(Lander, WY) – County 10 sat down with all the mayors across Fremont County to discuss their wins and losses of 2023 and their goals for 2024.
Below is a transcript of an interview with Lander Mayor Monte Richardson that has been edited and condensed.
County 10: What are your wins from 2023?
Monte Richardson: We got a lot of infrastructure projects done. We received $3 million in ARPA funds for Lincoln Street – water, sewer, and ADA sidewalks included. We received $2.6 million in ARPA funds for construction at Table Mountain Living Community. We completed that $3.3 million taxiway relocation. The grand opening of Maven, using the Wyoming Business Council – $3 million in grants and a $3 million loan. That was a big win for the community and the city. We got two separate WYDOT Transportation Alternative Program grants: $1.25 million for Baldwin Creek Road and S. 9th Safe Routes to School $250,000 for that study. We got the water treatment started, and with that, we got over $8 million in grants. We get some energy-efficient grants for the treatment plant and upgrades for $23,000. The water master plan includes a 10-year project capital improvement plan. We did it last year, but we’re going to finish it up this year. We applied for a SLIB loan for $48 million of infrastructure improvements over a six-year potential award. We’re going to go to the legislators to leverage our $5 million one percent optional tax for that $48 million. So if we get that $48 million, we just tripled it and it can do 10 projects. For the economic development tax, we distributed $382,944 out of that half-cent to paying jobs, creating jobs, and promoting tourism. So, a lot of good things happened in economic development. As you can see, we were busy.
C10: What about losses in 2023?
MR: I just wish people would be more friendly to each other and understanding. Not everybody’s gonna get their wish.
C10: What are your goals for 2024?
MR: We need to go after that $48 million so we can do infrastructure projects and get Lander set for the next six years. That’s one of the biggest goals we’re going to worry about. Our buildings and infrastructure are old. They need to be maintained better. We’ve got a roof leaking and stuff. My main goal is infrastructure. That’s what I plan on working on: including everything from water and sewer to streets to buildings, you name it. We got a new motor grader this year and a new dump truck. We’ve got to keep going and improving our equipment, get better and better and newer because it wears out. We’ve got to work on all of that. The other thing is keeping employees happy and maybe getting a wellness program together. Just make it a better, healthier place. I think our employees are the best asset here in Lander right now. They do a good job. I hope to have more meetings. Every three months, we have one to let people know what’s going on.
To view all the mayors published so far, click here.