Rawlins council authorizes WCDA CDBG application to demolish Wyoming Bar at 413 West Front St.
September 27, 2025 | Rawlins City Council, Rawlins, Carbon County, Wyoming
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The Rawlins City Council on Sept. 26 authorized submission of a Wyoming Community Development Authority (WCDA) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) application for $507,000 to demolish the Wyoming Bar at 413 West Front Street on behalf of the Rawlins Downtown Development Authority (DDA).
Vice Mayor Garner moved to approve the resolution; the motion was seconded and carried in a roll-call vote reported as "the motion passes with 6 yeas and 1 abstaining." The clerk identified the abstention as Council Member Darryl Elliott.
A community and economic development staff member told the council the two-part plan is for the DDA to receive donation of the property from the current owner and for the grant to pay demolition costs. "We will just write it over to you. If you don't get the grant, you don't have to have it," the staff member said, quoting communication from the owner's attorney about an offer to donate the building.
Staff described the building as Rawlins' oldest downtown structure, first recorded on March 16, 1888, but said it has been listed as a dangerous building since February 2016 and has sustained significant water and environmental damage. Staff said the site has changed hands among holders of tax title or tax payments several times and that almost eight separate parties had paid taxes since 2016. Because of environmental concerns, a Phase I environmental assessment was completed through a brownfields program run by Ayers, but state Department of Environmental Quality staff were not comfortable sending personnel into the structure for a Phase II assessment, staff said.
The resolution authorizes a $507,000 grant application for demolition and notes the DDA plans to contribute about $15,000 to pay back taxes so the property can be fully transferred. Staff said the DDA has obtained three local demolition estimates and has asked bidders to salvage stone from a northern quarry for reuse. The DDA has not yet decided whether it would rehabilitate the site or sell the cleared lot, the staff member said.
Council members asked whether the property was already city-owned; staff replied it is not and that the donation and payment of back taxes would be part of the transfer if the grant is awarded. Councilmember Hussain noted the request was time sensitive; staff said the grant application was due the following Tuesday and said WCDA would consider applications in December, with demolition estimated for the following spring if the award is made.
The resolution and related documents recorded in the meeting packet list the requested WCDA CDBG amount as $507,000 and identify the site as 413 West Front Street. The motion recorded in the meeting does not specify a resolution number or ordinance number.
Vice Mayor Garner moved to approve the resolution; the motion was seconded and carried in a roll-call vote reported as "the motion passes with 6 yeas and 1 abstaining." The clerk identified the abstention as Council Member Darryl Elliott.
A community and economic development staff member told the council the two-part plan is for the DDA to receive donation of the property from the current owner and for the grant to pay demolition costs. "We will just write it over to you. If you don't get the grant, you don't have to have it," the staff member said, quoting communication from the owner's attorney about an offer to donate the building.
Staff described the building as Rawlins' oldest downtown structure, first recorded on March 16, 1888, but said it has been listed as a dangerous building since February 2016 and has sustained significant water and environmental damage. Staff said the site has changed hands among holders of tax title or tax payments several times and that almost eight separate parties had paid taxes since 2016. Because of environmental concerns, a Phase I environmental assessment was completed through a brownfields program run by Ayers, but state Department of Environmental Quality staff were not comfortable sending personnel into the structure for a Phase II assessment, staff said.
The resolution authorizes a $507,000 grant application for demolition and notes the DDA plans to contribute about $15,000 to pay back taxes so the property can be fully transferred. Staff said the DDA has obtained three local demolition estimates and has asked bidders to salvage stone from a northern quarry for reuse. The DDA has not yet decided whether it would rehabilitate the site or sell the cleared lot, the staff member said.
Council members asked whether the property was already city-owned; staff replied it is not and that the donation and payment of back taxes would be part of the transfer if the grant is awarded. Councilmember Hussain noted the request was time sensitive; staff said the grant application was due the following Tuesday and said WCDA would consider applications in December, with demolition estimated for the following spring if the award is made.
The resolution and related documents recorded in the meeting packet list the requested WCDA CDBG amount as $507,000 and identify the site as 413 West Front Street. The motion recorded in the meeting does not specify a resolution number or ordinance number.
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