Citizens urged to apply for city committees

McCOOK, Neb. — Finding someone to serve on a city board or committee may get a little easier now.

The McCook City Council received and filed Monday night at the regular meeting a new application that interested citizens can fill out for future openings on city committees. The application will be kept on file for when a vacancy occurs.

For all of the 14 boards and committees, a total of about 100 volunteers are needed, Mayor Mike Gonzales said, who is responsible to appoint board members. Gonzales was enthusiastic about the application process, as it will be a good tool to use to fill vacancies. The process used now is basically “who knows who,” Gonzales said.

City Manager Nate Schneider agreed. A larger pool of people can be accessed and “I’m sure there are some people out there we never thought of,” he said.

Currently, there are openings on the Park Advisory Board, the Tree Board and one open seat on the Economic Development Plan Citizen’s Committee.

Committees and boards that are comprised of citizens are Airport Advisory Commission, Airport Zoning Board, Board of Zoning Adjustment, Building and Housing Code, Advisory and Appeals Board, Economic Development Plan Citizen’s Advisory Review Committee, Economic Development Plan Loan Committee, Housing Agency Board, Library Advisory Board, Parks Advisory Board, Planning Commission, Senior Citizen Advisory Board and Tree Advisory Board.

The application is on the city’s website and also available at the city office. Eligibility requirements include that applicants must be eligible electors and reside within McCook city limits, except for the Planning Commission, which requires one person to reside outside city limits.

Also Monday night, the council “received and filed” the emergency purchase of a used 2016 Freightliner dump truck for the city water department at $39,000. The truck will replace a 1984 truck that needed repairs more costly than the truck itself, according to the city manager’s report. The usual bidding process was not used in this purchase, as water department staff found that these mid-sized trucks did not stay on the lot for long. The trucks are very popular among cities and contractors as they are narrow enough to maneuver into alleys yet heavy-duty enough to hold 10 tons and tow a trailer.

“We’d find a truck, write a spec and the dealer said they sold it,” said Jesse Dutcher, Utilities director, of repeated attempts to secure a used truck. The emergency purchase “is probably the only opportunity to do this,” he said, although he did try to avoid it. “We could do bids, for something new, but we’d spend a lot more money,” he said.

Dutcher told the council that the truck was sold from a Hastings dealer, was used to transport mail and has 200,000 miles on it. The mileage is not a concern, he said, as these kinds of trucks “are a different kind of animal.”

“I once drove a truck like this with 750,000 miles,” he told the council.

Councilman Jerry Calvin agreed that the emergency purchase was the best way to go. “With equipment like this, you have to buy right away, you gotta jump on it.”

There was $60,000 earmarked in the 2021-22 budget by the council for the purchase water department truck.

The meeting ending with “Council Comments,” with only Mayor Mike Gonzales having a comment. He noted the largest-ever crowd at the city’s Arbor Day tree planting, when a tree was planted in memory of the late Cloyd Clark, and the number of weddings and receptions that took place over the weekend, a welcome sign after the pandemic.