Council considers pursuing decorative lighting for downtown Casper - Casper, WY Oil City News

Oct 28, 2024

CASPER, Wyo. — Casper city leaders are having preliminary discussions about the possible installation of decorative lighting in the downtown area to improve ambiance and security.

Councilor Gena Jensen brought the idea up last month and Tom Brauer, the city’s chief operating officer, had a preliminary report on the logistical requirements for the council during the pre-meeting session on Tuesday, Sept. 3. Councilors Kyle Gamroth and Amber Pollock had reports on how much similar projects had cost other communities and how they paid for them.

“We have all that great nightlife downtown, why not make it more walkable and fun?” Jensen told Oil City News on Wednesday. “We see these even in smaller communities across the state, so why not Casper?”

Jensen said the lighting could also stave off the criminal element that remains a concern for downtown businesses.

Canopy lighting that crisscrosses the streets, similar to the 17th Street Project in Cheyenne, were discussed, but Jensen said she’s amenable to lights that parallel the street.

Brauer told the council that either approach would involve a heavy infrastructure development. Current light posts aren’t tall or strong enough to support lighting across the street. Anything crossing the street would need to be 18 feet high, and stringing lights from building to building would require the cooperation of the owners. Though the traffic light poles are tall and strong enough, they are high voltage and not compatible with the lights being sought.

At a minimum, Brauer said the city would be looking at 20-foot stanchions buried in three feet of concrete and likely a trench dug to electrify them.

Councilor Gamroth said one million dollars would be the starting point for cost. Pollock said her investigation into the Cheyenne project revealed a price tag of about $424,000 per block. She added that Cheyenne’s project was funded with a specific-purpose tax.

Gamroth said he’d brought the idea up to the Downtown Development Authority board. saying that the DDA’s discussion of joining an organization like Main Street America could open up grants or other funding opportunities for the lighting project .He added that the DDA’s budget is mainly consumed by the hired executive director position. Downtown amenities like the colorfully populated flower planters come courtesy of Galles Greenhouse.

Mayor Steve Cathey said council, and especially Gamroth, would keep looking into the notion of full crisscross lighting, with hopes that DDA would become the primary mover in the partnership.

Crime/Court Reporter More by Greg Hirst