The Mayor’s Minute from Mayor Patrick Collins – Aug. 8, 2025
Published on August 08, 2025
I love being the mayor of Cheyenne and I also loved my past experience serving on City Council. My kids would tell you my love of these experiences makes me a nerd, and they would be right. Last Friday, Judy and I had the opportunity to tour the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., and sit in the Senate gallery to watch the senators confirm Brian Nesvik as the leader of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. We watched Sens. Barrasso and Lummis vote to confirm Wyoming’s own Nesvik. So cool.
After the vote, Jade from Sen. Barrasso’s office gave us a tour of the Capitol. She was amazing as she knew all about the Capitol’s history as we walked through the halls. I especially enjoyed her description and explanation of the murals in the Capitol Rotunda called the Frieze of American History. On our own, we would have walked by and admired it, but Jade brought it to life. We also saw Wyoming’s contribution to the Statuary Hall Collection – Esther Hobart Morris and Chief Washakie. Esther was the nation’s first female justice of the peace. Chief Washakie was a famed Shoshone leader who was a proponent of peace. We met Sen. Barrasso in his Majority Whip office. It is the office President Kennedy had when he was elected to the presidency. I appreciate the senator for giving us a few minutes. My nerd meter was off the charts!
Judy and I walked the entire National Mall and toured the Korean War Memorial and World War II Memorial. Judy’s dad fought in the Korean War, and we always stop by the memorial to pay respect to him and the men he fought with. 20,000 steps and we were ready for the day to end.
Andrew Dykshorn was appointed as our new fire chief just over a month ago. He and Deputy Chief Don Wood came by to discuss the future of the department, and I enjoyed catching up with their new experiences in their leadership roles. We also discussed the department’s goals for the next 6th Penny sales tax. Laramie County’s voters have been so supportive of the fire service across our county, and I wanted to understand the department’s most important goals.
One of the questions I get asked about a lot is, “What are we doing about ‘The Hole’ downtown”? Many people think the City owns that property, but the truth is it’s privately owned, and they get to decide what happens with it. I introduced a resolution to the Finance Committee this week that, if passed, will result in a memorandum of understanding between the City and LEADS to form a public-private partnership to bring development to the Hynds Building and the downtown hole. Over the past couple of decades, multiple developers have tried to find a way to make the Hynds/Hole project happen. Unfortunately, the projects never happened because they were not financially viable. The voters approved the Large Project Completion Fund on the last 6th Penny sales tax to bring the necessary resources that could bridge the gap and make projects like the Hynds/Hole viable. I hope this new partnership will be the secret sauce that will result in bringing life back to both the Hynds Building that has been mostly empty for the past 40 years and the downtown hole, which was caused by a fire 20 years ago.
Tuesday evening, I joined the team at Black Hills Energy to inspect a gas main strike on the corner of Storey Boulevard and Powderhouse Road. A contractor was boring under the street and hit a six-inch high pressure gas main. These kinds of strikes are very dangerous and by the grace of God, no one was hurt. I am concerned that these strikes are happening too frequently and may endanger the public. I was impressed by the team at Black Hills and how they handled this challenging situation. We will work with the contractor community to see what steps we can take to reduce the number of strikes.
The City and Laramie County partner together to combine our human services dollars to make the most impact in our community, including contracting with the United Way of Laramie County due to their expertise in prioritizing goals and maximizing outcomes. We have a team made up of members from all three agencies and we met to discuss the next funding cycle and application process. This is one of the most rewarding meetings I attend as this partnership has a great impact on so many residents in our county that really need support.
Cheyenne has a robust storm drain system in our downtown. It captures rain and takes it to the creek via a pipe system. One huge challenge is the garbage that washes into the gutters that then goes down the drain and pollutes our creeks. We have an amazing partnership that is helping to solve the problem. Gutter Bins are a tool that is installed in storm drains and uses a net to catch the pollutants and keep our creeks cleaner. I watched the product’s developer and his team install a Gutter Bin across the street from the Municipal Building. Microsoft and Meta have sponsored the Gutter Bins, installation, and cleaning for the next 10 years. I love their dedication to cleaning our creeks and environment. Keeping our creeks and community clean takes all of us keeping the trash out of the street and gutters.
The Wyoming Business Council, LEADS, and our City team met this week to talk about how we can take advantage of Business Council programs to further develop our economy. We are blessed with the amazing work done by the LEADS team, and I think that has lessened the need for Business Council support. We have a unique opportunity to bring manufacturing jobs to Cheyenne, and it will take everyone to make it happen. Many states have decided to outlaw certain types of firearms. The deadline for them to stop manufacturing is fast approaching, making our timeline to bring them to Cheyenne very tight.
The recent hailstorm has caused damage to so many in our community. With these kinds of storms, folks come from around the country to work on storm restoration. Many are quality companies, but unfortunately, too many take advantage of the situation. I understand the sense of urgency we feel to get the hail damage repaired, but I would caution all of us to be careful to make sure the contractors are licensed, insured, and reputable.