The Mayor’s Minute from Mayor Patrick Collins – Aug. 30, 2024

Published on August 30, 2024

School has started in the Capital City. I know the kids are excited to get back to their buildings and catch up with all their friends. With that excitement, they are prone to surprising all of us who drive with unexpected runs across streets. I am asking all drivers to please slow down, especially around our schools and be alert to excited kids who are not thinking about the rules and their safety.

Cheyenne is blessed to have a number of vibrant business parks. Some are owned by LEADS and others are owned privately. We held a City Council work session to talk about creating a new zone district for business parks. The Planning Department shared how they have worked with LEADS to create a new zone district that gives flexibility for development and has a more modest water-saving landscape requirement. I really appreciate all parties getting together to create this new proposal. Being business-friendly and having reasonable regulations is what they are shooting for.

This week, I had a Dr. Pepper with Jim Rish, the board chairman for the South Cheyenne Water and Sewer District (SCWSD).  We discussed how to serve the customers and developers in areas where they are sandwiched between the City and SCWSD. We currently have a development where the City has water to serve the housing units, and the District is best positioned to provide sewer services.  We are working on an agreement that would allow the development to hook into the District’s infrastructure rather than running a new sewer line. I am excited by the conversation.

We held a meeting of the Governing Body on Monday, and it was nice to see the government class from LCCC in attendance. I love seeing young people learning about how local government works.

I have probably talked too much about housing recently. I guess we talk about the things we really care about, and providing our residents with housing they can afford is so important to building a vibrant community. It is also critical to our economic development efforts. The WCDA held a meeting this week where Abt Global presented their initial findings as they work to create a statewide strategic housing action plan. I am excited to read the final report when it comes out later this year. Any ideas on how we can solve our housing shortage will be welcome indeed.

For the past year the City has been working with State Parks, the Legislature and other partners to create a State Historic Site at our High Plains Arboretum. We met again this week as we prepare to take our request to the Appropriations Committee and later to the full Legislature. I love the story of how the Arboretum collected trees from all over the world to find species that would grow in our high, arid climate. Some of those trees will hit their 100th birthday in the next few years and need to be preserved. I think the Arboretum’s story is one that needs to be told and State Parks is the best at telling our state’s historic stories.

I really enjoy the Mayor’s Youth Council. It is a small group of local high school students who meet every two weeks and learn about how local government works. I hope we are inspiring future civic leaders and hopefully many future elected officials. I got to meet the council members for the first time this week. It is an impressive group, and I am going to have a blast with them this year.

It is inevitable that disagreements will happen between different governing bodies. We have found ourselves in that situation with the county and specifically the assessor. We have an Urban Renewal Authority that has created a plan and project that includes tax increment financing. (An example of one of these URA districts is the old Hitching Post site.) We have a simple disagreement due to conflicting state statutes. One guides the assessor, and the other, the URA. What is refreshing is I was able to make one phone call to the county and that first meeting has now resulted in a couple more meetings where we are working to find common ground. That is truly how governing should work and it what I think the residents expect.

Louisa Swain was the first woman to vote in a general election in America. The year before she voted, the Wyoming Territorial Legislature, made up of all men, voted to give women the right to vote, hold public office, and own and inherit property. It would be 50 years before the 19th Amendment was ratified giving women the right to vote. This week, the Women’s Civic League dedicated a bronze of Louisa on the corner of 21st Street and Carey Avenue. The League raised the money and donated it to our downtown bronze project. I love this bronze and the important historical significance it brings to our bronze collection. I also loved the tea and cupcakes they served after the celebration. I talk a lot about the volunteerism in Cheyenne and the Women’s Civic League is another perfect example of folks making an impact in our community.

This past weekend was amazing for free live music. Fridays on the Plaza had Grammy Award winner Daya playing for a great crowd. I loved every minute of it. A special thank you to the team from the City who works year-round to bring a summer long free music concert series to the Depot. Edge Fest on Saturday saw The Patti Fiasco, Peter Raffoul, Paul Russell, and Bishop Briggs playing a free concert on the Civic Commons in the West Edge. It was the 10th and last Edge Fest as the promoters have decided to retire from putting on the show. Dave Teubner had a vision of promoting the West Edge and from the modest first show, it has grown to and amazing event with thousands of music lovers enjoying great music. Thank you, Dave, for your vision and for this decade long gift to our community.