Getting people interested in the inner workings of city government can be a challenge, but the City of Powell recently found about a dozen local residents who were eager to learn.

The city’s inaugural Citizen Academy started in September with a series of weekly sessions that covered everything from the Powell Police Department to the sewer lagoons. The program culminated at the city council’s Nov. 6 meeting, where participants received certificates, handshakes and thanks from Mayor John Wetzel.

Participant David Bryan called the academy “really terrific” and exactly what he’d been hoping for.

“I felt like we barely scratched the surface, but we learned a ton,” Bryan said, adding that he “was amazed at how much gets done with a relatively small staff.”

He moved to Powell about three years ago from California (“this state that cannot be mentioned”) and said the academy “made me feel better about living here.”

“I mean, I love being here, and I like it even more now,” Bryan said.

Longtime Powell resident Dona Becker shared similar thoughts, saying she learned a lot and came away appreciative of the city’s workers.

“They do a lot on short staff, but they get everything done — and they do good work,” Becker said.

The feedback was music to the mayor’s ears.

“We, the council, know what a great staff we [have] … but sometimes it’s hard to get that message out to others in the community,” Wetzel said. “So it’s nice that you have learned it — and hopefully you’ll tell a couple of your neighbors and whatnot. Maybe even get a little more involved.”

City Administrator Zack Thorington added that staff welcomed the opportunity to visit with the academy participants.

“It’s not too often they get to tell the citizens of Powell what they do, because they always get the complaints,” Thorington said.

Staff had an attentive audience, too: Though the sessions were scheduled for two hours, some went “a lot longer” to address all of the attendees’ questions, Thorington said, adding that, “Everyone was excited.”

Participants were asked to fill out a questionnaire about their experience so their feedback can be incorporated into the next academy. It’s tentatively planned for the next off-election year, in the fall 2025. 

“We’ll definitely do more,” said Thorington.

Signing contracts

The city wound up getting a bit more public participation at the Nov. 6 meeting, too: Powell resident Jeanie Fortenberry took the lectern to raise concerns about the city’s contract with Civil Engineer Professionals Inc. (CEPI), a Casper-based firm that’s designing a new splash pad at Homesteader Park.

“Some of these charges are really high. I mean, I know I don’t make that (much),” Fortenberry said, adding sarcastically that, “of course, I’m just a bus driver; I’ve got all these lives in my hand.”

She specifically critiqued a listed $300 per hour price for drone surveying, noting construction work used to be done without the aerial technology. 

“Can’t they just look?” she asked.

Thorington, however, said the project includes not just the splash pad, but new sidewalks, electrical, water and sewer work and potentially tree removal and planting. He added that CEPI is charging the city a flat fee of $45,000 for the work and had simply attached a list of all its standard hourly rates.

Separately, the council also agreed to pay $6,150 to purchase an extended service warranty and support for the telemetry system that’s used to monitor the city’s water distribution. The contract with Micro-Comm Inc. of Kansas drew no public feedback.

(Editor's note: This version corrects that the drone expense is listed as $300 per hour, not as a $300 flat fee.)