Kemmerer city council members David Crosland, David McGinnis, Mayor Tony Tomassi and council members Kate Zimmerman and Eric Rudy listen at a meeting. The council said their new goals will guide the upcoming budget process and shape other city ordinances and resolutions. (FILE PHOTO)

It’s important to know what elected officials are doing with tax money and how they choose to exercise their authority. The Kemmerer council aims to educate the public and create a unified council with the their newly-adopted City Council goals for the Fiscal Year 2019–2020.

The council has worked with City Administrator Andrew Nelson and the City department heads for several months to create and refine the council's three goals, each of which has specific objectives and a checklist to achieve those objectives.

"We've worked really hard to create these goals," said Kemmerer mayor Tony Tomassi at a recent council meeting. "They will help us as council members get out of our comfort zone and will keep us focused during upcoming budget decisions by doing what's best for the city."

Nelson said that most of the council's goals can be achieved in the fiscal year, although some of the individual objectives may take a little longer.

Goal 1: Capitalize and educate on City's assets

Kemmerer has several assets that the council hopes will bring in tourists, including fossil hunting, history and outdoor activities.

One of the council's objectives is to create a signage plan to highlight the points of interest in Kemmerer.

They have outlined a timeline for working with consultants and creating a consistent theme and design for the signs.

Part of this goal is to create a social media campaign to bring people to Kemmerer.

The council also wants to seek out residents and volunteers who can create high-quality videos and social media posts for the promotion campaign.

Another objective the council created as part of this goal is to recruit at least one retailer to Kemmerer during this fiscal year.

This was one objective Nelson said may be difficult to achieve in that time period, but was definitely something to work toward.

The council also wants to increase city involvement with the Wyoming office of tourism by attending its annual conference and placing a southwest Wyoming resident on the Wyoming Office of Tourism Board.

The City also wants to find ways to further promote Fossil Butte National Monument.

Goal 2: Maintain and improve infrastructure

In creating new goals, the city council has addressed the need to systematically improve Kemmerer roads.

One of the council's goals for Fiscal Year 19-20 is to complete at least one chipseal or other recommended treament.

They are also educating and advocating for the passage of the sixth penny tax, which, if passed in the November election, will fund several road reconstruction projects in Kemmerer.

Other objectives in this goal include developing a road maintenance plan, as well as a plan for improving and replacing public works and IT equipment.

The council also focused on goals for the city's parks and trails.

They will work on creating a master plan for the trails system with Lincoln County and Diamondville. This plan is already in the works with the help of Lincoln County engineer Amy Butler.

The council also has a goal to have 100 percent weed-free parks, continue irrigation improvements near the Little League fields and create an improvement plan for Archie Neil Park.

Goal 3: Build stronger sense of community

The council's third goal involves building up the sense of community in Kemmerer.One of the objectives the council has established in order to achieve this goal is to reintroduce the community pride award.

The plan is to develop a strong community volunteer program with individual programs like Weed Warriors, Snow Angels and Adopt-a-Park.

The city council will work with Nelson and the departmtent heads to finish the comprehensive plan update by analyzing the data and input they have received from the public.

Another part of this goal will be for the City to organize community events, such as the annual picnic. The council also aims to have 100 percent resident notification of city events, perhaps by using the citizen notification system that alerts citizens of snow removal or construction areas.

The community-building goal also includes a plan to improve the visual appeal of the city and of city-owned property.

The council has already taken steps to achieve this goal by advertising the position of a seasonal code enforcement officer for the summer months.

The Kemmerer City Council meets every 2nd and 4th Monday of the month.

Their next council meeting is on Monday, May 14, at 7:00 p.m..

Because of the Memorial Day holiday, the second council meeting in May will be held on May 29.

Residents are welcome to address the council during the public comment section of the meetings.