City will use stimulus money for police equipment, drainage

McCOOK, Neb. — A good chunk of federal stimulus money the City of McCook will receive is directed toward a new radio console for dispatching at the city police department.

The total cost of the console is estimated at $750,000. City Manager Nate Schneider told the council at the regular meeting Monday night that replacing the current console has been a ongoing concern for several years, with the prior police chief, Ike Brown, also voicing concerns before he retired. The console is used for radio communication not only for city police but for the county and neighboring agencies, he said.

He, along with city staff and City of McCook Police Chief Joel Smith, have been in conversations with Miller and Associates and others to find out what are the eligible uses of federal stimulus funds, Schneider said and it’s been determined that the money can be used to buy police equipment under a safety and protection division.

A total of $680,000 has been award to the city from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in COVID-19 stimulus funds. From that amount, $150,000 will be used toward the police radio console, $200,000 transferred to self-insurance, $47,896 for a police patrol car, $125,000 for a used bucket truck for the street department and $130,000 for extrication equipment for the city fire department. A total of $27,104 is left over.

City Fire Chief Marc Harpham told the council during the discussion that the fire department received a grant of $189,249, with a city match at $9,462, for a fire trailer for the department.

The city will receive in two payments a total of $1,338,027 from the American Rescue Plan Act 2021. From that, $440,000 will go toward the police radio console, $20,000 for Internet at the water treatment plant, $500,000 for a fan press for wastewater treatment plant and $300,000 for a drainage project on north U.S. Highway, north of the Nebraska Public Power District office, where significant erosion has occurred.

The fan press for the wastewater treatment plant will replace aging equipment and is the last step in treating sewage, Utility Director Jesse Dutcher told the Gazette at the end of Monday’s meeting. The equipment takes the remaining moisture out of the sewage so it can be applied on agricultural land or in a landfill.

The remaining balance on the police dispatching console will be funded by E911 funds at $100,000 and the police radio reserve, $50,000.

Greg Wolford, city engineer and Kyle Potthoff, Public Works director, reviewed for the council the 2022 McCook Plan of Street Improvements at the public hearing Monday night. The main funding mechanism in street improvements is $250,00 in city sales tax, Wolford said. This year, the street improvements will get an additional $100,000 from city sales tax, for a total of $350,000.

The McCook Plan of Street Improvements is re-evaluated annually, with improvements scheduled for the next upcoming year and 10 years beyond that, Wolford said

Three projects are slated for next year, the first being the drainage project on north U.S. Highway funded by federal stimulus funds at $300,000.

The second is the reconstruction of North Cherokee, from Seminole to Norris Avenue, that’s been on the plan for several years and is now the top project, Wolford said. This will cost $518,000. The third project is an asphalt overlay on East First, from B to H Streets, at $227,000. Both are funded by a combination of city sales tax and federally allocated gas taxes, Wolford said.

Projects last year included the third and final payment for the three-year highway concrete repair project, which was significantly less than anticipated, at $78,500 compared to the original estimate of $181,000. Another project was the emergency repair of the storm sewer around Weiland Field at $225,349. The cost to McCook Public Schools was $19,000 with the city picking up the rest.

Two new projects were added this year to the plans, the first being the north U.S. Highway 83 drainage project, scheduled for 2022 and the overlay of west Old Highway 6 to the transfer station, that the city can budget for in the future, Wolford said.