Mayor Says Tax Funding For Museum Could Be Problem

Cheyenne Mayor Rick Kaysen says asking for sales tax money to build the Children's Museum of Cheyenne could violate the development agreement the museum has with the city of Cheyenne.

The mayor says the situation is a conundrum.

The mayor says he's "not trying to throw cold water" on the museum, adding he's "been a big supporter all along."  But he says the fact is the development agreement is a legal document and that it assumes the museum would be built with private donations rather than public tax money.

The development agreement allowed the museum to purchase the 1/3 of the property where the museum is to be built, commonly known as "the hole," that was owned by the city of Cheyenne.

The mayor says at the very least if the museum board moves ahead with plans to ask for sales tax money to build the facility, the development agreement will "need to be revisited" and possibly reworked.

Museum Board President Amy Surdam recently has been raising the possibility of asking voters to approve either sixth penny or seventh penny sales tax money to build the facility.

Laramie County voters would have to agree to either sixth or seventh penny sales tax funding to build the museum.

The mayor on Thursday said there are a lot of needs for sixth penny sales tax funding, and questioned whether the museum is a better use of the money generated by the tax than some other potential projects, adding "that is yet to be determined."

Surdam says the original plans to raise the money to build the museum through private donations have been made all but impossible by the hit the state economy has taken from low energy prices.

She says that is especially an issue because museum supporters had hoped energy companies would be key donors to the effort, but are no longer in a position to donate money.

Surdam recently announced her candidacy for mayor of Cheyenne in this year's election. Kaysen, who was elected mayor in 2008 and re-elected in 2012, says he hasn't yet decided whether he will run for a third term this year.