Casper Star-Tribune from Casper, Wyoming • 3

star Casper Area Sunday, March 9, 1986 Star-Tribune, Casper, Wyo. A3 Casper officials fight for federal funds McAllister, Post, Kelly heading for D.C. to lobby delegation JA TP 1 lYL jrj 1 tH- I 11 dollars coming back to us." Nonetheless, McAllister has said only a "political miracle" will save the program. Transit assistance has helped fund the Casper Area Transportation Coalition since 1983, making up 42 percent of its budget in fiscal 1985-86. Unless Congress reauthorizes the Urban Mass Transit Act of 1964, all transit assistance funds will be lost to the city.

"The obvious result will be a reduction in service in order to contain costs," a city summary of the budget cuts says. CATC, which provides free transportation for the elderly and handicapped, already is asking riders if they are willing to pay a fare each time they board. Since 1975 Casper has spent nearly $6 million in Community Development Block Grants on housing rehabilitation, weatherization, street improvements and other projects. Documents prepared by the city show the $417,000 received last fiscal year will be cut to $283,000 for the current fiscal year, according to projections from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Block grants will be trimmed to $240,000 annually under Gramm-Rudman, the city documents indicate.

"Instead of upgrading neighborhoods and helping people lo help themselves, low-income individuals wil continue in a vicious cycle and create a drain on other community resources," the city's summary states. The Wyoming Highway Department projects Casper will lose 20 percent of its $769,000 yearly allocation for renovation of main streets and highways. Road upkeep and snow plowing may be sacrificed as "scarce" funds are diverted to "higher priority" services such as police and fire protection, the summary says. "To punish the city now, when it needs the assistance the most, does not seem to be a realistic approach," the summary states. But based on earlier responses from the congressional delegation, McAllister may not find a sympathetic ear.

''It is painful, but. tell me how in the hell we're supposed to" balance the federal budget without accepting cuts in Wyoming, Simpson said last month of impending funding reductions. By JEFF THOMAS Star-Tribune staff writer CASPER Casper's top three officials will lobby Wyoming's congressional delegation this week in hopes of preserving nearly $1.8 million in threatened federal funding. Without the funding, the city may scale back transportaion for the elderly, road maintainance and housing rehabilitation, according to a position paper prepared by city officials for Sens. Alan Simpson and Malcom Wallop and Rep.

Dick Cheney. City Manager Wes McAllister, Mayor Ken Post and City Council Vice President Jack Kelly are scheduled to meet with the delegation Tuesday in Washington, D.C;, while attending the National League of Cities annual legislative conference. The team will try to save $940,000 in federal revenue sharing funds, $519,000 in transit assistance, $175,000 in block grants and $154,000 in highway funds. Revenue sharing funds make up 4.5 percent of the city's general fund budget, helping to pay for sanitation, weed and pest, recreation and other services. The pro- Mike Sullivan chats with fellow Democratic regulars Sullivan sounds like he's a candidate at convention But no gubernatorial announcement made wes McAllister 'It's our tax dollars' gram was started in the early 1970s to redistribute a portion of taxes flowing from the states to the federal government.

"I don't like to think of Federal Revenue Sharing as a handout," McAllister told the City Council at its March 4 meeting. "It truly is revenue sharing, and it's our tax By ANDREW MELNYKOVYCH Star-Tribune staff writer CASPER Although sounding very much like a candidate in his keynote address to the Natrona County Democratic convention Saturday, Mike Sullivan did not do what many expected announce he is running for governor. "I will make no announcement today," the Casper lawyer said. Sullivan acknowledged that he is widely considered to be a gubernatorial contender and that many people thought he would use the county convention as a forum for entering the race officially. "I have been out about the state for the last few weeks trolling.

evaluate the possibility of a Democratic candidacy for governor," he said. Sullivan said he will reveal his plans soon, "but it won't be today." Setting aside the issue of his own political future, Sullivan launched an attack on both the national and state Republican party. "The Republican party is rapidly becoming an extremist party of the New Right," he said. Despite overwhelming evidence of fraud by the regime of former President Ferdinand Marcos, President Reagan "waffled and rationalized over the Philippine election," Sullivan said. "It took Reagan a long time to figure it out." "When the president talks about human rights.

question whether it is more than just rhetoric," he said. The Reagan administration has used a heavy hand to lobby for military aid to the anti-Sandinista rebels in Nicaragua, Sullivan said, citing "the excesses of the administration and how clear and apparent they are." Administration rhetoric directed at aid opponents was "offensive even to Republicans," he said. But there were "a few exceptions, including our independent and free-thinking senior senator (Malcolm Wallop), who seems to always end up on the same side (as Reagan) Sullivan criticized the Gramm-Rudman deficit reduction law for "cutting and carving without recognition of needs and the merits of programs." Passage of the law as "a method of resolving our country's problems is a confession of moral bankruptcy by Congress," he said. Wyoming will be particularly hurt, Sullivan said, because federal If I 7 Siar-TribuneBill Willcox mineral royalties will be cut under Gramm-Rudman. The Wyoming congressional delegation voted for the law without a sense of its implications, he said.

"We in Wyoming are especially blessed by our congressional delegation," Sullivan said. "For all of their power and influence, they apparently got caught napping." Reviving Wyoming's economy will take a rethinking and re-evaluation of traditional solutions, he said. "We want our children and our friends to stay here in Wyoming," Sullivan said. "But to do that, we must have something to offer." "We can't, as some ideologues have suggested, blame the (economic) downt'trn on an anti-business atmosphere or correct it with open arms or a pro-business atmosphere," he said. Wyoming would be better off spending $70 million on a minerals and energy research institute than on building a water project on the Middle Fork of the Powder River, he said.

Noting that the Democratic party is in the minority in Wyoming, Sullivan said, "we cannot afford to sit by passively and allow the Republican party to assume a position of even greater dominance." Wyoming Superintendant of Public Instruction Lynn Simons also addressed the convention. She said the Democratic party is an "innovative party" that "does what needs to be done." The Reagan administration "has turned its back" on the Republican legacy of Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt, Simons said. Because the Democratic party "embraces all individuals, all interests," it can do the best job of dealing with the "world of hurt" that has afflicted Wyoming's economy, she said. The convention also chose 35 delegates to the stale party convention in Rawlins in May and adopted a county party platform. Among its county-oriented planks are: Expansion of the county commission to five members to be elected from districts, rather than at-large.

Prohibition of nepotism in county government. Greater public participation in selection of projects funded by the optional one-cent sales tax. Support for a county-wide bus svstem. try to wrest the offices of Governor, state treasurer, state superintendent of schools and the U.S. Congress from Republican and Democratic candidates.

"If you want to run for the Senate, Congress or clerk of the district court, I hope this will motivate you" to gather petition signatures, O'Connor told about 20 party members and interested supporters at the meeting. "As we go door to door," O'Connor said, "remember this is what we're after." "The Democrats and the Republicans have both run away from (the Constitution) as far as they can," he said. "And we're running toward it." Regarding the election ballot, O'Connor said, "we've been on there before and we'll be on there again." into a room at Casper's Downtowner Motor Hotel to see About 400 people crowded Auction Continued from Al About 400 people gathered at the Downtowner Saturday afternoon for the auction less than half of the estimated 1,000 to 1,250 who came to the HUD auction in August. More than 150 people in Saturday's crowd were registered bidders with investors making up about 40 percent, according to an auction official. Many people at the auction said they were there "out of curiosity" and "to see if they will really sell them that cheap." The lowest successful bid for a piece of real estate was $13,000 for a six-room house on North Melrose Street in Casper.

The Melrose house was one of seven 7 i 'V the Fannie Mae auction to close their house deals. If they fail, they forfeit their money. However, Casper contractor Gary Zitterkopf said that was a risk he was not willing to take. Zitterkopf said he spoke with bankers prior to the auction to ensure financing if he made a successful bid. To help potential successful bidders, Kaufman said local financial institutions outlined qualifications for financing prior to the auction.

As a result, bidders know how they stood prior to the auction. Kaufman and his staff of about 20 will travel to Gillette where they will auction off 26 dwellings from Gillette, Buffalo and Sheridan today. DAVID KAUFMAN Calling for the bids Photos by Bill Willcox lit' I 1 American-Libertarian Party discusses campaign strategy a house that would be an investment as well as a home. "I know the economy's going to go up," he said. "I'm looking into the long-term future." Mike and Wendy Parmenter said they were at the auction "more or less just to see what it's like." The couple bid on a Casper house.

But that bid was subsequently deemed too low and so the real estate was "passed." All private bidders had to present a certified or cashier's check for $2,500 for each house purchased, according to auction rules. Investors, who could purchase up to five houses, had to present a $7,500 check. Winning bidders have 45 days proceedings Saturday. 1 1 I I "absolute" sales that went to the highest bidder no matter the price. The highest successful bid went for an eight-room house in Laramie at $75,000.

Most of the bids were in the $20,000 to $30,000 range. The dwellings involved in the auction were from Casper, Douglas, Glenrock, Hanna, Lander, Laramie, Riverton and Wheatland. Tracy Seigal, a student at the University of Wyoming, successfully bid on a six-room Casper house for $3 1 ,000. "It was probably worth about $55,000 at the least," he said. Seigal, who said he would like to be an investor after finishing school, added he was looking for alike paid attention to the CASPER Members of the newly formed Wyoming American-Libertarian Party Saturday gathered in Casper at their first meeting since forming their party and discussed strategies for getting elected to public office.

The most pressing issue, according to party Chairman Howard O'Connor, is for party members to gather the 8,000 required signatures by May to put the party on the November election ballot. If the party's congressional candidate, who has not been chosen, gets 10 percent of the vote, American-Libertarian Party candidates will be on the ballot in 1988 without members having to gather additional signatures. O'Connor said the party fused feb. 8 from the Christian-oriented American Party and the Libertarian Party also will Tit Bidders and spectattn-s.