CHEYENNE — Now that David Kniseley’s urban farm has been annexed by the City of Cheyenne and he and his family have decided to move, he said he has an idea that would fit into the city’s recent pattern of business development.
Kniseley noted to Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday that Cheyenne keeps building hotels, banks, coffee shops and car washes.
He envisions a hybrid incorporating all of them.
“You could build a six-story hotel with the first floor turned into a drive-thru,” Kniseley said. “You could make your bank deposit, order your coffee, wash your car, and pick up your coffee and drive off.”
Kniseley said he offers the proposal “only partially tongue-in-cheek.”
“If anyone wants to partner with me, we'll provide the property if they can provide the cash,” he added. “That’s a real offer.”
On Monday, the Cheyenne City Council voted 8-2 to approve the annexation of the Kniseley's WY Fresh Farm, plus larger properties owned by others.
It was a move Kniseley and his wife, Tommie, have vehemently opposed for nearly a year. But the couple recently decided to stop fighting the city and sell what they had considered “our forever place” since they bought it in 2007.
Ultimately the family asked the council to approve the annexation because “theoretically it makes the property more valuable.” Still, Kniseley is worried the city will find a reason to block any buyer from developing the property unless it perfectly fits Cheyenne’s plans.
He added that he wants to be paid a fair price, not the "predatory offers" he's already received that have been between one-third and one-fourth of its value.
In addition to its own produce, the property — under the name “WY fresh” — has operated the Food Stand, where up to 50 local farmers have sold dairy, meat, eggs, garden and other produce.
Kathy Scigliano, a Cheyenne Realtor, said she first learned about the Kniseleys’ plight when she attended a city council meeting in February. She started following their Facebook page to keep up, and later testified at a city council hearing on the proposed annexation.
“My biggest concern is the treatment of this family and what this situation says about how our city council values local businesses,” Scigliano told Cowboy State Daily. “The city council regularly talks about supporting small businesses, but I think situations like this tell a different story. Those words need to be backed up by action.”
‘The City of Cheyenne Is For Sale’
In a separate interview Kniseley was more blunt.
“The City of Cheyenne is for sale,” he said. “They’re open for business for their cronies; it’s crony capitalism. It's not that you have an idea that’s innovative and doesn’t fit their mold. They don’t believe in freedom. ,They believe they should regulate for what they envision. And it’s especially good for those who have connections to them.”
Councilman Mark Rinne said he “categorically disagrees” with the accusation that Cheyenne is for sale, or that cronyism has played a part in any council decision.
“I guess if you don’t want to see growth and you don’t want to see economic development and you don’t want to see more jobs and better paying jobs come to Cheyenne, maybe you could think that we’re for sale,” Rinne told Cowboy State Daily.
He said this isn’t the first time Kniseley has accused city officials of being corrupt.
“With this group of council members, there’s never been any corruption or graft,” he said. “So one, it’s inaccurate, and two, it’s probably a bit of obvious unhappiness and disappointment on their part.”
Rinne said the majority of the council is pro-growth and economic development.
“If Cheyenne doesn’t grow, we’re going to stagnate,” he said. “We have an opportunity to not only bring more jobs and different jobs to Cheyenne, I think in a couple of years — if people are patient with us — we’re going to see that the city’s budget will be healthier and they’ll see more amenities and quality-of-life improvements.”
Kniseley said he learned about the proposed annexation last December. A certified letter notifying the farmers that a meeting was scheduled didn’t arrive, and the family didn’t know about it until receiving an email from the city planning office.
The Kniseleys asked to postpone the meeting for two weeks, but were told state law only requires that a certified letter be sent, not received, and the meeting could not be rescheduled.
The couple told the city that it had read the city’s voluminous codes “that would make it hard or impossible to farm,” and they had questions. Asked to put them in writing, the Kniseleys came up with 147 queries, most of which David said were never answered.
He cited some examples: How would the city address predator control, given he has to shoot coyotes that harass their sheep, and the state doesn’t manage the animals?
“Livestock dogs bark, which is contrary to the city's nuisance code,” Kniseley noted. “The city has a cat leash law; we have barnyard cats that protect our greenhouses.”
When they asked the city about various issues, including acceptable noise levels and the smell of livestock, he said they were given answers one day and contradictory replies the next day.
Eight Essential Questions
Eventually WY Fresh Farm pared its list to eight essential questions, but Kniseley said the city only came up with two answers. When a decision on the annexation was scheduled March 9, about 50 people showed up to testify on behalf of the urban farm owners.
The city postponed the session until Nov. 9.
“We expected to work it out,” Kniseley said. “But the next day, the City-County Health Department, which has City Councilwoman Kathy Emmons as its director, turned in a complaint to the Wyoming Department of Agriculture about Wy fresh selling meat, even though we were well within bounds of the law.”
Scigliano said she wasn’t able to go to the Farm Stand last Saturday, the final day it was open. Kniseley said there were a lot of customers who spent a long time “hugging and talking.”
“I think one of my biggest concerns moving forward is that we've lost another place where local producers and community members had an opportunity to connect,” Scigliano said. “It's not just about losing a place to purchase fresh produce. It's about losing an opportunity for local agriculture and small businesses to have a place in our community.”
Scigliano senses a growing frustration among residents that the city seems more focused on attracting large corporations and major developments than being mindful of the people and businesses that have already invested in and helped build the community.
“I, along with many others, feel that data centers and large-scale development are receiving more attention than the local families, small businesses, and everyday people who make Cheyenne what it is,” she said.
The Realtor said growth isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it shouldn't come at the expense of the people who are already in Cheyenne.
“We need to be asking ourselves what kind of community we want to build and whether we're doing enough to protect the people and businesses that give this community its character,” she added.
Wave Of The Future?
Kniseley said American farmers only receive between 5 to 8 cents of every dollar that is spent at supermarkets. Producers who sell at the Farm Stand, he said, earn between 80 to 90 cents per dollar.
“This should be the wave of the future. People have said we don’t want to annex because we don’t want to change, but that’s not remotely the way it is,” Kniseley said. “We don’t want to be annexed because we want to change. And we don’t want to have to go to the city council and say we want to plant carrots here, and they say no.”
Kniseley said under the county’s control, “it’s all been good government — it’s been invisible.”
“They mowed the ditch and they graded the shoulder on Walterscheid and they left us alone,” he added. “When we built the Farm Stand, Laramie County Planning’s approach was, ‘How can we find a way so you can do what you want to do?’ It wasn’t, ‘No, you can’t do what you want to do.’”
