The Mayor’s Minute from Mayor Patrick Collins – June 11th
Published on June 11, 2021
CHEYENNE – Last Saturday I had the opportunity to swear-in members of the Cheyenne Gunslingers. Since 1983 the Gunslingers have been western ambassadors for Cheyenne. I enjoyed the slapstick melodrama show they performed. I was dressed in my best western wear, but almost got hung for the lack of a cowboy hat. Stop by and see a show.
I spent Sunday afternoon at LCCC to welcome members of Girls State. The American Legion Auxiliary puts this program together every year to teach high school juniors about government. I challenged the young ladies to become the elected change promised when Wyoming gave women the right to vote and hold office in 1869.
Monday morning, I filmed a welcome video for the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo. Stu Pierson is an old friend, and it was nice to work together. I am proud to welcome our visitors to the world’s largest rodeo and western celebration. That evening my wife and I were guests of the General Committee to welcome us to the duties we will have during the show. I so appreciate the volunteers who put on this amazing event. Their hospitality is amazing.
We also swore-in three new police officers on Monday morning. It is great that young people want to serve our community. They will start training right away and head to the Police Academy this fall.
Tuesday, I had a meeting with the prospective buyer of the Hitching Post property. Everything seems to be on track for the sale to close later this summer. We are working on a tool necessary to make this deal happen, the creation of an Urban Renewal Authority (URA). The URA is on second reading in the City Council process and then needs another 90 days of city processes to be completed. Folks, I am excited to see this blighted property redeveloped into a beautiful western entry to our city.
Tuesday afternoon I met with our Planning Director, Charles Bloom. We are talking about the amazing growth the city is experiencing and how we can keep our public safety agencies staffed to handle the anticipated demands. How do we build new fire stations and police assets, for example? Our options are to slow growth down or figure out a way for growth to pay for itself. We are focusing on the latter option.
Wednesday, I had the chance to speak with the Rotary Club at Little America. I shared a bit of what we have been up to over our initial sixth months in office, a bit about our challenges, and a few of the projects I am so excited to see happen. One thing I thanked the club for is the Gutter Bin program they have brought to the city. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is not happy with the city due to the amount of debris coming through our stormwater drains and ending up in our creeks. They have partnered with Microsoft to buy almost 100 of the Gutter Bins from a small Wyoming company that captures the debris, keeping our creeks cleaner. I enjoyed my lunch with the Rotary membership.
Wednesday afternoon was spent at Dish in the business park. I wanted to learn about 5G and what we can do to get the services here in Cheyenne. Paul Bellotti educated me on the ins and outs of 5G and gave me a tour of their facility. I learned that the very first 5G phone call was made right here in Cheyenne. Now we just need someone to build out the network. Dish is an amazing Cheyenne employer, and the tour was amazing. You drive by and see the facility, but you have no idea what they have in the buildings. Amazing!
Wednesday afternoon I met with our Community Recreation and Events directors. Teresa Moore and Jason Sanchez updated me on what is going on in their department. Last week’s Fridays on the Plaza event was a great success. We also talked about the Ice and Events Center and how to juggle all the varied groups wanting to use it. Our staff is doing a great job of making sure everyone gets an opportunity to use this beautiful facility.
Wednesday evening, we had a Committee of the Whole meeting of the City Council. It is the Governing Body minus the Mayor. They passed the budget on third reading, and we just have next Monday’s vote to finalize it. It is my first budget as Mayor, and I want to say thanks to all the staff for their work and patience through this process. The person who needs the biggest thanks is our City Treasurer, Robin Lockman. She is a rockstar and has made the process easy for all of us!
Thursday morning found me at the Fraternal Order of Eagles #128 to give a welcoming address to the state convention. It was a nice surprise for all when Governor Mark Gordon showed up to greet the delegates. He always does such a nice job. The Eagles have spent the past 123 years working to make this a better world and meeting the folks at the convention showed me that they are not done working on that goal.
I was honored to join Colonel Bonetti from the base to cut the ribbon on the opening of the F.E. Warren Air Park. We have all seen the huge missiles by the gate at the end of Pershing Boulevard. The team at F.E. Warren have spent the spring making the park ADA accessible and they have now opened the park to the public. You can now see the Minuteman and Peacekeeper missiles up close. It is intimidating standing next to them; they really are huge. Thanks to the Air Force for opening this park to all our residents.
Thursday morning, I met Bob Nelson at his Museum of the West and Military Memorial Museum. I asked Bob how this happened, and he told me he has been a collector since he was a young man. Well, his collecting has resulted in an amazing gift to Cheyenne. You get a great feel for the west from both the Cowboy and Native American point of view. Bob is amazing with his stories about all the items he has found over the years. I now have another great place to take visitors when they visit our city.
I met with Chief Mark Francisco and Captain Jared Keslar on Thursday to learn about how they handle complaints about homes in our community. We get periodic calls saying illegal activity could be happening in neighborhoods and I wanted to learn how they follow up. They have a good plan, they helped educate me on the processes they follow, and I was much more comfortable when we left the meeting.
Thursday afternoon I meet with a few department heads to discuss payroll issues. It is nice to have a meeting where everyone is engaged, has ideas on how to improve the issues, and feels comfortable sharing. It took a couple hours, but we have a good plan and will now collaborate on getting it implemented. We will need to spend time with our most important asset, our employees, to make sure we are all on the same page moving forward.
Friday morning was spent at the Joint Forces Headquarters of our Military Department. They are hosting a conference and I was invited to welcome our Army guests. I have shared with you my awe of the volunteer military we have and my appreciation of the young men and women that raise their hand and swear to protect us. Even after 20 years at war, they continue to step up and volunteer. It was an honor to meet with them. The Army spouse of the year was also in attendance, and she shared with me how welcoming the residents of Cheyenne have been to her. She also shared that she was amazed at how clean our city is. I am very grateful to live in a community where people make others feel so welcome.
Every month a group of us get together to discuss our economy and how we can work together to make things work better in Laramie County. I join our County Commission Chairman, the Chamber, LEADS, Visit Cheyenne, DDA, Frontier Days, F.E. Warren, Wyoming National Guard, Cheyenne Regional Medical Center, Wyoming Business Council, our City Council, and others in discussing our operations and what is coming up in the future. It is awesome to see how we can find ways to support each other and make Laramie County the best it can be.
Friday late morning I met with a group of local economic development agencies to discuss our dream of getting from the Historic Cheyenne Depot to the Roundhouse to give tourists the ability to view the historic Union Pacific Steam Fleet. We all agree that it is a worthy project and will continue the investigation of the concept. Keep your fingers crossed.
Tonight, we will be attending the Annual Chamber Banquet. I believe we need to take time to celebrate our successes, and that is what this banquet does. It is a fun night of giving out awards for the businesses that make a difference in Cheyenne. The Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce is a huge contributor to the success of our business community, and I want to give my thanks for all they do.
This week’s question comes from Scott Zimmerman. He writes, “I was curious as to what the status is of the drainage problems associated with the Thomas Heights Subdivision”?
Good question Scott. What he is asking about is the flooding that is happening east of College Drive and across from the Thomas Heights subdivision. This area has had historic flooding that has become more acute since the city development of the housing subdivision. Since I have become Mayor, our City Engineer has come up with an eloquent solution that not only solves the increased flooding but eliminates the historic flooding as well. Our next step is to convince the neighborhood to work with us to implement the changes necessary to solve the problem. It is an emotional issue and one that needs to be fixed soon. I drove through the neighborhood after the recent rains, and it reinforced the need for mitigation.
If you have a question for me, send it to media@cheyennecity.org. I’ll continue to answer them in my following Mayor’s Minute column.
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