LONE TREE

The Lone Tree City Council met on Monday, June 3, for their regular meeting. The council made a myriad of motions, one of which raised city employee wages across the board by 3.2% as part of an annual cost of living wage increase.

Council member Matt Zadow introduced an idea to meet with individual city employees later in the year so that the council can apply merit-based raises and discuss overall performance as well. That will be a work in progress, discussed at a later date.

Council member Jennifer Poeschel was the lone council member to vote against the wage increase; Poeschel didn’t voice an opinion, so it isn’t known if she would prefer a smaller increase, a larger one or no increase at all.

New restaurant

One of the most basic things a city council can do is approve liquor licenses for local business. It’s a no-brainer. Thus, in this meeting, the last thing the council did was approve a liquor license for a new Lone Tree restaurant, named The Lone Ox Smokehouse & Co.

This new restaurant will operate where El Guanaco was, 113 N. Devoe St.

Not much is known about this new restaurant besides its name and that it will serve alcohol. No opening date was shared by the council as they didn’t know much themselves.

Either way, Lone Tree has another food option coming to them soon.

Update to ABC Park

The council approved a bid from Boland Recreation to replace park equipment at ABC Park.

The equipment is priced at $79,500, with an additional cost of $31,000 for installation. The council estimates that it will cost anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000 to add mulch in the park as well. The council designated part of their SLFRF funds to pay for this project.

City Clerk Stephanie Dautremont led the discussion with Boland Recreation to aid in the new park equipment’s design. She asked that the equipment suggest a Dr. Seuss aesthetic since ABC Park will eventually become Dr. Suess-themed, thanks to the Lone Tree Community Foundation.

The design the council chose will feature bright pastel colors, namely a green railing, blue flooring and other features draped in purple.

Other council action

Councilor Poeschel introduced the possibility of abatement so that the city could overtake the old grocery store and allow another business to use it.

Many issues arose from this idea. Abatement is for abandoned or unsafe buildings. The old grocery store fits neither criterion as the current owners use the building as storage and it is not deemed a safety concern.

Lone Tree Mayor Josh Spilman then pointed out the abatement process would cost the city a lot of money, more than he is comfortable with spending.

With the glaring issues pointed out, Poeschel ended the discussion.

The council is making an effort to clean-up their downtown area. They’ll need to continue doing so without possession of the old grocery store as all possible routes to reclaim it or force the owner to sell it to a business lead to dead ends.

Next council meeting: Lone Tree will hold their next city council meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, July 1, at City Hall.