UW President McGinity shared his Tuesday evening with the Laramie City Council as they discussed updates at UW. Council members had the opportunity to get acquainted with the president and address their concerns. Execution is McGinity’s main goal and he said the array of possibilities is endless if UW and the City Council work together.
He said that he thinks that college education in the U.S. is changing rapidly.
“It is an industry who’s cost is too high; there is an affordability problem,” said McGinity.
McGinity said he is currently “in throws” with the legislature for plans. “Involving everyone on and off campus in the city of Laramie is crucial,” he said.
The president told the council that he feels UW has an economic impact in community in positive ways. He said there are just over 6,000 staff, faculty and student employees on payroll that are spending most of their money in Laramie.
“I believe that we have a pretty good relationship with the city, but anything we can do to make it better is something we should consider,” said McGinity.
He encouraged any council members to contact him directly if they ever felt the need. McGinity said that if he were needed at more than just one annual city council meeting he would certainly make it happen.
“We need to live together, we need to be good neighbors,” said the president.
The president discussed the economics of the university itself. As it brings more construction, more students and research should be coming to UW.
Councilman Joe Vitale asked the president what Vitale considered a sensitive issue about parking solutions. McGinity said that this was in the Long Range Development Plan (LRDP).
“Three options are in play at various stages,” said Director of Government Affairs Mike Massie, who attended the meeting with President McGinity.
Massie said there has been conversation with the school district as the high school moves from one location to the other. Using the parking lot at the state’s territorial historic prison with implementation of more bus routes and a parking garage going up near Corbett are the other options.
Councilman Lee Kempert shifted the focus of the meeting by raising his concerns over the closure of Lewis Street.
Massie said that there are details that need to be revisited, as it has been a few years since the LRDP was developed. There is a meeting Thursday where senior administrators will be discussing what exactly is currently happening with Lewis Street. Massie did say that the construction of the STEM building would be complete by fall of 2015, but Lewis Street will not be open because UW would like to build a walking mall.
