EVANSTON — The Jackalope Delivery Services owned by Josh Walton was first on the agenda for the Oct. 8, Evanston City Council Work Session. Walton did not attend the meeting but had asked to be on the agenda to discuss his delivery services. He is requesting a change in ordinance so he may deliver alcohol and malt beverages in addition to the other items he delivers.  

Evanston City Clerk Nancy Stevenson said Walton currently delivers groceries, prescription drugs (no narcotics) and other items. Stevenson said Walton had received requests to deliver alcohol as well. Stevenson said that Walton told her he had talked with state officials and they told him there were some communities in Wyoming that had a similar service.  

Evanston Police Chief Jon Kirby said his concern is whether Walton would need a liquor license. Kirby also expressed concerns about the possibility of juveniles obtaining liquor. He and Councilman Mike Sellers said they are concerned about homebound people on medication or under a doctor’s care who might be getting something they shouldn’t have.

All council members and Mayor Kent Williams agreed they would prefer not to change the ordinance, especially since they don’t know if the new delivery service will even be successful. Since Walton wasn’t there to answer questions the discussion was tabled.

Next to be discussed was a proposal from Uinta County Museum Director Kay Rossiter and museum curator Mary Walberg. Rossiter provided some statistics on the use of the Joss House and listed a variety of needed improvement and repairs. Rossiter first mentioned that she and the employees at the museum had been taking care of the Joss House for a number of years.  She said that the visitors to the museum and Joss House had increased from an average of 3,000 per year to 9,000-10,000 per year and that did not include times of special events such as when the Union Pacific “Big Boy” came to Evanston.

“We’ve experienced a tremendous growth in visitors from all over the nation and from all over the world,” Rossiter said. “We have tour groups from the schools regularly. The physical state of the Joss House is pretty shabby; it’s been there for approximately 30 years and needs repairs. Also many of the artifacts stored there have never been catalogued. This Joss House is part of our history and it should be museum quality.”

Rossiter said the Joss House has become very popular with Chinese tourists.  She said there have been Chinese film crews there, Chinese researchers and bus tours of Chinese every summer.  

Rossiter and Walberg said the outside of the building in the front and back has damage, many areas need to be repainted, the sign in front is fading, the roof on the porch needs work and the hardware needs to be replaced. They also listed items in the interior that need to be replaced, new archival cases, windows that need to be covered as artifacts are fading due to too much light, and that many of the items in the Joss House and need to be stored properly.

“We have received bids,” Rossiter said, “and we need $43,621 to complete the necessary work. We have applied for an $18,000 grant from Cultural Trust for which we need a 50% match. The museum already has approximately two-thirds of the money needed through in-kind donations and museum income. We will hear about that one in December. We are also submitting an application for a grant to the Wyoming Community Foundation’s Wing Family Fund for $20,000, which does not require a match. We hope to start repairs in January. The grant would run from January to September.”

Councilman Sellers said, “If I’ve done the math right, it sounds like you will still need about $8,000.”

“We would probably need about $12,000 as the landscaping in front of the Joss House really needs work also,” Walberg said. “I don’t even know if the plants there are still alive.”

Sellers said the local youth club might be able to help with the landscaping. Kirby suggested that the Rotary might help with the gardening, as they are always looking for projects.

“It sounds like a worthwhile project,” Mayor Williams said. “Come back after you hear about the grants and you know what you will need from us. We will have to discuss putting something in next year’s budget.”

Next on the work session agenda, Director of Public Works Gordon Robinson discussed a proposal for an engineering traffic study for a crosswalk at 6th and Lombard streets. He said lots of children cross there to get to the ballfields and from one middle school to the other, and there are line-of-sight issues. Robinson said that unless streets have a designated crosswalk, cars or buses do not legally have to stop for pedestrians.

Robinson said the council had discussed this before and in order to designate a crosswalk, they first need an engineering study completed. He said he had received a proposal for the study from one firm and the cost would be $8,300. Robinson said he is seeking a second bid from Uinta Engineering. Williams said they would need to have a resolution brought before the council once Robinson had received the second engineering bid. 

The fourth item on the work session was a discussion about a bicycle ordinance. Chief Kirby reminded the council that several months ago, a group of home-school students gave a presentation before the council concerning a need to revise the city ordinance for bicycles.  Kirby said that the students, he and the police department had met and worked over the ordinance and asked City Attorney Dennis Boal to review and revise it until all parties were satisfied with the changes. 

“It was a lot of fun to work with them, and it was a good experience for all of us,” Kirby said. “We went over the ordinance line by line and they made some changes and we made some. We eliminated a lot of redundant statements and revised others. The students asked if they could be present when the city council considers the revised changes to the ordinance.”  

Williams asked Stevenson to put it on the regular council meeting agenda for the second meeting in October. Chief Kirby said he would notify the students of the date.

Evanston Community Development Director Rocco O’Neill explained the new keycard control system for the city’s six rental buildings (Machine Shop, Roundhouse, Depot, Beeman-Cashin, Joss House and Supervisors building) and City Hall. He reminded the council that the purchase had been budgeted for at the beginning of the year. O’Neill said there had been some problems with loaning out keys to city buildings and there may be keys unaccounted for. The new key cards will be set with times for access and the city will be able to keep better track of them digitally.

“This will allow us to have better security for our buildings,” O’Neill said. “The voluntary walk-through for bidders on the system will be on Oct. 30, and completion date for the key card system will be Dec. 13.”

Last on the agenda was a presentation by O’Neill on the new “Jump Start Evanston” program. According to O’Neill, the program will begin early next year and is supported through the City of Evanston, Uinta County Economic Development Commission, Evanston Chamber of Commerce, Lincoln/Uinta Revolving Loan Fund, Uinta BOCES No. 1, Evanston Main Street, First Bank and other local businesses.  

The handout given to Council members stated; “The mission of Jumpstart Evanston is to provide education and resources to entrepreneurs to help them start and grow their businesses; while providing jobs, spurring economic development, and improving the quality of life in our community.”

O’Neill said that there will be seven free classes held at the BOCES building beginning in January and running through April 2020. The courses will provide information on writing a business plan, business accounting, legal concepts, financing, marketing, sales and customer service. Classes will be taught by successful local business professionals, attorneys, bankers, University of Wyoming staff and the Small Business Development Center staff. Registration for the program will be accepted through Jan. 29, 2020.

Upon completion of the classes, the members who have attended all seven courses will compete for a financial grant by writing their own business plan and providing an oral presentation to a panel of judges made up of local professionals. The grant will provide financing for improvement of an existing business or for the purchase of equipment for a new business.  

Uinta County Economic Development Commission Chair Brent Hatch added, “The winner will also be given a donated office space in the BOCES building for one year.” 

“This is a trial program in Evanston but the same program has been very successful in other Wyoming communities,” O’Neill said. “First Bank has already donated $1,000 to the program that will cover some overhead costs. An entrepreneurial attitude is important to the base of any city’s economy, and this program will show business owners that the city is not your enemy, the banks are not your enemy and that there is help and support for new business.”

Williams and council members all agreed that the Jump Start program is a good idea and expressed support for the program.