BROKEN BOW–After three previous public hearings and readings of Ordinances 1198 and 1199, Water Use Fees and Sewer Use Fees were approved for the city of Broken Bow on Tuesday evening during the City Council meeting.
Water/Wastewater Superintendent Darren Marten said on average the increase will be about $4-$5 per month per residence, based on family size. He added that sewer rates are based on winter water usage for the months of December, January, and February which then determine sewer rates for the year.
“The price of electricity is going up, the price of fuels went up, it’s been since 2013 since we’ve raised our rates. We try to be cautious about our spending but we are upgrading some of our older infrastructure. Some of it dates back as much as 100 years old. We’re just doing our due diligence and trying to make it for Broken Bow for the long term not just today but 20 years from now and just try to replace some of our infrastructure,” Marten said.
Ordinance 1200 Secondary Electric Service Expense and Ownership was approved and considered a “housekeeping bill that won’t change anything” according to Electric Superintendent Jeremy Tarr. Ordinance 1201 Utility Locating was also approved and reads
“the Broken Bow Utility Department will do a courtesy locate for underground electrical lines to the meter on a resident’s personal property with a Nebraska 811 locate request. The secondary electrical service is the property owner’s responsibility so the Broken Bow Utility Department is not liable for any non-City owned lines that are located incorrectly.”
The City Council also approved use of the city square for the Broken Bow Chamber of Commerce and Custer Care Easter Egg Hunt on Friday, April 19 at 1:30 p.m. Doug Sadler was appointed to the Board of Adjustment for a five-year term. Approval for use of a dump truck was approved for the Broken Bow Township. A lot split for Full Circle Irrigation was approved as was payment to JEO in the amount of $740 for CD Landfill NDEQ Financial Submittal.
Food Truck Parking on the south side of the square and Broken Bow Care and Rehab were also discussed on Tuesday evening, stay tuned to Sandhills Express for more on those conversations.
