Heritage Senior Center request tabled

The McCook City Council tabled a request by the Heritage Senior Center for an additional $75,000 in funding for its building project to be paid through increased revenues from the city sales tax.

"I think we've got a little higher use for this money," said Councilman Dick Trail, referring to the Jan. 7 deadline to pay for the purchase of the McCook Army Air Base.

Plus, he said, "The whole idea of providing water takes a higher precedence than the senior center expansion."

Trail asked city attorney Daylene Bennett if the excess money from the sales tax revenue could be used toward the land purchase or the city's upcoming water solution.

She explained to him that while the money could not go directly to either project, it could be used for property tax relief and since any financing for the air base land would need to be paid through property taxes, the sales tax revenue could be used to offset some of the expenses of the property.

"Can't we wait?" Trail asked, suggesting that the council hold the money until after the disposal of the land.

City Manager John Bingham told the council the Senior Center was facing a Nov. 1, deadline to come up with matching funds for a $350,000 Community Development Block Grant. Currently the center is $130,000 from its goal. The senior center can request a 90-day extension, moving the deadline to Feb. 1.

Bob Hite, a regular at the Heritage Senior Center, presented a list of 55 customers requesting the approval of the request.

"A lot of us have put a lot of time and money into this. If you let it go, there's a lot of wasted effort."

The council agreed 4-1 not to give the requested funds to the center until after the city had an opportunity to look at other possible uses for the money.

Councilman Steve Batty was the lone dissenter.

The Council also voted 4-1 to accept the COPS Grant which will allow for a second resource officer in the McCook schools.

Councilman Phil Lyons voted against the measure because, in part, "The important thing to remember is that we will be tying the future councils' hands as far as how many officers they're allowed to have," he said.

He also told the council the program is "expensive and we don't know where the money will come from."

Kathy Latta, principal of East and West Ward Elementary, and Randal Datus, business manager of the McCook schools attended the meeting to ask the council to reconsider its decision not to include the item in the city's budget.

In response to Lyons' question as to why the school had not been represented during the city budget talks, when the council decided not to include the funding for the position, Latta told the council the school was under the impression that since the city had approved the grant application it would naturally approve the grant.

Datus asked the Council not to look at the money as an expense, but rather "think of it as an investment in our children and our future."

Lyons again asked Datus, "If the children were so important to you, why weren't you here to represent them during the budget talks."

"Don't take my absence out on my children," Datus asked the council.

Lyons voted against the funding.

The council approved, on first reading, a revised ordinance which would change the sale and operation of fireworks stands in McCook.

The council agreed to charge a $100 fee to vendors selling fireworks in McCook. Proceeds from the fee will be used to offset costs of visits to the stands from the McCook Fire Department and the Nebraska State Fire Marshall.

The ordinance also changes the wording to put McCook in compliance with yearly changes made at the state level and cuts the number of days allowed to sell the fireworks from 12 days to seven days.

In other action:

- The council voted 5-0 to deny a request by Barb Ostrum of the Mid Nebraska Community Action to waive a fee for use of the City Auditorium on Oct. 31, Nov. 1, 4, 6-8 for the annual Coat Closet.

Lyons said the same request was granted last year because of the closing of the Army Reserve Center for public use after the events of September 11.

"That was an emergency situation, there's been plenty of time to find a new place this year," Lyons said.

Trail told the Council he thought the request should be approved because it "benefits the whole community and it does good."

City Attorney Bennett told the Council it it intended to go ahead with waiving the fee it would need to rewrite the city ordinance.

"The City Council does not have the authority to waive the fee.

In the end, the council agreed to allow the use of the auditorium, but charge the fee. Council members agreed the fee could be split between them and taken out of their City Council salary.

- During the Citizens forum portion of the meeting, the Council heard from Dale Cotton on the McCook Army Air Base Society's plans to begin renovation on the roofs of the buildings at the base and begin patching roofs on existing buildings.

McCook resident Pam Shepherd asked the council to arrange a meeting between local teens and the McCook Police Department to discuss ways that teens can congregate in public places without causing concern for the police department.

- The council approve the rezoning of the CarQuest project at 804 East B from Light Industrial to Business Commercial District under suspension of the rules.