Goals, objectives and resolutions: A look ahead to 2025

Over the past 12 months, the Wyoming Tribune Eagle Editorial Board has taken a deep dive into many of the key issues facing Cheyenne, Laramie County and the state of Wyoming. Our primary goal of the Agenda 2024 series was to bring greater awareness to our readers on these topics by convening a panel of experts each month to spend time discussing the challenges and opportunities they face, as well as how we, as residents, can help them achieve their goals.

On topics from affordable housing to health care to racism/discrimination and homelessness, we hope we did just that. And we thank each of our nearly 80 panelists for taking time out of their busy schedules to educate us about what’s been accomplished and what’s still to be done.

While we won’t be taking that same approach in the new year, you can count on the WTE to bring you in-depth reporting and analysis of the issues that impact your daily lives and our community as a whole. Our recently expanded board is committed to informing you, our dedicated readers, and offering our thoughts about ways to continually improve the already positive quality of life in southeast Wyoming.

Before Christmas, we discussed a variety of goals, objectives and resolutions for ourselves, our elected officials, community leaders and residents as a whole. Among them were:

Goals

Increased public support of nonprofits – Even as generous as Laramie County residents are, there’s always a need for more people to get involved in philanthropic efforts. From food pantries and homeless shelters to affordable housing programs and pet rescue centers, nonprofit organizations always need more financial donations and volunteers to step up and lend a hand. If you haven’t done so yet, we would ask you to consider making 2025 the year you do.

Addressing homelessness at a deeper level — Our recent Agenda 2024 conversation with local nonprofit and government leaders working to address homelessness pointed to the need for even more coordination and more resources to get those in poverty off our streets and into long-term housing. We’d love to see officials at all levels of government dust off the Marbut report and commit to following its recommendations.

Passenger rail service — We share an enthusiasm for the return of passenger rail service to Wyoming’s capital city, both in the form of east-west Amtrak service and connection to a north-south Colorado Front Range project to offer service from Cheyenne to Fort Collins to Colorado Springs or beyond. Identifying a location for a new passenger rail station in the capital city is a good first step that would hopefully send positive signals to those pushing both goals forward.

Objectives

Coordination of projects — Much has been said about the objective of transforming Cheyenne’s West Edge district from a blighted industrial and warehouse area into a vibrant section of downtown, filled with walking trails, shopping, restaurants and places to live. Future plans include development of the Reed Avenue Rail Corridor, creation of the 15th Street Rail Experience, restoration of the old Pumphouse and much more.

The question we have is how these projects all fit together, their proposed timelines and how our city leaders are working with private business owners and nonprofits to make this happen. As elected city and county officials prepare to ask voters to renew the specific-purpose (sixth-penny) sales tax, we’re almost certain that at least some of these projects will be included. That makes sense, but we believe residents need a better understanding of the master plan for the area, and we will be working to help foster that understanding.

Increased access to public transit — Although no one has set a specific timeline, we think it’s worth putting increased access to public transit under “Objectives,” rather than “Goals.” That’s because in order to achieve some of the other goals city leaders have set — including bringing in new industries, encouraging people to shop downtown and getting homeless people to the resources they need — city bus hours and routes need to better match the community’s needs.

Yes, it will likely take more money to accomplish this, as service is extended to later hours and areas of the city not currently served. But the reality in today’s economy is not everyone can afford a car, and they need a reliable way to get to and from work, the grocery store, doctor’s appointments and more.

More input on public projects — Nearly every week, we publish local news items in the WTE about government entities seeking the public’s input on their latest project. In Cheyenne, that recently has included the Downtown Development Authority’s new master plan and the city’s plan to replace the outdoor Johnson Pool.

Whether it’s something like this, a new piece of K-12 curriculum or proposed changes to public lands, we hope to see more residents weighing in on these important issues. After all, we have no room to complain after the fact if we’ve kept our opinions to ourselves during the process, do we?

Resolutions

Yes, we know that a resolution made in January often is a distant memory by early February. But if lasting change for the better is to be achieved, we need to put our intentions in writing, return to them often and resolve to move them into the “Goals” and then “Objectives” categories in a timely manner.

For those of us on the WTE Editorial Board, our resolutions as a group include staying on top of ongoing issues, meeting regularly with guest speakers to gain deeper insight, and writing about topics of need that may not be at the forefront of current discussions, but ought to be.

Among the topics we have discussed are child care availability, amenities for families with school-age children, nuisance buildings/properties, encouraging holistic growth, the need for a recreation center or other year-round sports facility, property taxes vs. public services, and maintaining our identity while dealing with the inevitable growing pains, just to name a few.

All of this just barely scratches the surface of what we hope to accomplish in the coming year. We hope you have equally ambitious plans, and we wish you success in achieving them. Thanks for joining and supporting us!