EVANSTON — The Evanston City Council had a busy evening Tuesday, Feb. 6. The meeting started with the appointment of Maria Escalante, of Ana’s on Main Street, to the Urban Renewal Board for a five-year term, replacing Janyne Leland. Escalante’s term will end in January 2023.

A public hearing, which has been advertised in the Uinta County Herald, was held to solicit public comments regarding a petition by Robert Douglas for his property along Wasatch Road to be annexed. The annexation is for one of several “islands” within Evanston and will allow the landowner to tap into city water and sewer. The cost of tapping into the systems will be up to the landowner. The council also approved ordinance 18-02, allowing the property to be annexed.

Another public hearing concerned the closing of the Community Block Grant on behalf of the Evanston Chamber of Commerce for the establishment of an online business tools program located on the Chamber’s website. These tools are beneficial for people who are thinking about starting new businesses or growing a more established business, and the grant has helped to finance the development of the site.

The council passed, on third reading, ordinance 18-02, which grants Rocky Mountain Power use of city utility easements to install, maintain and operate power poles and other related facilities. This has been a longtime agreement between the two entities and this ordinance simply reestablishes their contract. Rocky Mountain Power does pay the city a percentage, which typically amounts to a little more than $90,000 per year.

The council also passed a motion allowing the Evanston Police Department to trade in several handguns or sell them to officers as EPD looks to switch from using .40 caliber handguns to 9mm handguns, which are less expensive to operate because the ammunition costs less.

The council passed resolution 18-08, which authorizes access for the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality to install additional groundwater-monitoring wells around the post office. There are already several wells in the area to monitor groundwater, and the additional wells will enhance their ability to monitor possible pollutants migrating through the ground in the area.

Two resolutions were passed which can enhance the ability of Evanston residents to pay their utility bills more conveniently. Resolution 18-08 authorizes the city to enter into a service agreement with Xpress Bill Pay to provide an internet payment system.

Resolution 18-10 authorizes the city to enter into a merchant agreement with JP Morgan Chase Bank and Paymetech to process and pay credit card transactions.

According to Evanston Treasurer Trudy Lym, the upfront costs are a little higher than what the city is currently using, but in the long-term, the city will save money and the service will make bill-paying more convenient for residents.