The decision on whether or not to pursue the funding will be made at tonight's city council meeting at 6 p.m.
According to city officials, the site has been a magnet for crime and vandalism, and a grant application would include information on the amount of calls police and firemen have fielded that arise because of the facility.
The Community Development Block Grant program comes through federal Housing and Urban Development funding administered in Wyoming by the Business Council. The council divvies out between $2.2 million and $3.75 million annually for the grants.
It is most likely the grant would fall under the downtown development category of the block grant, which generally includes "assistance for public facilities, rehabilitation of commercial buildings, historic preservation, land acquisition and site clearance." Such projects offer maximum assistance of $500,000.
It's unclear whether the grant would require an environmental assessment as required for some projects. But officials say after demolition and remediation the site could become home to businesses or to the Laramie Rivers Conservation District that now owns the property.
Anyone is welcome to attend the city council meeting tonight to offer comment on the issue, or comments can be submitted to Grant Analyst Jodi Guerin at jguerin@cityoflaramie.org.
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