Council commits to solar, extends open container, dedicates federal funds
The Laramie Reporter provides some highlights from the Laramie City Council’s meeting Tuesday.
The Laramie City Council talked renewable energy, city growth, Downtown Laramie’s open container district and more during its meeting this week.
In an effort to encourage responsible development at the edges of the city, the council approved a joint growth area agreement with the Albany County government. A contracted professional will eventually examine the boundaries to growth along city limits and recommend the best locations for safe, responsible development. “It’s an outgrowth of previous goals adopted jointly by the city council and the county commissioners to pursue a couple of community priorities that we’d like to see some progress on,” Mayor Paul Weaver said. “One of those has been further work on aquifer protection. This is a project where we’re trying to figure out a good approach to some long-term planning for growth in those areas that are in the county, but immediately adjacent to the city limits.”
The city is taking advantage of money left on the table by other cities and towns turning down American Rescue Plan Act funds. A motion Tuesday amended the city’s budget to reflect this, as the city’s ARPA funds grew from less than $5 million to more than $5.6 million. The city will put $2 million toward a B2 water line project and $2 million toward a Third Street water line project, while the remaining $1.6 million will be used to “stabilize revenues” lost during the COVID-19 pandemic. “What we’re really trying to do with this recovery assistance is save the local taxpayers a little bit in the long-run,” Weaver said.
Throughout the summer, residents of Laramie have been allowed to legally drink alcohol as they wander or stroll through the city’s historic downtown area. That open container allowance was set to expire at the end of September, but Laramie City Council voted to extend it through the University of Wyoming’s Homecoming weekend, now ending Oct. 24. The extension came at the behest of Laramie Main Street Alliance, who argued the open container district has been very popular with people and businesses. Councilors and city staff said people have been overwhelmingly responsible with the new freedom. Councilor Erin O’Doherty said she was initially “not so enthusiastic” about the open container district when it was first proposed. “But then I saw it in practice and I’ve seen people enjoying downtown, I’ve seen them at the parklet and at the Hollyhock Commons,” she said. “I don’t see people staggering around drunk and urinating on the streets. It goes until 8 p.m. It’s fun, people gather together, and so I’m in favor of this.”
The city council approved a nearly $700,000 contract with Shepard Construction for a Laramie Interfaith addition that will provide 2,000 square feet of pantry space — more than doubling the organization’s current pantry space. The money for this expansion comes from a Community Development Block Grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The city council is advancing its long-standing efforts to support solar energy generation in Laramie, voting Tuesday to take part in the U.S. Department of Energy’s SolSmart program. The program will provide technical assistance, and guidance on zoning or building codes as they relate to solar development. The program will also rank Laramie, grading its commitment to solar against communities across the U.S. The ranking could give the city the ability to take stock of its progress so far and to plan for progress in the future. City Planning Manager Derek Teini said joining the program will bring recognition of Laramie’s efforts and signal to those on the outside that Laramie is a community committed to renewable energy. “What we find is that as people look to maybe relocate in our community — whether it’s people or businesses — sometimes these things really matter,” he said.
The council also agreed to plan two work sessions. One would examine the role of U.S. Census data in the current redistricting process — something Sen. Chris Rothfuss (SD-9) lamented during a recent public meeting on redistricting. The other work session will focus on the future of Laramie County Community College’s campus in Albany County.