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In an approximately 30-minute meeting last week the Wyoming City Council approved a severance/early retirement agreement with former Wyoming Township employee Byron Olson and another agreement with the state Dept. of Public Health.

When Olson retires March 15 seven personnel will remain in the Wyoming City public works department.

In making the motion to accept the agreement, Council member Roger Elmore said this is "...good for the city and good for Byron."

Olson brought about 30 years of streets expertise when he came on board upon the township-city consolidation. Jason Windingstad will now oversee the streets and Bill Eisenmenger continues as the city's sewer superintendent.

In adopting the second agreement, the City of Wyoming agrees to "compliance procedures" to ensure safe municipal water supply. The aim is to meet maximum contaminant levels for Radium 226 and Radium 228. The city has periodically surpassed the maximum levels for these elements.

The Dept. of Health requires corrective actions limiting the use of Well #3 to no more than 245 days throughout 2009. This well can't supply more than 57 percent of total annual volume of water moving through the entire Wyoming system.

Also in 2009 Wyoming must submit pumping records monthly, monitor entry points quarterly and submit meter calibrations for all the wells annually.

There was a formula adopted where any one "pressure zone" in the system is fed by all three of the city wells. The radium concentrations here will be calculated using the formula.

The council voted unanimously to donate $5,000 to the Youth Service Bureau. The request had been for $7,500. According to a report from YSB Director Jeanne Walz, the organization was involved in counseling and intervention services with 12 Wyoming youth, 27 youth were in the justice and diversion programs, 86 participated in prevention services. There were 54 Wyoming parents participating in adult oriented services, with nine adult volunteers at YSB who reside in Wyoming. In the community events and public activities Walz estimated 112 from Wyoming attended or were involved in some way.

Motion maker Russ Goudge said the city's economic status can only support contributing the same as what the city contributed ($5,000) to this non-profit agency last year. (The township had contributed an additional $1,500 to the YSB, it was reported.)

New Council member Linda Nanko-Yeager remarked that if this is an annual expense, with a contract for youth-related services in place, it should be in the budget. YSB shouldn't have to make annual requests for funding out of the city charitable gambling account, she felt.

City Engineer Mark Erichson was commended for his "diligence" in securing state aid allotments for Wyoming this year. The consolidation of the township and city brought the population to over the 5,000 threshhold and the city will qualify for some $280,000 in state aid funding. City Administrator Craig Mattson said Erichson was responsible for setting the city up for receipt of the allotments, which were not anticipated until 2010.

Wyoming qualifies for two payments annually of "maintenance" money from the state of $17,900. There's another $264,648 that goes into the state aid "construction" account. Wyoming can let this build for a large project or draw it down as needed, Erichson explained.

During the public forum portion of the meeting the council continued to hear about its 3-2 vote to not participate in a project to plant a rain garden at the Giese Memorial Library. Sandy Standridge said she "still doesn't see why three council members think it's a bad idea."

Bob Bohnen said as an over the road trucker he appreciates the beautification efforts he sees in cities all over the U.S. and felt any project to spruce up the city is "money in the bank."

Steve Sicheneder told council he'd still like to hear an "apology" for how council treated audience members who attended the recent meeting in support of the library garden project. Mayor Sheldon Anderson said he didn't feel apologies were warranted. A parent of a Scout stood in the audience and said the Scouts understand there are other projects the city needs done and he said city officials and the Scouts have a good relationship.

Later, Council member Joe Zerwas stated that he would apologize, if there were any citizens who felt an apology was needed.

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