On the 17th day, my friend Mary Gutter invited me to the final show of the Cheyenne Civic Concert Band. Concerts will be held on the first and third Thursday of Memorial Day and Labor Day at the Brimmer Amphitheater. I was impressed by the quality of the music played by the volunteer musicians. It reminds me of my college days in Larami when we took a bucket of chicken and cheap wine to a band in Washington Park. I recommend that you bring a grass chair and enjoy the show.
I met Robin Rolling at COO Regional Medical Center to cover the upcoming maternity ward upgrades and the latest events at our hospital. We also talked about homelessness and its impact on our community. Unpaid medical care, damage to buildings and the suffering associated with the homeless are frustrating and heartbreaking. I am working together to make a difference in this area. The hospital has been a great partner in our community.
Metropolitan planning has been accused of planning our road system in and around Cheyenne. Tom Mason and his team make sure we have strong transportation insurance plans today and in the future. Last Friday, I spent the budget year preparing for our next MPO policy committee meeting with Commissioner Thomson and WYDOT Ralph Tarango. I enjoy seeing the future and our path.
For July, our staff is Sam Crowley. She works as a planner in the planning department. I took her to lunch to enjoy a bowl of rubber and garlic bread at the Rib and Chop House. It was nice to meet her and spend some time with her. Sam is a power ball and a real asset to our city. After lunch, we went to Chris Hunter’s house to receive the Dubois Award for her outstanding work in historic conservation. We visited the house and she was impressed by the treasures she had put in place. The only sad part was that Bill Dubois was not with us to give the prize in person.
I shared my love of golf with you, and I played in a charity competition to benefit St. Mary’s School on Saturday. Stephen, Paul, and Dale explode that day. We are 12 in total, but that was not enough for 8 stocks to win. One thing I want to report is the amazing situation at the airport golf course. Ron Conard is our green guard and he and our staff are rock stars to protect our courses well.
On Sunday afternoon, I was watching the Otto Road Shooting Club preparing for an international firefight. These shooters were amazing, and I was happy to give away prizes at the end of the show. The event forced the shooters to stand 25 meters from each of the five targets. Each target must be shot in the first two rounds in 8 seconds, then in two rounds in 6 seconds, and in the last two rounds in 4 seconds. Start with your hands on your head, draw your gun, and shoot when needed. I was lucky to hit the target and they never disappeared. This annual event brings together shooters from across the country, including a couple of border guards. As a result, I was happy to see that the hotel rooms were overcrowded and restaurants were overcrowded.
The new census shows that our population has grown to over 65,000. Another good part of this is that we get another retail drink license. I met with our town clerk to get through the licensing process. We will announce a decision next week to set some criteria that we will use to determine the timing of applications and perhaps how to award them. My hope is that we will use his license to encourage development in an area that is important to Chayen. Hitching Post, Reed Avenue Corridor and a few to mention the handiwork and downtown.
Colonel Barrington is the new FE Warren AFB commander. We met on Monday to discuss our partnership with Frontier Days. I think there are many ways we can partner to make the event even better than a Royde client. One of the biggest is expanding parking for our guests and volunteers. We create a team to work on opportunities.
I sign certificates every month to honor our 5, 10 and 15 employees. Annual celebrations with the city. This month, I went to the office to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Steve Ganison with our cleaning department. For the mayor’s office, Holly is building a beautiful buffalo tablet to identify the people who have worked for this city for a long time. It was a pleasure to meet Steve and thank him for his 30 years of service.
Making people move to the city center is something I have long supported. It supports businesses there and encourages more people to come. The old Central Plaza Hotel on Central Avenue has a new administration, and people have come to share their vision of living in a renovated hotel. Corey Logger and Carter Ward have a vision of transforming the hotel into a modern living room and I am thrilled to see the progress they are making.
There was another meeting of the Governing Body on Monday night. I want to say once again that I appreciate the way the City Council works with each other and with me in the mayor’s office. I like different personalities.
We talked about the 6th coin sale tax coming in November. Our team met early in the morning to discuss how we could teach the three cities to the city, county, and the eastern part of the county on the importance of the projects and projects. We plan to talk to county civic groups to teach and answer questions at the polls. I hope everyone will take their time from now until November.
In the club, we had a committee meeting to update and discuss a project that included our dream of making the historic Union Pacific steam ship accessible to the public. I know this project will be difficult, but if successful, it will create an opportunity for destination tourism. We have a great team working on the details, and I can’t wait to see the final product.
The historic Pump House is located on Amos Street near Coke Creek. It was built in the late 1800’s and was part of our water system for some years. It has been abandoned for some time and is now in poor repair. I met with representatives of the historic Chen Ink to discuss plans to stabilize the building and make mothballs until finances are finalized for the final renovation. I love what this beautiful old building can be and I am happy to be part of the solution. The next step is to educate the council and set their goals.
On Tuesday afternoon, I visited the USAA High Field Research Center. The property is owned by the city, but has a 199-year lease to the USDA. They have now studied plants for more than 100 years and shared their results with the world to improve their horticultural practices. For the past 20 years, parts of the center have been returned to the city, and this was part of the reason for my visit. USAID has determined that some historic homes are no longer needed by the agency. Thank you Justin for giving us a great visit, and we need to work on a plan to save the 5 historic buildings in the center.
I travel Thursday and Friday to promote Tony Cotton in the Barksdale AFB in Louisiana. Tony was the 20th Air Force Commander here in Cheyenne. He won the 4th Star and was appointed to the post of International Strike Commander. I’m so happy for Tony and Marsha. He is the highest-ranking ICM member in the Air Force. When he becomes a member, he becomes a great commander.
We have a lot to do in the coming weeks, and I look forward to sharing our progress with you.
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