Casper staff to seek loan and grants to replace aging Hogadon chairlift; council gives conceptual approval

Casper city staff told the City Council at a pre-meeting that they will apply for a Wyoming Business Council loan and two grant awards to replace the aging Riblet chairlift at Hogadon and improve accessibility features.

Director Olson, who led the presentation, said the lift has been identified as outdated for more than a decade and that parts are increasingly difficult to obtain. She said staff hopes to order a replacement this year and have the manufacturer build the lift next summer. "We have been talking about a new lift at Hogadon for quite a long time," Olson said, noting a 2013 master plan recommended replacing the lift as far back as 2014.

The staff plan is twofold: submit a loan application under the Wyoming Business Council's Business Ready Community program and pursue two grants from the newly opened Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Trust Fund. Olson said the loan would be serviced using a dedicated facility-fee fund, plus revenue from salvage of the existing lift and advertising or sponsorship revenue tied specifically to the new lift. "With some fairly conservative calculations, we believe that over a 10-year period, we could service the debt for a loan in the amount of ... $794,500 over the 10 years," Olson said while confirming the figures.

Staff provided estimates for revenue and costs: salvage of the current lift is conservatively estimated at about $130,000; advertising revenue was estimated very conservatively at about $1,200 a year; and facility-fee revenue was estimated at roughly $65,000 annually (staff cautioned that poor snow years could reduce that figure). Olson said the replacement lift selected is a fixed quad with accessibility components such as a loading gate and conveyor, and lighting for the Dreadnought run to support night skiing and race teams.

On costs, Olson said the lift-only package is estimated at about $3.9 million, while a $5.4 million package would add snow-making and other improvements that are not required to install the lift itself. For grant funding, staff said they intend to request approximately $195,000 for the loading gate and conveyor and about $150,000 to light Dreadnought; guidance from the Trust Fund suggested a local match (Natrona County guidance suggested roughly 40%), and staff said donated dollars would serve as the match.

Drew of the Wyoming Business Council explained how mineral-tax and statewide tax receipts factor into the Council's financial calculations for grant or loan discounts, saying applicants can estimate the share derived from mineral revenue versus other statewide receipts.

Council discussion focused on funding risk and the public–private split. Staff described a public–private partnership in which roughly half of the lift cost (about $2 million) would come from public sources and roughly half (about $2 million) from private fundraising and donations. One councilor said they preferred limiting the city's exposure to facility fees, grants and private donations and expressed concern about using capital reserves; another councilor urged a proportional public contribution and mentioned the city previously committed funds to related efforts. A councilor also raised concerns about long-term snowpack trends at Hogadon's relatively low elevation and the risk that declining snowfall could affect future revenues.

At the end of the pre-meeting staff asked whether Council would support submitting the Wyoming Business Council loan application and the two Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund grant applications. Council members verbally agreed to allow staff to move forward with the submissions; there was no formal recorded vote at the pre-meeting.

Next steps: staff said Sustainable Strategies will assist with finalizing the loan application and that application details—including collateral and definitive repayment figures—will be resolved before submission in the coming weeks.