WATCH: Casper City Council considers impacts of solar farms, police grants

CASPER, Wyo. — The Casper City Council will consider leasing land to house bale-filling operations, revise its four-year tree spending plan and set its request from the state at $2.7 million to offset the impact of likely impending construction of a solar farm in Converse County.

Those resolutions and a request to purchase $168,000 in new computers are on the council’s agenda for its regular meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 15.

Other items up for approval include grants for high-visibility traffic enforcement efforts by the Casper Police Department (aimed at reducing impaired driving and improving seat belt compliance), contract modifications to extend completion dates, and a concession agreement with the company Casper Warbirds runs this.

The agenda is here and the information pack is here. These materials include the contracts discussed as well as a summary of the information provided by City staff in the form of memos to the City Manager, Council and the public. These materials are listed below for each action item.

The meeting begins at 6:00 p.m. at The Lyric (230 W Yellowstone Hwy). It will also be streamed on the city’s YouTube page. A preliminary meeting begins at 5:30 p.m

Resolutions

10. Approval of a memorandum of understanding between the City of Casper and county and municipal governments in Converse and Natrona counties regarding the estimated impacts of the proposed Dutchman Renewable Power Project in Converse County

The company, DUTC bn LLC, has applied to the state Industrial Siting Council to build a 4,700-acre solar panel facility about 1.5 miles northeast of Glenrock, the memo said. Casper, Mills, Evansville, Bar Nunn, Rolling Hills, Glenrock and Douglas all expect impacts to public infrastructure due to the influx of non-local workers, the memo said.

A former county commissioner said the impact generally includes unpaid injury deductibles, the loss of lodging tax revenue when long-time construction workers become effective renters, and additional fire, rescue and police services.

The memo states that attorneys from each listed municipality and county met to present their anticipated impact statements to the Industrial Sites Council for approval.

Casper is seeking about $2.7 million to offset the costs of building the Dutchman Renewable Energy Project. If approved, the expected construction period of 29 months will begin in March 2026 and the facility would be operational by 2028.

11. A lease agreement between the City of Casper and associated general contractors of Wyoming, Inc. for the lease of property located at 2220 Bryan Stock Trail, Casper, Wyoming.

The City is seeking to lease this site to meet growing waste management operational needs, including fleet service, training and administration. Heavy equipment involved in bale filling must be sent to local mechanics or handled outside, the memo said.

The city considered building a maintenance building, but the Wyoming Contractors Association building just down the road has all the necessary amenities, including tall doors and an overhead crane.

The city said it worked out a flat rate of $10,000 per month for the WCA buildings, although market rent rates range from $11,000 to $16,250 per month, the memo said.

9. Approval of Amendment No. 1 to the Professional Services Agreement between the City of Casper Wyoming and the Nicolaysen Art Museum.

The change allows the NIC to use money previously allocated for solar panels to instead pay for HVAC system maintenance, which the city says is a more current need.

6. and 7. Grants and subcontracting agreements between the Wyoming Department of Transportation Highway Safety Program and the City of Casper, Casper Police Department

Each grant individually focuses on the issues of seat belt non-use and impaired driving as factors in unnecessary deaths and injuries on Wyoming’s roadways. According to the memo, Wyoming’s observed seat belt use rate was 81.9% in 2023, well below the national rate of 91.6%. Natrona County was even worse at 77.8%.

Meanwhile, between 2019 and 2023, 40% of fatal accidents and 22% of accidents with injuries were due to impaired driving. In 2023, 32.5% of all drunk driving arrests occurred with the average blood alcohol concentration twice the legal limit, and 13% were three times over the limit.

By receiving two grants (one for $79,472 and one for $85,742), the Casper Police Department agrees to implement highly visible enforcement campaigns aimed at changing worrisome driving behavior.

1. Approval of a Memorandum of Understanding for Metro Animal Shelters and Metro Animal Control Services between Natrona County, Wyoming and the City of Casper, Wyoming.

The memo states that the city and county “wish to coordinate, centralize and cooperate economically through normal enforcement of ordinances in the care of animals coming into their care.” Because Casper has the shelter and the county does not, use of the Metro shelter, if needed, will be billed to the county “using a proportional population census model.”

Everything the county pays will help with the shelter’s three major capital projects this fiscal year:

• $35,000 for a Cat Condo to replace “rust units”
• $85,000 for HVAC and septic improvements
• $85,000 for sidewalk and fenced exercise area improvements

4. Approval of an amendment to the National Arbor Day Foundation’s subcontracting agreement to improve Casper’s urban forest

In April 2024, the city accepted a $699,900 grant to improve the urban forest, the memo said. An investigation found approximately 300 dead, dying or hazardous trees on city property. So the city wants to change its stated plan to spend the money to encourage tree removal and reduce the number of new trees.

“Although there would be a decline in tree supplies, city staff should still be able to plant 100 new trees over the course of four years with this grant,” the memo said.

The change in lease revenue and expense related to concession sales during Casper Warbirds hockey games at Casper Ice Arena. The team operator, BladeEdge Ventures LLC, would rent the concessions for $500 per home game and would also cover the cost of staffing the stands during that time. The city expects the guaranteed revenue would total up to $13,000 regardless of concession performance. Once the city recoups the costs of staffing the stand, the additional revenue would go to BladeEdge Ventures. The city says the agreement allows the team operator to promote the games and collect more concessions.

Consent Agenda

1. Approved the purchase of computer equipment valued at $168,000 by the State of Wyoming’s contract with the seller, Computer Professionals Unlimited.

The city of Casper maintains 460 personal desktop computers and replaces about 25% of them each year, the memo said. The city would purchase $168,000 worth of computers as part of the state’s contract with its provider, L Computer Professionals Unlimited.

“These replacements are necessary to maintain the ability to apply security patches and compatibility with evolving technologies and to prevent the failure of legacy systems,” the memo said, adding: “The state contract provides for pre-negotiated costs for HP products before.”

Additional Resolutions

8. Approval of Amendment No. 1 to the Transportation Alternatives Program Subrecipient Agreement between the Wyoming Department of Transportation and the City of Casper.

5. Approved an amendment to the purchase and sale agreement with Charles E. Piersall Chapter, Izaak Walton League of America, extending the time frame for property repairs and historic lodge designation work.

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