BROKEN BOW, NE – Broken Bow City Council met Tuesday night at the Municipal building.
Tuesday’s agenda began with a presentation of plaques to outgoing West Ward councilmember Luke Wassom and East Ward councilmember Chris Myers. City Administrator David Schmidt thanked the two for their service.
“Councilmen Myers and Wassom, on behalf of the City Council, Mayor Sonnichsen, and the citizens of Broken Bow, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for commitment and service to this community. Your wisdom and thoughtful insight will be sorely missed. On more than one occasion you have forced this council to think about an issue or a problem from a different perspective and you have made us a better team. I for one am honored to have worked with each of you. You completed the job you set out to do and you’ve done it with integrity, fortitude, and principle. I commend you on a job well done. We remain in your debt,” said Schmidt.
Immediately following the plaque presentation, the Broken Bow City Council numbers went back up to four after Travis Kleeb and Joe Wamsley were sworn in as the new West Ward and East Ward councilmembers respectively.
The two joined Paul Holland and Russ Smith to get the evenings new business underway, which began with Russ Smith being re-appointed as Council President which was approved unanimously.
Water and sewer rate increases were approved unanimously, on Tuesday night’s agenda for the final time after their first two readings were not waived. During the November 12 council meeting the rates were introduced as a 10% increase for water and 16.5% for sewer, which would result in an average monthly increase between $11 and $14 on the monthly bills of residents.
City Administrator Schmidt told those in attendance that when a rate study was conducted, Broken Bow’s water rate of $17.59 was below the average of $20.19 for communities of similar size. The new rate of $19.26, Schmidt said, would not be the lowest but wouldn’t be the highest in that comparison.
The purchase of the armory building at the corner of South 1st Avenue and Industrial Park Road was approved quickly by council unanimously, in the amount of $270,000. Schmidt followed the approval by explaining that the purchase amount was the appraised amount, and that there wasn’t a determination at the moment on what the building would be used for.
The next City Council meeting will be on Tuesday January 14th, 2025 at 6 PM in the Broken Bow Municipal Building.
