City Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening. Sorry, running a little late tonight. I'd like to remind you to please silence your cell phones and also remind everybody that the council meetings are live streamed on our city's YouTube channel. I now call the August 18th, 2026 regular council meeting to order. Chair would entertain a motion to excuse the absence of Councilor Pollock. Moved by Councilor McIntosh, seconded by, was it you? Councilor Haskins. Please cast your vote. Please record the vote.

With all councillors voting aye, the motion passes. Thank you.

Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Please read the consent minute approval titles.

Approving the minutes of August 4th, 2026 regular council meeting and the August 4th, 2026 session.

Thank you. The chair to entertain a motion to approve the consent minute action agenda items just read. Moved by Councillor Bond, seconded by Councillor McIntosh. Any abstentions? Please cast your vote.

Please record the vote.

Without councillors voting aye, the motion passes.

Chair, do you entertain a motion to approve by minute action the August 18th, 2026 bills and claims as audited by City Manager Jordan? Moved by Councillor McIntosh, seconded by Councillor Haskins. Any abstention? Please cast your vote. Please record the vote.

Without councillors voting aye, the motion passes.

Thank you. now is the time that we invite anybody in the audience who wishes to come and speak to the council to come forward this portion of the meeting is dedicated to the public to allow them time to discuss matters of public interest and to voice any concerns we ask you to please state your name direct all your questions and comments to the mayor no personal obscenities will be tolerated or threats council will not respond any personnel matters those will all be referred to our city manager Council may ask clarifying questions, but if they choose to respond to those matters, they will do so during the scheduled council response time, following communications from persons present. Presentations are limited to five minutes and no time extensions will be permitted. Please note that public hearings and ordinances each have their own separate comment periods. And also please make sure when you speak into the microphone that you don't have to go right and directly into it. You just have to stand a little bit back behind it. It's pretty sensitive. So open up the floor if anybody would like to come and address the council. Yeah, just clarification. If you're here for either the hotel or for the liquor license ordinance, we'll have a public comment during that time. But anybody else have anything else that they would like to address with the council?

OK.

We'll move on then. Please read the consent agenda title.

Establishing September 1st, 2026 as the public hearing date for consideration of an ordinance authorizing a lease transaction for the purpose of financing the design, construction, and equipping the capital improvement on property owned by the city and matters related thereto.

Thank you. The chair would entertain a motion to by minute action establish the public hearing date just read. Moved by Councilor Bond, seconded by Councilor McIntosh. Any abstentions or nay votes? Please cast your vote.

We're good. Please record the vote.

With all councillors voting aye, the motion passes.

And I'll declare the public hearing open for the consideration of a resolution approving the CH Bixby Hotel Urban Renewal Project.

Mr. City Attorney, do you have any exhibits?

Yes, Mayor, I do. Exhibit number one, correspondence from to Janine Jordan, dated August 18th, 2026. Debit number two, affidavit of publication is published in the Casper Star Tribune dated August 11, 2026.

Thank you. Madam City Manager, do you have anything to report tonight?

Mayor, nothing additional.

Thank you. Council will now listen to public comment. Hearing comments are limited to five minutes and no speakers will be allowed. At this time, I would ask those individuals who wish to speak in favor of the resolution to please approach the lectern. Anybody in favor? Good evening.

Good evening, honorable mayor. My name is Mark Christensen. I am with AVI-PC out of Cheyenne, Wyoming. So just wanted to come speak to you. It's good to see you all again. So this is the urban renewal project for the CH Bigsby Hotel. A item before your last meeting was the urban renewal plan. So it's kind of a sequential step to illustrate how the project goes through the process of urban renewal. It was identified in the downtown area in the initial blight study as an area where urban renewal tools could be used. The urban renewal plan then allocated or dictated how the uses could be used, what uses could be considered on this property, primarily being that hotel use. And then this next item before you currently is the project which really overviews what exactly is included in the hotel project, the economic impact that it is that we'll have on downtown Casper and just really dictates what you can expect to see in the future steps. So it's required to go through a public hearing process, which is before you right now. And then after that, a development agreement should follow if this is approved by the council this evening. So just an introduction to the project and really wanted to introduce Aaron Johnson, who is the proposed developer of the project, but available for any questions as well.

Any questions?

Thank you so much, appreciate it.

Good evening. Good evening, Mayor Pacheco, members of Council, Aaron Johnson with KJ Hospitality. Would like to thank you for the opportunity to speak to the project that we're working on here in Casper, the CH Bixby. We've been evaluating this project for a couple of years now and Have been able to learn more about Casper and and downtown and specifically the old Yellowstone District and have gotten to know our local development partners and couldn't be more excited about the momentum that you all have here and the enthusiasm for the project. And that's one of the reasons we're here and really interested in pursuing this, because when you have a local community so excited and. forward-looking uh for new development like this it's it's always exciting as a developer to be a part of that looking at a hilton tapestry collection hotel upper upscale full service restaurant coffee bar main level restaurant rooftop lounge very excited about the amenities that this project will bring. And it's really more than a hotel with the food and beverage offerings. It's definitely something that we feel can be a community amenity. And again, more than just hotel rooms and a place for the community to gather, whether you're bringing a business client here out for dinner with your spouse or friends and family, we feel like this can be a gathering place for the community. Quickly on the brand, you know, so we're affiliated with Hilton Hotels, which we feel like is a very critical component to this. Maybe some of you all are Hilton Honors members, but the strength and distribution of the reservation system with Hilton brings consistency and reliability to the longevity of the quality of the brand. They have certain brand standards that Hilton requires that can provide certainty for you all on what this property will, the condition will be long-term. So excited about that. And uniquely, it's a brand within Hilton that allows custom design and customization. So we're able to live within the Hilton brand, family of brands, but also customize the design to fit Casper and the character of Casper and its people and its history. So very excited about that. Our company, family owned, been doing hotels since 1993. We own, develop and manage all of our properties. So we would consider that our expertise is the ability to develop and finance and get these projects moving and we operate as well. We're already in Wyoming. We have the Home 2 Suites by Hilton in Gillette. So familiar with Wyoming and excited about future opportunities, not only across the state, but specifically here in Casper and incredibly excited about this opportunity. So in closing, really just excited to be here and excited to be here with you all and part of a community that is really looking to move this project forward. So With that, we request your support, and please let me know if you have any questions.

Does anybody have any questions? Yeah, Councilor Sweeney.

So, welcome to Casper. Thank you. And how many properties are under your management company currently?

Certainly. Mayor Pacheco, we have 13 properties currently across the Midwest and Mountain West. States North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Minnesota. So all kind of centrally located here in the Midwest. And home base for me is Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Nice.

Thank you. Any other questions? Yep. Councilor Haskins.

I'm just going to go big. First of all, Hilton honors member. We just went on a road trip and I have stayed at 16 Hilton's. Tapestry is one of my favorites.

Oh, cool.

So good choice. Love that hotel. Memory serves the couple that we stayed at only offer valet parking. And we stayed there because the valet parking was in, for example, a covered garage. What is your plan for parking?

Well, from a, from a parking standpoint, Mary Macheko, um, our local partner here is ready to speak to that if we want to take a deeper dive on the parking. Brand standards do allow valet parking, but not required. So that's certainly something that we're considering offering as with our Casper project here.

You're okay to hold on for a minute.

Okay.

Any other questions?

Awesome.

Well, thank you. I appreciate it. Thank you.

Good evening. Mayor Pacheco, Vice Mayor Gamroth, and members of the City Council. My name is Martin Axland, and I'm the Operating Officer for Brick and Bonds Downtown Development Division, and I'm here in support of the Urban Renewal Project for the C.H. Bixby Hotel. At a high level, this project is about reinvestment into downtown Casper. It will transform an underutilized site in the old Yellowstone District into a boutique hotel with dining, gathering, and visitor-serving amenities. More importantly, it's intended to bring people, activity, and new energy into a key part of downtown. Beyond the hotel itself the restaurant bar concepts rooftop dining coffee shop walk up food service and flexible meeting space are intended to create reasons for people to spend more time in downtown throughout the day and evening. These amenities are designed to serve overnight guests as well as local residents downtown employees community groups and visitors. We believe this project is a is a strong fit for the city's adopted plans and for the future of downtown. It supports reinvestment into an established part of the community builds on the momentum of the old Yellowstone district. and complements nearby restaurants, retail, entertainment, and all downtown destinations. It also supports the broader goals of Generation Casper by creating more activity in the urban center, encouraging private investment, and helping downtown remain a place where people want to stay, gather, work, and spend time. I also want to briefly address parking. We understand that parking is a concern for some members of this community and we respect that concern. Downtown downtown change naturally brings questions about how people will access businesses events and destinations. At the same time this project complies with the city's applicable codes and with the parking framework established for the old Yellowstone district. The city's policy direction in this area has been to support more of an active walkable and economically productive downtown. The parking areas around the project including the lot across the street are substantially underutilized during much of the day and evening throughout most of the year including the summer. Even after the hotels operating we expect these lots will continue to provide substantial parking the ability during most times we recognize that larger downtown events can create periods of higher demand. And we will continue working with the city to identify practical parking options for these occasions, including use of the downtown parking garage. We believe this hotel be a positive long-term addition to the area bringing more visitors downtown supporting nearby businesses creating employment opportunities and adding activity throughout the day and the evening. We're excited about what the CHBIC can mean for Casper. More visitors staying downtown, more customers for local businesses, more opportunities for meeting and events, more year-round activity, and a stronger, more vibrant downtown for the community as a whole. Again, thank you for your consideration, and we respectfully ask for your support. And prior to any questions, I do have nine letters of recommendation that I might be able to get to the city manager. And we do have some others here tonight to speak on behalf of the project, but I'm available for any questions that you might have. Questions? Go ahead, Councillor Sweeney.

Thank you. Thanks for being here, Marty. Pretty exciting project. Thanks for clarifying on the parking. So my question centers around what type of liquor license or have you targeted basically a retail liquor license to buy or would you apply for a resort? I believe it's a resort license that we would apply for.

Yep.

Resort. And how do you feel you qualify for that? I mean, just the hotel build, you qualify under that guideline. And total construction costs at this point are estimated at $30 million.

$26.5 million. From my understanding, we exceed all of the thresholds for that resort liquor license. Obviously, more to come, but that would be the direction we would look to pursue.

Appreciate that. Thank you.

Any others?

Great.

Thank you all for your time. Good evening.

Hello, Mr. Mayor. Pete Maxwell, owner of the Gaslight Social. Here to speak in favor of the hotel project. In 2015, I purchased my first property in downtown Casper. Around that time, I met with Brian Scott Gamroth and Kevin Hawley, and they shared with me a grand vision of the area downtown centered around a community amphitheater in the Old Yellowstone District. The goal was to create a true live-work-play atmosphere that connected downtown Casper and the old Yellowstone District. It would be a place where live entertainment, nightlife, downtown living, hotels, restaurants, and businesses all work together to bring energy and activity to the heart of Casper. It's incredible to look back after 10 years and see so much of that vision unfolding right in front of our eyes. Rick and bond the true family and party accent have been a huge taking a huge role in the continued development of this area they want to willingness to invest in downtown Casper the only also in district has been a tremendous blessing to our community. Especially excited to see this new hotel project move forward and what it will add to the momentum already taking place. I look forward to seeing the future, what the future holds in downtown Casper, Yellowstone District, and the entire city of Casper. What started as a vision more than a decade ago has become a reality. And it's exciting to see Casper continue to grow and invest in its future.

Thank you.

Any questions for Mr. Maxwell?

All right. Thanks, Pete. It's good to see you. Good evening.

Good evening, Mr. Mayor. Members of Council, I'm Kelly Ivanoff, owner of Wyoming Plant Company. Yes, that odd little place in the old Yellowstone District in the middle of all that. And I'm proud to say that I'm part of that. I'm proud to witness the vision manifest itself. The 2007 master plan that also invited Wyoming Plant Company to be down in the spot where it's at, but cast a vision for all of this that's going on back here. It's exciting to watch it. It's exciting to be part of it. I witness the vibrancy every day. I have customers that are walking the streets. They may or may not pop in to see us, but they're there because of the things that are going on in the old Yellowstone District. The vision is coming alive, and it's fun to be part of it. There's going to be challenges. Let's not fool ourselves. But if you believe in the vision, then all those challenges can be overcome. I'm here today to be on record. I have customers walk in every day asking about my feelings about the hotel going in across the street. And I'm going to say with conviction tonight that I support it. Because I see all the things that are benefiting from it. That said, we've just got to figure out how to work together to make it benefit everyone. When I took the business, I had three priorities. Number one, take care of the customer. Duh. Number two, take care of the employee. Again, duh. but those two are very loosely written so that I could do a lot of things and always keep in mind that they were number one and number two. But my third priority was be a responsible community member. I'm exercising that priority tonight by being here in support of the hotel. I'll take any questions.

Any questions for Mr. Ebenhoff?

Awesome.

Thank you. Appreciate it. Good evening, Mr. Mayor.

Corey Polis here representing the Drinkery and Occasions by Corey downtown. Also here just to speak quickly in favor of the C.H. Bixby Hotel. We have been downtown operating since about 2019. What Brick and Bond has done these last couple of years with the development down there is really remarkable, and we just support this new development. The amount of foot traffic that's happening with the new apartments downtown, is really crazy this year. It's crazy to see the increase in traffic flow at the bar. Like he said right before me, I mean, there's going to be challenges associated with this, but I would also say that I spend a lot of time at the drinkery and that parking lot is not full a lot of times. We also park in the parking garage. The parking garage is completely underutilized. In my opinion, just needs the whole system needs revamped because it's underutilized. I mean, floors are empty. every single day. And so parking, in my opinion, is not an issue. We want to create this activity, people walking from place to place. It's happening. We have to support this. And we're completely in favor of the hotel and hope that you guys are as well.

So thank you for your time. Any questions? Any questions for Corey? All right. Thank you. Appreciate it.

Good evening.

Good evening, Mayor and Council Members. My name is Melissa Hugin. I'm with the Casper Downtown Development Authority. On behalf of the Board of Directors, we stand in support of the Downtown Hotel Project. More than a decade, and it's already been mentioned tonight, the City of Casper, the Downtown Development Authority, business leaders and community members came together to create a vision for downtown's future. The Casper Downtown Strategic Plan, though not formally adopted in 2013, has served as a touchstone touchstone document for our organization. In it, six key components were identified. Provide public restrooms, develop a retail core, recruit additional retail anchors, install wayfinding signage, create a public plaza, develop a downtown hotel. So I think we can agree that there's been tremendous progress since that vision was cast. The public restrooms are well used. Our downtown retailers are dynamic and are creatively finding ways to invite the public to shop downtown. Wayfinding signage was installed, directing people to the downtown area, David street station. Wow. Did that ever become a reality? Thanks to the leadership and generosity of many great people in our community. New housing and business investments have followed. Downtown has become a place where people gather, celebrate, and invest, but the vision outlined in that strategic plan was never intended to stop there. As you all know, private investment is a key element intended and needed to create a vibrant and economically stable and strong downtown. The plan specifically envisioned a hotel as a catalyst project that would strengthen downtown as a regional destination and support surrounding businesses. This proposed hotel project represents an important step in fulfilling that long-term vision. A downtown hotel means more visitors within walking distance of our shops, restaurants, breweries, coffee shops, and entertainment venues. It means additional opportunities to attract meetings, events, and tourism dollars. It means greater economic activity that benefits downtown property owners, business owners, employees, and ultimately our great community. Tonight I encourage the council to support this project and continue building on the foundation that previous leaders, stakeholders and residents worked so hard to establish. This project is a continuation of the vision that was established years ago. Communities that succeed are ones that set goals and have the courage and the consistency to follow through on them over time. Downtown Casper has come a long way and this hotel project is an opportunity to keep that momentum moving forward. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Any questions?

Awesome. Thank you so much.

Hello. Mr. Mayor, Council, Justin Farley. I'm out here. I'm the head of Advanced CASPER. I'm here on my board's direction to put full support behind this project. Prior to my leadership at Advanced Casper, they were the first monies into developing David Street Station with the vision that had been touched on earlier about private investment coming into our downtown area and developing it. And I believe all that's coming to fruition. And so this is just another component of that. And then on a personal level, I would like to 100% support the rooftop lounge. That sounds like a good idea. It's been that kind of year. So any questions? Any questions for Mr. Farley?

Thank you, thanks Justin.

Hello. Can you hear me OK? I'm going to read a few prepared notes. Good evening Mayor and members of the Council. My name is Annette Pitts and I serve as the CEO of Visit Casper. I'm here this evening to express the Visit Casper Board's support for the proposed C.H. Bixby Hotel project in downtown Casper. As the organization responsible for attracting visitors, conventions, sporting events and leisure travelers to our community, we see firsthand how the availability of quality lodging directly impacts our ability to compete with other destinations. Today's travelers increasingly seek unique experience driven accommodations and boutique hotels affiliated with nationally recognized brands are in particularly high demand, particularly those located in walkable locations accessible to the arts, culture, shopping and restaurants. The CH Bixby would add a new lodging product in a high demand location that Casper currently doesn't offer, helping us attract new visitors to the area. The benefits of this project could extend well beyond tourism. A new downtown hotel represents a long-term investment in Casper's economy. It would generate construction jobs in the near term, create permanent hospitality employment upon opening, increase sales revenues that would be reinvested into the community, and increase lodging tax revenues that would help us attract new visitors. These new visitors would then support local restaurants, retailers, entertainment venues, attractions and small business throughout Casper, supporting local jobs and the economy. A vibrant downtown is also often the first impression visitors have of the community. Investments like this help reinforce downtown Casper as a welcoming gathering place for both residents and visitors, supporting local quality of life and strengthening community pride. We do also recognize that projects of this scale require thoughtful planning. Visit Casper appreciates that the City of Casper, along with the project developers, do have a responsibility to carefully evaluate potential public impacts. We're confident that the Casper City Council, city staff, and the project developers will conduct the appropriate due diligence to ensure any necessary considerations are addressed in a way that serves both our residents and visitors. From our perspective, this project represents an opportunity to strengthen Casper's visitor economy while contributing to the continued revitalization of our downtown core, improving our residents' quality of life. Thank you for your time, your service to our community, and your thoughtful consideration of this truly important project.

All right, thank you. Any questions?

Okay, thank you.

Thanks, Annette. Okay, at this time, I would ask those individuals who wish to speak in opposition to the resolution to please approach the lectern. Anybody in opposition? There being no others to speak for or against the resolution, I now declare the public hearing closed. Please read the resolution by title only.

A resolution approving the C.H. Bixby Hotel Urban Renewal Project within the Downtown Hotel Urban Renewal Plan Area.

Thank you, the Chair to entertain a motion to adopt the resolution just read. Moved by Councilor McIntosh, seconded by Councilor Jensen. Discussion?

You wanna go? Go ahead, Councilor Jensen.

I just want to say I was on the verge of tears during some of those happy tears. But seeing and hearing the passion that you all have for our downtown development and the love for community makes me really proud and humbled to be part of this revitalization effort and projects that are going on downtown. So I just want to say thank you. Thank you for your endless hours that you've all put into this and for helping to build a better Casper for all of our future generations. So we see it, we recognize it. And again, I'm getting filled with emotions because I just love this community so much. And this is why right here, this is the example. So thank you.

Mr. Vice mayor.

Thank you, mayor.

And, yeah, I want to thank everyone for coming and speaking tonight. It's rare that we have such a turnout for folks in support and advocating for something. It's most often, you know, against or in opposition to something. And so it's always great to hear from folks who are, yeah, so passionate in their support of a project. Especially, you know, we had a great bench tonight of business owners, of... you know, people representing a number of different stakeholders downtown through associations or boards. And, you know, reflective of the people that are going to be impacted most by this project. And so it's always great to hear from those folks online. You know, it's tough because a lot of the time the only feedback we get is the feedback that we get to see online. And it's always been my opinion that that feedback that we get is skewed towards a negative and skewed towards, uh the folks that are maybe not most reflective or representative of our community and so um i recognize that that bias exists but when that's the only feedback available to you it does make you question yourself a lot about whether you're making the right decisions and whether you're heading down the right path and so i just want to appreciate i know all of you guys are very uh busy you're all involved in lots of things so the fact that you all took the time to come out tonight and speak in support of this means a lot and i just want to let you know that we appreciate uh folks being in the room with us this evening. Far too often, it's only city staff members and maybe one or two other folks. So I always like to see people in the room, especially when they're here, passionate and advocating for something that they'd like to see happen in town. So thank you.

Anybody else have a discussion? Sure. Please cast your vote. Please record the vote.

With all councillors voting aye, the motion passes.

Thank you, everyone. Thank you for coming out. Appreciate it. Okay, please read the ordinance on second reading by title only.

An ordinance amending Casper Municipal Code section 5.08.140 malt beverage and catering permits for public events and 5.08.260 use of drive-in areas restrictions.

Thank you. The chair would entertain a motion to approve on second reading the ordinance just read. Moved by Councilor Sweeney, seconded by Councilor Bond. Council will now listen to public comment. If anybody wishes to speak for or against this, that would be great. You can come on up.

Thank you, appreciate it. Somebody have any questions for Mr. Maxwell?

Oh yeah, go ahead. Counselor Sweeney.

Thanks for coming Pete. Do you have a problem with the there's two portions of the resort license and then the drive up window portion? Do you have a problem with the drive up window portion?

What I know is that the resort would have the ability to cater, which is a huge portion of the $400,000 asset I purchased for a full retail liquor license. It kind of diminishes that. So I didn't know anything about the drive-up portion. So like I said, I would like to do some research on this and have all my ducks in a row and come speak to you guys on that if you guys would consider pushing this to a future date. Thank you. Thank you.

Thanks, Pete. Thank you.

Check out council members. I'm john Johnson. You know me from Johnson restaurant group and Wyoming spirits are liquor, retail liquor operations. I'm here to speak against the resort license allowing the resorts to have the off premise catering. We have four retail licenses. The cheapest one we bought was $200,000, and the most expensive one we bought was $260,000, but I've had them for a long time. Today, they go north of $300,000. The only two things that are different in a retail license is the ability to sell retail liquor and do off-premise catering. Those are the only two things that are different from resort license a bar and grill i mean they all do serve different purposes but those are the only two unique attributes to a license that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars versus fifteen hundred dollars for one of these other licenses so i'm gonna ask you to not approve this i don't think it's needed for the resort licenses a lot of these resorts sold their licenses, sold their full retail licenses. They had them. The Parkway had them. I don't know. I don't believe it was sold. I don't know when it was sold. I don't even want to go there. But anyway, but these licenses have been sold and replaced with resort licenses. So if they thought they were important, they should have kept their retail license. I am in favor of the drive-thru. I don't think that's a problem whatsoever. As you know, we operated a drive-thru on CY Avenue for 20-some years. We didn't have any issues, I believe, with it. So I am in favor of that part of the ordinance, but I am not, I am adamantly against us, you know, having resorts have the ability to do off-premise catering. So thank you. And I stand for questions if you have any.

Any questions for Mr. Johnson? Yeah, go ahead. Councilor Sweeney.

Thanks for coming, John. Thank you. So I'm sure you're aware on all of the stuff that you're involved with that Basically, we are the only municipality in the state that doesn't allow this. And why that never happened, I have no idea. And I think all of this got born out of Teton County, which has 20 of... uh, the resort licenses in the state out of 44. Uh, so 24 kind of spread across the state. Um, like I, I think Sweetwater County, well, Campbell County has, um, I think it's two. Um, and in particular in Gillette, Sweetwater, I think has three. Um, and so Yeah, Rock Springs has three, and that's the total of the county. But I just wonder if folks are aware, you know, of that fact and why. I have no idea. I have no recollection of why it never got changed, but... But I appreciate your comment. Thank you.

Thank you for the information as well.

Any other questions for Mr. Johnson?

Thanks, John. Appreciate it. Hello again.

Good evening, once again. My name is Corey Polis. I'm here as a local business owner and a retail liquor license holder to respectfully ask you not to move forward with expanding the off-site catering permit privileges to resort liquor license holders at this time. I have no problem with the drive-up liquor piece of it. I find it interesting that they're packaged together, but I am here to oppose the resort portion. I understand that Wyoming, is that too loud? I'm sorry.

It's pretty sensitive.

All right. I'm a loud talker. I understand the Wyoming statute allows catering permits to be issued to both retail and resort liquor license holders. This is not a new state law change, as Mr. Sweeney said. Sweeney just said. But that's only part of the story. Casper has maintained a more restrictive local policy for decades. In fact, as of today, the City of Casper's own website still specifically tells the public that catering permits are only issued to retail liquor license holders. Casper revisited its ordinances way after this state provision existed. In fact, Casper revisited these and amended this area of its liquor code in 2020 and 2021. and continued to refer to retail liquor license holders rather than adding resort liquor license holders as recently as five and six years ago. That distinction matters. Retail liquor license holders have purchased, maintained, and invested in their licenses under the regulatory structure Casper has had in place literally for decades. Offsite catering has been an important privilege associated with those licenses and an important part of the businesses built around them. Changing that structure should not be treated simply as housekeeping or aligning with state statute. This deserves treatment as substantive policy decision. If Wyoming has permitted these resort licenses to obtain catering permits for years, which they have, but Casper has intentionally and historically maintained a more restrictive policy, then the question council should consider is why does it need to change now? What problem are we solving? What is the economic impact on existing retail liquor license holders? How many additional businesses would gain access to this market? How much catering business is currently generated under these permits? And most importantly, why weren't the existing liquor license holders who could be directly affected by this change formally notified and ask for their input before this proposal reached this point? So I'm not asking council to make a permanent decision tonight based solely on my position. I'm asking you not to make a permanent decision without the information necessary to make an informed decision. There's no harm in slowing this process down. Notify the affected retail liquor license holders, allow them an opportunity to provide input, determine the economic and competitive impact Review why CASPER maintained that distinction for so many years. We don't know, but it's been that way for decades. Then decide whether changing the ordinance is actually in the best interest of CASPER. A policy that has existed for decades deserves more than a quick change simply because state law permits it. If council is not prepared to reject this change, I respectfully ask you to table or postpone it and notify the affected license holders, like I mentioned, allow people who have invested in these licenses and built their businesses literally around them, the existing system and opportunity to participate in the discussion, determining the actual impact and then make an informed and not rushed decision. Please don't change a decades old local licensing structure first and study the consequences later. Thank you.

Thank you.

Any questions for Corey?

Yeah, go ahead, Councillor Sweeney. Thanks, Corey. I appreciate you coming. Yes. So do you truly believe that you'll decrease the amount of your catering business because one or two properties may cater?

I think that it's a real potential. And I think that what has to be examined is the fact that it's not just that one or two people might do it today, but it's the future implications of it. I'm here 100% in full support of the CH Bixby. I'm a tenant of theirs, Brick and Bonds, across the street. I'm 100% in support of development. The hotel is great, but I absolutely do think that there is a potential for it. Today, but I mean, it's what I built my entire business around, you know, is this piece, which I think is unique. That's why I'm not asking you to do this strictly on my behalf, but on my behalf, along with the other license holders, because like Pete mentioned, I mean, he didn't even know that this was being presented. And it seems a little odd. That there wasn't more notice about it. But so, I mean, I have a strong business. I work really hard. I built that business. And I don't think that that should be watered down, you know, for this because, I mean, it's been this way for decades. And change is a good thing. But I don't think that this is solving any problem. I think it's allowing others into a territory that, you know, historically hasn't been allowed in Casper. Once again, for whatever reason, I don't know the reason either. So I do definitely think that there is a potential economic impact today, as well as, you know, future hotels that, you know, obtain the resort licenses and have the opportunity to do it. So yeah, I mean, it very well could.

Thank you. If I could follow up. So one implication, not by you or any of the liquor dealers, but we did get a letter that kind of implied that big hotel chains with billions in assets would come in and seize control of the catering. And you and I both know you work extremely hard, as does John, as does Pete, and anybody in the catering business, which is insane, but you do a ton. So where I'm going with that is even the Bixby is a franchise. You know, it's not control. Yeah, they've got certain standards to hit in the operation. But, you know, Hilton's not, they don't care, you know, whether somebody's going to cater or not. And they're not going to take control of catering. But I don't think you're saying that or looking at it that way.

Are you? I'm not specifically. I mean, I don't think that, I'm not worried about... But it could happen. If we allow that, if that is allowed, then that is an opportunity that somebody could come in and do. That's not my immediate concern, no. But, I mean, that would be a possibility if it was allowed. And, you know, I think the minimum is 100 rooms you have to have for the resort license. So, I mean, anybody who came in and opened the resort that met those requirements could come in and compete with my business through that other license that So yeah, that is not my specific concern though. Okay, thank you. Absolutely.

Anybody else? Oh yeah, Councilor Bond.

Thanks Corey for being here. Of course. Just in one of the questions that you submitted to us that you urged us to consider, the question was, what are the economic and competitive impacts on existing retail liquor license holders? who've invested under the current local system. And I'm struggling with that question just because my crystal ball is broken. And so I would appreciate your suggestions as to how we might even go about answering that. That one of, the other ones I think we can get answers to, but that one in particular, we just could use your help.

Absolutely. I mean, I think, pardon me. I mean, I think that just like Pat was saying, I mean, the fact that, you know, anybody who holds a retail liquor license is able to do this. There are a handful of us that are doing a majority of them. And so you open that playing field up to other folks. And I mean, it does diminish, it provides more competition, which competition is good, but it does provide more people just in the playing field. So less events, I mean, less events that, you know, if somebody A hotel who is potentially, no, they're making money off of rooms, they're making money off these other things. I'm making money specifically off of selling food, which margins are very low on, especially these days, and liquor. Those are the two things. We don't have rooms, we don't have the banquet spaces to leverage the offsite catering bar gigs that the hotels have to leverage with rooms. You know, you buy rooms and you get this event, whatever their philosophy might be. So I think it just completely changes the dynamic economically of how that might look. Once again, I don't know either. Would there be folks who took advantage of it? I don't know. But if we allow it, they're able to do it. So as well as a billion-dollar company who may come in to do it, do I think that they're going to? Once again, my crystal ball is broken. I have no idea. But they would have the ability to do it, which I think is what the opposition is for. And the current hotels that would be able to immediately join the playing field. Thank you. Absolutely.

Anybody else? Thanks, Corey. Yeah, absolutely. Thank you.

Hello, I'm William Nguyen and I'm with Brick and Bone as well. I actually did not have an intention of addressing council today, but I did spend 16 years actually working for John Johnson. And so I see the value of investment these guys make to a liquor license and what that means to have a full retail liquor license. As we shifted things around to continue more business in the group that I was previously in, it shifted what we were able to do out of the restaurant. You know, we made that sacrifice to add another leg of business, add another store, you know, and that was that sacrifice. And that meant, you know, that we had to kick that hopefully to ourselves to keep it under the same umbrella. But there was a value that is invested when you have that level of liquor license and for somebody to come in and be able to, have an entry barrier that is dramatically different. I think I would agree very strongly with John and a lot of these guys. It changes that structure overnight and very quickly. If I personally spent that level of money, I would hope that there is a difference in what I'm able to do because I invested that money versus opening the door to, as Corey would say, maybe a couple of people do it. But when any of them can do it, we're opening a door that does change the fairness level. And I think a fairness level results in what investment did you make? What lane is your business? We are applying for a resort license and our lane is going to be the hotel and the food that we're serving within the building. You know, we we we I don't at this point have any dream or ambition to say, hey, we want to be able to take our resort license and now go cater and do everything outside of our hotel, you know, because that is our field. Our field is within the four walls of that we're running. And so I just, as I listened to this and as I gained knowledge of it today, I think it is very fair to listen and hear out some of these people that have been operating in our community for a long time. Again, I worked for a guy that gave me a job for 16 years, you know, and so anything that, that benefits, you know, the sole investments that he's made throughout the community to many people such as myself, and to keep that a fair stance, as far as the money he spent, to the money other people didn't spend on just a bar and grill or whatever retail license they do or do not possess. I think it's very important to keep that structure committed. I think maybe people that did it in other counties, out of necessity, you go to certain small towns, the hotel is the bar. It's like maybe the bar does need to do the catering, but Casper has plenty of entrepreneurs that are taking the risk, taking the time, really utilizing the efforts. to do their lane of business, you know, and they work really hard and they spend a lot of money to do that. So I just want to speak in opposition as well. I had the opportunity today, even on behalf of, you know, a team and a company applying for a resort license in general. So I hope that speaks a decent amount of volume, you know, because they support us and we support them. That is what a community does. We support each other. We have our backs, you know, when it's needed the most. So hopefully that's what I'm able to do today. So I appreciate it.

Any questions? Yep. Councilor Sweeney.

Thanks, Will, for coming. Yeah. So do you think the price of entry into, say, the Bixby at $26.5 million construction cost isn't warranted the opportunity with the resort license? Is that not... a significant cost of entry?

It is. But if I related to any other business to just say, hey, if we allowed anybody to sell liquor because, hey, you're a business, you spend good money, you know, I don't know if that's exactly fair. You know, I mean, we want to be able to have the right to have a restaurant sell alcohol within our walls and our business and to our banquet staff. But I think just enabling that doesn't say, hey, we also have the right to just try to be a food purveyor outside of that. It's not the investment made there. I think, again, when you limit the amount of liquor license you can even get, because there's only X amount of them you can get, there's a value attached to that. What happens to said value when you just say, well, if you're a particular style of restaurant or a hotel or anything that has any form of liquor, you'd almost have to open it up to all the bars and grills and things like that. I just think you keep things in the boxes and the parameters that they live in originally. YOU KNOW, AND I DON'T HAVE ANY OPPOSITION TO HOW THE STRUCTURE IS NOW.

GO AHEAD.

SO JUST A CLARIFICATION SO YOU KNOW. SO BAR GRILL WOULD TAKE A STATE STATUTE REVISION TO EVEN MAKE THAT HAPPEN IN I TALKED TO THE LIQUOR ASSOCIATION THIS AFTERNOON AND THEY WOULD FIGHT THAT FUNDAMENTALLY. to beat that back. So yeah, just so you know.

Well, I hope they take the same stance as far as the resort license.

That got passed and amended in 2001 to allow the resort licenses. And again, we're the only community in the entire state that doesn't allow this.

So And I think it's out of necessity. I mean, I travel a lot. I, you know, my dad and I have spent a long time in this community building our business and in the field that we build it, you know, and so I see a lot of these small towns and, and there's a lot of things that are different in them, you know, and I'm just a big believer in the people that operate here and why they operate here and how they operate here. And people like Corey and Pete and John and, you know, as, as there's many more than just those three, um, I think, um, you know, my job would just say in the time I spent in that field to support them and what that means to them as well. So, yeah, I would ask as well that you guys kind of oppose that.

Yeah.

Thank you.

Other questions for Paul? Great. Thank you. I appreciate them. Anybody else? Okay.

I will open it up now for discussion for the council. Does anybody want to make any comments before we go into that?

Yep.

Councilor Haskins.

Thank you guys all for coming. I do want to say that is a take that I really appreciated when Councilor Sweeney had brought forward the other, the fact that no other communities in the state have this restriction active. the smaller towns needing to have their resorts do their catering because perhaps they don't have multiple catering businesses is something that hadn't not crossed my mind. So I'm really glad you chose to speak this evening because that is something that just got thrown in our minds for this could be a reason why it's happening there and hasn't been happening here. So I do appreciate that. And Corey, whether or not you love that you said this and I'm sticking with it, I'm going to use it anyhow. I really am standing close on this, not wanting to be less restrictive on alcohol in general. So I've said to the counselors in a work session, I said it in the pre-meeting, I feel like as a state, we're not necessarily in a place where we need to be less restrictive than we currently are. I was starting out objecting to reopening the ability for drive-through liquor windows. but now I am just going to take the stance that I don't see the need to make it less restrictive on either. So I'm actually going to vote no, no matter what we do, either way for one, both or together, so.

The discussion. Yeah, go ahead. Councilor McIntosh.

owned and run many businesses in this town since I was 14 years old. And so to me, it's wonderful to see businessmen that I know and respect come in and talk to us respectfully about this. And I really appreciate your guys' input. I wish we could get input like that on everything that we do because it helps us a lot. I totally respect entrepreneurs and that's why I have the company that I currently have is because of entrepreneurs like you guys and I like to see them succeed. So thank you for being here tonight and I totally understand your viewpoint on this.

Other discussion? Okay. Any amendments by the council?

Councilor Larson. Thank you, Mayor. I would like to make a motion to remove the amendment to Section 5.08-0.140, removing the word resort.

I'll second it. Okay. Second by Councilor McIntosh. Let's go into discussion on the amendment. Discussion. Councilor Sweeney.

So, Mayor, um, Can you or council or city attorney explain exactly what that amendment does?

Yes. Mr. City Attorney, could you just say what that would do? Yes. And also with the drive-thru, just so, because I know there's some people here for drive-thru, so don't want to give anybody a heart attack over there.

Absolutely, Mayor, Council. So the amendment that was made and seconded would be to strip out the changes to .0508140, which would broaden the catering permits to be pulled by resort liquor license holders. If this amendment passes, the remaining ordinance change would only include the changes pertaining to drive-through liquor stores.

Gotcha. Second.

Second. He already seconded.

We're done. We're in discussion. We're in discussion. We're in discussion. Yeah, Councillor Bond.

So, yeah, I just would like, if I could get clarification on if that indeed is stripped out, And maybe this is a question for the attorney as well about if it's stripped out, is it off the table forever? Is it going to be reconsidered? And the reason I'm asking that is I think I would be in favor of postponing consideration, mostly because I think the questions that we've gotten in our mail are good questions. Um, I feel like, um, you know, this is, this is only the second reading and I think council perhaps needs more time to, to learn all the ins and outs of, of the implications. Because like I said, I think those, the questions were valid and I think they deserve, uh, attention by the council to, to consider. Um, so that would be my preference is to postpone. consideration to give council more time to do our due diligence with with the questions because I think there is there is interest in the community for resort licenses, being able to do catering. And so you know, and I think the testimony that we've gotten from the folks here tonight has given us reason to kind of think about that. And to get those questions answered. Thank you.

Point of order. Yeah, go ahead. So, Mayor, I believe we have an amendment on the floor in front of us. Right.

But he was just discussing. He was just discussing. He hadn't made a motion yet because I was going to get done with the discussion and then we're going to vote on this amendment and then we'll go from there. But yes, I think he was just discussing his thoughts.

Procedurally, to accomplish what uh, counselor bond would in my mind and please city attorney way in, we would have to vote this amendment down and then come back right in procedurally. Right.

So yeah, so if this amendment is successful, then it's a moot point. But if it does fail, I mean, obviously repeating exactly what you just said, Councillor Sweeney, but if it does fail, then we could come back and then make the motion to a date certain is what we could do. So why don't we just go ahead, unless there's another discussion, we can vote for this amendment to strip this out of the ordinance. And I don't have the ordinance in front of me. I don't know. So there's a motion for this to strip this part out of the ordinance.

So cast your vote for or against. Please record the vote.

With Councilor Bond and Councilor Sweeney voting nay and all others voting aye, the motion passes.

So Mr. City Attorney, now, this has been a long time since I've done the on the fly.

Yeah, Mayor, so now that that amendment has passed, Council needs to vote on the ordinance as amended.

Thank you so much. So now we need to please cast your vote on the ordinance as amended on second read.

Do we need discussion through the drive-thru?

Mayor, I think you certainly could allow a discussion.

Would everybody like to do a discussion? I'm more than amenable to that. Yeah, we can do a discussion on this before we vote. Thank you, Councillor Sweeney. Yeah, go ahead.

So procedurally, I think if we approve this, which I hope we will, then the drive-through portion moves forward. Uhm, I I think there's an unanswered question. Could counsel at a later date take up the resort license again? I don't think there's anything in state statute to stop that. Say a year from now, six months from now, somebody wanted to bring it back through. Is that correct?

Mayor, Councillor, that is correct. Council could bring it back for future consideration.

Thank you. Other discussion?

Okay. Please vote or please cast your vote for the ordinance as amended.

Sorry, pal, you have to vote for or no. Yes or no? Please record the vote.

With Councillor Haskins and Councillor Gamroth voting nay and all others voting aye, the motion passes.

Thank you. Moving on, please read the ordinance on third reading by title only.

Thanks, guys.

Ordinance approving a vacation, final plat, subdivision agreement, and zone change for the Robertson Road addition number two subdivision in the city of Casper, Wyoming.

Thank you. The chair would entertain a motion to approve on third reading the ordinance just read.

Second.

Moved by Councilor Sweeney, seconded by Councilor McIntosh. Council will now listen to public comment. Would anybody like to make a comment on third reading?

Second. Any questions? Thank you so much.

Thanks for sticking around with us. Any discussion from the Council? OK, please cast your vote or any amendments. Please cast your vote. Sorry. I'm going light speed here, my bad. Please record the vote.

With all councilors voting aye, the motion passes.

Council will now consider consent resolutions. Please read the consent resolutions by title only.

10A1, authorizing an agreement in addendum number one with First Interstate Bank, Montana State Chartered Banking Corporation to provide purchase card services for the city of Casper. 10A2, adopting priorities for the use of the optional Neutrona County 1% general purpose sales and use tax. 10A3, authorizing the final acceptance certificate with the Wyoming Department of Transportation for the Paradise Valley to Robertson Roads Trail Phase 2. 10A4, authorizing a contract for outside city water services with Robert H. Higgins. 10A5, authorizing a memorandum of understanding between the City of Casper, Wyoming and Firefighters Local Union 904-IAFF-AFL-CIO regarding modifications to the uniform allowance procurement process. 10A6, authorizing a facility rental agreement with Warbirds Hockey LLC for the use of the Casper Area Arena. I Serena 10 a 7 authorizing Amendment number two to the contract for professional services between the City of Casper and heirs Associates Inc. 10 a 8 authorizing the renewal and amendment to the Environmental Systems Research Institute Inc. Regional Government Enterprise Agreement.

Thank you, the charity in a motion to adopt the consent agenda items just read. Moved by Councillor Sweeney, seconded by Councillor McIntosh. Madam City Manager, you don't have anything to offer on this?

Mayor, nothing additional.

Thank you so much. Any abstentions or nay votes?

Okay, cast your vote. Please record the vote.

With all councillors voting aye, the motion passes.

Please read the consent minute action titles.

Author... 11A1 authorized the purchase of MSA gas detectors from LC Curtis & Sons in the amount of $65,000. 11A2 authorizing the purchase of digital forensics workstation for the Casper Police Department Investigations Division. 11A3 authorized the purchase of 10 Scott SCBAs. and bottles in the amount of $180,868.90 from municipal emergency services.

Thank you. The chair to entertain a motion to approve the consent minute action agenda items just read. Moved by Councillor McIntosh, seconded by Councillor Sweeney. Any abstentions or nay votes? Please cast your vote. Please record the vote.

With all councillors voting aye, the motion passes.

Okay, at this time we ask the councillors to bring forward any relevant concerns or items of interest. We'll start with you, Councillor Larson.

Okay, I don't think I have too much. I had a regional water board meeting with Councillor Sweeney today, and that one was pretty short and sweet, and nothing much to report off that. So that's it. Thank you. Councillor Bond.

Councillor Sweeney.

Thank you, Mayor. Last Wednesday, I had Amoco reuse Joint Powersport, and the watering situation, basically, they're keeping stuff on track for all the heat. We're actually a few rounds of golf behind, but Um, money it had, um, on the next day, the chamber of commerce lunch, which hopefully somebody else will mention. Cause I was late getting there because of the storm got trapped on the interstate, believe it or not. So, um, in Casper, Wyoming, I, so anyway, quite a storm, um, Saturday, um, Friday night was basically a banquet that I attended to honor Senator Lummis in her retirement, and it was a great event, and we all were surprised that Senator Barrasso showed up. Cynthia was shocked, so It was a nice night. Saturday, I attended Try to Keep Your Seat Warm, Councilor Jensen, on Mesa's grand opening. I realize that's in Evansville, but a lot of their employees live in Casper, and it's a remarkable facility. And 22,000 square feet of office, first-class office space, which is incredible, and 200,000 square feet of production facility and warehousing with more to come. So they're a great tenant. I was going to thank Advance Casper for all of their work helping The town of Evansville put together a business council approved $8.9 million for infrastructure to help with that project and took a lot of team effort. A combination between Brick and Bond and Tiffany Gamble McMurray is part of the overall land project. So kudos to Advance Casper for their help and being able to step up with all of that to assist Evansville. And today, Matt mentioned regional water. Lastly, hope everybody got out and voted. And we'll find out results shortly, I hope. So if everything goes well. And just wanted to mention that I think it's next to this Thursday or next. No, this Thursday is a great day. It's a World Senior Citizens Day. There's a couple of us up here. One or two. so or three not not um and um over at the senior center from 10 to 2 um on thursday they have a real nice uh it's not a job fair but uh um they different folks yeah information fair thanks mom and uh so just encourage folks to get out there and participate. So thank you, Mayor. You betcha. Councilor Haskins.

I'm sure nobody noticed, but I haven't been here. It's been quiet. I know, right?

We don't know why.

I spent a minute or three on the road, and as I mentioned, a hotel or two. And in the 16 towns that we slept in, every one of those hotels I stayed with a downtown area. So I think you should all just pat yourselves on the back because I think we made a really good choice. I would never ever purposely, unless I absolutely had to, stay in a hotel in a town that didn't have a downtown hotel so I could walk around and see all the things. It's very important to me. And I am sure I'm not the only person. So I'm really glad that we went through all the work to get this urban renewal thing done and to get this all going. And in the event I didn't get elected tonight, please know that I am so proud of all of you guys. Anyways, that said, we had a gaming meeting today. And speaking of things that we're working really hard on that hopefully people think we did good job on, we are making great progress. That stuff will be coming in our direction moving forward because we are just making so much progress. Pat, Mike, and I are killing it. Okay, the city staff is killing it, but they're letting us take credit. And I have a public health meeting on Thursday. So starting today, I am back. you guys. You've been warned.

Councilor Jensen.

I don't have anything new except for my apologies to Mesa for not making it out there. I did really try hard to get there but it was saturday was such a busy day and it just did not was not in the cards for me so um i would appreciate another opportunity to see the place because it looks beautiful so if anything it fits the front lobby i'm still good i'll just jump in and say hi but happy they're here and i'm sorry i missed that counselor mcintosh

At the economic development joint powers board meeting this morning there's a lot of interest for a lot of different businesses looking to relocate to Casper so hopefully one of them will decide to relocate here and then yeah we had the chamber luncheon we got to hear some speakers from five municipalities in the county including Janine spoke to us about Casper. everything that's going on. I especially enjoyed Midwest and Edgerton. They got a lot going on with small entrepreneurs that are making things happen in Midwest. And that's pretty cool that they're doing that. Even the kids are jumping in and it's all eliminated stuff. So that was good to see. And yeah, good luck to those who are up for election today. We'll see what happens.

Vice Mayor. Thank you, Mayor. Yeah, not much to add. I'll attend to the state of the community luncheon the Chamber of Commerce did. Yeah, I'm thankful for the opportunity to hear from all of our municipalities in the county at the same time. I think it's a great opportunity for folks to know what's going on in our area. Our city manager did a fantastic job presenting the state of the city of Casper, so I'm thankful for that. Busy weekend, 5150 Festival, Rotary Duck Derby, stuff like that. Very good weekend. The only thing I would add is I wasn't able to make it, but last week there was a groundbreaking ceremony for a new control tower at the airport. And Glenn Januska, the director out there, had also updated our colleagues at the county last week that I guess they had their best month on record since 1981 as far as air service goes. So maybe promising and hopeful for us securing the Salt Lake connection again. He also mentioned the fact that couple connections to either Phoenix or Chicago could look really attractive if those numbers continue to climb. So yeah, hopefully good news for the airport. And I guess if you have the willingness and ability, continue buying those airline tickets so that we can increase our options here locally. That's all I got. Thank you.

I don't have anything to report tonight. I just want to say good luck to everybody that is running, all the council members that are

the ticket tonight uh good luck and thanks for everybody that voted and got out there um to voice their um have their voices heard counselor sweeney wanted to add one more thing well maybe two uh you said once i i did so um i did go to uh salt creek days and the parade on on saturday um it it was the typical turnout unfortunately but uh but they they're still trying so and then um on the bixby i'm sure counselor uh haskins will join me in thanking staff for all all all the work uh that it took us to get to this point and advance casper for helping with that study blighted study and uh um all all the different work that

IT TOOK FOR STAFF AND LEGAL AND ALL THE PIECES SO IT CERTAINLY WASN'T US SO COME ON ALL RIGHTY THANK YOU EVERYONE THE NEXT MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL WILL BE A WORK SESSION TO BE HELD AT 4 30 ON TUESDAY AUGUST 25TH AND THE REGNER COUNCIL MEETING WILL BE HELD AT 6 PM ON TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 1ST THANK YOU EVERYONE