After spending more than eight months fighting to keep their small farm out of Cheyenne's city limits, David and Tommie Kniseley got what they had fought so hard to prevent Monday night.
And this time, they asked for it.
The Cheyenne City Council voted 8-2 Monday to annex the 5.6-acre WY Fresh Farm into the city limits effective Dec. 7, bringing an end to months of bitter disputes, accusations and deteriorating relations between the farm owners and city officials. The farm is part of a larger group of county properties being annexed.
But the Kniseleys aren't celebrating.
Instead, they say the fight has cost them their dreams of operating a small farm on the outskirts of Cheyenne, and they intend to leave.
"The damage has been done," Tommie Kniseley told the council Monday. "There's no recovering what we've lost through this annexing process."
The couple's reversal came after months of fighting an annexation they feared would threaten their ability to raise livestock and operate their farm outside the city’s grip.
Now, they say annexation is their best financial option for getting out.
"I do want to be annexed now," Tommie told the council, "because the actions of this city have convinced me I do not want to be part of it."
Eight Months Of Fighting
Monday's vote brought to a close a contentious annexation process that began last year.
The council had postponed the third and final reading of the annexation ordinance for eight months, after a tense March meeting at which more than 50 people spoke in defense of WY Fresh Farm and urged the city to leave the property outside of city limits.
At issue was whether the Kniseleys could continue operating their farm under city regulations, particularly those governing livestock and agricultural activities.
Nearly 64% of the farm's property boundary is contiguous with existing city limits.
The dispute became increasingly personal as the months wore on.
In March, the Wyoming Department of Agriculture ordered WY Fresh Farm to stop selling certain meats after a complaint from the Laramie County Health Department. The department is directed by Cheyenne City Council member Kathy Emmons.
Communication between the Kniseleys and the city continued to deteriorate, even as city officials worked through questions about urban agriculture and how the farm might operate within city limits.
By Monday, the Kniseleys said they were finished fighting.
In a social media post before the meeting, David Kniseley announced that the family intended to move as soon as practically possible.
"We will take Dr. Emmons' unsolicited and unprofessional advice and move," he wrote. "We will move as soon as practically possible. Consequently, we want our land to be annexed into the city."
He said annexation had become the most financially advantageous way for the family to relocate and reestablish "our lost dreams and farm."
The family has not announced where it intends to move, or when.
'In Reality, I Cannot Farm'
Tommie Kniseley said technically she could continue to farm, but she would be completely vulnerable to “anyone who wishes to complain about a rooster crowing, manure that may stink, or a tractor that is noisy."
“So yes, technically I can continue to farm, but in reality, I cannot farm,” she said.
The couple's frustration was evident throughout Monday's meeting.
David Kniseley accused the city of pretending to work with the family while simultaneously reporting them to state agriculture officials for alleged violations.
"We're mad," he said. "I'm angry that you all pretended like you wanted to work things out with us, and then immediately turned us in to the Department of Agriculture for alleged violations that weren't violations."
He said the best thing the council could do now was allow the family to move on.
Invoking a biblical passage about shaking the dust from one's feet, Kniseley made clear that he considered his family's relationship with Cheyenne finished.
He also pointed to what he considered a bitter irony in the timing of the annexation.
The effective date, Dec. 7, is Pearl Harbor Day.
"I'm sure they felt as blitzed as I do," he said, “and I'm sure that at least some of the folks who survived Pearl Harbor Day might have felt better than I do at this point.”
A Divided Council
The mood in the room was noticeably dim.
Michelle Aldrich said she had planned to present a substitution to the ordinance at Monday’s meeting.
But in light of Kniseley’s social media post and their request to be annexed, she decided against it.
“I will support their annexation at their request,” Aldrich said.
Council member Ken Esquibel asked how many staff hours had gone into this annexation, which involved numerous discussions around urban farming.
City planner Connor White replied it would be a hard number to come up with.
Esquibel rephrased: “Have you ever spent this much time on any other annexation?”
“No,” White replied.
Esquibel said he told the Kniseleys in March that he would vote on the annexation when they were comfortable with it. He said he would vote no on Monday’s third reading because they still didn’t seem comfortable with it.
Mark Rinne was the only other “no” vote.
Council member Tom Segrave offered a different perspective, arguing that the breakdown in communication was not entirely the city's doing.
Segrave said the Kniseleys created obstacles by hiring an attorney while continuing to communicate directly with the city rather than through their legal counsel.
He also took issue with social media posts he characterized as threatening, including one he said referred to putting people "in the crosshairs."
"You know what? That's beyond the pale," Segrave said. "That's pretty disgusting."
He defended the city's efforts to resolve the dispute.
"I feel like we've gone above and beyond to try to make this work," he said.
Council member Mark Moody, however, said the council failed to listen to the people it represents.
"All of us could have done more, including myself," Moody said.
He questioned whether the city's professed support for small businesses matched its actions.
"We constantly hear that Cheyenne is open for business, supports small business," he said. "What good are those words when their actions tell a completely different story?"
'Not Governing, It Is Steamrolling'
The Kniseleys weren't the only ones with harsh words for the council Monday.
Multiple residents criticized the city's handling of the annexation, saying the months-long dispute unnecessarily burdened a family trying to make a living and live out a dream.
Pine Bluffs resident Tony Perry accused city leaders of putting bureaucracy ahead of common sense.
"What we have seen here is not public service, it is political entanglement and cold bureaucracy," Perry said.
He urged council members to look in the mirror after the meeting and consider the consequences of their decisions.
"Is business as usual worth the immense drain and frustration you have placed on a hard-working family simply trying to live the American dream?" he asked.
Perry was even more pointed in describing what he believed the public had witnessed over the preceding months.
"What we have watched over the last several months is not governing, it is steamrolling," he said.
Another speaker, Steven Love, suggested that if the city could spend as much as $1.6 million on a pumphouse roof, it ought to consider spending $750,000 to buy the Kniseleys' property and help them relocate.
The suggestion underscored the frustration of residents who believe the dispute could have been resolved differently.
'Be Kind To My Family As We Retreat'
For the Kniseleys, Monday's vote marked the end of a long effort to preserve the farm they hoped to operate outside Cheyenne's city limits.
They spent months arguing that annexation could threaten their agricultural activities, even as city officials worked to address those concerns.
Now, the couple says the question is no longer whether they can continue farming in Cheyenne, but whether they want to.
For Tommie Kniseley, the decision was less a resolution than a surrender after months of conflict.
Her final request to the city was a simple: "Be kind to my family as we retreat."
Kate Meadows can be reached at kate@cowboystatedaily.com.
