City, MPCC disagree on sports complex ownership

“I agree to disagree” was the refrain of choice at Monday night’s meeting of the McCook City Council. The question at hand was whether Mid Plains Community College should own a portion of McCook’s proposed sports complex in exchange for their substantial contribution of $4.5 million.

After an unchallenged consent agenda, the council’s first order of business was to hear a brief update regarding grants, infrastructure plans, and the sports complex’s general progress. The council then transitioned to the next item, described on the agenda as “update and discussion on the sports complex project regarding Mid-Plains Community College.”

City Manager Nate Schneider kicked off the discussion by reading aloud the detailed background notes provided to council members. The background included the premise, “MPCC’s president stated that the college currently has $4.5 million to build out the championship fields, with the possibility of more if it were to own the championship fields.” The background notes then detailed numerous reasons why allowing MPCC to own a portion of McCook’s sports complex would not be in the best interest of the city.

Ryan Purdy, Mid-Plains Community College President, then took the witness table, flanked by Kelly Rippen, Vice President of Student Affairs and McCook Community College. Purdy opened his rebuttal by describing the fractious nature of relations in his community, North Platte, between multiple ballparks and campuses. Purdy suggested “a lot of instances where North Platte does not get along with each other” as his rationale for wanting to maintain ownership of the fields separate from the city.

Purdy then provided a timeline of meetings, conversations, and negotiations dating back to 2023, focusing on ownership, naming rights, and eventually, dealings with Mammoth Construction, the firm contracted for the project. He emphasized that MPCC ownership of the championship fields had been part of the discussions from the start, criticized the city’s lack of communication throughout the process, and expressed frustration over MPCC’s limited input during the design phase.

City Manager Nate Schneider replied to Purdy’s account, saying politely, “That’s not true.” Schneider then outlined the many permutations of the project, challenges and changes made along the way and reiterated why it is not in the best interest of the city to share ownership with the college. Throughout the exchange, Schneider discussed the project in the larger context of McCook’s redevelopment efforts.

As the conversation between City Staff and Purdy continued, it became evident that MPCC’s working understanding of the project was based upon earlier discussions of the project that the city understood to be preliminary, at best. MPCC accused the city of being noncommunicative. The city accused MPCC of being unresponsive. All agreed to disagree on this history of communications and the details of MPCCs role in the project.

When the discussion of timelines, conversations and representations devolved into he-said-she-said territory, Council Member Jerod Muehlenkamp stepped in and recentered the conversation on collaboration and cooperation. While Muehlenkamp’s intervention helped restore civility to the discussion, the overall divide between the current operating status of the project and MPCCs perception of the direction of the project remained sharply divided.

Ultimately, the parties resolved to continue the conversation with the MPCC board and other stakeholders in attendance, but Purdy expressed doubt as to whether the meeting could take place within the city’s timeline. The discussion concluded with speculation as to whether a virtual meeting, AKA “Zoom call,” would satisfy open meeting requirements, but without agreement.

In other business, Mayor Taylor suggested a preliminary schedule of admission fees and passes for the new aquatic facility, designed with the consideration of provisions for grandparents and babysitters. Provisions for “lap swimming” during hours when the pool might be staffed but not yet open to the general public were also discussed.

The details of pool admission fees were followed by a preliminary discussion of proposed LB 354, which would eliminate state equalization funding for Cities of the First Class. City Manager Schneider warned that if the legislature passed the measure, the city would be forced to consider alternative sources of revenue, possibly in the form of increased fees and occupational taxes.

The Council then, on second reading, approved new provisions to the fireworks code before adjourning without any additional council comments.