The Mayor’s Minute from Mayor Patrick Collins – June 6, 2025
Published on June 06, 2025
This week I got an opportunity to catch up with Councilman Laybourn. Our schedules are busy, so it is nice to sit down for an hour, share a coffee and talk about city issues we are interested in. I appreciate his passion for the Greenway, Downtown, and making our neighborhoods safer.
Looking into the future, I see passenger rail serving both regional and long-distance passengers. We learned during a work session that the potential passenger rail terminal could be on Reed Avenue near the Steam Plant or off Old Happy Jack Road. Colorado is working on Front Range Passenger Rail that will go from Pueblo to Fort Collins. Giving our residents rail access by getting the system extended to Cheyenne would be amazing.
I learn something new every day as mayor. This week was that our SWAT team has medics embedded on the team to provide immediate medical assistance when they deploy. The program is called TEMS, or Tactical Emergency Medical Services. The best practices are to train the TEMS members and arm them in case they find themselves in a life-threatening situation while joining the SWAT team on their missions. I enjoyed talking with the SWAT and TEMS leaders and learning about how medics support our police officers.
Dr. Kathy Emmons joined our city council earlier this year. I invited her to coffee to see how the new council experience was going. Great news – she loves representing Ward 2! We share housing as a priority and hope we can help our kids afford homeownership. Diversifying our economy is another shared priority. Kathy has a wide range of experiences, and I am excited to work with her.
We have a staff meeting for folks who work in my office every two weeks. This week I was reflecting on how blessed I feel to work with the great people in my office. They are talented, motivated to serve the residents of our city, and make it fun to come to work. #Blessed!
We have been working on a new data center that will be located on the eastern side of town for a few years now. Last month they closed on a 100-acre property. Their team checked in this week to discuss the project and timelines. The good news is they have locked in their first customer and the first phase will be operational in the last quarter of 2026. This is a huge investment in our community with quality jobs for our residents. Thank you!
I bought a guided fly-fishing trip during the Comea Shelter’s Tacos and Tequilla event. Jess Ryan came by the office and we did a casting lesson in Civic Commons Park. I then took Tuesday off to fly fish for the first time. My oldest son, Sean, joined us from Reno. I loved it even though Sean caught the only fish. It was beautiful floating down the North Platte River, and fly-fishing is so peaceful. Jess’ wife, Danielle, made an amazing lunch, and Jess was so patient. The best part was spending time with Sean. I am looking forward to my next opportunity to spend time on the water.
I will speak with anyone who has the time and an interest in housing. Scott from the WCDA introduced me to Blueline Development. They are affordable housing developers, and it was awesome to learn more about the secret sauce they use to successfully build affordable housing projects. The challenge our state faces is a lack of resources dedicated to incentivizing housing development. I will keep talking and advocating for our city’s housing needs. Jason and Christian shared so much information that will help us meet Cheyenne’s housing goals.
It is fun to celebrate the successes of local Cheyenne businesses. Sam Galeotos gave me a tour of LUNAVI years ago, and the data center operation was impressive. This week he and some of his team gave an update on the way they have added to the data center business with consulting services that use technology and AI to help their clients effectively compete in our ever-changing business environment. I was blown away by how they have been able to transform the way their clients do business. One big takeaway for me was the quality of jobs they have created and the opportunity for Cheyenne residents. Many of their recent hires have been remote workers. With the technology ecoculture being created in Cheyenne, it is a huge opportunity for schools to train workers so they can be hired locally.
The City and County contract with the Cheyenne Animal Shelter to take care of the pets our Animal Control officers pick up. They provide a safe place until the owners can be located or new adoptive parents come forward. Our three-year contract is coming up for renewal next year. I met with the shelter’s executive director, Britney, to begin the process of extending the contract. We agreed to meet regularly to make our partnership stronger.
I learned that wastewater treatment plants give off a lot of methane gas and currently, it is flared off. Our friends at Black Hills Energy gave us the idea that this waste gas could be cleaned up and sold back to them. The real value of the recycled natural gas is not the value of the gas itself, but the green attributes that are in high demand by industries looking to reduce their carbon footprint. Our team met with one of the most experienced engineering firms doing work in the recycled natural gas industry. We are looking for advice on the risks and potential of building a plant on our BOPU wastewater treatment plant. More to come soon.
We are one step from getting our 2026 fiscal year budget passed. The Committee of the Whole passed the budget this week. We have a public hearing and a vote on June 9 left in the process.
The Wyoming Business Council team was in the office this week. They wanted to know what barriers we see in Cheyenne and Laramie County to growth. A healthy state needs Cheyenne to be green and growing, and the WBC wants to make sure that is happening. We were joined by Betsey, Rachelle, and Daunte from LEADS. I appreciate Josh, Bert, Kaley, and Sara from the WBC for taking time to listen and challenge us. Next step is the end of July to testify before the Legislature’s Joint Minerals Committee to challenge the Legislature to develop programs and rules that will support our needs.
After a dry winter, the needed moisture is much appreciated. Can we have too much of a good thing? I am hoping for a dry and sunny weekend so we can get outdoors and get some yard work done.