Cheyenne recreation director asks council to fund grapple truck, pool repairs and other one-time projects in FY26 budget

Jason Sanchez, director of Community Recreation and Events (CRE), told the City Council at a work session that his department’s FY26 budget request includes one-time capital needs and program funding to maintain parks, facilities and public events across Cheyenne.

Sanchez said CRE is requesting a replacement grapple truck (the department’s current unit is a 2010 Peterbilt with about 5,200 hours) priced at about $350,000; replacement of worn facility items such as carpet at the Ice and Event Center; additional lighting for sports fields; and funding to proceed with the Johnson Pool design through “six‑penny” consideration. “We’re doing all we can to keep [Johnson Pool] operational for the summer,” Sanchez said, “but if it is leaking, we may have to go ahead and put the pool to bed.”

The requested capital items come as the department reports roughly 375 employees across full‑time, part‑time and seasonal roles and manages an operating portfolio the director estimated at a little more than $18 million, not counting variable project allocations. Sanchez listed recent accomplishments — Depot Museum renovations, new playgrounds, irrigation upgrades at Lakeview and Bethel cemeteries, LED lighting projects in multiple facilities, and the acquisition and programming of the BEAST facility — and emphasized that many of those projects relied on one‑time funds or interdepartmental support.

Why this matters: CRE maintains parks, event venues and recreation programs that are used daily by residents and visitors; the department also supports downtown…