The Council Communique– September 20
Published on September 20, 2024
CHEYENNE – Mayor Collins thought that it might be nice to give up his Mayor’s Minute space to allow the City Council to give an update of their own. This will be the first edition of the “Council Communique”.
With the start of the Collins Administration, City Council has met with the Mayor to set goals for each upcoming year. We recently had an update on the status of some projects Council has set as goals for the City. The update covered Reed Avenue, opening the Belvoir Ranch for public recreation, the 15th Street Rail Experience and a determination of what to do with the historic Pumphouse.
The Reed Avenue corridor lies along the BNSF tracks in the West Edge. Several years ago, our Planning and Development Department came to us with a vision of redeveloping the corridor into a pedestrian friendly area. The goal was to stimulate the rehabilitation and reuse of old buildings along the railroad. The Council at that time agreed with the vision and placed $4 million on the 2017 6th Penny Ballot, which was approved by voters. As we began planning the development, we learned that in the early 1900s, the City had deeded the right-of-way to one of the precursors of the BNSF Railroad, which now owns the right of way. As a result, we could do nothing without the BNSF’s permission. The City used two consulting firms and it took seven years to finally reach an agreement with the railroad. We learned at our goal session that our Concept Design Plan has been approved by BNSF with some comments. The next step is to complete the plans to the 35 percent level while working with the railroad. After that, we will have more opportunities for stakeholder and public input prior to completion of the design. It is estimated that the final costs will be in the $14 million range. We currently have $2.3 million remaining from the original $4 million and we’re actively looking for additional funding to complete the project.
Another important goal for downtown is the 15th Street Railroad Experience, which was first proposed in 2020. Our historic Depot and Roundhouse is a draw to railroad buffs across the country. The thought was that we could enhance visitors’ experience to Cheyenne and promote our downtown by placing historic rail cars near the Depot along 15th Street. To that end, the City has acquired four railroad cars from the UPRR. Our plan is to place at least three of the rail cars and “Old Sadie” on tracks to the west of the Depot. Old Sadie is the engine that is currently located in Lions Park to the north of the Botanic Gardens and is falling into disrepair. The Depot Museum has received a grant to move Old Sadie to downtown and we’ve been awarded a second grant to abate any asbestos and lead from the railcars. The grant does provide monies for the exterior renovation of two of the cars. The contract for abatement passed in Finance Committee on September 17th and will be before Council on September 23rd. Our original plan is being refined to introduce some connectivity to Reed Avenue and to reduce the impacts on parking in the area. The updated plan will be presented for public input next month prior to being forwarded to the Council for approval. You can expect to see some construction in the area beginning next summer. The grant requires that the railcars be in place in the summer of 2026.
The third project that was discussed in the update was the status of public recreation opportunities on the Belvoir Ranch, which was purchased by the City around 20 years ago. The original intent was to use part of it for a future landfill and for access to the water on the Ranch. The City currently leases the Ranch for grazing, and it also generates income from the wind turbine lease. Past councils have wanted to make it available for recreation uses as well. One of this council’s goals for the year is to actually get that process started. We intend to build a road into the trail head location, a picnic shelter, and a bathroom. In addition, almost 15 miles of trails will be built, including a 1.3-mile universal access trail. We have always wanted to provide access to the Big Hole, which is a spectacular area that would connect to a Larimer County recreation area to the south. However, the UPRR has denied public access across their tracks. Consequently, this new addition to our City’s recreation options will be located north of the UP line. The primary funding source for this project is a State of Wyoming Outdoor Recreation Grant. The City’s required match for the grant came from income for the wind turbine lease. We are looking forward to having a grand opening for this new area sometime mid-summer 2025.
The final project that we reviewed was an update on options for the historic Pumphouse. For those that do not know, the Pumphouse is located on the east side of Ames Avenue, just north of the underpass. It is a beautiful red stone building that was built in 1892 and was the original water pumping station for the City. It has had various uses over the years after it was decommissioned, but it’s become abandoned in recent years. Originally, we were only interested in securing the building and making sure that it would not further deteriorate. It turned out the cost to do only that would be significant. Mayor Collins pointed out that he had been in contact with an organization that would be interested in leasing the building if it were restored. That information, coupled with the desire to see the historic building restored was enough for the Council to agree to explore what would be required to bring the building back to life. We recently approved a contract to have the building evaluated, provide cost estimates, and draw up construction documents. We can expect that information to be ready for us in April 2025.
All of these projects have experienced delays and roadblocks that have taken time to work through. There may be other unforeseen roadblocks to come; however, the Council and Mayor view them as legacy projects. We believe that they will have a positive effect on Cheyenne for decades to come. They are another way to achieve our overall goal of making Cheyenne a more attractive and enjoyable place to live.
- Dr. Mark Rinne, Cheyenne City Council
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