, prepared the EMA unit for the new owners by stocking it with everything from ban- dages to gasoline. Tribal Health Director, Allison Sage, smiled and said, “It was like Christmas.” Tribal representa- tives traveled to Laramie in mid-July, welcomed by Laramie’s Mayor and City Council. Representatives included Northern Arapaho Tribal Health Director, Allison Sage; Tribal Health Eyeglasses Specialist, Penny Robertson; and Ethete First Responders Mavis Willow, Ian Wolf Arrow, and Bill Armor. Representing the State EMS Office was Senior Trainer Bob Dean. They presented a Native American Ceremonial Star Quilt (photo, upper left) of thanks to the City of Laramie. Mayor Paulekas greeted the group that evening, saying, “The Laramie community is rich in so many ways, and yet faces the same challenges as other communities to find resources to provide services. The City of Laramie has been honored to “pay- it-forward” to help increase the level of medical services available to the Arapaho Tribe of the Wind River Indian Reservation. “We’d like to thank our Albany County Legislative delegation and the State Lands and Investment Board for providing grant opportunities for financing critical public safety appara- tus for our community, and the State EMS Office for partnering with the City to make this transfer possible. "It is gratifying that Laramie’s ambulance has been put to good use in a lower-volume service area and continues to benefit residents of the Great State of Wyoming.” Mayor Paulekas (2nd from right) and City Councilman Klaus Hanson (far left), along with City Manager Jordan (3rd from right) and Assistant City Manager Derragon (far right), traveled to Ethete, meeting with Northern Arapaho Tribal Elders and the First Responders Team (center, and who made the ceremonial quilt) including Arapaho Tribal Health Director Allison Sage (2nd from left). The EMS Unit frames the June 2013 gathering. ---PAGE BREAK--- City of Laramie December 2013 6 O n-officer cameras are a tech- nology advancement that is rapidly becoming the gold standard and expectation in modern policing. In March, the Laramie Police Department began using on-officer camera systems to record activity in the field. For many years, the Laramie PD used a car-mounted camera system, which employed front- and rear-pointing cameras. These cameras only recorded audio and video activity inside or just outside of the police vehicle. In the fall of 2012, the LPD began researching new camera systems, known as “on-officer” recording systems. These cameras are small enough to be mounted on the officer’s shoulder or on a pair of glasses, and provide the advantages of recording officer interactions, and conversations wherever the officer goes. After a testing period, the LPD selected the AXON Flex System. Each camera can record up to six hours of field activity. Officers are required to activate their camera for any enforcement action, or when they determine audio/video documenta- tion may be useful. At the end of each shift, the of- ficer's data is downloaded and cataloged automatically to a secure website, which allows officers to spend more time in the community. The camera systems are also about one-fifth to one-sixth the cost of in-car systems. The City anticipates a savings of nearly $100,000 over a five-year span from converting to this more mobile and cost-effective camera. Another benfit of the sytem comes in the form of fewer citizen com- plaints. Negative interactions have declined as the presence of the camera impacts behavior and also provides real-time records. These positive trends are being noted throughout the nation where on-officer cameras are being deployed. This mobile camera system is helping the City meet the expectations of residents for the latest in cost-effec- tive and transparent law enforcement and community policing. • Building community • Working for the City of Laramie gives you a front-row seat to building our great community as both a resident and a City employee. City jobs are posted in the Boomerang and at the Laramie Workforce Center, 3817 Beech Street, Suite 100. You can also sign up for email or text-notifications of new job postings with the “Notify Me” link on our website at www.cityoflaramie.org. For more information call the City office of Human Resources at 721.5251. Calling for Photographs! The City of Laramie needs excellent photos from around Laramie and Albany County showing off our fantastic community. If you would like photographer’s credit, let us know how you would like that to appear. Editorial staff reserves the right to crop or adjust for color and contrast. Send photos to: [EMAIL REDACTED] Thank you for your contributions! ---PAGE BREAK--- www.cityofl aramie.org December 2013 7 F or the past four years, City of Laramie single-family homes have been billed for water consumption according to a four-tiered rate structure. A tiered-rate structure incrementally increases charges as a customer uses more water and progresses through the tiers. The more water that is used, the higher the rate per unit. Most single-family residential customers use seven units on average, and do not exceed the third tier average of $5.52 per unit. The first tier-charge for one to three units of water is $3.53 per unit. Four to six units of water-usage is $4.42 per unit. Tier three charge includes seven to twenty-four units of water at $5.52 per unit; and tier four represents water-usage over twenty-five units at $8.28 per unit. Residential locations typically have considerably lower wintertime consumption than during summer months when irrigation for landscaping and lawns peaks. Tiered-rate structures allow consumers the ability to manage their water use, thereby keeping bills as low as possible. To learn about conservation methods visit the following: www.epa.gov/greenhomes/ ConserveWater.htm. If you have questions regarding your bill, please call 721.5225, or email Municipalservicesbilling@cityofl aramie.org for further information. We're here to help! WATER CONSUMPTION & CONSERVATION Tiered Rates Cost Per Unit T he City of Laramie website is worth visiting. At www.cityofl aramie.org, it is steadily updated with news alerts, employment opportunities, Council agendas, minutes, and more. Here are some tips on how to find the information you need. News Alerts On the home-page of the website, the News section is updated regularly. You can also sign up to receive automatic alerts by e-mail or text-message on topics of interest to you. Pay OnLine Also located on the home-page is a link to pay your bill for City services. No need to worry about stamps and envelopes or braving the cold to post; just sign in to your account and click on the pay feature. Municipal traffic and parking citations may now also be paid online. Employment Opportunities Full-time, part-time, and seasonal employment opportunities are posted whenever they become available. Seasonal Updates During snow-plowing season, the website is updated weekly to alert citizens to locations and schedules, and of severe storms in our area. City Council Matters Minutes from each meeting of the Laramie City Council can be read by clicking the “Government” button. Contact information for each Council member is listed, as well as how to put an item of concern before the Council. Contact a City Employee – A directory of the city’s departments is located at www.cityofl aramie.org/direc- tory. Looking for Something Else? Use our “Search” bar in the top-right corner of the home-page to navigate. For updates and timely information, check out our Facebook and Twitter feeds. If you encounter something on our website that isn’t working correctly, please email the Information Technology department at itdivision@cityofl aramie. org or call 721.5219. City of Laramie Website Tips ---PAGE BREAK--- VISIT: for information about residential fi re suppression systems: www.homefiresprinkler.org www.firesprinklerinitiative.org www.usfa.fema.gov/citizens/ home_fire_prev/sprinklers www.cityofl aramie.org December 2013 8 City of Laramie PO Box C Laramie, WY 82073 Laramie Resident STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID LARAMIE, WY PERMIT NO. 75 I magine you wake in the middle of the night to the sounds of your smoke detectors wailing. You smell smoke, adrenaline rushes through your body, and you scramble out of bed. The smoke thickens as you hurry to wake your family. As you are leaving the house, you see flames in your living room. When everyone is out of the house, you run to your neighbor’s house to call 911. The fire department requires four minutes to arrive—by that time the flames are leaping out of the front windows of your house. To extinguish the fire requires thousands of gallons of water and everything in your home is destroyed. This nightmare scenario is played out thousands of times every year across the Nation. Now, let’s change one thing in this scenario: your smoke detectors still wake you up as the smoke is beginning to spread throughout the house. As you wake your family to evacuate them you hear your fire sprinkler system activate! It takes the same amount of time for the fire department to arrive; but when they do, they need only to turn off the sprinkler system and make certain the fire is completely extinguished. This fire is now controlled by less than 50 gallons of water, and everything in your home, outside of the living room, is in perfect condition. You are able to move back into the house within a week. The only difference in these two scenarios is a properly designed and installed home fire sprinkler system. These systems are relatively inexpensive and they improve your family’s chances of surviving a home fire by 80%. A sprinkler system reduces that risk by controlling the fire when it is still small, and by putting the fire out before it has a chance to spread. The risk to your family and home is greatly reduced. The sprinkler system activates when a defined temperature is reached at the sprinkler head: usually 155 degrees. Not every sprinkler-head in the structure activates at the same time. In fact, most home fires are controlled by a single sprinkler head. A single sprinkler head discharges roughly 10 gallons of water per minute, whereas a fire hose discharges 125 gallons per minute. This smaller water-discharge minimizes fire damage and the extensive water damage that subsequently occurs. With the use of modern building materials and the move to more materials in home furnishings, house fires now tend to spread faster. And, to keep the cost of housing down, lighter weight materials are being used in home construction. These materials fail faster under fire conditions, putting firefighters at greater risk. The gasses such fires emit are also more hazardous due to toxic fumes from These facts all demonstrate that the faster fires are controlled, the safer the situation is for everyone—residents and first responders alike. An in-home sprinkler system is a proactive solution to the dangers that home fires pose to your and your family. FOR YOUR SAFETY –HOME SPRINKLER SYSTEMS During Freedom Has A Birthday this year, the Fire Department gave a demonstration on the difference an in-home sprinkler system will make. Notice the difference in both the size of the fi re and the damage from the two fi res. Fire without sprinkler system. Aftermath of above Aftermath with sprinkler system