The Mayor’s Minute from Mayor Patrick Collins – Jan. 9, 2026

Published on January 09, 2026

The Happy New Year, Cheyenne! It is good to be back writing the Minute after taking a couple of weeks off for the holidays. Judy and I had the blessing of having our 3- and 1-year old grandkids visit. I can tell you that sleep was not in abundance during that time, but we loved having them here. I hope all your holidays were exactly what you hoped they would be.

I traveled to testify at the Industrial Siting Council in Chugwater at the end of last year. Very large projects like the wind energy park planned for the area are required to go through a Department of Environmental Quality process for approval. If approved, the state makes funding available to affected communities to help mitigate impacts they may experience during the construction phase of the project. For Cheyenne, the report stated a large number of workers are expected to live in our community as Chugwater and Wheatland don’t have enough living spaces. We asked for and were granted $431,000 for the worker impact and we asked for $34,000 to provide our fire department with specific training and equipment for confined space rescues in a wind turbine. I appreciate the state providing this process and support.

Sweetgrass is a very large newer housing subdivision located across College Drive from LCCC. It will eventually cover 3,000 acres and provide thousands of housing units for our city. South of the housing area, light industrial business parks are being developed. I met with Sweetgrass’ owner and their planner to discuss where they see the development going in the future. First, I am so appreciative that they have financially committed to developing housing on this scale. We have a critical need for housing. Second, working with LEADS, they have developed business parks that are bringing great quality companies and jobs to Cheyenne. It was great to hear their vision and commitment for the future. The jobs they help create will give our kids a choice to stay in Cheyenne, and the housing they are providing will give them a quality place to live.

With all the large development projects happening in the Cheyenne area, we have a shortage of people working in the trades. The Western States Carpenters represent carpenters in the region, and they have decided to open an office in Cheyenne. They shared their goal of making sure every worker employed is covered by workers compensation and is paid a living wage. I learned about their apprenticeship and training programs designed to help people with a great paying career. My father-in-law was a member of the Western States Carpenters for many years in Sheridan. Helping build our workforce is something we need. Welcome!

I’ve got to spend a lot of time on the base over the years meeting the amazing Airmen that work there. One of the special ones is Chief Master Sergeant Yvonne Fitzpatrick. She retired from the Air Force this week after 22 years of service. She has five children and when I was sitting at the ceremony, it reminded me of the sacrifice families make when their parents serve. Chief Fitz and her husband both deployed during their careers and the family impact is real. I love her passion for her troops and the energy she brought to the job during her career. We are blessed that they decided to stay right here in Cheyenne. Thanks, ma’am, for your service!

I was reminded of how blessed we are in Cheyenne this week when my conference room was filled with people all working to recruit a company headquarters. It was great to see economic developers and government all collaborating with one goal: to bring a transformative company to Cheyenne. You never know how economic development efforts will end up, but with the team working this well together, I like our chances. More to come in the near future.

I am a big fan of Habitat for Humanity. They help families into homeownership that may have never thought they had a chance to own their own home. I am excited by the partnership between Habitat and Magic City. Magic City owns land and Habitat is an experienced builder and working together they will each benefit by adding available housing for their clients. The City is applying for a grant to benefit the project by paving roads, building sidewalks, and bringing utilities to the site. I’m hoping we will be successful in our grant application.

I spent much of the time during the holidays working on how to prioritize all the projects that have been presented for inclusion on the next 6th Penny sales tax ballot. The county commissioners have allocated the city $74,250,000 and we have over $120 million in requests. Unfortunately, some very worthy projects won’t make the cut. I sent a letter to City Council with my priority list. It includes:

• Building a new fire station in south Cheyenne, which is needed due to the amazing growth going on in that part of town;
• Purchasing three new fire engines to replace aging equipment reaching the end of its life;
• Providing additional funding to continue our pavement management program and continue our effort to improve our road quality;
• Funding for our police department to replace technology, including in-car cameras and improvements to their firearms training facilities;
• Funding for both maintenance of the Greenway system and future expansion;
• Renovations to the Municipal Building, which was built in the late 1970s, and the essential HVAC, electrical, and plumbing that need to be updated; and
• A replacement for Johnson Pool, which closed in 2025 after 71 years of service. The new pool will remain located in Lincoln Park.

We will introduce a resolution with these priorities at Monday’s meeting of the Governing Body. On Wednesday, Jan. 14, City Council’s Committee of the Whole will debate the resolution and hear from the public. Pine Bluffs, Burns, Albin, and the county commissioners are all getting their ballot priorities put together. We will meet later this month to combine projects and create the ballot. I invite the public to the meeting on Wednesday to share your thoughts.

I have three years left as mayor and I have been thinking a lot about the things we still want to get done, and we have a City Council goal setting session later this month that will help get that process started.