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Dear Editor:
A little history on the working of the city council and why I find local politics so interesting.
In about 2003 the city of Riverton was getting ready for the reconstruction of our Main Street in preparation for our centennial in 2006. Mr. Bill Eichler was the mayor and he had told his city staff that this was a WYDOT project and wanted the city to stay out of it. Our Main Street is WDOT’s highway and under their jurisdiction. As a new council member in 2003 I did not get the memo and so I joined the Main Street planning committee. We met at Jim Gore’s office with John Neil as chairman. We had over 100 meetings with some great members like Linda Bebout and Tonia Burnette. It was a fun time with John and Jim doing a wonderful job dealing with all the different ideas and agendas. The result was a plan as to how we wanted our Main Street to look. It was not easy with much disagreement, but it was a pretty good plan, even though we never got the water feature in the park done.
Mayor Eichler left office in 2003 and Mayor Vincent then came into office. He was very supportive of the efforts regarding our Main Street. The Main Street committee presented its plan to the council with all the estimated costs. The council at that time was divided and voted the plan down. All the work, the 100 meetings, over a years work and planning and the summer of 2006 approaching, out the window. The committee members were all in shock!
At the next meeting of the council however, councilman Lee Martinez made a motion for a “vote to reconsider” the earlier vote. Such a vote, according to “Robert’s Rules” must be made at the very next meeting and the motion must be made by a member on the winning side of the vote. I had not heard of such a motion but at the time is was the committee’s last hope. The council at that time did reconsider the vote and after much discussion it passed. If Lee had not made that vote we would not have the beautiful main street that we have now with colored sidewalks, decorative lights, median strips etc. Few people know how close that vote was.
I share this story with you as it brings back so many memories of what might have been. At this time, it is the only hope to reconsider the vote on 422 East Main and the five-year extension given to Ms. Henry for five more years of a vacant lot. The vote, however, is so lopsided on the vacant lot issue that it would be a true miracle to change it. I believe in miracles however and from the perspective of the need of our community I am going to say a prayer. As Mayor Eichler used to say, “What is the will of the council?”
Signed,
Ron Warpness