EVANSTON — At the Evanston City Council work session on Tuesday, Nov. 26, First Bank branch manager David Benton brought the bank’s plans for changes to their parking lot on the corner of 10th and Main streets.

“I want to talk to you about our parking lot,” Benton said. “In the last few months, we have had a couple of hit and runs and fender benders on customers and employees’ cars parked there. We have had every kind of vehicle, including 10 or 12 motorcycles, campers and snowplows parking there and then trying to back out of that lot. We want to limit the traffic using the lot.”

Benton said the concrete barriers have helped and they recently installed a camera there, too.

Benton said they will remove the “ugly” cement barriers they have placed to keep people from driving in on the Main Street entrance and parking in the private lot. They plan to put in a sidewalk, which the bank will pay for, and are asking the city to put in curb and gutter to replace the existing driveway entrance. By doing that, there will be extra parking spots created on Main Street, and they hope it will discourage people from using the 10th Street entrance into the lot.

Benton assured the city council the lot would still be available for community activities, including the tree and Santa’s house at Christmastime, and the swing and chairs would still be located on the lot. There are also eight spaces with signs on the lot that are designated for local businesses.

He said he has been talking to Mieke Madrid and Damon Newsome about the changes. By blocking off the Main Street entrance and replacing it with curb and gutter, it will create six more parking spots. They plan to put in one 4-ft. by 4-ft. concrete cut-out and plant a tree to match the rest of the Main Street sidewalks.

“We also have a problem with the three flowerpots we have in front on the corner of the bank,” Benton said. “Somehow, either a snowplow or big trucks seem to hit where the water line is laid for those pots, and we have constant plumbing repairs. We want to get rid of the pots and put in cut-out squares with trees in them, again matching the rest of Main Street. So, we would need to partner with the city to repair the curb and gutter there, as well.”

Mayor Kent Williams asked Benton what his time frame is for doing the changes and Benton responded it would depend on the weather and the city crew. Williams said they would put First Bank’s request on the agenda for a regular meeting in order to have it considered.

At the regular city council meeting on Nov. 19, approval of four simple business items was accomplished in short time but then the floor was opened for public comments, which led to extended discussion.

Gina Sundquist was the first to address the council.

“I have missed the last couple of council meetings due to being gone for training for work,” she said. “I wanted to follow up and see if any progress has been made concerning getting air conditioning in the Machine Shop.”

Sundquist said she has some ideas for fund raising for the project and will bring those up at a meeting after the holidays.

Williams told Sundquist that the issue is on the council’s “radar,” and they will be looking into it during upcoming budget hearings.

Local resident Cathy Cook asked the council if they had been thinking of ways to address the loss of maternity services in the city. Evanston Regional Hospital recently announced it will close its labor and delivery department later this month.

“This has hit us very hard,” Councilmember Jen Hegeman said. “The closure of labor and delivery services at ERH is a huge concern. I think part of the problem is we are an aging population in Evanston and the number crunchers at the hospital see continuing the services as not viable. The hospital is a for-profit private business. Nothing will be done until we lose the life of the right woman — a woman from the right background and family.”

Hegeman said she thinks there are great minds in the community, and they need to get together and fight for these services.

“There is a solution sitting here, we just need to come up with one,” she said.

Councilmember Jesse Lind said Gov. Mark Gordon had said at recent meeting in Evanston that he was going to ask the legislature to increase Medicaid for maternity care as many the young mothers are on Medicaid.

“Maybe we could convince the hospital to keep at least one OB/GYN on staff,” Lind said.

Councilmember Mike Sellers said it takes years to build up an OB/GYN practice, and pregnant women in the community are already going out of state for care. He said hospitals are heavily regulated and there are multiple factors involved in the decision made to close the services here. Birthing centers are great for well babies, but high-risk pregnancies need a hospital, Sellers said.

The last person to speak was councilmember-elect Henry Schmidt, who will join the council in January. He thanked those who voted for him and said he was looking forward to serving the community.

Among the few business items handled at the beginning of the meeting was approval of the parade route permit for the annual shop with a cop parade on Saturday, Dec. 14.

Damon Newsome, director of engineering and planning, asked the council to approve a motion for the final acceptance of the City View Drive project. Councilmember Evan Perkes asked Newsome what the final figures were for the project. Newsome said he did not have the exact figures at the moment but the budgeted amount was for $2.6 million. Perkes asked Newsome to send him the final figures when he had them.

Lind voiced a complaint that the patch job they did on the upper part of City View Drive, completed in 2023, was done poorly.

The final acceptance of the City View Drive project was approved by the council.

Evanston Police Department Lt. Ken Pearson received approval from the council for a grant award agreement with the Wyoming Office of Homeland Security to obtain $29,000 in grant funds to purchase in-car radios, as the current radios they have are not compatible with WYOLINK, which allows them to talk with Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers and the Sheriff’s Office. The funds are designated for law enforcement terrorism prevention activities and equipment.

The council then approved a request made by city treasurer Trudy Lym for the annual renewal with Delta Dental of Wyoming for dental insurance for city employees.