City of Sheridan Study Session - June 8, 2026
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City of Sheridan Study Session - June 8, 2026
The City of Sheridan held a study session on June 8, 2026, at 5:30 PM. Seven items were discussed, including budget amendments, subdivision plats, a joint land use plan contract, parade chair regulations, the FY27 budget, and general future agenda items. No formal votes were taken during this study session; all items are scheduled for action at the next regular council meeting.
Discussion Items
Discussion of Resolution 11-26: FY26 Budget Amendment Number Two
City Treasurer Darla Hawkins presented the second budget revision for fiscal year 2026. Key adjustments include:
- Publishing budgets for CAP tax and public benefit funds (previously omitted, now required).
- Aligning contingencies to proper functions per state statute.
- Adding prior year encumbrances (purchase orders approved but not paid by June 30) back into the new budget.
- Incorporating new grants and insurance proceeds.
- Reducing contingency funds significantly: the capital projects contingency was reduced by $21 million (including removal of loans/grants not expected for FY26).
- The proposed adjustments result in cash reserves moving from $6.0 million currently to $5.7 million (still above the required $5.4 million).
- The general fund contingency of $77,441 (originally un-budgeted, anticipated revenue) was used for increased memberships, repairs, software, and municipal scheduling/payroll implementation.
- GPET contingency (similar un-budgeted revenue) was fully applied to firefighter training.
- For special revenue, a $3,700 donation correction for “Shop with a Cop” was made; remaining amounts were reduced as grants/awards were not used.
- Over $37 million was rolled over from the capital projects fund for ongoing projects.
- New requests are minimal: grants, insurance proceeds, rent for Marion property (transferred to capital projects for repairs), additional seasonal golf support, and firefighter funding.
- Development impact fund and park land dedication funds are being transferred to capital projects for specific uses.
- Higher utility fees in water, sewer, and solid waste were recouped by enterprise funds covering additional general fund costs for customer service.
Hawkins noted this is the final adjustment for FY26. Council thanked her for her work.
Discussion of PL-26-18: Resolution 09-26 - West Haven Estates Subdivision Final Plat
City Planner Kelly Schroeder presented the final plat for West Haven Estates, located on Midland Road off Hill Pond Drive. The 23.3-acre site is zoned R1 (single-family residential, minimum 6,000 sq ft lots, 60-ft minimum lot width). The subdivision proposes 91 single-family lots plus 4 outlots. About 20 lots are larger to accommodate a no-build drainage area; those lots require a variance for depth-to-front ratio (2.5:1 exceeded). All lots meet minimum width. Open space requirements were previously met through dedication of Blacktooth Park, Hidden Bridge Golf Course, and Neighborhood Pathway segments (as per the Cloud Peak Branch Universal Annexation Agreement). Roadways: Hill Pond Drive and West Haven Drive will be built as future through streets (60-ft ROW, 39-ft wide with attached sidewalks); internal streets are 60-ft ROW, 36-ft wide with sidewalks. Improvements to Midland Road include sidewalk, curb, and gutter on the west side for pedestrian access to Hill Pond Crossing. Water/drainage: an expired reservoir permit will be canceled and the reservoir filled/reclaimed; an irrigation pipeline to West Park mobile home community will be rerouted; Alliance Lateral Ditch conveys drainage and will use existing patterns; new stormwater controls meet city standards. Utilities: 8-inch water mains, sanitary sewer connection to existing stub, 10 fire hydrants. Future land use map shows residential use is appropriate. Public notification: 31 property owners notified, 3 written comments during preliminary plat (concerns about traffic, density, water pressure, school impact), and one additional comment received just before the meeting about drainage (to be included in packets next week). Staff recommended approval of the final plat to planning commission (meeting later that evening) and to council the following week. Council questioned pedestrian safety and traffic control: a pedestrian crossing sign (not flashing) is planned at Hill Pond and Midland; future signals may be warranted as development continues. Council expressed interest in monitoring the crossing and drainage details.
Discussion of PL-26-19: Resolution 10-26 - Riverstone Village Subdivision Final Plat
Kelly Schroeder presented the final plat for Riverstone Village, located at 1280 Dovetail Lane within the Village's Master Plan (Gateway District). The 13.9-acre site proposes 139 single-family attached townhomes plus 15 outlots. The applicant requested affordable housing density (10 units per acre) under the master plan's provisions (normal max is 8 units per acre for attached units). The master plan does not define “affordable,” but staff supported the request based on the applicant’s professional letter. A variance for depth-to-front ratio is needed for all lots (typical for townhomes). Open space: 1.5 acres proposed in four outlots (HOA owned/maintained), exceeding the required 1 acre. Roadways: Stillwater Loop (30-ft ROW, 39-ft wide road with detached sidewalks on both sides) will be public; internal private access roads (25-ft easements, 25-ft paved surface) will have no-parking signs and meet fire code. A traffic impact analysis was done with the original master plan. Public sidewalks along Stillwater Loop, private sidewalks within clusters, and a public pathway to a future park to the south are planned. Solid waste collection: roadside pickup along Stillwater Loop and two interior alleyways; collection vehicles will not enter dead-end drives; parking restrictions during collection times; HOA covenants will outline rules. Future land use: appropriate for residential. Public notice: 37 property owners notified, no comments received. Staff recommended approval by planning commission and council.
Discussion of Award to Interstate Engineering for Joint Land Use Plan Update (Not to Exceed $200,000)
Kelly Schroeder explained that the city and county signed a cooperative agreement (spring 2026) to update the joint land use plan governing the one-mile radius around city limits. The city is responsible for contracting and covering two-thirds of the cost; the county one-third. Both entities also wish to update their own land use plans and hope to negotiate a separate scope with the same consultant. A request for qualifications yielded five submissions; a selection committee unanimously chose Interstate Engineering, sub-consulting with Orion Planning and Design (previous land use plan) and Dowell Engineering (transportation master plan). Selection rationale: robust public engagement approach, experience with transportation/utility infrastructure in Sheridan area, and prior work on long-range planning. The proposed scope includes evaluating existing infrastructure, extensive public engagement (in-person meetings, stakeholder roundtables, digital engagement), and an actionable implementation strategy. Cost: not to exceed $200,000; the city’s share would be $133,333, county $66,667. The city has also requested $200,000 in the FY27 budget (to be reviewed next week) to cover the city’s portion and potentially fund a separate city land use plan update with the remaining $66,667. Timeline: 12–14 months. Planning commission will review and recommend approval that evening. Council expressed support, noting the update is overdue.
Discussion of Resolution 13-26: YO Rodeo Parade Chair Placement
Police Chief Travis Koteska presented a resolution to address the growing problem of chairs, coolers, barricades, and other objects being placed along the parade route days in advance. Key provisions:
- No placement of personal property on sidewalks, curb, street, alley, or public right-of-way before 5:00 PM on the day immediately preceding the parade (Friday).
- A minimum unobstructed pedestrian pathway of 5 feet must be maintained.
- Placement of personal property does not constitute ownership.
- No privately owned barricades, fences, ropes, chains, cables, platforms, tents, or similar structures without prior written authorization (e.g., for permitted events like radio station broadcasts).
- Failure to comply will result in removal of items to a designated location (likely police department) for retrieval.
Chief Koteska noted safety concerns: obstruction of pedestrian travel, ADA access, business access, public safety operations, and cleaning efforts. The problem has escalated, with chairs appearing as early as Wednesday. Council discussed the need for extensive public notification (media, signs, social media), acknowledged that the first year may be challenging, and expressed support for the resolution. Parks and other city personnel will enforce. Councilor noted that downtown businesses may have mixed reactions. The resolution is expected to be approved at the next council meeting.
Discussion of FY27 Budget
Council had no further questions on the FY27 budget. The city administrator noted that advertisements for both the FY27 budget and the FY26 budget revision number two were published in the newspaper (Section B4) on June 8. The budget is on track for adoption.
General Discussion and Potential Future Agenda Items
Updates from the city administrator:
- The public pool opened but closed soon after due to a plumbing issue; repairs are underway.
- Citizens Academy applications opened last week; 10–12 applications received as of that morning.
- Councillors Williamson and Passine were absent (notified ahead).
- Signs encouraging voting in the primaries are available for yards (non-partisan).
- The first annual Corgi International Corgi Day event was a success, with 20–30 corgis; plans for future events.
A councilor raised a request from Zach Hauk regarding a skate park; no progress has been made, and the councilor asked staff to follow up with the group.
Key Outcomes
- FY26 Budget Amendment Number Two: Presentation was informational; council expressed appreciation. The amendment will be presented for formal approval at the next meeting.
- West Haven Estates Final Plat: Staff will recommend approval to planning commission (June 8) and to council next week. Council will hear the planning commission’s recommendation before voting.
- Riverstone Village Final Plat: Same process; no public comments received.
- Interstate Engineering Contract: Planning commission will recommend approval; council will consider the contract (not to exceed $200,000) next week.
- Parade Chair Resolution (Resolution 13-26): Council expressed support; the resolution will be voted on at the next council meeting. Extensive public notification will be conducted.
- FY27 Budget: No additional questions; advertisement is published; adoption scheduled.
- Skate Park Request: Staff directed to follow up with the group that submitted the request.
- Next Council Meeting: Scheduled for June 15, 2026, with action on items discussed.
Meeting Transcript
We stand for the pledge, please. And the republic for which it stands. One nation under individual with liberty for all. Okay. Good evening, everyone, and welcome to the City of Sheridan studies session. It's uh 5 30, it's June 8th. We have a total of seven items on our agenda for tonight. So we'll just get rolling. Our first one is discussion of resolution 11-26 fiscal year 26 budget amendment number two. And with this is our city treasurer Darta Hawkins. Welcome, Darla. Thank you. Good evening. Okay, the second budget revision is going to be mostly geared towards what um applying what we learned from our last budget or sorry, audits. So overall, what we'll be seeing is we're actually going to be publishing in the paper the budgets for the CAP tax and public benefit funds. If you remember in the very beginning of 26, um, those were not in there, basically because it's pretty much transferred to the capital projects fund, and that was published, but we are required to publish all funds. We're also aligning the contingencies to the proper functions. Function could be in the state statute, just kind of referred to as like a department, but we break it down even just a little bit more to that as functions. Um prior year encumbrances, so anything that was approved and had a purchase order created for an item to be purchased up to June 30th, that carries over to the next year, but we may not get the item to actually pay for it until the following year. So even though our system automatically rolls all those funds over, so because they were already pre-approved, we do have to add those back into the new budget because we budget based on one year at a time. So we're uh adding all of those in as well as a few um new grants that we received. To just kind of give you a big picture of everything. This is where so right now the that first column is where we currently are with our budget appropriations. Um the middle numbers are the adjustments that we plan to do. The the one the funds on the bottom showing a negative amount, those are dealing with uh a lot of cleanup and reducing the contingency funds. And I have a slide over that will go over all that, but uh we're able to reduce that, get it cleaned up, um, and then leaving you with what we would end the year with as far as above our budget. Here's what it looks like for our cash reserves. Um, again, currently we have the six million in there. Our current budget as it is stands today. We would require the 5.4 to be in there. Um with the proposed budget, we would need just slightly a little bit more 5.7. So our contingency, there's two two things to kind of go over. When we first when we first did fiscal year 26, some of the anticipated normal money that we had, we did not budget at all. We kept it in case for things like this that either we forgot, it came in higher price. Uh it was all original money that we expected to earn, um, and that was 77,441 dollars. Um that contingency ended up going towards a couple of memberships that were um that either that went up, the GFOA decided to go as an organization-wide versus individuals, so it was a little bit more this year. Um various repairs, other contractual um items that was not included, equipment, software and website fees, and then municipal with all the implementation of the scheduling and payroll. We had to add a little bit more there. For our GPET, um that kind of the same scenario is all anticipated regular revenue to be earned, just not budgeted up front. Um, but that full amount did go to firefighter training since they had to uh get new firefighters on board. That cost also comes with that, so that went to the firefire training. Direct distribution had 3,619. There was a fleet item that did come over budget, so we utilized that contingency for that. The remainder were reducing and eliminating because we didn't need it. So essentially, what when that happens, we fully earned all of that money, so then it just becomes part of the uh what's left over at the end of the year. Once what we completely go over 26 and reconcile it, we'll come up with how we want to spend that leftover funds. For the special revenue, we there was a donation for shop with a cop that we had to correct, so 3,700 came out of the contingency for that to fix that. The remaining amount either the grants or the awards were not awarded or were not used. We're so we're reducing that to clean our books up for the audit. Um capital projects was um the biggest.
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