GREEN RIVER — The Green River City Council voted to table a $3 million loan agreement with the Wyoming State Loan and Investment Board for rehabilitation of the city’s Teton water tank, Tuesday night.
Public Works Director Mark Westenskow told the council that approving the loan would kick off a multi-step process. The city would first hire an outside engineering firm, already lined up through a proposal from an in-state firm, to prepare plans and specifications for the rehabilitation.
“That engineering work would begin, allow us to complete the plans and specifications necessary,” Westenskow said. “Should anything come up during that evaluation, in the preparation of the details and plans and specifications, we would bring that back to you.”
If the engineering work turns up no major problems, the project would go out to bid, with construction likely starting in fall 2027, Westenskow said. Exterior work could begin as early as next summer, he said, but interior work would wait until after the 2027 irrigation season.
Councilman Ron Williams questioned why the city needed to hire an outside engineering firm at all, noting Green River employed its own engineers in-house on major projects in the 1990s.
“We could be the general,” Williams said. “We can do this in-house to save a big chunk of money.”
Westenskow said the city has technical expertise on staff but lacks a licensed structural engineer, which the project requires after a structural issue surfaced on a similar tank rehabilitation in Rock Springs.
“None of the engineers we have, neither here nor at Joint Powers, is a licensed structural engineer,” Westenskow said. “That is a specialty that, while we’re always encouraged to expand the level of our expertise, we’re also cautioned not to practice outside the level of our expertise.”
He added that the project’s size means it must go out to bid under state statute and the terms of the loan itself, regardless of the city’s in-house capabilities.
Council members pressed for more detail on whether a full tank replacement made more financial sense than a rehabilitation before committing to the loan.
“I really wish that we had all options presented, what the new cost would have been, replace, rehab, hybrid,” Councilwoman Sherry Bushman said.
Williams said he planned to vote against the loan as written, citing the tradeoff between a shorter-lived rehab and taking on debt.
“I’m not in favor of loans over saving money and doing stuff,” Williams said. “I don’t like passing down loans to my grandkids.”
Councilman Mike Shutran motioned to table the loan agreement rather than approve or reject it, so staff can gather more detailed repair-versus-replace cost estimates. The motion to table passed with a 5-1 vote, with Councilman Gary Killpack being the sole vote against.
