The Kemmerer City Council put off a decision on where to place the recently donated JC Penney statue at their Monday night council meeting. The statue was donated to the city in January from JC Penney headquarters in Texas as they had no room for it in their new headquarters building.

City Administrator Brian Muir said the city had been doing very well in raising funds to pay for the placement and construction of a site for the statue. He believed donations received and promised have already exceeded the expected costs. However the council decided to table a decision on where to place it as three of the six council members were not present at the meeting due to work-related reasons. The remaining council members said they wanted the absent members to have an input on the decision, so they postponed discussion to their next meeting on April 26. 

The Council did have a quorum, with the presence of Mayor Bill Thek to conduct other business. They approved the borrowing of just under 285 thousand dollars from the city’s Piz Fund to finance needed upgrades to the Kemmerer Recreation Center’s ventilation system. The Council also gave the go ahead to renew its property and casualty insurance, ordered more sand and salt for the 2021-2022 winter season, and proclaimed the month of April as Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month.

Under the consent agenda, the council allowed staff to pursue funds for plumbing and heating at the Recreation Center, and request funds from various businesses and organizations for youth sports equipment and the Recreation Center Scholarship Fund. Lastly, Barb Aimone informed the Council of an upcoming poverty alleviation program that will be presented at the Events Center on May 15. She invited council members to volunteer to help with the presentation.