Parks and Recreation Seeks Staff, Equipment and a $275,000 Feasibility Study for Youth Sports; Director Outlines Facilities Consolidation

Director Mike Bork, Parks, Recreation and Community Services, told the Laramie City Council on May 14 that his department is pursuing organizational changes, modest staffing increases and a capital study to assess youth‑sports and recreation facility needs and potential economic impacts.

Bork said he has centralized facilities maintenance staff to a single location at the former Street and Fleet building to improve preventive maintenance and custodial coverage across 26 municipal facilities. “We had a lot of turnover … coalescing them into 1 location has really made … part of the solution to provide some stability to that division,” Bork said.

Key 2025 accomplishments he listed included HVAC and roof work at aging facilities, conversion of many door readers to remote wireless access, removal of roughly 70 dead or hazardous trees across parks and public areas, completion of Spring Creek Phase 1 trail work and crack sealing/oil coating on about four of the Greenbelt Trail’s 5.5 miles. He said the department will replace about 60 trees this season and deliver plantings for Rotary Clubs Park.

On capital projects, Bork described an active RFQ for a Laramie Bike Park and said the city has released initial planning for…