Three new members for Review Committee

Friday, May 22, 2015

McCOOK, Neb. -- The Citizens Advisory Review Committee is adding three members in the coming weeks.

Former Mayor Dennis Berry was appointed to fill a vacancy on the committee left by the departure of former-Mayor Flora Lundberg and it was announced Monday he had asked to be replaced.

Mayor Mike Gonzales said he was working to fill the vacancy, and would also like to get the five-member committee back up to the seven members originally approved by voters on the 2007 special election ballot.

Mayor Gonzales said this morning he didn't believe it was intentional to shift the committee roster from seven members down to five. The McCook Economic Development Plan was adopted in 2007 with language stating the committee would consist of five members and after it was pointed out recently the ballot presented to voters said the committee would consist of seven members, he determined the committee membership should be increased accordingly.

Mayor Gonzales said he has already filled the remaining spots and their names would be presented to City Council for approval during the June 1 meeting.

When asked if results from the special election coordinated earlier this month had anything to do with the recent changes to the Citizen Advisory Review Committee, Mayor Gonzales said they did not. In addition to the effort to increase the number of board members, the committee coordinated its first public hearing Monday evening, seven years after adopting ordinance committing to quarterly public hearings.

"The results of the election did not have any effect on this, once the discrepancy was brought to our attention the decision was made to increase the committee to seven members as that is what the voters approved," said Mayor Gonzales.

The committee is tasked with reviewing the functioning and progress of McCook's Economic Development Program and advising the City Council on it. Voters declined to renew the program past its 2018 expiration date earlier this month, however, they did approve the city continuing to receive the sales tax previously used to fund the program, at least until the year 2033.

The 2015 ballot language approved by voters combined what was previously two separate local option sales tax measures and removed previous specifications on how much of the sales tax would be spent on certain categories. Previous ballot language allocated approximately $400,000 annually for the Economic Development Program.

Earlier this week the McCook City Council coordinated the first-of-its-kind public hearing to receive advisement from the Citizens Advisory Review Committee. During the hearing MEDC Executive Director Rex Nelson provided a review of McCook Economic Development Program allocations and fund balances on behalf of the review committee, as well as minutes summarizing dialogue from the committee's January meeting.

Responding to questions from the Gazette about to his involvement in the review committee, Nelson said his role is one of advisement and providing administrative service to volunteers on the committee. He indicated he provided the recap to City Council, quite simply, because he was the most knowledgeable person due to his involvement in what can be complex financing and funding scenarios.

Nelson serves as program administrator as the Executive Director of MEDC and provides the Citizen's Advisory Review Committee with all the information they use to review spending plans of the program, in addition to presenting the committee's findings to City Council during public hearings.

"I have chaired the advisory committee meetings, because when this started [former City Manager] Kurt Fritsch asked me to. I am not a voting member so I'm just a facilitator. It takes some of the load off the volunteers, which they appreciate," said Nelson.

Nelson said he doesn't submit names for prospective members of the committee, that duty rests with the Mayor, although he doesn't see a problem with making suggestions.

"As long as the appointments remain with the city. They need to be folks who are interested and knowledgeable after all," said Nelson, adding the plan states the MEDC rep will provide advice and information to the committee, not City Council. Nelson said he submitted the report to City Council at the request of committee members and while he understood concerns raised, "the fact is that I understand the information because I have worked with it, so it is a lot easier for me to explain," said Nelson.

At the close of Monday's City Council meeting, Mayor Gonzales offered a reminder of just how involved volunteers are in the oversight and advisement of city leaders. Mayor Gonzales said 84 different people currently served on advisory boards and committees for the City of McCook.

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