Council asked to approve blight study

McCOOK, Neb. — The McCook City Council will be asked to authorize a study on whether property north of Ravenswood Road is blighted or substandard and several items relating to the new swimming pool, at its regular meeting Monday, 5:30 p.m. at city council chambers at the Municipal Building.

At the end of the regular meeting, upon a majority of the vote, the council will meet in a closed, executive session for a strategy session with respect to real estate purchase, for property located at 1200 West 4th Street. That’s the location of the former St. Catherine’s Apartments, purchased in March 2022 by Adamark Investments LLC for $43,000. The Nebraska Open Meetings Act allows governmental entities to have closed meetings without the public attending for several reasons, including strategy sessions with respect to real estate purchases.

From the regular agenda, the council will be asked to approve a study to determine if the area east of the McCook Business Park and north of Ravenswood Road is substandard and blighted. If approved by the council, a contract with a planning firm will be needed to conduct Areas designated as blighted or substandard are eligible for Tax Increment Financing. If a study is approved for this area, public hearings will be conducted by the McCook Planning Commission and the McCook City Council, to give individuals affected an opportunity to speak.

Also from the regular agenda, the council will be asked to approve issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) for swimming pool construction management services and set the date to receive proposals as 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 3, 2023. The selected construction manager will enter into a contract with the city, that will set a guaranteed maximum price. The construction manager will provide pre-construction services such as constructibility guidance, cost estimates and construction schedules. A selection committee will review the RFPs and set interviews. The committee will conduct interviews with four to eight firms, or fewer if less than four RFPs are submitted and will rank the firms based on an objective scoring system. After that, the committee will recommend one firm to the city council for the construction of the swimming pool.

Prior to this item, the council will be asked to approve from the consent agenda the appointment of Linda Taylor, Gene Weedin, Andy Smith, Mike Gonzales, Jody Crocker, Grant Norgaard, Matthew Clause, Kyle Potthoff, and Nate Schneider to the McCook Swimming Pool construction manager selection committee.

Other discussion items from the regular agenda include future approval and adoption of proposed changes to the city’s Contractor’s License requirements; receiving and filing a report from city staff updating the current organizational arrangement for the City of McCook's dispatch center and discussing with City Attorney Nathaniel Mustion what factors can be considered when granting a special exception in zoning regulations. The council will be asked to amend the city ordinance concerning miscellaneous and travel expenditures with language from current state law.

Another item from the consent agenda, where all items can be approved in one motion unless pulled for a separate vote/discussion, is an update on the additional .5% city sales tax approved at the general election on Nov. 8, 2022. The update confirms that the state received all required documents to increase the city sales tax and the rate will increase to 2% on April 1, 2023.

Other consent agenda items that require approval from the council include:

— Approving the bid from Deveny Motors for one 2023 Dodge Durango pursuit vehicle priced at $39,794.00, the only bid received;

— the mayor’s appointments to the Board of Health;

— The city manager’s appointment of Cathy McDowell to the McCook Civil Service Commission;

— To complete an application for a Rural Business Development Grant;

— Approve specifications for one new current model year one-half ton, four-wheel drive extended cab pickup for the city’s water department and set date to receive bids.

The meeting will start Monday night with three public hearings, concerning requests from Jerry Gohl for a minor subdivision on property he owns north of West J Street, northwest of the McCook Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The property will be known as Heritage Pointe Addition No. 3. Gohl is requesting that a tract of land he owns be divided from a larger tract of land, along with the requests to voluntarily annex a portion of the property into city limits and a zoning change for the property to Business Commercial. This would allow for building a commercial structure on the lot. Current zoning doesn’t allow for commercial business.