BROKEN BOW, Neb. – Broken Bow City Council met Monday night (March 3) after their February 25th meeting was postponed. Councilmen Paul Holland, Joe Wamsley, and Russ Smith were present. Travis Kleeb was absent but excused.
Interlocal agreement between Broken Bow and Custer County
A resolution was approved by council to authorize City Administrator Dave Schmidt to send notice to Custer County of a termination of their interlocal Cooperative Agreement regarding the communications center.
The agreement states that if one of the two parties wishes to re-negotiate, a notice of termination with a 1 year term on it is required. It was stated during Monday’s meeting that the current agreement had been in place since the year 2000. Schmidt confirmed to KCNI/KBBN after the meeting that the 1 year deadline starts on the day he submits the notice. He did not know when he would do so, but indicated that he would be sending the notice.
Memorandum of Understanding between Broken Bow and Brookestone View
Council approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Brookestone View at Monday night’s meeting. The MOU states that the City of Broken Bow agrees to provide use of the Broken Bow Handi Bus to Brookestone View during an emergency or disaster that threatens to create severe hardship for their residents. Brookestone does not currently have a large transportation option for moving residents in the event of an emergency.
Sewer extension project change orders
Two change orders were made to the Highway 2 sanitary sewer extension project from 15th to Webster. Change order one, a 90 day time extension moving the “substantial completion” milestone date to from December 31st, 2024 to March 1st, 2025 was approved. The addition of 80 linear feet of 8 inch by 8 foot concrete with rebar to protect sewer main was also given the thumbs up in the amount of $9,280.
Consideration of new stop signs, speed limit increase
The placement of 15 stop signs in various locations inside the city was introduced as a part of three separate ordinances. Various reasonings for the new stop signs included pedestrian safety, truck traffic, and increases in residences in each area. Throughout the public hearings for each ordinance, both police officers and citizens cited accidents, near accidents, and careless driving through intersections as their reason for supporting the signs. Library Director Megan Svoboda said that during reading programs, the library (nearby several new proposed stop sign locations) has between 300 and 400 kids through their doors weekly.
New stop sign locations would be as follows:
- North side of the South 8th Avenue and South D Street intersection
- North and south side of the South 6th Avenue and South C Street intersection
- North and south side of the South 7th Avenue and South C Street intersection
- Four way stop signs at the South 6th Avenue and South D Street intersection
- Four way stop signs at the South 7th Avenue and South D Street intersection
- North and south side of the North 9th Avenue and North H Street intersection
A speed limit change was also introduced to Council, increasing the speed limit to 25 MPH from 15 MPH for the entirety of South B Street west of South 10th Avenue, the street that runs from the corner near the former Gary’s Super Foods west to Tomahawk Park. The speed limit is believed to have been lowered to 15 MPH when the square was under construction due to the increase in children on the street going to and from Tomahawk Park, but never re-increased.
The three readings for each stop sign ordinance as well as the speed limit ordinance were not waived, which means they will continue to be discussed at upcoming council meetings before being considered for approval.
An update on the power plant explosion on February 20th
During public, mayor, and council comments, City Administrator Dave Schmidt gave an update regarding the explosion at the city’s power plant.
“Even the guys that were investigating it said ‘I hate using the words ‘freak accident’, but it fits here.’ It really was just a chain of unfortunate events that happened to fall in our lap,” said Schmidt.
Read more from Schmidt’s update here
Broken Bow Fire Chief, council, mayor, all extend thanks for fire support
To close out Monday’s rescheduled council meeting the mayor, council, and Broken Bow Fire Chief Dustin Watson all extended great appreciation to everyone involved in battling the recent events the city has faced. Between the power plant explosion and recent grass fires, response ballooned from local, to regional, to statewide, and even to a disaster declaration level that saw federal assistance head to Custer County.
Monday’s meeting adjourned at 6:49 PM.
The next City Council meeting will be Tuesday, March 11 beginning at 6 PM at the Municipal Building.
