Members of the Afton Town Council along with Mayor Jeff Jensen held their monthly meeting on July 9. Here are items of note from that meeting:

• Josh Peavler, Director of Public Utilities, reported to the council and recapped the town’s handling of the rock slide at the Intermittent Spring site.

“There is absolutely no impact to our system,” he stated. “[The spring] is producing as much as I’ve ever seen it at 4,000 gallons per minute. When the spring begins to intermit, it may warrant more investigation and more rock may need to be moved by hand.”

Councilman Will Wilkes asked about the concern of potential pooling and Peavler answered that he believed it will not pool based on the fact that the slide was just pure rock and did not include clay and silt.

Peavler also reported that the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), the Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have been informed and none of the entities expressed any concerns.

He also provided numbers for increased water usage by town residents in the heat of the summer is now surpassing the 3,000 gallons per minute mark and that the department has better data for this tracking than in the past.

Peavler also stated that “quite a few companies” have expressed interest in providing a bid for a sewer lagoon project and expressed optimism that a good bid could be secured.

Peavler wrapped up his report by stating that he had the opportunity to attend an OSHA training session and that more attention to safety for Afton crews in the future needed to be a focused goal. He also expressed that in this process, the town may need to consider purchasing more robust equipment to handle jobs of a growing area.

“We’ve been trying trying to implement some safety training every week that will be beneficial to our crews,” he said. “We really need to start looking at our budget and have enough to be able to provide the things that we need.”

Using the May water pipe break as an example,  Peavler felt the potential futer purchase of a medium size trackhoe or excavator would be appropriate and asked the council for their support in equipment considerations.

• Don McGee, Chairman of the Tourism Board addressed the council and expressed the board’s excitement for the increased hotels and motel income in the town. He stated that the website (visitaftonwy.com) and the social media budget examination has been refined. He went on to report on the success of the recent Freedom Festival.

“We were happy to keep it on main street and boost business as much as we can,” he said. “Our feedback [indicated] it was a phenomenal day for business.”

McGee also pointed out that while he was an early no-vote on moving the Fourth of July parade, he is convinced it was the right decision.

“Now that we’ve seen it, it brought in a lot of traffic back downtown and it was a good move,” he said. “Several businesses reported their busiest day ever on July 5.”

He also expressed the goals of increased social media and the hope of driving more traffic to the website and search engine optimization.

McGee also reported that $20,000 has been approved for a new information sign. The back side of the sign would have a mural with information on the other.

• McKay Erickson, a candidate for House District 21 introduced himself to the council and outlined his platform for representation in the area. He commended Afton on their Fourth of July spirit during the parade and expressed his willingness to be accessible for the town when needed.

• The Afton Main Street Alliance, represented by Amber Hyde, reported to the council. Hyde stated they felt the parade was successful and expressed their  goals of improving the Parade of Lights in the coming months. Hyde did express concern about the lack of traffic cones for use and stated the desire to have more for coming events and also a committee to help with setup. She also mentioned that the parade could have provided an even better opportunity for area businesses.

“We would like to have a period of time after the parade for people to linger and shop,” she said. “We would also like to discuss some ideas on improved safety.”

Councilwoman Abby Humes suggested a more organized parade area lineup.

Hyde expressed the organization’s desire to have a business section on the new information sign and also the desire to beautify the sign near Lower Valley Energy as well as improvements to the Swift Creek bridge. She also inquired about the potential for a welcome to Afton sign while coming from the south.

• McKay Young, a civics teacher with Star Valley High School reported to the council about a recent trip to Europe by 92 students. During this visit, the group stopped by the village of Saint Leonard in France It was in this village where a B-24 Liberator named after Star Valley crashed and killed all but one of the airmen onboard. The aircraft was named the Star Valley by the crew in honor of their comrade, Sergeant Wilford T. Heninger of Afton, who died during the training portion before they were sent to Europe.

Young showed pictures of the experience which included meeting the mayor of Saint Leonard and the giving of Star Valley themed gifts to the town and its residents. The group visited the memorial in the town square honoring the crew of the Star Valley and a museum full of items from the plane itself including part of a propeller. He also reported the group went through Holocaust sites including the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site.

“We walked through the gas chambers and the crematorium,” he stated. “We and those students got an idea of the price that was paid and the evil that was being fought.”

On the subject of the Star Valley aircraft, Young added that the crew’s visit to the Afton area must have been a special one to name their plane after their buddy and that cements what a special place we have here. Mayor Jensen stated that he has had conversations with the mayor in Saint Leonard and would like to have a similar monument to the Star Valley constructed in the town.

• One of the final items reviewed by the council was the proposal of implementing a hands-free driving citation for the town as it pertains to mobile devices. If implemented, the council agreed that after a third reading there be a six month “educational” period between law enforcement and the public.