Town council approves budget, receives news on grant

Lovell town administrator Jed Nebel had some good news for the Lovell mayor and town council during a special meeting last Wednesday, June 25.

The Town of Lovell has been looking to remodel Lovell Town Hall for several years now, and Nebel announced that the town had been approved for a mineral royalty grant through the State Loan and Investment Board in the amount of $648,500.

The grant requires a 50 percent match, Nebel said, but the match by the town can be in the form of in-kind services, as well as cash.

In other business June 25, the council passed on third and final reading Ordinance 1022, the ordinance establishing the annual appropriation of the Town of Lovell for the fiscal year running from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026. The bill sets the budget for the town at $4,347,804.

The council also voted to grant a waiver of liquidated damages for the Constitution Park amphitheater, allowing contractor Midway Construction and Dirt Work to work past the project end date called for in the contract. As of last week, the contractor was waiting on a State of Wyoming electrical review and some stage lights that were on back order.

Finally, the council passed on first reading Ordinance 1023, which lowers the time by which minors age 18-21 must vacate certain liquor establishments. The town code currently allows minors age 18-21 accompanied by an adult to be in an establishment that operates a commercial kitchen until 11 p.m. The ordinance would lower that time to 9 p.m.