The Mayor’s Minute from Mayor Patrick Collins – Oct. 3, 2025
Published on October 03, 2025
This has been a hard week for the Governing Body with the sudden passing of Councilman Scott Roybal. Scott loved serving our residents as a member of City Council. His colleagues appreciated how he saw everything from a glass-full perspective and he always saw the bright side of every issue. His passion for the Belvoir Ranch and getting our trail system built so the residents of Cheyenne who own the ranch would have access is so close to completion. It breaks my heart he didn’t live to see it happen. We are struggling to make sense of losing Scott and trying to find an appropriate way to honor him. Please keep Scott and his family in your prayers.
I was invited to the General Federation of Women’s Clubs meeting to read a city proclamation. GFWC is made up of members of the Women’s Civic League, X-JWC, and Meadowlarks. When I came into the room, there was a mountain of handmade bags filled with things a person who was escaping human trafficking or sexual assault would need. The proclamation was to honor the International Day of Service. Their focus this year is human trafficking and sexual assault victims. It was inspiring to hear how the group is working with local law enforcement to support victims and educate the community. Keeping our eyes open and calling if we suspect someone is being victimized is something we all can do. I told the club members I hope they never give out the 100 bags they prepared, but unfortunately more will be needed in the future.
An hour later I was honored to attend the homecoming of the Wyoming National Guard’s 115th Field Artillery Brigade. They spent most of the last year serving in the Middle East CENTCOM region supporting multiple operations. Seeing young kids and families eagerly awaiting the charter flight reminded me that when our military members serve and deploy, their families are also serving and sacrificing for our country. I talked with kids playing hooky from school that were bouncing around with excitement. When the soldiers came off the plane, they shook my hand but very few looked at me, they were looking for their loved ones in the crowd – just as it should be! The joy of the reunion was better than watching a Hallmark movie. Thanks to the 115th and all the active military and veterans for your service.
Cheyenne Presents has a new concert series called “Thanks for the Memories.” With the success of Fridays on the Plaza, our team wanted to do a winter series of free concerts in the Civic Center. There will be monthly concerts over the next nine months. Judy and I attended the first concert featuring Fuel, who are a rock band that achieved most of their success in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The new sound system in the Civic Center was amazing as was the show Fuel put on. The next show on Oct. 26 features Blue October, who had 21 top 40 songs over 13 albums. The price is right: free. Come join us!
Working with the Fire Union is part of my job as mayor. For the past five years I have met regularly with the leadership of the union to improve communication and find common ground. After a rough start, it has been a fruitful effort and relationship. Each year, the Union holds elections and this year’s president, Vince McQueeney, did not stand for reelection. I want to publicly thank Vince for the hours we spent together and for the willingness to try a different approach. It has resulted in unprecedented improvements. The membership elected Chris Thoms as their new leader and we met this week for our quarterly meeting and to talk about our way forward. I want to also thank the voters for their support of the 6th Penny sales tax which allowed us to build three new fire stations to improve our response times, and four new fire engines to replace our aging front line apparatus. I look forward to working with the department to further improve the fire service in Cheyenne.
Every fall a large group of people who are involved in Cheyenne Frontier Days gets together to discuss the past event and share items that might need to be improved for the next rodeo. All our City departments, county, state, and CFD committees met this week for this year’s review. I appreciate the opportunity to collaborate and make sure our CFD events are safe and the most fun possible.
I had to close the Municipal Building again this week. Blood testing showed we had levels of carbon monoxide that are unsafe for staff members. A forensic expert tested the building and found no source of carbon monoxide. All the appliances were working properly and are not causing the problem. We are going to keep the building closed until an air quality expert is able to find the source and we are assured the building is safe to occupy. We plan to move some of our departments into the county-owned building at 2020 Carey Ave., and others will make their temporary home in other City-owned buildings. I know this will affect how you do business with the City. If you need help, call the department first and they will guide you to their temporary work locations. I am hoping the closure is going to be short, but we won’t move back into the Municipal Building until we are assured it is safe.
I believe downtown is important to everyone in Cheyenne, but it is especially important to the people who have built businesses there. I met with a small group who have made huge investments in downtown and are focused on how we can make it more vibrant and successful. Improving communication and collaboration was the takeaway for the day. Cheyenne is blessed to have an amazing group of entrepreneurs who have built our downtown and are working every day to make it better. Figuring out how to support their efforts is my goal.
Sen. Pappas is of Greek heritage, and he introduced us to a Greek company that is interested in developing in the USA. We are hoping that their American location will be in Cheyenne. We met them virtually this week and they are going to make a personal visit to Cheyenne in November to see what we are all so proud of. I love that our Senator is always looking for ways to help Cheyenne and the state of Wyoming.
The Cheyenne National Cemetery is a great place for veterans and their families, but the cemetery is going to run out of space in the future. We met with the VA this week to discuss the city helping find property for expansion. With the large veteran population in Cheyenne and the surrounding area, we need to find a way to make sure the cemetery is available for veterans for years to come. If you are a veteran who has served at least one enlistment, you and your spouse are entitled to a free place to be buried. I would encourage all veterans to investigate this program and to visit this beautiful place.
It has been a really tough week, and it reminds me of how important it is to let those you love know how important they are to you. We might not get the chance to let them know later.