Broken Bow City Council met for what would end up being a half hour long meeting on Tuesday night at the municipal building.
An ordinance that has seen several preliminary drafts and much discussion made progress during the meeting. Ordinance 1323 regulates the keeping of livestock and poultry within the corporate limits of the city. Following a public hearing with a good amount of discussion two meetings ago and a pause for a meeting for more discussion, information gathering, and drafting, a draft intended to be a final one was revealed Tuesday night.
View the entire ordinance here: City of Broken Bow Ordinance 1323
Changes identified since last council meeting discussion included an expansion on the number of birds allowed from six to twelve, the removal of ‘slaughter’ verbiage, the removal of the 4-H and FFA exemption, a change to the grandfathering process (which removed the inventorying process and changing it to a one-time registration), adding inspection consent, and a coop-and-run footprint expanded to 200 square feet.
A backyard flock registration and a grandfathered property registration example were both made available to those in attendance (see both alongside the changes at the end of this story).
Three readings of the ordinance were not waived, therefore pausing a decision for at least two more council meetings. No other action was taken.
Emergency Services Department Head David Baltz gave an update to the council, stating that so far the service has had 530 calls this year which is on track for around 650 for the year as a whole. Partner Mason Holmes brought attention to the fact that Broken Bow having 9 ALS providers in a community this size is unheard of.
Baltz introduced Rebecca Neumiller as a paramedic for the city. Neumiller said she and her husband moved to the area 19 years ago and had plans of staying for a couple of years before falling in love with the community and staying. She has been in EMS services since 1995.
Other business from Tuesday night’s meeting included:
- A resolution for the purchase of an ambulance for 2028 was approved. The purchase, quoted at $351,000, won’t require city funds until the 2027-2028 fiscal year budget. Baltz said during his update that the 2006 model the city uses is at the end of the commonly used 20 year life cycle, saying it is often the unit left behind while others are out on the road for other business leaving it as the primary unit available when a new call comes in.
- A temporary street closure for South D Street from South 8th Avenue to South 9th Avenue was approved for June 5th, 2027 for a Wheels 4 Warriors USA and Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association presentation and street dance. Organizer Jeremiah Daugherty said the event will go from 6 PM to 10 PM and feature live music, poker run, and food.
- Andrew Wilshusen of JEO Consulting group was appointed as the city’s street superintendent due to the upcoming retirement of long-time Broken Bow partner Steve Parr. JEO Consulting Group was also appointed as the city engineer for 2027.
Council entered executive session at 6:30 PM to discuss ‘the deployment of security personnel or devices’. It was stated that no decisions would be made in the session.
The next Broken Bow City Council meeting is November 24th at 6 PM.
