Albany County agrees to sponsor CDBG asbestos-abatement grant for Laramie Soup Kitchen; public hearing set

The Albany County Board of Commissioners voted to sponsor a Community Development Block Grant application from the Laramie Soup Kitchen to pay for asbestos abatement at the group’s newly acquired Old Thunderbird property and set a public hearing for Sept. 16, 2025. The motion carried after brief discussion of likely costs and federal grant requirements.

The kitchen’s representative, Tim, told commissioners the nonprofit acquired the Old Thunderbird property in April and that an initial asbestos survey done at its own expense indicated abatement will be necessary. “We obtained the property, which is the Old Thunderbird in April. We knew that there was gonna be some asbestos issues in the building, so we did an initial survey of the asbestos and paid for that ourselves,” Tim said.

Bailey, county staff assisting with grants, told the board the request fits the CDBG program’s slum-and-blight category and explained federal compliance requirements. “The last CDBG grant we had was actually in 2018, and that was the slum and blight as well,” Bailey said. Bailey outlined federal contractor rules that will apply if the county sponsors the grant, including Davis-Bacon prevailing-wage requirements and Buy America provisions, and said the letter of intent was due next Friday with the full application due Sept. 30.

Tim described the project concept: demolish the deteriorated Thunderbird building, remove asbestos, and build a larger nonprofit hub with an expanded soup kitchen, warehouse space and up to six direct-service partner offices. He said a preliminary demolition quote was about $160,000 and that asbestos abatement estimates were “hopeful for 40,000” but could be considerably higher; he said the project team was leaning toward a $300,000 CDBG request to cover multiple slum-and-blight tasks.

Commissioners asked about project readiness and funding. Tim said the organization has the site but “technically, we don't have any funding for the project” yet; he added several funders had expressed interest. Bailey said the county cannot collect indirect costs on this grant and that federal reporting will be more extensive than for some other grants, but she signaled staff support for moving forward if the nonprofit can meet federal requirements.

The board approved sponsoring the application and setting the public hearing. The county will host the hearing on Sept. 16, 2025, as part of the CDBG application process; staff said they will return with application materials and confirm cost estimates before submission.

The sponsorship allows county staff to include the Laramie Soup Kitchen’s project in its CDBG application package; final award, scope and contract terms will depend on the WCDA (Wyoming Community Development Authority) review and federal requirements.