How did this wave of potential new businesses begin flooding our state? Sure there is Trump’s Executive Orders for a “nuclear renaissance”, but it feels like more than that.
All of these businesses showing up are not just nuclear – many are tech companies, data centers. While we all know they will need much more energy (which leads one to deduce that is what all the microreactors are intended for), it still feels like there is more to it than that.
Citizens have never been invited into any discussions or “economic diversification” meetings that target specific industries. No – instead we read about these “projects” in our local papers as if they are already a done deal. Just like Mark Gordon’s hopeful land grab back in Feb 2020 (that cost us $2.5 million!). Just like Terra Power’s Natrium in Lincoln County. Just like BWXT in Campbell County. Just like Prometheus in Uinta County. Just like Radiant in Natrona County.
The only “public” in these public-private partnerships are government officials – there are no citizens!
“We the people” have been purposely left out of all of these deal-making conversations. Lack of public trust in government officials is growing considerably because of this.
Here are a few thoughts/observations that we have in no particular order:
1) Individuals from local government and/or business have been traveling and trying to recruit businesses to Wyoming.
- Gillette’s Mike Wandler sought BWXT (see article here)
- Word is that a Bar Nunn Town Councilman sought Radiant to come to WY
- Officials from Lincoln County (Senator Dockstader and County Treasurer Jerry Greenfield) have made it known they travel around trying to recruit businesses to come and do business in their area.
2) Economic/innovator/diversification events are planned where government and business leaders are invited to meet and mingle. We suspect this is where deals are seeded.
- 2020 Diversification Committee workshop in Kemmerer (Aug 11, 2020)
- 2023 Wyoming’s Innovative Entrepreneurs event in Casper
- We are sure there have been plenty more at UW and elsewhere
3) Wyoming Business Council actively encourages all of the above as well as:
- Seeks/promotes grant and loan applications
- Seeks/promotes public-private partnerships (PPP)
- Seeks/promotes “Stakeholders” (and they do not see John Q Public as a stakeholder)
- Seeks/promotes Investors (have you noticed there is a growing list of venture capital type groups?)
4) Economic development entities (local and state) are re-grouping, re-branding, reproducing and coming out in full force. Many of these groups use some tax dollars (and sometimes a lot of taxpayers dollars) – why don’t they feel accountable to taxpayers? Maybe because no one asks?
5) Local governments are going hog-wild applying for grants, seemingly with no discretion. Every grant has strings – and it is the community that will have to live up to whatever is attached to those strings.
Take a combination of any or all of the above and you get:
- MOUs and NDAs agreed upon between local officials and private business
- Projects that are months or years in the planning before you hear about it
- Communities who have no idea what is going on until the media reports on it
- Lack of public trust in government officials growing even more
We don’t pretend to know all the answers.
And we don’t assume that every single project planned in Wyoming is a bad one.
It’s how they are going about all of these projects that is terribly offensive – they are leaving us Wyoming Citizens out!
We have suggestions:
1) Track what your local officials have been up to
- Read (past and present) county and local (city or town) meeting minutes – run word searches through those documents with terms such as “nuclear”, “MOU”, “NDA”, “agreement”, “economic development”, “diversification”, “grant”, etc
2) Track what your local economic development organization has been up to. Follow the same suggestions in number 1.
3) Attend local government meetings
- Tag-team with some of your friends or neighbors to learn and get involved together
- Know the rules of the meeting before you attend – some do not allow for public comments unless you let them know ahead of time
- If you can’t attend, join by zoom or live-stream (if your local government doesn’t offer life-stream – then request it constantly until you get it – there is no reason in today’s time that they can’t get their act together with old technology)
- Ask questions; voice concerns
- Always ask for public informational meetings on new business or infrastructure projects
- Reach out to local officials individually if you have more questions or concerns
- If your local government has a mailing list, sign up
4) Look for (in your local paper) and attend any meetings for new business or infrastructure projects
- Attend those meetings whenever possible or join by zoom or live-stream
5) Read our article on Attending Public Meetings with Eyes Wide Open
Don’t let the economic development hacks plan your future for you. Wyomingites need to take control of their future by being alert, active and vocal to what is going on in their communities.
One last thing: If the Governor or anyone else accuses you of being part of “Team No”, just tell them you are part of “Team Want to Know – Before any Deals are Made!”
Soon we will be posting our thoughts on constitutional issues with public-private partnerships…
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