Hotel tax on final reading

McCOOK, Neb. — A new city ordinance that will create a 4 percent occupation tax in the city of McCook will have its final reading tonight at the regular City Council meeting, 6:30 p.m. at the City Council Chambers in the Municipal Building.

The 4 percent occupation tax is estimated to generate up to $130,000 in revenue for the general fund or another fund the council designates. Going into effect July 2018, it will be assessed on motels, hotels, or other similar lodging facilities in the City of McCook.

Consent agenda items, where items can be approved in one motion or pulled for discussion by a council member of a member of the public, include:

* Approve specifications to buy replacement ultraviolet equipment for the wastewater treatment plant and set a date to receive bids for April 17, 2018, at 2 p.m.: the UV system used to disinfect treated wastewater prior to discharge to the Republican River is 22 years old and must be manually operated to meet discharge requirements. Before waste water is discharged into the river, the water is passed through a channel which has a series of UV lights that eliminates microorganisms, to federal specifications. The manufacturer of the UV lights no longer make replacement parts for the system. There is expected to be no fiscal impact, with funds coming from the 2017-18 Budget Sewer Capital Replacement fund.

* Award the bid in the amount of $32,727.00 to BSB Construction of Curtis, Neb., as the lowest responsible bidder for a new sewer line. This project will provide sewer to six residential lots in the Parkview Addition south of Cheyenne, between Pawnee and Seminole, north of Our Saviors Lutheran Church. It will extend the existing sewer 320 feet south to serve six lots owned by Jay and Susan Hancock. Each of the lots will have a special assessment levied to pay for improvements. Other bids came from Midlands Contracting Inc. of Kearney for $39,930, KL Wood and Co. of Alliance, Neb. for $40,030 and from Van Kirk Bros. Contracting in Sutton, Neb. for $52,310. Existing special assessment dollars will be used to pay for the project, as opposed to issuing bonds. The special assessment fund will be reimbursed by the special assessments levied against each of the six lots.

* Receive and file a claim for damages from Allan Powell and submit it o the City’s insurance carrier for review and appropriate action. Powells’ claims regard his residence at 308 S. Eighth from an incident on Nov. 7-8, 2017, when he said his basement was flooded when the city replaced water lines. He said when the water was turned back on, it blew the seals out of his soft water unit, that caused it to continue running undetected for several hours. This damaged the basement walls and the soft water unit, with costs totaling $811.27.

* Award the bid for the 2018 Armor Coating Project to B & H of Scott City, Kan., in the amount of $3.55 per gallon, being the lowest best bid.

* Adopt a resolution that approves the execution of an agency agreement with the Department of Transportation-Division of Aeronautics of the State of Nebraska, for a project to be submitted by the Division to the Federal Aviation Administration, to obtain federal assistance for the development of the McCook Ben Nelson Regional Airport:

This project includes crack and joint sealing, paint marking and concrete panel repair at the airport. This agreement allows the NDOT to act as the City of McCook’s agent, or go-between, with the federal government. The project is tentatively scheduled to begin 2018, with an estimated cost of $500,000. The City of McCook will be responsible for 10 percent or $50,000, with the remaining 90 percent funded through the Federal Airport Capital Improvement program.

* Adopt a resolution that will provide free public admission to the McCook Municipal Swimming Pool on June 4, 2018, in coordination with the Bicycle Ride Across Nebraska (BRAN).

* approve two proclamations with the mayors signature: the week of April 8 - 14, 2018 as “National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week” and the month of April 2018 as “Sexual Assault Awareness Month.”