The Mayor’s Minute from Mayor Patrick Collins – August 12th
Published on August 12, 2022
CHEYENNE – What an amazing new experience I encountered this past week; I flew from Cheyenne Regional Airport to California, and I have to say it was brilliant. The trip started with free parking at our new airport terminal, a quick TSA security check, a 20-minute flight to Denver, and taking a connecting flight to Bakersfield. Lately, I have come to hate the drive down Interstate 25 (I-25). I find when I travel, the hardest part is the drive home from Denver International Airport (DIA). When I’m tired, the I-25 drive is intolerable. However, this trip was a smooth 20-minute flight from Denver and a 10-minute drive back to my house. I love supporting Cheyenne and our airport, and it was a great experience across-the-board. To anyone who flies, I highly recommend you fly from our airport.
Throughout the week, I receive a lot of letters from folks in our community. One letter that stood out from the rest was dedicated to praising Debbie Martinez and her photography that documents life in Cheyenne. I’m not on social media, so our PIO pulled up her Facebook page, and immediately I was in awe of her work. It was like looking at a colorful pictorial history of events that happen in Cheyenne. I can’t say it enough, I really appreciate folks with artistic abilities, and her pictures are definitely in this category. Thank you for alerting me about Debbie’s beautiful work.
There’s a huge number of unpaid parking tickets we have in Cheyenne. Last winter we did an amnesty period and then started to immobilize vehicles that had very large unpaid balances. In the first four months, we installed the Barnacle System 21 times and collected $30,249 from parking tickets. The Barnacle System requires at least five installations monthly to break even on the cost of the system. Today we have 3,400 unpaid parking tickets in the amount of $204,000. Starting immediately, the city will be looking at vehicles with three or more unpaid parking tickets. When we find them, they will be immobilized with the Barnacle or the old-fashioned boot. If you have unpaid parking tickets, you can avoid the boot by paying the tickets or entering a payment plan. Going forward, our parking officers have a new goal, five Barnacles installed each week, until we get the money owed.
We met with Jason and Sam from our Community Recreation and Events Department. I always enjoy our time together. A new home for our gymnastics program was one of the big topics. Currently, our program is housed in the old Carey Jr. High School gym. I am so thankful that the school district has allowed us to use this site. It is not perfect, but our gymnasts have a place to practice their craft. We reviewed the options and are now working to find a permanent solution. We also discussed the Civic Center and how we will manage the facility with Andrew and his family moving to Saratoga. Andrew has been a fantastic technical director for our team, and he will be missed. Our Civic Center has gone from a dozen shows a year to over 100. Our crew is vital to making the venue the experience we all expect.
The United Way is a vital part of our community that helps take care of the most vulnerable, as part of its mission. I had three meetings with them this week. First, we met to discuss the city taking part in this year’s campaign. I told them I was all in! United Way has 24 partner agencies that are focused on helping with education, financial stability, and health. They focus not only on the programs but also the outcomes, ensuring our dollars are well spent. Thursday, I attended the kick-off breakfast at Laramie County Community College (LCCC). I am so appreciative of the team who was there to volunteer. This year Bryan and Sara Pedersen along with their children are our campaign chairs. Our economy is tough and especially so for many in our community. I would ask you to consider donating to United Way this year, either through your job or just by calling and making a donation. Judy and I will join you.
The city has an investment committee and we met this week. We are blessed to have two community volunteers. Patrick Fleming and Jeff Prince are two investment professionals who volunteer their time to help make our program successful. Times are tough for investors, our 401Ks will show that. Nonetheless, I was pleased to learn the city is doing better than most, and our investment team beat the benchmark handily. I am talking about volunteers again, the people here rock!
The Enhanced Use Lease (EUL) is a private/public partnership between the Air Force and a private developer. I am excited about the EUL and the affordable housing that will be built there. It is located next to Little America, on the land where Frontier Days have its park-n-ride. I met with Tony O’Brien and Daniel from Little America to discuss the project and how it might impact their beautiful facilities. I was pleased to learn they are willing to work together to see this important project move forward. It is always a treat to drive through Little America. The beautiful trees, lawns, and landscaping make it an oasis.
Neil Theobald used to be the president of the University of Wyoming. He retired from that position and wants to end his career teaching. Currently, he is traveling throughout the state to learn why teachers are leaving the profession. As part of that conversation, he came to interview me about my impressions of our school system and the challenges our teachers face. I really enjoyed the conversation. Neil has a love for teachers and the profession. I hope he figures out how to make teaching in our local schools more appealing to the best teachers in our region. What could be more important?
Chief Kopper, from our fire rescue department, stopped by to give me an update on the new fire stations we hope to start constructing this fall. As with every big project, there are ups and downs. What I appreciate most is the way our fire crew acknowledges the challenges in working to overcome them. The good news is we are almost done with be bidding process and hope to start the projects this fall. When we are completed with the construction of the three new fire stations, our emergency response will be improved.
The Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is a federally funded program that funds the planning for our transportation system within the city and county-metro areas. We met this week with MPO, in a work session to discuss the proposed plans for the next fiscal year. Plans for county impact fees, greenway access to the base, Allison Road, Southwest Drive, and safe routes to school are just a few of the plans discussed. The MPO policy committee is made up of the mayor, Commissioner Thompson, and Ralph Tarango from the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT). I did not think I would enjoy being a part of this committee that much, but I have found the subject fascinating and the team fun to be with.
If you have a question for me, send it to media@cheyennecity.org. I’ll continue to answer them, in the following Mayor’s Minute.
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