
Nearly 100 people attended the first two community meetings on the University of Wyoming's Long Range Development Plan Thursday.
The meetings were the first step in the public process of gathering thoughts and opinions on how UW will grow over the next two decades. Under consideration is how open spaces on university property will be designed, the location of new construction and the disposition of existing but outdated buildings, such as the barracks at the east end of the Laramie campus.
"We're still gathering information and our consultants will come back with their interpretation of what our existing conditions are. We'll see where that leads us in developing our options and opportunities," UW Facilities Planning Director Roger Baalman says.
University and Laramie community members will have more opportunities to give their input over the next year, with three more campus meetings and two more community meetings scheduled.
At the same time, university officials will evaluate the options for development.
Baalman says the planning horizon for this project is about two decades. The last time such a process was undertaken was the 1960s; that led to the construction of the Arena-Auditorium.
UW's Facilities Planning has launched a Web site, www.uwyo.edu/facilitiesplanning/lrdp, that provides information about scheduled meetings and the planning process.