 - The Riverton City Council set their priorities for community service contracts last week, agreeing on a plan to distribute $240,000 to nine local organizations that requested a combined total of $549,439 this year, according to city staff.){kind=link}
(Riverton, WY) – The Riverton City Council set its priorities for community service contracts last week, agreeing on a plan to distribute $240,000 to nine local organizations that requested a combined total of $549,439 this year, according to city staff.
Only one of the organizations will not receive any community service funding, the council decided: Willow Creek Elementary School, which had requested $2,500 to support an “outdoor learning space.”
The project represents “a worthy cause, for sure,” Mayor Tim Hancock said, and “I think that’s great what they’re wanting to do there,” but regardless, “the consensus seemed to be that that was not going to be awarded.”
“There are other sources of funding (for them)” Councilmember Kyle Larson pointed out, prompting Hancock to point to potential opportunities with the Fremont County School District 25 Recreation Board.
The council also agreed at the outset that the $5,000 funding request from the Riverton Volunteer Fire Department should be awarded in full.
“I think that’s unanimous every year that that’s covered,” Councilmember Karen Johnson said.
Next, Johnson recommended allocating $100,000 for R Recreation, which requested $125,000 this year “to operate the entire City of Riverton’s recreational department, funding two full-time positions and approximately 28 additional part-time, seasonal coaches, instructors, and assistants.”
“I think it’s really important that we fund them as much as we possibly can, simply because they provide services to more than 5,000 families in the city,” she explained.
Hancock agreed, but he also reiterated his desire to see funding for R Recreation designated elsewhere in the city’s budget in the future.
“I want to have that be something that’s more a permanent part of the budget eventually, whatever that could look like,” he said. “Having that become more a part of what we have going on in the city is what I could see as beneficial down the road.”
The final total for R Recreation was set at $100,000 last week.
The council also agreed to fund the Riverton Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center at $15,000, which represents the cost of a $5,000 “gold membership” plus an additional $10,000 to support this year’s local Semiquincentennial events.
The Chamber had requested $49,500.
Debate
The discussion regarding the distribution amounts for the remaining four organizations was slightly more complicated, beginning with a suggestion from Councilmember Mike Bailey to fund Riverton’s Mercy House at $35,000.
The organization, which was established in 2024 “to address the homelessness and substance abuse issues in and around the city of Riverton,” had requested $100,000 to help cover operating costs, including utilities, equipment, supplies and wages so that, “futuristically,” they can open “a 24/7 facility designed to provide programs to aid and assist individuals and families out of the entanglement of substance abuse and into a means of becoming a productive, contributing member of the community.”
Johnson said she would like Mercy House to receive more than $35,000 from the city, noting that the organization is working on “getting their doors open” so they can start serving community members – “especially this winter.”
Plus, she said, “the potential for them reducing costs to the city overall for incarceration fees is huge.”
“The numbers we’re seeing currently (are) outrageous,” Johnson said, “and I just think that it has a potential to relieve some of that stress.”
Leaving the Mercy House question unresolved for the moment, Bailey next suggested allocating $30,000 to Juvenile Justice Services of Fremont County, which had requested $35,000 to help cover “portions of program curriculum, drug testing, fuel, vehicle expenses, and other operational needs.”
“This is some of the best money we can spend for preventative future expenses in dealing with more incarceration, or worse,” Bailey said. “They provide a lot of bang for the buck, in my opinion.”
For the remaining distributions, Bailey suggested allocating $30,000 to the Wind River Transportation Authority – which had requested $112,400 “to support the local operational share necessary to continue providing public transportation services that directly benefit Riverton residents” – and $15,000 to Eagle’s Hope Transitions Center, which had requested $45,000 “to help us provide the basic needs of our residents (utilities and insurance) and help us provide a safe and sober environment for those trying to be positive members of our community once again” – leaving a $10,000 “placeholder” in place for the Paws for Life Animal League, pending any recommendations from the new committee the city formed this year to “evaluate animal control and animal shelter needs” in town.
Councilmember Eric Carr countered with a suggested $20,000 for Juvenile Justice Services – a number more in line with past allocations for that group from the City of Riverton.
The extra $10,000 could go toward the PAWS placeholder, Carr said – a proposal Johnson disagreed with.
“I am disappointed that we’re even considering funding animals (and) cars over humans,” she said. “It’s not that I don’t care for animals, because I do, but … we have the ability to save people from freezing to death in the winter, and we have an organization that’s willing to open their doors and do that, and it’s an opportunity to reduce costs to the city of Riverton, ultimately. And no disrespect to (WRTA). It is a great service, and it helps people get to and from. But I think we need to really consider: Are we looking at getting people a ride to work and a ride to Walmart, or are we looking at keeping people from freezing to death this winter?”
She recommended raising the proposed allocation for Mercy House to $50,000 by revising the amount for WRTA down to $15,000 – noting that the amount for WRTA could be increased depending on the recommendations from the new committee examining animal shelter issues in town.
Carr expressed “heartburn” about the scenario Johnson outlined, though, asking that the allocations remain at $35,000 for Mercy House and $30,000 for WRTA – an organization that provides “key essential services” to the city.
Bailey called that a “reasonable compromise,” but Johnson said, “I disagree completely.”
“I cannot believe that we are going to prioritize Wind River Transportation Authority over Juvenile Justice Services, Eagle’s Hope, or Riverton’s Mercy House,” she said. “All three of those provide human services that sustain life.”
Councilmember Rebecca Brothers agreed that more funding should go to Mercy House in particular, noting that the organization is working on “some major benefits for Riverton” that could “help our population and some of the socioeconomic situations that we have.”
She later voted with Hancock and Johnson to defeat Carr’s proposal 3-3.
To resolve the situation, Carr suggested funding WRTA at $25,000 and Mercy House at $40,000 – a scenario that the council agreed upon unanimously, leaving the final distribution amounts for all community service contracts as follows:
- $100,000 for R Recreation
- $40,000 for Riverton’s Mercy House
- $25,000 for WRTA
- $20,000 for Juvenile Justice Services
- $20,000 for PAWS
- $15,000 for Eagle’s Hope
- $15,000 for the Chamber of Commerce
- $5,000 for the Riverton Volunteer Fire Department
The community service contract funding comes from a direct distribution Riverton receives from the State of Wyoming each year, according to published reports.