SHERIDAN — City council voted unanimously to adopt an updated set of building codes Monday, but excluded a contested section that would require all residential homes to have fire sprinklers to further study that section’s impact.
The city has consistently adopted updated versions of the International Building Codes, a series of codes formulated by the International Code Council that are used by most Wyoming communities.
The codes are updated every three years and have been adopted by the state, which has asked local communities to follow suit by Jan. 1, 2019.
If Sheridan chose not to update the codes it could risk losing “home rule,” which gives the city the authority to permit, plan review and inspect commercial buildings inside its limits. That authority requires the city to adopt codes that are at least as stringent as those adopted by the state.
Though the city has adopted the updated codes every cycle, it has opted to remove the section related to fire sprinklers for the past three cycles due to concerns that it would drive up building costs.
City staff recommended council omit the sprinkler requirement again Monday, but community development director Brian Craig said staff would continue to explore ways to effectively implement the requirement and noted that council could amend it into city codes at a later date.
However, some have argued that the city has delayed adoption of the requirement long enough. J.D. Gamble, the owner of Life Safety Solutions, which installs and maintains fire sprinklers, urged council to include the section, asserting it would both improve safety and could actually reduce building costs.
“There is not one good excuse for not having [the fire sprinkler requirement],” Gamble said. “They’re cheaper to build for the developer, they’re cheaper to build for the home builder…insurance premiums alone would pay for any additional costs within 10 years.”
Gamble also cited a recent fire service study that concluded the materials used to build modern homes burn faster and that, due to the size of its staff, Sheridan Fire-Rescue would struggle to respond to fires within four minutes. Fire sprinklers, Gamble said, would mitigate the severity of fires, protecting both homeowners and firefighters.
Big Horn Homebuilders Association President Ron Patterson, though, said his organization supported excluding the sprinkler requirements.
“We would like to propose that we continue our discussions with council…along with other members and people in the community to figure out the best way this can be put into use in the future, which wouldn’t damage the affordable housing situation and yet encourage the safety of installation for the residents,” Patterson said.
Craig responded to Gamble’s comments and said city staff does not necessarily disagree. He explained that staff has also identified potential cost savings associated with sprinkler installation through insurance incentives and potential tax rebates, but wanted to confirm them before encouraging council to adopt the requirement.
“Until we have tests or examples where installation occurred, those numbers are anecdotes,” Craig said.
Further, Craig said, no other community in Wyoming has adopted the sprinkler requirement, and city staff wanted to collaborate with those communities on ways to implement the requirement.
City building official Kevin Bare said city staff plans to continue discussions about the sprinkler requirement through the winter and follow up with council in March.
Other business:
• Sheridan Travel and Tourism Executive Director Shawn Parker updated council on both Sheridan Travel and Tourism and the Sheridan-Johnson Critical Air Service Team.
With regard to Travel and Tourism, Parker said lodging tax receipts have largely remained static during the summer months over the last five years because the city’s lodging options are limited. However, he said the city is seeing growth in its “shoulder season” — the fall and the spring — when lodgings are not as full.
With regard to CAST, Parker highlighted the recent announcement that the Denver Air Connection has partnered with United Airlines to allow for ticketing and baggage transfers. As well as discussing the specifics of the agreement, Parker said the new agreement makes it much less likely Sheridan’s air service will enter into Wyoming’s capacity purchase agreement, which is being explored by the Wyoming Air Service Improvement Council. The CPA is intended to combine the purchasing power of several communities to contract with an air service provider. Now, though, Sheridan has a reliable provider and an agreement with a major airline, so entering into the CPA would disrupt a service that’s currently effective to make either a lateral move or take a step back.
• City administrator Mark Collins presented an overview of the city’s first quarter finances and said the numbers were tracking well and conformed to the city’s expectations.
• Council also approved revisions to its budget. Interim city treasurer Todd Watkins explained the revisions simply moved unspent funds from fiscal year 2018 to fiscal year 2019, most of which have already been assigned to projects or purchases that did not take place in fiscal year 2018 as anticipated. The revisions also recorded grants and loans the city received during the last fiscal year, recorded unanticipated revenue and unanticipated expenses, such as a new patrol car for the Sheridan Police Department.
• Council voted to approve Sheridan College’s former director of finance Karen Burtis as the new city treasurer. Both Collins and members of council thanked Watkins — who Collins said chose not to apply for the permanent role — for the work he’s done as interim treasurer while the city looked for a permanent replacement. Watkins will stay on as assistant treasurer.
• The city approved an indemnification agreement with the Doubleday Foundation. City public works director Lane Thompson explained that Doubleday wants to build two soccer fields on its property, but the city wanted to enter into an agreement with Doubleday that would protect it from liability if something were to go wrong on the fields. The city is not contributing any funding to development of the fields.
• Northern Wyoming Mental Health Center Director Paul Demple presented council with an update on his organization. He said the center treated 1,027 distinct clients in fiscal year 2018, most of which were young; people between 25 and 29 years old were most likely to seek help from the center and people between 15 and 19 were the second most likely to receive treatment at the center. Older age groups were much less likely to seek help, which Demple said was typical, but problematic, as older populations tend to be at a high risk of suffering from mental health issues.
Going forward, Demple said the center’s No.1 strategic goal was to establish a crisis stabilization center in Sheridan, which would tend to people with urgent mental health needs. Demple said he would discuss that matter further at a later date.
• Collins also provided an overview of council’s strategic plan draft, which council formulated at strategic planning sessions over the past year. The strategic goals fell into four categories: attainable housing, enhance the East Fifth Street Corridor and Historic Railroad District, the Parks and Recreation master plan update and opportunities for downtown property purchases, such as the city’s recent purchase of the old C and C Tire building. Collins said there will likely be another opportunity to conduct a strategic planning session after new council members are seated; at least three new council members will be added following the election, as Council Vice President Erin Hanke and Councilor Alex Lee did not seek re-election and one seat is vacant.
• Council also voted to re-approve all 57 liquor licenses in the city.