The Mayor’s Minute from Mayor Patrick Collins – Aug. 23, 2024

Published on August 23, 2024

Last week, I was invited to attend an event hosted by the American Warrior Initiative. My friend Marlin told me they were giving a dog to well-deserving veteran and I was excited to attend. The event held at the Community House was so much more than I could have expected. The room was filled with realtors who were there to learn how they can support the effort to get veterans into homeownership. Jason Redman, a retired Navy Seal who was horribly wounded while serving in Iraq, was there to share his inspiring message and taught us we really don’t have bad days. The highlight was a beautiful dog given to Brett Steward that will be trained to support him as he lives with the consequences of his service to our country. It was a great day, and I appreciate everyone who made it happen.

Microsoft has made a huge investment in our city. They are building data centers that are bringing great jobs to our community and are making a difference with their philanthropic giving. I had coffee with Dennis from Microsoft to share our efforts to keep Crow Creek clean and our appreciation for their donation of storm water inlet devices that capture debris before it has a chance to get to the creek. We have a responsibility to keep our waterways clean, and Microsoft is helping local governments across the world by investing in technologies that make that responsibility easier to achieve. I love the help and their goal to keep our water clean.

I attended a City Council work session where the topic for the week was the Historic Pumphouse. The Pumphouse is located just south of Lincolnway north of the Ames Avenue underpass. It was built in 1892 and was responsible for pumping water to our homes and businesses. Today, the building is in poor condition and the goal is to find a way to restore it to its former glory. Originally, City Council was considering mothballing the building until we could find a tenant to occupy it. I learned the Chamber of Commerce might be that tenant, and we are working to make it happen. Next week, City Council will consider a contract to hire an architect to create the construction documents and costs so we can take the plans to the next stage. Saving our legacy buildings for future generations is something I strongly believe we have a responsibility to make happen.

AVI is a local engineering firm that just turned 45 years old. It was fun to attend their open house and to see some of the pictures of the fashions and haircuts the engineers wore back in the day. Congratulations on your anniversary and thank you for the years of service to our community.

Judy and I poured beer at Fridays on the Plaza this past weekend. First, I loved the two bands. Johnny & the Mongrels opened, and The Blues Dogs closed it down. The blues, rock, funk and R&B sounds were a blast. My partner for the night was Reyna. She is a senior at UW studying to be an English teacher. It was a blast to see all the people and hear her story. Fridays is an awesome free event for our community, and I want to publicly thank our city team who work so hard to make it a fun and safe.

We have seen a lot of activity in the renewable energy arena in Laramie County lately. This week, Repsol was in the office to share their plans for a 50,000-acre wind energy project located 25 miles north of Cheyenne. Named the Laramie Range Wind project, it will produce 650 megawatts of electricity. Phase one will be in 2028, and phase two in 2029. The $1.1 billion project will bring in around 195 construction workers for about 24 months. With the recently announced solar projects, Laramie County will be a huge energy producer.

The Comea Shelter was the topic of a meeting on Tuesday. A group, including Robin, Comea’s executive director, and Laurie from Black Hills discussed what could be done to make the shelter more energy efficient. Their heating bills are as high as $15,000 in the coldest months and $4,000 in the least expensive months. I learned during the meeting that they have been successful in getting grants to do projects, but none are available to pay for the day-to-day operations of the shelter. They must raise the money to pay the bills, feed the shelter residents, and pay the staff. I know times are tough, but the Comea Shelter supports the folks in our community that are really struggling, and they need our financial help to continue their services. The staff’s passion to do the work is impressive and I hope we can continue to give them the resources they need to do the job well.

I spoke about the storm inlets and our efforts to keep garbage from getting through them and into the creek. Part of these efforts include using a vac truck to vacuum out trash and sediment. This week, I went out with our crew twice to see a new truck we are renting in service. These trucks cost upwards of $849,000 and we wanted to try them out before deciding whether to purchase a new vac truck. I am impressed with the team that does this work and the new truck makes that job easier.

The last change of command ceremony was held at the base this week. The 90th Logistics Readiness Squadron has been commanded by Major Baker for the past two years. He gave up command to Major Donaldson. Major Baker is headed to Japan for his next assignment, and we wish him much success. Please welcome Major Donaldson to Cheyenne – she is excited to be here.

I am happy to report that we closed on another location for a future fire station. We learned during the process of building our new fire stations how difficult it is to find a perfect location, so we wanted to make sure we had control of the site when it comes time to build the next one. This property is on Powderhouse Road just north of the new Coyote Ridge Elementary School. My thanks to the Cole family for being willing to make this location available.

Wednesday evening, we held a review of the goals set by City Council in January. We got updates on the Pumphouse, the 15th Street Rail Experience, the Belvoir Ranch trail system, and the Reed Avenue project. Many of these have been on the list for a few years now and are on track to be completed. We plan to open the trail system at the Belvoir next summer, design work is in progress on the 15th Street Rail Experience, and City Council will consider a contract to start the restoration of the Pumphouse next week. Reed Avenue has proven much more challenging. In 1909, Cheyenne’s city council gave the road right of way to the Colorado Railroad (which is now BNSF). It has taken years to get the railroad to understand the project and agree to cooperate, but we have been working with them and have come to a point where we can move forward with the project. Design work for Reed Avenue is ongoing and once that’s complete, we can move forward with construction. We will hold another goal setting in January when the new city council is sworn in.