Committee Of The Whole Votes Against Dineen’s Purchase

The Cheyenne City Council Committee of the Whole voted 4-2  Wednesday night against recommending a purchase of the former Dinneen's Car Dealership as a site for  the city's new Public Safety Building.

Despite the Committee vote the proposal will still go before the full council on Monday night. In the committee vote Wednesday night council members Annette Williams, Dicky Shanor, Bryan Cook and Mike Luna voted no, while Jim Brown and Sean Allen voted yes. Council members Jimmy Valdez and Georgia Broyles were absent, and Council President Mark Rinne, in his role as Committee Chair, did not vote. Mayor Rick Kaysen does not sit on the committee, but will be eligible to vote on Monday.

The full council has already rejected the Dineen's purchase on a 5-5 tie vote earlier this year. The purchase price included in that proposal was $1.98 million. The latest proposed purchase would carry a price tag of $1.886 million. That is still above the value of $1.68 million assigned to the property by an appraiser hired by the city. Supporters of the purchase, such s Police Chief  Brian Kozak, have argued the appraisal failed to take some factors into account and was artificially low.