Cooperative purchase proposal on City Council agenda

McCOOK, Neb. — The McCook City Council will be asked to change the way the city purchases equipment, at the regular meeting Monday night, 5:30 p.m. at city council chambers at the city municipal building.

Currently, per city ordinance, any purchase over $30,000 must go through the formal bidding process and be put out for bid. The proposed change would allow the city to join with other cities in cooperative purchasing, through the company Sourcewell. Sourcewell, used by several cities and counties in Nebraska, develops a “Request for Proposals” and “Invitation to Bid” for national companies that meet local requirements, for those in the cooperative to purchase supplies, equipment and services.

The request comes from city staff who is concerned that for used or specialized equipment, getting an “apples to apples” bids is challenging. That’s because used equipment can be used for different capacities, such as by a county or city, and have varying mileage numbers, said McCook City Manager Nate Schneider. City staff has asked that the change be approve on its first reading, instead of the usual three readings required in changing an ordinance.

The council will also be receive and file the McCook Public Library HVAC evaluation prepared by James N. Marshall Engineering. The new estimated cost is $130,000, that’s $20,000 over what was budgeted for the library at $110,000.

Other items on the regular agenda Monday night include:

- Amend the city ordinance for off-leash dogs and vicious dogs concerning the proposed dog part in Barnett Park. The council at the Oct. 7 meeting approved a contract with the non-profit McCook K9 Korner, who is fundraising to install an off-leash dog park at the park. The current ordinance prohibits dogs off-leash; the amendment would allow dogs off-leash at the park. The ordinance would also be amended to prohibit dogs deemed vicious from using the park.

- Discuss the intersection of Norris Avenue and H Streets. A McCook citizen at the Oct. 7 council meeting expressed her concerns about that intersection for children. This is a discussion item only.

-Consider and authorize the use of Community Betterment Funds to cover the rental fees for the annual Toy Box event at the McCook City Auditorium on Dec. 8. For the past several years, Barb Osturm, the “head elf,” has asked for the use of the auditorium for this event and that rental fees to be waived. Instead of waving the fees, the council in the past has approved using Community Betterment funds for rental fees. Community Betterment funds are typically used to enhance the community, such as renovations at the Norris Park bandshell.

From the consent agenda, that can be approved with other consent agenda items unless pulled for discussion by a city council member, city staff or member of the public, comes the notification of an emergency purchase for the water department not to exceed $87,000.

According to background information on the item, on Sept. 18, while repairing a service line, the city’s water department’s 2003 John Deere backhoe had hydraulic system failure, losing all function of the backhoe. A John Deere mechanic from Murphy’s Tractor and Equipment in North Platte determined that the hydraulic pump was beyond repair and a replacement pump was installed. A new issue is the potential for uncontrolled movements in the backhoe due to possible metal fragments from the pump failure that can’t be completely removed.

The purchase will be paid for by the Water Treatment Plant Equipment Reserve.

The meeting Monday night will open with two hearings for public comment, the first for a zoning change requested by the Frenchman Valley Coop at 301 West A, from Central Business to Industrial Heavy.

The zoning change is being sought so Frenchman Valley can comply with dust emission requirements mandated by the state. Under Industrial Heavy zoning, feed mixing plants are allowed as well as other structures in the immediate neighborhood. Jacqui Riener told the McCook Planning Commission that Frenchman Valley would like to have the zoning change as quick as possible in order to submit a report to the state by the end of October; the city council could suspend the three-reading rule required for a zoning change and approve it on first reading.

The second public hearing is the application from Casey’s Retail Company to upgrade to a Class D (Beer, wine and distilled spirits off sale only) for all three Casey’s General Stores in McCook.

Prior to the pubic hearings, a presentation will be given by PFM Financial Advisors, LLC on the annual cashflow analysis for the city’s Water and Sewer Utility Funds.

The presentation, via a phone conference, will include a model of sales, expenses and rates for the next five years, as well as data from previous years.