WHEATLAND – The Wheatland town council approved a motion by Councilman Alan Madsen to authorize Mayor Brandon Graves to engage in a work and transfer agreement for Wheatland Volunteer Fire Department’s only ladder truck, at the recommendation of fire chief Bob Glasson. Councilman Josh Kaufman was absent from the meeting.
In a workshop prior to the council meeting last Monday, Glasson told the council the fire department’s ladder truck didn’t pass its safety inspection. He said a cylinder has “crept out around a half-inch,” causing the turntable not to accept the ladder into the bedding position from a 32-degree angle. Though the firemen have been doing a work-around to overcome the glitch, it wasn’t enough for the state inspector.
Glasson told the council there were three options: purchase a new fire truck for upwards of $1.4 million and a two- to three-year delivery timeframe; purchase a used apparatus for around a half million dollars from a reputable dealer, which would come with a 90- to 120-day warranty; or spend from $10,000 to $50,000 to send the ladder truck to be repaired by a specialist repair shop.
Glasson recommended the third option to send the truck to be repaired by Jon’s Mid-America in Missouri. The fire apparatus specialist sells new and used fire engines and also does repairs. Glasson asked for the town’s permission to fix the cylinders and take the opportunity to outfit it with new hoses and parts where needed to make sure everything’s operational and “up to snuff for 2024.”
The 40-year ladder truck was purchased by the Town of Wheatland in 2018 from the Newcastle Fire Department after a generous donation from Basin Electric Power Cooperative was added to what the town had set aside for the purchase. Currently the truck has 17,000 miles on it, and just 1,700 work hours have been logged. Glasson explained, the ladder truck is in excellent condition and, except for the issue with the turntable cylinder, is “rock solid.”
He estimates there can be decades more use out of the ladder truck, giving the town time to budget in a replacement years down the road. Glasson reported the ladder truck has been beneficial to the town’s fire department, significantly reducing the time on-scene to extinguish flames and hot-spots on fires and has improved the safety of firefighters from what was available before the ladder truck was purchased.
The Wheatland council also approved an engineering proposal from Barr Engineering not to exceed $15,000 for engineering services for the electric department. Town clerk Candy Wright explained the agreement is a work order that sets a base agreement and rates, and provides leeway if work orders are necessary for the electric department.
“We don’t have to use [the full dollar amount], though. We’ve had one of these every year,” Wright said.

Wright also reported to the council, when Clean Harbors picked up hazardous chemical waste dropped off at the town’s landfill transfer station, it cost the town $18,000. She said currently the town does not charge either its residents or county residents for dropping off hazardous wase, but next month there will be an ordinance presented to the council to add fees for the service.
The water tower ground prep is scheduled to be completed the end of September, and bids for the new tank are due by Oct. 7.
Work is progressing on the little league field’s backstops and bracing.
Wright also wanted to bring attention to the efforts of parks department supervisor Toby Hohnholt and his crew for putting in the time and effort to weed eat around the town’s wells and fire hydrants. “It’s hard for residents to weed eat and mow if ours don’t look good. I want to acknowledge them for their hard work,” Wright said.
This statement prompted discussion among the council and town attorney about the need for more residents and businesses to take pride in the look of the town and keep their properties clean of “huge weeds and junk.”
Platte County Economic Development director Tracy deRyk discussed the monthly economic wellness report, which didn’t have much change other than 11 new teachers filling vacant positions at Platte County School District No. 1, and 890 students enrolled at the beginning of this school year.
deRyk also reported on a reception in Cheyenne she attended regarding American Rare Earth, the owners and developers of a rare earth mine at Halleck Creek, just across the Platte County line west of Wheatland.
American Rare Earth (ARE) is an Australian company who wanted to operate it’s Cowboy State Mine under the laws of the state of Wyoming to be more business friendly and avoid international red tape To make the project more accessible for major U.S. investors and project development, ARE created a subsidiary called Wyoming Rare (USA) Inc., or WRI.
“They are so excited about this project, and they kept talking about the potential…I think that as it moves forward, especially as they get an office either in Laramie or Cheyenne, we will see quite a bit of the people from WRE,” deRyk said.
She added, the WRI president is Joe Evers, a native Wyomingite from Sheridan who is “a dynamic guy who I think will serve them well. He understands Wyoming and has a good base of knowledge in terms of what is happening and what needs to happen.”
“I’m telling you, they are pumped up – it was fun to be around people who are so enthusiastic and positive,” deRyke said.
She added, the company also realizes that while the main mine is located in Albany County, they realize a lot of support services will be coming from the Platte County side, and they are looking at putting the production on the Platte County side of their property to help bring sales tax and revenue to Platte County as well, which could help provide funds for economic development.
deRyk also said she has talked with the owner of the Burger King building, and he will know by the end of the month if negotiations with the Wendy’s Franchise will go through or not.
Asked if she knew anything about the Taco John’s store’s abrupt closure in August, deRyk said she would do some research to see why.
The next meeting of the Wheatland town council will be 6 p.m. Oct. 14 at town hall.