I know what I can bring to the Commissioner’s table and those are; fiscal responsibility, transparency, and accessible and approachable representation for you, the residents of Laramie County.
I’m not one for making idol pledges, I stand behind what I promise, and I assure you that I will work hard for the residents of Laramie County. Some of the issues I will focus if elected will be monitoring and managing the anticipated growth that our county will see in the foreseeable future. I will ensure that we don’t overextend and deplete our water resources. I will also ensure that we don’t over burden the infrastructure and services capable of handling such foreseen growth. Services the government provides cost money, from the repairs and maintenance of the roads we travel down to the health and safety services we rely on when needed. This also includes quality of life amenities such as recreation, entertainment and enjoyment. I will work hard to ensure that tax dollars are spent wisely and evenly across the county while providing the same or better level of these services.
Taking into consideration that tourism is the number two industry in the state and that Cheyenne Frontier Days is a fabulous, well-established event that has a large economic impact on our community, even though it only spans a few weeks in the summer, I would like to attract year-round tourism-focused businesses, companies, and industries to Laramie County. I feel we would need a well-trained workforce for these types of businesses and events. I would turn to LCCC for their assistance in the many career training programs they offer to align the workforce with the industry.
Having absolutely loved the last 15 years working and being a part of developing the Archer Fairgrounds for the county, and while I’m nearing the end of my employment career, I sincerely want to see the Archer Complex grow and expand to meet the needs of this growing community and flourishing tourism,
When it comes to pressing infrastructure needs in the county, I feel our roads and bridges are the subject of most concern to me. They are the crucial element in getting residents from point A to point B, as well as allowing our first responders quick and safe access to our residents, ranking this as the highest infrastructure need. With the shortage of skilled equipment operators we’re experiencing, I feel the funds may already be available within the Public Works Department’s budget. Due to the shortage of available trained and capable operators, we need to actively recruit and retain these qualified equipment operator positions.
I feel that population growth and droughts have two different effects on our water resources. With more and more population growth happening in Laramie County, we are demanding more and more water to be extracted from our aquifers. Conversely, while experiencing periods of drought, the draw on the aquifer is not being recharged at an adequate rate, and the water in our wells keeps getting shallower and shallower.
This is genuinely concerning to me. While there is nothing that we can do about the moisture we receive each year, or the lack thereof, responsible, well-managed county growth can ensure that we conserve and protect this vital resource in the present for continued long-term future growth and resource preservation. I feel we need to be proactive instead of reactive when dealing with this issue. I believe that the county government needs to increase the minimum parcel size allowed when subdividing large parcels into smaller parcels, which will reduce the number of wells being installed into our aquifers.
I believe we need to continue monitoring agriculture and irrigation wells and expand this to residential, commercial, industrial, and groundwater recreational water uses to get a better understanding of how much water is being extracted from the ground and not fully rely on calculated data. This will, in turn, determine if or when (God forbid), we would need to regulate or restrict water use. Development and adoption of innovative approaches, practices, and technologies for water conservation are essential. I believe we also need to encourage and incentivize xeriscaping practices Landscaping, and finally, we need to encourage new landowners in rural areas (with possible incentives) to investigate and consider the use of composting toilets and rainwater catchment systems when building new homes.
Everybody deserves fair representation, including the towns of Pine Bluffs, Burns, Albin, and Carpenter, not just the heavily populated town of Cheyenne within our county. As a proven way of acquiring equitable balance between the smaller communities and Cheyenne, I will regularly meet in person and on location, as well as hold Zoom meetings, conference calls, and email with those community leaders, residents, and stakeholders to determine their interests and needs.
I will be bringing the government to the people and obtaining a wide-ranging knowledge of what the people in the smaller communities need and want. I will represent all residents fairly and be their voice when it comes to decision making. I’ve always felt that everybody deserves fair representation. I will prioritize their needs and interests, determine viable solutions, and assess the costs associated with those solutions. I will seek out practical funding opportunities to ultimately determine where funding will come from. I will then work together with my fellow commissioners to bring these issues to fruition.
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