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Nelson museum effort advances
McCOOK, Neb. — Former Nebraska Governor and U.S. Senator Ben Nelson may soon have an enhanced presence along Norris Avenue, similar to and just a few houses down from the George Norris Home. The McCook City Council unanimously approved a special exception request earlier this week allowing the boyhood home of Sen. Nelson to be operated as a museum.
The 608 Norris Avenue residence is located in a Medium Density District, where the operation of a museum isn’t a permitted principal use. City Council coordinated a public hearing Monday evening to discuss the request prior to taking action.
“We received an application from Sen. Ben Nelson and the Omaha Community Foundation requesting a special exception to be issued at 608 Norris Avenue. In particular, they want that property to be designated as a museum,” said City Manager Nate Schneider.
Sen. Nelson plans to pass ownership of the house to the E. Benjamin Nelson Foundation, a Donor Advised fund through the Omaha Community Foundation, while eyeing a potential partnership with McCook Community College down the road.
“The reason why they’re asking this, or making this request, Sen. Nelson is going to transfer possession or ownership of the property to the Omaha Community Foundation. The Omaha Community Foundation is then going to operate it as a museum. In order for the Omaha Community Foundation to own this property, it has to be used for a public purpose and that’s why the museum designation is necessary,” said Schneider.
Schneider indicated a partnership was also in the works with McCook Community College which could allow students to serve as guides for the museum.
“One of the things that had been mentioned during the course of reviewing the application was that they’re going to utilize this building for museum purposes with the utilization of McCook Community College students serving as docents. I think there is a plan, from what I understand, to couple with McCook Community College and maybe utilize this as an opportunity to provide some scholarship assistance for students that are attending MCC. I think it’s a program that’s kind of in the works right now. They’re trying to work through it, but it’s gonna be done in conjunction with the community college. If it’s utilized for museum purposes,” said Schneider.
A docent is a person who acts as a guide, typically on a voluntary basis, in a museum, art gallery or zoo.
Schneider indicated city staff recommended approval of the request and felt a museum would fit in well with the setting around the home. He said the nearby George Norris home was similarly used for museum purposes and public buildings like the McCook Public Library and Red Willow County Courthouse were within a 1-2 block radius. He also said similar places of special interest were nearby, such as the Frank Lloyd Wright home, Morrison home and Norris Park.
“So there’s a lot of public purpose uses in that specific area of town, which kinda makes it so it fits the area,” said Schneider, adding the request also met the A-I considerations required in the McCook’s special request guidelines.
Mayor Mike Gonzales asked how the request would impact the property for tax roll purposes. Schneider replied that he hadn’t looked at that and didn’t know. Mayor Gonzales said he would assume once the foundation owned the property it would go off the tax rolls, which prompted Councilman Bruce McDowell to say the foundation would have to apply to the county for that to occur.
“They would have to apply to the county, and they would have to make a case for being an educational purpose,” said McDowell, adding “they could get it approved.”
City Council unanimously approved the special exception request without further discussion.
Other action Monday evening:
* A claim for damages from McCook resident Carol Stensvad was received and submitted to the city’s insurance carrier without comment as part of the consent agenda. According to the background information provided in the meeting packet, Stensvad is seeking reimbursement for approximately $141 in fencing panels reportedly confiscated by the McCook Police Department as evidence and later destroyed or thrown out while a related civil suit was working through Red Willow County courts.
Stensvad’s claim indicated her neighbor removed and sold a portion of her fencing at 510 West 1st Street that had been up for approximately 16 years. She was informed then by police officers it was a civil matter and they couldn’t do anything to stop the destruction of her fence. Stensvad was subsequently granted “adverse possession” by a Red Willow County judge and is seeking partial reimbursement from the city to help with costs of replacing her privacy fence.
* City Manager Nate Schneider announced city offices and other departments would be closed on Friday, Dec. 22, at 11:30 a.m. in honor of the Christmas Eve holiday on Sunday.
* The annual renewal of all retail liquor license holders within the City of McCook was approved without comment as part of the consent agenda. Chief of Police Isaac Brown recommended automatic renewal for all 26 license holders.
* The fiscal year 2016-17 Board of Public Roads Classifications and Standards annual budget reports were received and filed.
* Mayor Mike Gonzales was authorized to sign the annual certification form confirming funds received by the City of McCook from the Nebraska Department of Transportation, as part of the Federal-Aid Transportation Fund Purchase-Sale program, were being used accordingly.
* City staff issued a reminder the next City Council meeting will be on Tuesday, Jan. 2, due to the New Year’s Holiday.