Cheyenne Mayor Releases ”The Mayor’s Minute” For March 26

Cheyenne Mayor Patrick Collins issued the Following release on Friday, March 26:

– Hello Cheyenne, The Mayor’s Minute is a way for me to share things that have happened in the past week, and what I am looking forward to in the coming week.  It is also a way for me to communicate with you how I feel about what is happening in our great city. I would also like to answer your questions, so please send them to me at media@cheyennecity.org and we will pick one or two each week to answer.  I love being Mayor of this great city and look forward to communicating with you each week.

It was a bittersweet day on Thursday as we saw Captain Nate Buseck and Lieutenant Howard Smith retire from our police department. Combined they served our citizens for 52 years. Captain Buseck is headed to Idaho Springs, Colorado to serve as their new Police Chief.  They are getting a great one. Lieutenant Smith is retiring after 30 years and plans to spend his retirement days in his landscaping business. Happy to hear he will be putting his green thumb to work beautifying our city.

On the positive side, we swore-in five new police officers on Monday. Reece Federer, Brian Hiltner, Eric Mayfield, Emily Taraski, and Cole Tompkins took the oath of office, and are set to begin their careers. I am always in awe of those who wear the uniform and step up to serve our country and communities. 

This coming Monday, we will be swearing in our new Police Chief, Mark Francisco. He comes to us from Kansas City, where he served for the past 30 years. He and his wife, Lisa, have been trying to get to Wyoming for years, and I am excited to welcome them to our beautiful city.

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The City has spent time going over the snowstorm, and our response to it. We will be sharing the lessons learned to make sure we can respond in a most effective way for the next snow event. Hoping it won’t happen for a very long time. Thanks to the community for pulling together during the storm and for your patience. My thanks also to our public works employees, public safety agencies, parks employees, and all of you! You rocked and we got through the snowstorm together.

We are putting together an Affordable Housing Task Force. We have a real lack of housing options in Cheyenne, and the task force will work to find best practices to build more and a wider variety of housing options.  If you want to serve on a city committee, please fill out the application on our city website at www.cheyennecity.org/boards or call the Mayor’s office at 307-637-6300 and we will email you one.

Over the next month we will be working on our list of projects for the upcoming 6^th penny sales tax election. You will see many public presentations on projects to improve our infrastructure, public safety, and quality of life. Roads, fire stations, police radios, and greenway improvements are just a few items I am excited to see improved. Cheyenne and Laramie County have been so supportive, and I am counting on you to continue helping us improve Cheyenne and Laramie County.

Governor Gordon and I had lunch last week at the Diamond Horseshoe Cafe. Supporting local businesses during these hard times is so important. We had a great meal and service from this locally owned landmark. I would recommend the burrito with green chili. We hope you will join us and support the Diamond Horseshoe and all our locally owned small businesses. They cannot survive without our help and support. Looking forward to our next lunch at another local favorite.

Some good news to share. With the COVID-19 pandemic numbers coming down, it is time to start planning how we can get back to holding those fun events we miss. We need to do them safely, but it is time to get back to having fun. I am happy that our Community Recreation and Events department is going to be able to hold Superday this summer. Thank you to HollyFrontier Renewables for stepping up as the sponsor again. So, get your running shoes and bikes ready to join us to celebrate our great parks.

I would like to have you send me your questions. I will pick one or two each week and answer it weekly in this column. Please email your questions to media@cheyennecity.org.''

Mayor Collins was elected as the city's mayor in 2020, replacing Marian Smith Orr in the position. He took office in January. Collins is a long-time local businessman who served previously on the Cheyenne City Council.