BROKEN BOW, Neb.— Broken Bow City Council met on Tuesday night for a little more than an hour. A majority of the meeting was spent with citizens voicing their opinions and giving input during a public hearing with ongoing discussions regarding livestock and poultry in city limits.
Livestock/poultry public hearing lasts nearly an hour
Council eventually unanimously put a pause to items regarding the possible ordinance on agendas until November 10 in order for more time to be given for public input, discussion, and research. City Administrator Dave Schmidt indicated that specific items to be readdressed included the limit of animal numbers as well as the ‘grandfathering’ and ‘registering’ sections. Mayor Rod Sonnichsen brought attention to the end ordinance needing to be specific and clear cut enough so that it could be enforced. He also stated the existence of conflicting ordinances that would need addressed.
During the public comment period, which lasted most of an hour, opinions and ideas were given by six different citizens.
Many stated that they obviously agree with the portions of the ordinance that would address situations where animals were being neglected or where there was an egregious situation with noise, space, or smell.
Several citizens cited a concern with the limit on poultry being set at six animals, citing the need for eggs to consume than that number could provide or that the limit would require they have breeds that produce quantity rather than quality.
Concerns were voiced regarding setbacks for structures such as coops, stating that by the time the setbacks from property lines are considered the coops would be in the middle of a yard of a small property and not convenient.
Some citizens brought up a comparison between roosters and guineas, with the hope that council would consider not including quail and guinea fowl in the ordinance ‘ban’ verbiage. Many agreed that roosters are in fact loud and understood the concern with their volume.
One speaker during the public hearing was concerned about her particular choice in animals on her property putting a limit on what possible future owners of the property grandfathered in could have if they had different desires on what makeup of animals they wanted on their property.
A suggestion was given to strike the portion of the ordinance that states temporary 4-H and FFA project animals are allowable, with the justification being that rabbits or poultry would be suitable projects for those in town rather than large hooved animals.
Toward the end of the discussion, Zoning Administrator Jacob Holcomb clarified the setback part of the discussion saying that city zoning setbacks exist for all structures regardless of their use for fire safety, line of sight, and easements. He did acknowledge that the proposed ordinance draft does state that animal confinements would have to be 10 feet away from side property lines, which is further than the zoning setbacks for other structures which is six feet.
Mayor Sonnichsen encouraged council to not leave anything unturned when considering the pieces of the ordinance, stating several times that the city should be able to find a common ground to serve all citizens with or without livestock or poultry.
City job title shuffle executed
Council then held public hearings, a waiving of three readings and then approval of a few ordinances that combined the offices of deputy clerk and city treasurer and created the office of city planner (who would also be designated as zoning administrator and floodplain administrator). LeeAnn Morgan was appointed as Deputy Clerk-Treasurer and Jacob Holcomb was appointed as City Planner.
Schmidt said that the duties of zoning administrator and floodplain administrator would normally be the responsibility of himself in the case of most cities, but that Holcomb had a skill with the duties those admin positions call for. He added that having Holcomb do those duties has allowed him time to be effective in seeing to other city business. He was encouraged by the change allowing Holcomb and himself to ‘keep up the pace and standard’ they had set. He said that the combination of deputy clerk and treasurer responsibilities made sense in many ways.
Wage ordinance approved
With the newly created positions and responsibilities approved, council approved a new wage ordinance which also detailed the salaries of officers and employees, a pay plan for all classifications in the city, and the monthly salary or hourly wage range for each position at the city.
Lease-purchase of robotic crawler pipe inspection camera system approved
Council rounded out Tuesday night’s meeting by approving a lease-purchase of a robotic crawler pipe inspection camera system, which Schmidt described as looking like an RC car with a camera on it.
The city previously hired out the work, which was stated to be costing a lot more than if a lease-purchase was executed. Schmidt said that an old ambulance was purchased that would serve as the transportation for the system, which can inspect pipes but also track history.
The agreement has a principal amount of $118,368.52 to be paid out at $26,861.40 a year.
The Council meeting adjourned at 7:07 PM. The next meeting will be October 27th at 6 PM, also at the municipal building.
