Cheyenne City Council To Tackle Rail Car Painting, Seagulls

The Cheyenne City Council is slated to consider approval of a contract to repaint rail cars for a downtown project and banning feeding seagulls at it's regular meeting tonight.

$987,000 Contract To Paint Rail Cars, Caboose On Agenda

The contract to paint two rail cars and a caboose green as part of the 15th Street Rai Experience is up for a vote. The cars would be repainted green as part of a display on 15th Street and Pioneer which is currently the location for the Cheyenne Gunslingers performances.

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If the Rail Experience exhibit becomes a reality the gunslingers could have to relocate. But a resolution in front of the council tonight calls for the gunslingers to  remain at their current location.

The contract to repaint the rail cars would be for $987,000 with Vintage Rail Restorations, which was the only bidder on the project.

Opponents of the project say it's too expensive at a time when the city should have other spending priorities, considering the rail car repainting is only one phase in a project that will end up costing much more than simply the expense of repainting the rail cars. Some opponents of the project also dislike the idea of forcing the gunslingers to relocate from their long-time home.

But supporters say the Rail Experience would draw train buffs and others and would be a major improvement to the downtown Cheyenne area. The also like the idea of highlighting the role of the railroad in Cheyenne's history, pointing out that Cheyenne was founded in 1867 in conjunction with the construction of the Union Pacific Railroad.

The council will take public comment on the proposed contract at tonight's meeting.

Council To Take Up Cheyenne Seagull Issues

Also up for discussion tonight is a proposal to ban the feeding of seagulls as well as ducks and geese in the city limits of Cheyenne. That proposal is being put forward to deal with one city resident who, according to Councilwoman Michelle Aldrich, keeps feeding the birds in spite of requests from his neighbors to stop. Aldrich says the result is that a flock of the birds in the neighborhood has become a serious nuisance, damaging roofs and cars.

Current city ordinance bans the feeding of ducks and geese on city properties and public areas. The new ordinance would expand that to anywhere within city limits. Violators could face fines of anywhere  between $10 and $25.

The Council Meeting gets underway at 6 p.m. at the City Municipal Building at 2101 O'Neil Ave.