Key Issues facing Cheyenne
My record shows solid progress for our city during the time I have been entrusted with its leadership. I believe our city is better off today than when I took office. In light of the goals and challenges my administration has taken on and tackled, voters would be right to conclude I will rise to the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. Consider just some of our more significant strides:
ROADS
It was no secret our local roadways were deteriorating when I began my first term. We inherited a road system with $140 million in deferred maintenance. That means it would take $140 million to bring our roads up to a good standard. I promised to install a comprehensive pavement management system with a goal to get maintenance to 10% of our roads each year. We asked for and got substantial funding in the 6th-penny sales tax election; it will allow this level of maintenance for the next few years. That comes with a caveat: We will need to continue this level of support for the next decade to get our roads stabilized.
PUBLIC SAFETY
We have beefed up public safety with the construction of three state-of-the-art fire stations to improve emergency response in our city. We’ve also purchased a site for a new fire station to meet the response standard on our city’s rapidly expanding south side. We have added nine firefighters and two police officers to our corps of first responders. And we have invested in new police and fire equipment.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
We promised to review our city’s Unified Development Code — our guide for growth — to find ways to reduce regulations that hinder building much-needed housing and commercial development. As promised, we have proposed a number of text amendments to this strategic set of rules to encourage development and reduce the cost of housing. Meanwhile, we have created an Affordable Housing Task Force to dig deep for solutions.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
The city took the lead to help recruit the 800,000-square-foot Project Cosmo data center to Cheyenne. We have a signed development agreement for a multibillion-dollar new business that will bring more than 1,000 construction jobs to Cheyenne for years and provide a much-needed tax base increase for decades to come. This project will bring 150 permanent jobs when it opens and more as the project phases are built out.
RECREATION
We have increased youth sports programming with the purchase of the Beast, giving our city gyms for the first time. We are building a new gymnastics building for kids, as well. Currently we have more than 300 kids on a wait list to participate, and the new building will allow the program to grow four times larger.
EMERGENCY RESPONSE
Two months into my first term, Cheyenne had its biggest snowstorm ever. As mayor, I called and hired every front-end loader and driver to get the roads opened for residents and public safety vehicles. City Hall coordinated a two-day effort to get patients who needed dialysis from their homes and to the clinic. It was truly a life-or-death effort.
URBAN BLIGHT
We’ve created an Urban Renewal Authority, a tool first used to remove the contaminated buildings on the Hitching Post site where today new buildings are under construction, and an eyesore has been removed. It’s a template for action in other areas.
TRANSPARENCY
We have raised the bar for keeping local government open and accountable and for being accessible to the media. My “Mayor’s Minute” blog keeps the community updated. We regularly answer constituent questions on local radio — and I never ducked a interview request.