The Mayor’s Minute from Mayor Patrick Collins – August 20th
Published on August 20, 2021
CHEYENNE – Last weekend was epic for my family and I. We went to the Miracle Mile to camp and fish for a few days. I caught a half dozen beautiful Rainbows and spent time with my father and two boys. We played cribbage and spades, and I have bragging rights until the next time we play. I do not win much at cards, so it was truly epic. Finding time to get family together and hang out is hard, but much appreciated.
The alarm clock on Monday morning was a rude awakening after a few days of camping and not having to answer to a clock. Started Monday with a meeting with Jim Weaver. Jim is the realtor who is helping to sell the Hynds building. It was nice to catch up with him as we spent a couple years together serving on the Editorial Board of the newspaper. The main reason for the meeting was to get me caught up on the efforts to sell the Hynds and get it redeveloped after 35 years of being empty. These historic building redevelopments are complicated, but there is positive progress.
Our grievance with the Fire Department is ongoing. I had until Tuesday to decide on their appeal. I did not agree with their suggestion and denied it, but I also gave them an option I hope they will take. They now have a week to let me know what their answer will be. I met with our fire chief to make sure I am understanding all the issues. Our meeting with the grievance committee was cordial, and I really like these guys.
We had a good meeting with the Sheriff, Chief of Police, Commissioner Malm, and some of our staff to talk about a new jail contract. Good news is the Covid situation at the jail has improved immensely. That is good news to our police officers and municipal court as this will open space for our detainees. We had a very good meeting and have developed a framework for a new agreement. I love it when you can get together and work out solutions.
Cheyenne LEADS held a golf tournament on Tuesday. I was paired up with Aaron and Bruce from Precious Cat, a newer manufacturing business here in Cheyenne. We were joined by Tyler Gibb from Black Hills Energy. While we did not win, it was a blast. It was nice to talk with Dr. Elsey about how he started the company and ended up in Cheyenne. Aaron carried our team, and it was fun to watch such a good player hit the ball. I need to work on my putting, left way too many strokes on the greens.
Wednesday was brutal for me. As you know I am not a morning person and I had to be at the LEADS board meeting at 6:45 a.m. for pictures, followed by the board meeting. Gosh I wish I was better at getting up in the morning. We spent a lot of time talking about the Hynds building and the “hole” property. I am so thankful the LEADS board has agreed to make filling the hole a priority. They reported that Cheyenne Frontier Days (CFD) brought five new prospects looking to bring businesses to Cheyenne. It is great that the rodeo brings people, and those relationships lead to new job prospects. It is an impressive group of people working to grow primary jobs for our residents.
I met with Brenda Birkle who is leading our Affordable Housing Task Force. She gave me an update on the progress after the first couple of meetings. We also talked about the opportunity to have a Cadet from the Air Force Academy who could help our task force as part of a capstone project. I am planning on going to the Academy in early September to help make a personal appeal to be included in the program. Our task force is on track, and I am excited by the plans they are making to help our housing shortage.
Lunch on Wednesday was spent with Corey Rutledge, Austin Rodemaker, Police Chief Mark Francisco, and Michelle Coronado. They run the Unaccompanied Students Initiative (USI). They serve 16- to 20-year-olds who are homeless and alone. They are good kids who have had a bad break with family, and the USI is making sure they are safe, in school, and have a future. I have spoken so many times in this column about the amazing volunteers we have in Cheyenne, and this amazing group is a shining example.
I meet at least monthly with our HR Director and Treasurer to discuss payroll and to make sure we are keeping control of our expenses. We have given a couple targeted raises to employees who have worked hard and earned certifications like a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL). Our employees are an impressive group, and we want to do everything we can to give them the tools to be successful and reward them for the dedication and hard work.
Wednesday evening Judy and I hosted an Evening of Note. The WYldlife Fund is a new foundation that’s mission is to unite people to advance Wyoming wildlife habitat, research, and education. I met the director, Chris McBarnes during the campaign and it is amazing how it was like we had been friends for life. He asked us to host an evening where there would be great entertainment and an opportunity to learn about the WYldlife Fund. Christian Thomas Lee gave a great performance of guitar, spoken word, and art. Judy wore a bracelet worn by Princess Diana, and I got to hold a page from Martin Luther’s Bible. Incredible!
Lunch on Thursday was spent with the Mayor’s Youth Council (MYC). It was the first meeting for this school year, and they spent the day at Youth Alternatives doing the ropes challenge course for a team building exercise. These young people are from all three high schools and are an impressive group. I am looking forward to a year of getting together and discussing the issues of the day in Cheyenne.
Spradley Barr Toyota held a ribbon cutting for the grand opening of their newly remodeled and expanded Toyota store. Senator Pappas was the architect on the project, and he gave me a tour of the new facility. It is huge. I am so proud of our local businesses who reinvest and create new jobs and taxes. Congratulations to Bob Womack and his team on this milestone accomplishment.
We have received some calls and emails over the past couple weeks regarding the two percent fee that was recently added to the Board of Public Utilities (BOPU) bills. The City Council set raising new revenue as one of our goals. Our general fund budget in 2010 was 1.7 percent higher than our general fund budget in 2021. During the same time, inflation was 20.05 percent. I hope you can understand our need to find new revenue sources. The two percent fee does not go to the BOPU, but to the general fund of the city. The BOPU has assets of $600,000,000 and annual revenues of $42,000,000. The city does not get any of these funds for our day-to-day operations. We project the fee will raise approximately $500,000. This fee increase went through our normal processes and was noticed in the paper. I just wanted you to know what we will use the money for and that it was a transparent process.
If you have a question for me, send it to media@cheyennecity.org. I’ll continue to answer them in my following Mayor’s Minute column.
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