It’s hard to believe it is already November. The weather finally feels like it, but this year has flown by. I used to tell my kids when I was young it seemed like Christmas never came, and now it comes every six months. Sigh!
We have been talking with our partners at Black Hills Energy (BHE) about projects we can do together. One of those is to capture the methane gas that comes from our wastewater treatment process, clean it up, and find a beneficial use for it. Today, the gas is flared off. We took a tour of our Dry Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant with a team from BHE to see the plant operation and the potential location for a renewable natural gas plant. Matt detailed the complicated process of taking the stuff we flush and how they clean it and return it to the creek. It looks like the plant has potential and we will spend time learning more about the feasibility.
Cheyenne is blessed with an amazing public library. Judy and I went to the Booklover’s Bash put on by the Library Foundation last weekend to raise money to help provide library services, materials, resources, and events for our community. Other than the amazing dessert our table bought, the highlight was Patrick Radden Keefe, the keynote speaker. He is an investigative writer for the New Yorker magazine and an author. He told funny stories and brought his work to life. Little America was packed with lovers of books and our library. It is great to see this much support for a very deserving agency.
Cheyenne’s gold rush is getting closer to becoming a reality. The folks from Gold King were in town and gave me an update on their plans to build a gold mine near Crystal Reservoir. They are working on the last required DEQ permit in order to get started. Separating gold and other valuable minerals from solid granite is not easy and they have a process to do it efficiently. I have never visited a gold mine and am looking forward to seeing this one.
Getting people to live downtown is a game-changer for the businesses located in the area. A downtown hotel might be even more of an impact. I met with a company that builds downtown hotels this week. The referral came from an apartment builder who liked the way they were treated in Cheyenne. The plan is for a 110-unit hotel with some conference space for meetings and events. I have no idea if they will eventually choose Cheyenne, but it is so nice to get a referral and to see companies excited about our great community. More to come.
We held a ribbon cutting for the new Greenway underpass located at U.S. 30. Our Greenway system started in 1991 and now has almost 50 miles of trails. The most expensive components of our Greenway are bridges and underpasses. That is why our partnership with WYDOT is so important, as they have grants and funding that helps with these components. I want to thank James and Leah Woods for making the property available; Darci Hendon for the design; Reiman & Aztec for the construction; WYDOT for the management of the project and funding; the Greenway Advisory Committee; Jeanie Shrednik, our Greenway planner; and our city council for making this project happen. Most importantly, I want to thank the voters of Laramie County for their support of the 6th Penny sales tax to benefit our community and this project. Please stop by and see the underpass, it is a great upgrade to our system.
The Blue Foundation introduced their Boost Center this week. Located in their headquarters campus, it was designed as a family resource center to help match folks who need help with the non-profit community and organizations working to provide the services. One thing I love about the program is once those receiving services have stabilized, the Boost Center will continue to support them with financial literacy and other resources to help them continue their journey to self-sufficiency. It seems like the old story about giving a family a fish versus teaching them how to fish for themselves, and Blue is helping people fish. Thank you!
The federal government forced Mine One to close their doors and remove all traces of their operation due to concerns they were affiliated with China and spying on our national assets. It was the right thing to do, but it came with a loss of revenue for our local communities and for our local utility with 45 megawatts of electricity no longer being deployed. I met this week with CleanSpark, a large American bitcoin mining company. They have agreed to not only take the 45-megawatt project we lost, but to add another 45 megawatts. I don’t understand all of bitcoin, but I am so appreciative that CleanSpark has made the decision to make this huge investment in our community. They hope to be operating by the end of this year. I sat in on the meeting with City staff, Black Hills Energy, and CleanSpark. It was interesting to witness the collaborative process of the company describing their needs and our staff describing the requirements. This project is very unique, and it was fun to watch both sides working through the issues.
Gardenia Drive has been designated a Critical Traffic Control Area due to the safety concerns of the neighborhood about speeding cars. I spent some time with Officer McClaskey on Tuesday evening monitoring speeds. I am pleased to say that while I was in the car, no one was speeding. We have been monitoring speeds for 10 days now and we have stopped 130 cars with 62 getting speeding tickets. The goal is not tickets, but to get drivers to comply with speed limits to make our neighborhoods safer. Thank you to the drivers who understand and drive in a safe manner. We will be evaluating other neighborhoods in the future to see if they warrant similar attention.
Nov. 5 is Election Day. From the news and seeing the lines at the courthouse, I know many of you have already voted. I would like to encourage those of you who have yet to vote to make a plan to get to the polls before they close at 7 p.m. on Election Day. Judy and I always make a date of it, vote and then go to lunch or dinner. It is a special privilege we have in America!