Councilman asks for details on pool grant

McCOOK, Neb — Several McCook City Council members pulled items from the consent agenda for discussion at Monday’s regular council meeting.

Consent agenda items are approved in one motion unless pulled from the agenda for discussion and then a vote.

Councilman Jared Muehlenkamp asked for clarification on the dollar amount available for a Civic and Community Center Financing Fund (CCCFF) grant city staff wants to use for the construction of the new swimming pool. City Manager Nate Schneider said grant amounts are contingent on receipts collected from arenas and convention centers and due to the Covid-19 pandemic, receipts are down. Schneider said the maximum amount of the grant for McCook will be either $375,000 or $562,000. The council voted unanimously to authorize city staff to apply for the grant. Later in the meeting, Schneider said he’s working with three different grant writers for this grant and others.

Mayor Linda Taylor asked about bid specifications up for approval for a new Interceptor/Pursuit utility vehicle for the McCook Police Department and noted that the item on the agenda said it would be for one vehicle, but paperwork included with the council packet said it was for two vehicles. Mayor Taylor said she spoke to McCook City Police Chief Joel Smith shortly before the meeting, who confirmed the bid is for only one vehicle. McCook City Clerk Lea Ann Doak also verified that the specifications are for one vehicle after Taylor mentioned it during the meeting. This purchase is included in the 2022-23 budget and the council unanimously approved bid specifications after discussion.

Councilman Calvin pulled for discussion the reconvening of the McCook Swimming Pool Committee. The committee was dissolved by the city council in October 2022. This item was added to the consent agenda shortly after the first agenda was sent to the McCook Gazette. According to the city manager’s report for the item, city staff is requesting that the committee reconvene in order to help with the construction phase of the pool project.

Councilman Calvin asked how the committee would be utilized and City Manager Nate Schneider said it would be more in an advisory role.

City staff is working with the engineering firm the city retained for the pool, Lamp Rynearson, to get a contract in place for construction, Schneider said. An engineer can help come up with a timeline for a pool and that construction may be able to start in Spring 2023. Councilman Calvin said for the construction of the city Municipal Building, a project manager was used that was very helpful in completing the building on time and on budget. Schneider agreed that a project manager is beneficial in making sure budgets are maintained and that’s one of the options being discussed with the engineering firm.

Pool committee member Ronda Graff spoke to the council and said the committee was unaware of the request to reconvene the committee and is hopeful for better communication in the future.

The McCook Gazette pulled for discussion the request from city staff to complete an application for a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) grant that the city would use to extend water infrastructure to the proposed ballpark. An alternative use of the grant would be to fund other infrastructure services within the city. The maximum award for projects is $400,000 and matching funds may be required. The Gazette asked about plans for a sewer system at the ballpark and if synthetic turf is not used, how the city would cover water costs. Schneider said a lagoon system is being planned for the sewer and the city would pick up the water costs at the ballpark, in the same way it does at other city parks.

The rest of the consent agenda was approved unanimously by the council. Items included were:

— Approved the City of McCook entering into a Memorandum of Understanding with the McCook Creative District as part of McCook’s Creative District’s efforts to establish McCook as a Nebraska Arts Council Creative District. Grant funds up to $250,000 are available through the program to help establish Creative Districts. The city has been contacted by supporters of establishing a creative district in the city, requesting that the city submit a Memorandum of Understanding as part of their application. The McCook Creative District will be the entity that completes the application process.

— Approved the Year-End Certification of City Street Superintendent Form 2022. This determines the city’s 2022 Incentive Funds. The city gets $6,000 annually in Incentive Funds and contracts with Greg Wolford to provide these services.

— Received and filed the Agreement for Street Superintendent Services between the City of McCook and Greg A. Wolford for the 2023 calendar year. According to the agreement, the city will pay Wolford hourly plus expenses at the engineer’s standard hourly rate with the fee not to exceed $6,000 per year.

— Approved the automatic renewal of all current retail liquor licenses in the City of McCook for the year 2023 and instruct the City Clerk to publish individual notice of the right of automatic renewal of each license.

— Approved an application from Telcom Construction to occupy city right-of-way for the purpose of replacing telephone cable for 811 East 4th Street.