Cheyenne Council CommitteeTo Consider Museum Agreement

The Cheyenne City Council Finance Committee is scheduled to consider a development agreement that would allow the proposed Children's Museum of Cheyenne to move forward.

The group already owns about 3/4 of the downtown property commonly known as "the hole", and would like to incorporate the roughly 22 square feet of the property owned by the city into the museum design as well.

A previous lease agreement between the city and the museum group was withdrawn after some council members questioned the legality and practicality of parts of the agreement. Mayor Rick Kaysen also said the State Land and Investment Board (SLIB) has a track record of being more agreeable to allocating state money when there is a development agreement in place.

Kaysen said Thursday the proposed development agreement would place the entire property--including the portion owned by the museum group--under city control for four years, after which the entire property would revert to museum ownership. He says that's because state loans and grants are more likely to be awarded if the property is controlled by the city during the construction process.

Monday's Finance Committee hearing is scheduled for 11 a.m. at the Municipal Building. But the committee will only make a recommendation, and the full city council will have the final word on the issue.