CHEYENNE, Wyo. — In this edition of “Meet the Candidates,” Michelle Aldrich shares with Cap City News how she envisions governing Cheyenne if elected as a city councilmember. Aldrich is one of three people running for Ward III.
The following are responses that Aldrich shared with Cap City News. To view the Q&As of other candidates who have also submitted answers to us, click here.
What are the top three issues you believe the City Council needs to address immediately, and how do you plan to tackle them?
I believe that there are three major challenges we are facing:
1. Water — water is vital to our community. I believe we need to make sure we are providing safe drinking water and are able to meet the needs of our city residents. This includes conservation, access to additional water supplies, and maintaining the infrastructure. We have many miles of clay pipes that will need to be replaced.
2. Public Safety — As Cheyenne grows, we need to make sure that we have sufficient emergency responders to protect our residents. We need to make staffing a priority. We can’t continue to annex items into the city and stretching our public safety resources.
3. Roads and infrastructure — We have to be able to maintain our roadways, sidewalk , curb & gutter.
I believe that these three items can be addressed or “Tackled” by making sure we prioritize our spending in these areas, have a data-based approach to work on the areas most in need first, and that we continue to seek additional grants and funding through the 5th and 6th penny sales tax elections that voters have supported in the last four years.
How do you propose to manage the city’s budget effectively while ensuring essential services are maintained and improved?
I am fiscally conservative. As the chairwoman of the Finance committee and having been a member of that committee for all four years of my term I ask the difficult questions. I believe we need to make sure we are maximizing potential revenue from city facilities and that the services we provide are self-supporting to the extent possible. We need to be able to not only afford an item but we must be able to maintain it. We need to make sure we can take care of the employees we have before we add more. With the financial future being uncertain nationally and the “boom and bust” cyclical nature of our state we must be ready to support ourselves if other funding streams were to dry up.
What are your plans for promoting affordable housing and addressing homelessness in Cheyenne?
Affordable housing is being addressed but there is always more we can do. Reviewing unnecessary regulatory burdens on developers and contractors is a great place to begin. We can also encourage public–private partnerships, continue to support the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) that brings federal dollars into our community to support affordable housing, and continue to pursue grant opportunities. There are many areas that impact the cost of housing such as maintaining a short response time from our local fire stations which impacts homeowners’ insurance rates. Many times, decisions we are making impact some aspect of housing.
As far as homelessness this is a challenge and involves several factors which can include but are not limited to availability of affordable housing, mental health, addiction issues to name a few. With COVID money we were able to provide funding in partnership with the County Commissioners to COMEA to purchase a property to be used as low-barrier shelter with 28 units. We can and will continue to work with local agencies who have a mission to work with those in our community struggling with housing and being homeless. We are also working with the County Commissioners and CRMC to utilize the opioid settlement monies effectively to help address addiction issues. This is a growing concern across the United States in every community I travel to for work. It is one that will take time and collaboration to address since no one entity has funding that will resolve the multi-faceted aspect singlehandedly.
How will you ensure that the voices of all community members, including underrepresented groups, are heard and considered in City Council decisions?
I am a huge proponent of “No decisions about us without us”. I am known for hosting family forums on legislation that I have been approached about sponsoring. I also initiated the Ward #3 monthly Council and Coffee held the 3rd Saturday of every month at Dazbog #39 from 9-11 am. I made a commitment 4 years ago to return constituents’ calls and emails within 24 hours and I work hard to make sure that happens. I will continue to be the most available Council person on the dais!
What initiatives would you support to enhance environmental sustainability and green spaces within the city?
I support the planting of native grasses and trees in our community that are able to live in our semi-arid environment. I believe water conservation should be encouraged. I also support xeriscaping which should not be confused with zero scaping! I also support and practice edible landscaping throughout our community where appropriate. If we are going to plant flowers why not plant squash plants that are just as beautiful and produce fresh produce for our community members through Meals on Wheels, St. Joseph’s Food Pantry, the Senior Center, Salvation Army, or COMEA.
Is there anything else you’d like voters to know about you?
I love this community. I have grown up here and returned with every intention to retire here. I love our quality of life and have traveled enough to appreciate all that Cheyenne has to offer. The future is bright for Cheyenne but we must be good stewards of our resources whether those be human, financial, or tangible. I believe that by working together and letting everyone have seat at the table we will have a community that we can all be proud of and be excited to help promote!
