Rock Springs council approves $542,835 road contract, downtown lease and multiple ordinances

The Rock Springs City Council on Sept. 2 approved a $542,835.50 contract with Longhorn Construction, a public parking‑space lease to permit an outdoor dining deck for Square State Brewing, and a package of ordinances covering council member administration and alcohol licensing.

Resolution 2025‑114, authorizing the Longhorn Construction contract for $542,835.50, was read by title and approved after Councilor Demas moved and Councilor Thompson seconded the motion. Councilor Hickerson asked whether the project would draw from the 6th cent sales tax; Paul Kauchich, Director of Engineering, Operations and Public Services, said the contract will be funded through the enterprise account, not the 6th cent sales tax.

The council approved Resolution 2025‑115, a lease allowing Square State Brewing to place an outdoor dining deck in a public parking space; the motion carried with Councilor Zotti abstaining. The body also approved Resolution 2025‑116, a memorandum of understanding with Rock Springs Rams Baseball, and authorized the mayor and city clerk to execute the agreement.

On ordinances, the council carried Ordinance 2025‑09 — amending Title III (City Officers and Employees) to address council member provisions — after a procedural attempt to table the measure failed. Councilor Milonas moved to table the ordinance, but the motion died for lack of a second; Councilor Hickerson then moved to adopt the ordinance, which passed with Councilor Milonas voting no. During the exchange, Milonas said he had learned councilors are automatically enrolled in Wyoming Retirement while other employees have their shares paid by the city, prompting discussion but no change on the floor.

Ordinance 2025‑10, amending provisions relating to prohibited sales of liquor to minors and licensed building restrictions, passed on third reading with Councilor Bingham voting no. Mayor Max Mickelson said he had been approached by constituents on the issue and noted national trends that leave final decisions about children in microbreweries to business owners; he also said the city attorney had discussed potential staff‑training stipulations for servers with him. Ordinance 2025‑11, which reorganizes alcoholic beverage license types and fees, passed unanimously on third reading.

The meeting packet also listed bills and claims totaling $2,714,279.36; the council voted to approve the bills with Councilor Pedri abstaining and Councilor Milonas voting no. Salaries for the Aug. 22 payroll were approved in a separate motion with two abstentions.

The council took a series of routine event and permit actions — approving a Sept. 11 walk road closure, a Sept. 24 homecoming parade route and a Dec. 6 Lighted Christmas Parade route — and granted three liquor‑catering permits for the Rocky Mountain Mining Summit.

The meeting ended with council updates and adjournment at 7:49 p.m.