The state capitol will not be getting a new office building
if Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead continues to oppose the project, citing the budget
cuts as reason enough to stall the plan, according to an article by the WyomingTribune Eagle.
The design study would cost the state $4.4 million, a cost
that Mead left off his proposed 2013-14 budget plan. The legislators are not in
agreement over whether the state should spend the money on this office building
when the threat of budget cuts looms. The split in the legislature could
possibly waste the $4.4 million if the study is approved and the legislature
later decides to drop the project, the article said.
The office building in question, which would be built on
Pioneer Avenue where Safeway was, would house the legislature and governor
while renovations to the Capitol building are completed. The capitol
renovations project itself would cost roughly $50 million, the article said.
After the renovations are completed, the office building would be used to house
state agencies that currently lease office space. The office building would
cost about $80 million.
Proponents of the new building say it is necessary to move
quickly on both projects. Rep. Pete Illoway, R-Cheyenne, the co-chairman of the
Select Committee on Legislative Facilities, said he thought the capitol
renovations could not be ignored and necessitated action.
Rich Cathcart, the state’s construction management
administrator, said the office building project needed to be completed swiftly
because building codes might change and make the design study outdated and
useless.
Another argument for the projects is the money the office
building would save the state every year by housing state agencies that would
no longer have to lease office space, according to an article by the CasperStar-Tribune.
However, in another article by the Wyoming TribuneEagle, a local economist said the new office building could damage the economy
and commercial real estate market of the area. Richard O’Gara, a local
economist and president of the privately-run Wyoming Center for Business and
Economic Analysis Inc., said the vacancy rate of the area would go up if the
new office building were completed. He said the vacancy rate is already at 19.4
percent and would go even higher as property owners will be forced to lower
their prices to be competitive in a market with high supply and low demand.
In the article, Mead said he opposed the state office
building plan going forward at this time. The budget cuts implemented this year
in the legislature and new budget cuts on the horizon could signal a stall of
the project until funds are not so tight within the state.
Perhaps the news that the office building could harm the
economy of the downtown area will change the minds of some of the state
legislators before the next session. As things stand, I do not believe now is a
good time to be expanding anything in the state while budgets are being cut.
The state legislature is supposed to protect the interest of the residents of
Wyoming and the businesses that call our state home. The new office building is
not in the best interests of the residents, so it should not be built. Can the
legislators not lease a building to meet in while the capitol is being
renovated? If those renovations are necessary for safety, then complete them,
but that does not mean the businesses of Cheyenne must suffer for it.
