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Committee backs $1.53 million purchase of modular vehicle barriers for Cheyenne events
Summary
The finance committee recommended that City Council approve up to $1,529,264 from General Fund reserves to buy nine trailers with modular vehicle barrier systems to protect public outdoor events; the police department and mayor framed the purchase as a response to vehicle-ramming incidents.
The Cheyenne Finance Committee on May 6 recommended the City Council approve up to $1,529,264 from General Fund reserves to purchase nine modular vehicle barrier system trailers and barrier packages from Advanced Security Technologies LLC.
Mayor Patrick Collins framed the request by recounting vehicle-ramming attacks in Waukesha, New Orleans and other international locations and said he discussed vulnerabilities at Cheyenne events with the police chief. Collins said the city’s police and events staff researched options and recommended a modular system that can be assembled to protect varying street widths at public outdoor gatherings.
Captain Jared Kessler of the Cheyenne Police Department described risks from both intentional attacks and unintentional “drive-throughs” caused by impaired or disoriented drivers and said the systems would also mitigate those incidents. Kessler said Waukesha is smaller than Cheyenne and confirmed major U.S. incidents include Waukesha and New Orleans. The package described at the meeting includes nine trailers with 72 barriers each and would cover roughly 1,134 feet of right of way, the mayor said.
Committee members asked about storage and deployment time. The mayor and police representatives said the barriers are stored in covered trailers that open from the side and pull out; staff who attended a demonstration reported set-up was rapid — less than five minutes per trailer. Captain Kessler said the barriers are steel and their useful life is “as long as they don't get run over.”
A motion to approve a purchase not to exceed $1,529,264 was moved and seconded; the committee voted to forward the recommendation to City Council. Committee members said the acquisition aligns with council safety priorities and event protection plans.
