The Broken Bow City Council met in regular session Tuesday evening, March 24, with Mayor Rod Sonnichsen calling the meeting to order at 6:00 PM.
There were a number of items on the agenda for Tuesday evening’s meeting. Among the Consent Agenda items, the Council approved Broken Bow Fire Department officers for the year. Following the Consent Agenda, Sonnichsen elected to start the meeting by introducing new Broken Bow Airport Authority Board member Todd Trost. Trost is a recently arrived Broken Bow resident and Air Force Veteran, where he gained experience in airfield operations as a Weather and Space Weather forecaster.
Marten provides Parks and Roads Annual Review
Darren Marten provided an overview of the past year for the Broken Bow Parks and Roads departments. Marten noted that with the remarkably mild weather the past winter, many projects were worked on for much longer than normal.
These included a number of tree-trimming projects, and cattail removal and dredging in Melham Pond. Concrete was poured on pickleball courts at Melham, and should be available May 1, depending on the availability of fencing. Concrete tee pads for Frisbee golf will also be poured soon at Melham Park.
The women’s restroom at Tomahawk Park is nearly completely renovated and will now be handicap-accessible. Ball fields around town have been prepped for the spring sports season.
On the Roads Department side, Marten noted work with Custer County will soon commence on Memorial Drive just to the east of the Hospital.
Sonnichsen told Marten that he had recently visited the City parks and found that they were well used, providing several examples of youth and parents making use of the various facilities.
Council Approves Continued Partnership with Black Hills Energy
In new business, the Council waived the standard three readings and approved two ordinances related to natural gas infrastructure in Broken Bow. City Administrator Dave Schmidt informed the council that Ordinances 1305 and 1306 were designed to renew the City’s agreement with Black Hills Energy to operate the infrastructure within the City, instead of Broken Bow doing so themselves. Schmidt noted that the agreement was last updated in 2001. A fee of $.0085, just under a penny, per “therm delivered” to be paid by Black Hills to the City is unchanged from that agreement.
Speed Limit Changes Coming to Memorial Drive
The Council also waived the three readings requirement and approved Ordinance 1307 changing the speed limit on Memorial Drive from just to the east of Melham Memorial Hospital to the city limit sign just to the east of the new Eagle Crest sub-division.
Currently, the speed limit on that stretch of road is 55 MPH until near the hospital, where it drops to 30 MPH, with a 45 MPH advisory around the curve on the eastern corner of the street. While a JEO traffic study recommended a speed of 50 MPH along that area of roadway, Schmidt recommended a reduction to 40 MPH, prompted in part by the new residential area, and concerns from residents of the nearby Hillcrest neighborhood.
Area resident Stephanie Grafel spoke in support of the reduction, noting it can be difficult to see hospital employees crossing the street just to the west of the proposed new speed zone. Council members also noted the number of sometimes serious accidents in poor weather that could be reduced along with the speed limit.
With approval by the City, Schmidt will work with the Custer County Supervisors on the conversion to standardize the speed limit, as Memorial Drive transitions between City and County jurisdiction several times between the hospital and Highway 2.
Easter Egg Hunt Time Moved Back
During Public Comments, Grafel, who is the Broken Bow Chamber of Commerce Director also informed the Council that due to school scheduling, the annual Easter Egg Hunt on the downtown Square in Broken Bow would be moved back, starting at 3:00 PM, rather than 1:30 on April 3.
Grafel also praised the several city employees and organizations nominated for awards at the March 21 Annual Chamber Banquet. These included both Mayor Sonnichsen and Police Chief Chris Anderson nominated as Citizen of the Year, Council Member Paul Holland nominated in the Customer Service category, and the Broken Bow Ambulance Service nominated for Non-Profit Organization of the Year.
With no further business before the Council, the meeting adjourned at 6:35 PM. The next meeting of the Broken Bow City Council will be Tuesday, April 14 at 6:00 PM at the Broken Bow Municipal Building Auditorium.
