The Broken Bow City Council met in regular session Tuesday evening, October 27 with all Council members present. Mayor Rod Sonnichsen called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM in the Council Chambers of the Broken Bow Municipal Building.
After quickly completing approval of the Consent Agenda, including minutes from the prior meeting and the month’s bills and Treasurer’s Report, the Council dove into the only formal item of business on the Agenda.
Camryn Hall of the Broken Bow Housing Authority presented a mea culpa regarding fees due to the City through the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) program. The local Housing Authority program has until recently been managed from the Hall County Housing Authority, and during that time, neither payment nor the commonly-applied waiver had been addressed.
The PILOT program allows a Housing Authority to pay a certain amount directly to a city rather than pay taxes on the properties it owns and manages. Hall stated the Housing Authority currently manages over 80 units across Broken Bow, including the Custer Heights apartment building and numerous homes across the city. All units are rent-controlled based on income, along with a utility allowance.
While the Authority would like to have a vacancy rate of around 5%, Hall stated they are currently seeing a rate of nearly 20% open units, contributing at least in part to some financial stress; the Authority has had to dip into its financial reserves. Paying the nearly $58,000 due from 2024 and 2025, plus the 2026 payment due soon would create additional hardship in the program, per Hall.
Sonnichsen noted that historically these fees had been waived in conjunction with regular updates presented to the Council. Sonnichsen recommended an annual program review, with a Waiver of the fees from 2024 – 2026, as well as a future Waiver for the out years of 2027 – 2029. With that resolution before the Council, the measure to waive the PILOT fees for the Broken Bow Housing Authority was unanimously approved by the council members.
Upcoming Chamber Events
In Public Comments, Broken Bow Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Stephanie Grafel thanked the Council for its ongoing support and partnership with the community events that her organization hosts.
Coming up on Friday, October 30, the streets around the Broken Bow City Square will be closed for the annual Sidewalk Spooks celebration of kids and candy. Grafel stated the event, running from 3:00 – 5:00 PM will feature 65 local businesses and organizations this year. In case of rain, Grafel and the City agreed to allow the event to proceed in the Municipal Building Auditorium.
Grafel further noted Christmas is right around the corner. The next Chamber events after the spooky season will be the Festival of Lights on November 30, along with the second annual Holiday Lane decoration on the 10th Avenue medians.
In Council Comments, council member Paul Holland thanked the City for its work re-building Memorial Drive just east of Jennie M Melham Memorial Hospital, along with the public’s patience and attention to safety during the construction.
With no further business to conduct, Broken Bow City Council adjourned at 6:15 PM. The next meeting of the Broken Bow City Council will be Tuesday, November 10th at 6:00 PM in the Broken Bow Municipal Building.
