The Powell City Council has renewed its contract with Park County School District 1, which governs the district’s use of the Powell Aquatic Center for swim meets and other school-related activities. At its July 6 meeting, the council also voted to renew a contract with the Wyoming Department of Transportation for a program that looks at projects along U.S. Highway 14-A through town. 

The school district pays the city $107,792 for its use of the pool through the fiscal year. The payment covers several Powell High School and Powell Middle School programs, including the swim teams and physical education classes. 

The contract specifies that it is for PCSD1 events only, and the facility’s supervisors determine if an event qualifies as a district event, should there be a dispute on the matter. 

Most swim meets are required to be scheduled three months in advance, except in the case of make-up meets, and dual swim meets cannot be scheduled on a Saturday. 

For afternoon practices, the district will have the dedicated use of six swim lanes, and four lanes for morning practices. The contract also grants up to six lanes, depending on the number of participants, for the district’s physical education events, with one month’s notice. 

The contract had no changes from last year’s contract and includes a 2.1% cost of living rate, which was worked out by Councilor Zane Logan, when he was city administrator. He retired from the position in 2019, and was appointed to the council to fill the Ward II position vacated by Scott Mangold, who was elected to the county commission last year. 

The council also voted to approve a contract with the Wyoming Department of Transportation for the city’s participation in the department’s Urban Systems Program. The program examines transportation needs in the area, compiles and prioritizes a list of projects, and submits the list to the city and county for approval. 

The program receives an annual allocation of $115,767, of which 10% is covered by the city and Park County. The county commission will also need to approve the partnership before the contract becomes final.

The agreement provides bylaws for an advisory committee, which has five representatives appointed by the Powell City Council. One is Ben Hubbard, the city’s public works director. A county commissioner and a representative of WYDOT also serve on the committee as voting members.

Among the projects the partnership has completed since its inception in 2001 is removing the medians in the middle of the highway through town. To create a smoother flow of traffic, the city replaced the medians with left turn lanes.