The Mayor’s Minute from Mayor Patrick Collins – Oct. 4, 2024

Published on October 04, 2024

Monday morning, we took time to celebrate improvements at our Cheyenne National Cemetery. Local veterans had asked for the City to pave the access road and for the VA to install bathrooms on the site. City Council approved the paving project in June, and the bathrooms should be done by next year. Representatives from Fort Logan National Cemetery (which is responsible for our Cheyenne National Cemetery) attended, and we had a nice group of veterans that joined us. We were also pleased that Representative Hageman came by to celebrate and support our veterans. Thank you to everyone who helped make these improvements happen.

Our committee planning America’s 250th birthday met again this week. It seems so early to be planning, but an event this important needs all the planning time we can get. We are starting with the Fire Department, Police Department, Community Recreation and Events, City Clerk, DDA, Compliance, and CFD. The committee has made great progress for the month-long celebration. I was sitting there thinking these things should be easy, but the reality is that our efforts touch other people and events. I can’t wait to be part of this fun event.

Ansley Mouw is a local architect who has ideas about how we can build more housing and do it in a responsible manner. She introduced me to Ben McAdams and Alexandra Stieglitz from Putting Assets to Work. Ben was the mayor of Salt Lake County and pioneered new ways to build more housing. They have a grant that would pay most of the cost for Cheyenne to see if this program would work in a smaller community like ours. I am grateful to anyone who is willing to share their housing knowledge and experiences.

I want to give a big shout out to Cheyenne Laramie County Public Health. They helped the City by providing a flu shot clinic for employees and families at the Community House. I don’t like shots, but I hate the flu more. The ladies were so upbeat and professional, and the shot did not hurt. I appreciate our wellness coordinator, Suzette, for setting this up and for the nurses from CLCPH for making it a fun experience.

We used to have over 150 abandoned houses in our community that we considered hazards to health and safety. Over the past 6 to 7 years the majority have been purchased and put back into service by companies like Lynn Buys Houses. We still have 20 or so homes that are still problems, but we can’t find the owners or the owners won’t cooperate. I met with our legal staff and compliance office this week to talk about how we can help our neighborhoods by getting the blighted homes cleaned up. I feel so bad for neighbors that have a problem home next door. I wish we had the tools and the resources to help in these cases.

I learned this week that Black Hills Energy has plans to build a new transmission power line starting in Glenrock and ending in Cheyenne. It will bring more reliability to the system. As part of this Ready Wyoming project, BHE will be building two new substations and replacing 45 miles of power lines that serve homes in Orchard Valley and areas north of College Drive. It will start in the next few weeks and be completed next year. It will result in some inconveniences for the residents in the area, but I have assurances from the foreman that he will be there every day to make the construction as painless as possible. I appreciate BHE making this investment and taking the time to come by and share their plans.

The YMCA was blessed to receive a substantial grant that will allow them to do a huge remodel of their facility. Special attention will go into updating the daycare center in the Y. I had coffee with the CEO of the Y, Chris Coker, and LCSD1 Superintendent Stephen Newton. I brought them together to make an introduction and give them a chance to discuss how the two agencies could work together for the benefit of our residents. I am so excited the Y has found the funding to bring their swimming pool back into service and update their facility. A strong and active Y is great for the health of our community.

I have shared with you that I enjoy the meetings we have had with the Harvard University Growth Lab discussing housing. This week we met again, and the Harvard team included Laura Aldrete from Hatch. She was the planning director for the city of Denver and is now the USA regional director for Hatch’s Urban Solutions team. It was great to get her advice on the best ways to look at our rules and regulations and find ways to use our development codes to encourage new housing development. Our planning department attended, and I am proud of the work they have been doing along these lines and that they are curious enough to actively participate in these discussions.

David Hefenieder has worked for our Street & Alley division for 25 years. I invited him to stop by the office so I could thank him for his long service to the residents to our community. David is a supervisor and is paying back the years folks helped train him as a new employee by training and mentoring the new folks in Street & Alley. Thanks David!

James Bowers & Colton Carlson hosted the Cheyenne Real Estate Summit at the Metropolitan. Keynote speakers were Betsey Hale from LEADS, Dale Steenbergen from the Chamber of Commerce, and me. They wanted us to discuss what we see as impediments to Cheyenne’s success, what kind of industries are attracted to Cheyenne, opportunities for investors, builders, and developers, and the last question was what the City is doing to position itself to succeed in providing a desirable location for residents and businesses. More than 200 folks showed up to listen and ask questions. I enjoyed the group and their questions. You can tell they want Cheyenne to succeed and are invested in our success.

This last weekend was epic for me as a football fan. The Wyoming Cowboys, Nebraska Cornhuskers, and Denver Broncos all won. I can’t remember the last time that happened. I hate that I am that invested in my teams, but I can’t lie, I love this time of year.