The Mayor’s Minute from Mayor Patrick Collins – Feb. 6, 2026

Published on February 06, 2026

One of my favorite parts of being mayor is the time I get to spend with students and kids in the community. The fourth grade class at Saint Mary’s came to visit me and brought homemade cookies. I have gotten to know these kids from reading at school and from them coming to the Municipal Building to sing Christmas carols. It is such a highlight and even though I am trying to lose the holiday weight, the cookies were awesome. I sent the rest to the fire station for our firefighters to enjoy. Thank you, kids.

The City’s Municipal Building was built in the late 1970s. After all these years, the failing mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems have reached a point where we can’t ignore them anymore. One of our elevators has been down for a few months as the replacement parts are no longer made and have to be custom manufactured. As part of educating City Council on future 6th Penny sales tax projects, we learned more about the building conditions and the plans for our future remodel. One design element planned for the Municipal Building is putting all the public facing departments on the first floor with the goal of making it easier to do business with the City. I look forward to sharing the plans in the coming months.

I spent a lot of time this week working with staff on revising the proposed administrative warrant ordinance. After hearing a couple of hours of public testimony during second reading at city council, we wrote a substitute ordinance that limits these warrants to our fire chief, fire marshal, and chief building official. It also limits what a warrant can be applied for: building inspections following a fire, commercial building fire inspections, property owner building permit follow-ups, and abandoned buildings. We defined abandoned buildings, a process to locate property owners, a prohibition on no-knock warrants, and a 10-day limit to warrants. It passed unanimously through the Public Services Committee and will be on final reading on Monday. I appreciate our city attorney, John, for all his help in getting the substitute prepared in time for the committee to consider. I also appreciate all the members of the public who participated in the process.

We have had some challenges in our relationship with the Chamber of Commerce recently. I met with three members of the Chamber’s Board of Directors this week to continue a conversation on improving things. They came with the objective of discussing the recently passed stormwater fee. For Cheyenne to successfully reach its potential, we all need to be on the same page and working collaboratively. Our Governing Body is committed to making that happen.

This week has been filled with meeting companies looking to make investments in Cheyenne. One was the leading commercial developer in the country. Another is looking to help Cheyenne meet the housing shortage for the workforce coming to build large data centers. Creative ways of building multi-family housing to meet the need and diversifying our economy and creating quality jobs for our kids is something I am always ready to support.

The City and County have many joint projects where we partner and share resources. Extending Storey Boulevard east to Beckel Road and improving the intersection of Whitney Road and Dell Range Boulevard are two that will have a huge impact for those who live in east Cheyenne. Commissioner Malm and I met to discuss these projects and how we share the expenses. Federal dollars that come through WYDOT are a big part of making these essential projects financially feasible. We are close to getting the project out to bid and construction started. I know the frustrations that come during construction, but the results will be safer and way more convenient.

The city installed 23 Flock cameras at critical intersections in Cheyenne. Flock cameras are automated license plate readers that capture a picture of the rear of a car and license plate as vehicles go by the camera. That information creates a powerful tool for law enforcement and enhances their efforts to identify vehicles used in crimes. A recent example was a man who repeatedly raped a 15-year-old girl in northern Wyoming. A Cheyenne detective reviewed our Flock camera pictures until he found the reported vehicle had been in Cheyenne. We shared the license plate number with regional law enforcement agencies and his stolen vehicle was found to have been making repeated circles around schools in northern Colorado. With the information shared by our police department, he was arrested and is no longer a danger to society.

Wednesday evening, a public meeting was held at the library to discuss Flock cameras. Four speakers shared their concerns. The Cheyenne Police Department has set rules on Flock camera use and has a transparency portal that shares the details. The speakers rated our policy as a gold standard. The major concern was not how we are currently using the program, but what could hypothetically happen. They all discussed their concern that the program violates the 4th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. To date, Flock cameras have been litigated many times in the court system and have been found to be constitutional. The courts have found we don’t have a reasonable expectation of privacy when driving on public roads. Our police department shared with me that this technology has been the best tool for helping solve crime in the past 40 years. We understand that the way we use technology requires great responsibility, and we pledge to do so in a way to protect the constitutional rights of our residents.

The Air Force has an honorary commander program that matches a member of our community with leaders on the base. Colonel Holmes hosted the honorary commanders for an Induction Ceremony for new members. Lorrell Bellotti gave a very moving speech on how the program has enhanced her life. She is matched with Command Chief Cherise Mosley. I have been matched with the Mission Support Group commander, Colonel Kevin Brown, for almost two years now. He is the “mayor” of the base, so it is a perfect match. I appreciate the base creating the program and giving us an inside view of the mission of our base and giving us an opportunity to welcome our military members into our community. I love the opportunity and have come to admire the service they give to our nation.