Wyoming Legislature disagrees on construction project funds

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - The Wyoming Legislature has failed to agree on funding $126 million in construction projects requested by Republican Gov. Mark Gordon despite negotiations.

The disagreements by the House, Senate and executive branch were fueled in part by an unanticipated economic crisis earlier in the week caused by a pandemic, and disagreements on projects at the University of Wyoming that included a swimming pool, the Casper Star-Tribune reported Thursday.

Proponents have argued the Corbett Pool at the Casper campus cannot compete without facilities at similar universities around the country. Others have argued the school has already spent an estimated $1.6 billion for new dormitories and a number of other on-campus projects over the past several years.

Multiple projects across the state are now moving ahead without funding including upgrades to numerous community colleges, $5 million for a heating, ventilating, and air conditioning system replacement at the women's prison in Lusk, and $4 million for hazardous waste removal at the Wyoming Life Resources Project in Lander, the newspaper said.

Other projects are expected to be halted, including ongoing construction of a chancery court in Casper.