Budget amendment reflects federal grants for pedestrian bridge, pool upgrade

CASPER, Wyo. — The Casper City Council got a look Tuesday at a proposed budget amendment to cover projects and contracts that weren’t completed in the year they were budgeted, as well as new spending authority due to new grant awards.

One of those is a $3.5 million ARPA grant for a pedestrian bridge across the North Platte River near Poplar Street’s intersection with 1st Street, Financial Services Director Jill Johnson told the council at a work session on Tuesday, Sept. 24. The city was also awarded money for the improvement of Marion Kreiner pool and $250,000 to reimburse expenses for Casper Fire-EMS on wildland fire deployments. 

Johnson said the amendment authorizes about $10 million of additional spending for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, with $9.2 million of that offset by grants and other revenue. $210,640 is also requested to pair with a $2.8 million federal grant for improvements to the North Casper Athletic Complex.

Johnson explained that the spending authority for projects expires at the end of the fiscal year, so rollover projects and contracts require an amendment. She said three budget amendments a year are typical.

Rollover projects include the $20.7 million budgeted for the conversion of the Casper Business Center into the new police headquarters, as well as $4.6 million for large-diameter steel piping to treat incoming wastewater at the Wastewater Treatment Plant. Failure to do so could result in Department of Environmental Quality violations, the memo notes. Nearly a million dollars of federal funding was awarded to the overall $5.6 million project.

“I just want to congratulate you and everyone on the grants that were awarded,” Councilor Jai-Ayla Sutherland told Johnson. “That’s going to be great for our community, so thank you for all your work on that.”

The council is expected to formally vote on the amendment next week.