Welcome to our meeting.

The date is September 9, 2025.

The time is 7 p.m.

This is an open meeting of the Grand Island City Council.

The City of Grand Island abides by the Open Meetings Act in conducting business.

A copy of the Open Meetings Act is displayed in the back of this room as required by state law.

The City Council may vote to go into closed session on any agenda item as allowed by state law.

At this time, let's all rise and do the Pledge of Allegiance.

And to require which it stands.

Thank you.

Council President Sheard.

Present.

Councilmember Stelk.

Present.

Councilmember Conley.

Present.

Councilmember Nickerson.

Present.

Councilmember Brown.

Present.

Councilmember Housey.

Present.

Councilmember Mendoza.

Present.

Councilmember O'Neill.

Present.

Councilmember Pollock.

Present.

Councilmember Lanfeer.

And Mayor Steele.

Present.

Also present are the City Clerk, Jill Grenier, the Assistant City Administrator and Chief Financial Officer, Patrick Brown, Carrie Fisk, the City Attorney, and Keith Kurtz, the public works director.

Individuals who have appropriate items for city council consideration should complete the request for future agenda items form located at the information booth.

If the issue can be handled administratively without council action, notification will be provided.

If the item is scheduled for a meeting or study session, notification of the date will be given.

Councilmember Nickerson has removed seven R from the consent agenda.

Do council members wish to remove any other items from the consent agenda.

And also, Council members, for your information.

So those will also be polled.

And to conclude then we've pulled 7H, 7R, and 7U from the consent agenda.

A sign-up sheet was available in the lobby for individuals wishing to provide input on any of tonight's agenda items.

If you did not sign up to speak on an agenda item, please come forward.

State your name and the agenda topic on which you will be speaking.

So we shall continue.

We now take up our board of equalization matters.

Council members, is there a motion to leave our regular meeting and convene as the Board of Equalization?

Mr.

Hawsey.

Thank you, Mayor.

I move that we go adjourn to a board of equalization.

Thank you.

Mr.

Sheard.

Thank you.

I'll second that.

Thank you, Mr.

Sheard.

Any discussion?

Please vote.

We're missing one.

Mike.

Okay.

Shall I?

I got it marked.

Motion adopted.

Item six A, consideration of determining benefits for rail side business improvement district reductions.

Mr.

Brown.

Thank you, Mayor.

Good evening, Council.

We're ready for a long evening of budget.

So tonight before you is rail side.

Um determining the reductions for the assessment.

There are people eligible, 11 property owners who are eligible for a 30% discount.

That reduction amounts to $1,037.

And we would reduce the request to 150,000 440.79 cents.

So this we are asking for council to approve the list of uh reductions.

And that's the motion you seek.

Is there a motion, Council members?

Mr.

Sheard.

Thank you.

I move that we approve.

Approved 2025 BE-1.

Thank you, Mr.

Hossey.

Thank you, Mayor.

I would second that motion.

Thank you.

Any discussion.

Please vote.

Motion adopted.

6B, consideration of determining benefits for rail side business improvement district.

Mr.

Brown.

Thank you, Mayor.

This is uh looking for council approval of doing the actual assessment of 150,000 four hundred and forty dollars and seventy-nine cents.

The action item will come later in the agenda.

Mr.

O'Neill.

I move that we approve 2025-BE2.

Mr.

Brown.

Second that motion.

Thank you.

Any discussion.

Please vote.

Doug.

Doug.

Do you want to vote?

Motion adopted.

6C consideration of determining benefits for 4th Street Business Improvement District reductions.

Mr.

Brown.

Thank you, Mayor.

Again, this is a uh in the fourth street business improvement district.

We have five property owners who have filed the proper documentation for 30 percent eligible deduction.

The total deductions is 575.90.

And we are looking for your approval of those five property owners.

Thank you, Mr.

Brown.

Mr.

Sheard.

Thank you.

I move that we pass 2025-BE3 and Mr.

Hawsee.

And second that motion.

Any discussion?

Please vote.

Motion adopted.

6D, consideration of determining benefits for fourth street business improvement district.

Mr.

Brown.

Thank you, Mayor.

Here we are asking for council approval of the uh net request for a special assessment for fourth street business improvement district of $39,424 and ten cents.

Mr.

O'Neill.

I move that we approve 2025-BE4.

And Mr.

Brown.

I second that motion.

Any discussion?

Please vote.

Motion adopted.

6E, consideration of determining benefits for Fawner Park Business Improvement District.

Mr.

Brown.

Thank you, Mayor.

We are asking for council approval on doing special assessments in the Fawner Park Business Improvement Area for a total of $53,202.

Thank you, Mr.

Brown.

Mr.

Brown.

Move we approve 2025 Tech B E TAC 5.

Mr.

Stell.

I second the motion.

Any discussion.

Please vote.

Motion adopted.

Council members, is there a motion to leave the board of equalization and return to our regular meeting?

Mr.

Landfear.

I move we leave the board equalization and return to our regular meeting.

Thank you, sir.

Mr.

O'Neill.

I second.

Any discussion.

Please vote.

Motion adopted.

Is there a motion to approve the consent agenda?

With the exception of 7H, 7R, and 7U, but all the others from 7A through 7W, Mr.

Sheard.

Thank you.

I move that we pass the consent agenda, items A through W minus H R and U.

Thank you, Mr.

Sheard.

Mr.

O'Neill.

I second that motion.

Any discussion?

Please vote.

Motion adopted.

7H approving update to the city's waiver fine schedule.

Good evening, Mrs.

Nonhoff.

Please tell us about this.

So the Nebraska legislature effective September 3rd updated the speeding fines for the state of Nebraska.

We are now matching our city code fines to state statute.

We could not do this before state statute went into effect.

So this is the first council meeting after state statute went into effect.

So these literally just mirror state statute exactly.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mayor Council.

Uh just Toddry items.

I kind of like to see an increase.

They got uh spilling contents of a vehicle.

We have the the cattle trucks that run through town, and you know you've seen the trails that they've left.

Is this being enforced on these cattle trucks?

Because I I see it so often I wonder if that fine maybe needs to increase, you know, double it or something like that.

And the other one is uh engine braking.

I think we have it's not a I know this came up with the county board years ago, and uh truck driver said, Well, it's it's a safety issue, we gotta be able to swam on the brakes.

But I lived across from the I lived on highway 34 for a while, and uh the semi-trucks, you can see the stoplight from a half from a mile away, and you know when it's coming.

And if you're uh attentive driver, I had a CDL license years ago.

I know this.

Is if you pay an attention to the lights, you look for lights that are getting ready to turn red, that there's no reason to use the hydraulic brakes.

When there's no reason unless you're gonna slam into somebody right away.

And we have these signs all over town that engine brakes is prohibited, are prohibited, but we never publish a fine.

You know, there's never a fine, and I think that fine should be.

I think that one should be increased too, because it's it's not a safety issue, it's a public nuisance issue.

It's a quality of life issue.

Uh because you know these guys run all day and night, people trying to sleep.

So that's those are the two considerations I had on on that.

And that's all I got.

Thank you.

In reference to the fines that he's talking about, everything in chapter, all of the fines for 22 for chapter 22, those are actually dictated by state statute.

So we have to not only do our traffic and criminal codes match state statute word for word, our fines also match, and they by law have to match them, or they cannot be done by waiver.

So all of those in 22 from 13 to the end, those are actually all set by state statute, and we just match them.

Thank you, Mr.

Actually raise them.

Thank you, Mrs.

Nonhoff.

Council motion is in order.

Mr.

Hawsey.

Thank you, Mayor.

I move to approve resolution 2025-289.

And Mr.

O'Neill.

I second.

Any discussion.

Mr.

Hawsey.

Thank you, Mayor.

I wanted to confirm uh so when we collect these fines, so these does this money go to the school system.

Yes.

All of this have to get you have to get to the podium.

I'm sorry.

Yes.

All of the fines for criminal and traffic citations go through the Hall County court.

That money is all collected, goes to the state, and then the state is just distributes it.

None of it actually.

We don't have a municipal court system.

That would be the only way to keep fine money within Grand Island, and we don't have that, and we can't have one because Nebraska legislature says no.

Okay, so the the beneficiary here is not the city of Grand Island, but the public school system.

Yes.

Okay, thank you.

Please vote.

Motion adopted.

Seven R awarding land lease for digital infrastructure.

Mr.

Schmitz, tell us about this, please.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

And I have I can pull up uh put a few pictures on here and share, hopefully.

Maybe there.

So we've had entities come to us for I would say the better part of seven, eight years.

And we're very defensive about our infrastructure and its effect on our customer base.

And so we've turned many, many of these away that have ended up other places.

Kind of uh out of the box idea was hatched.

We had a uh substation that's in the right location.

Recently we had AGI shutter their doors, and then we added 10 megawatts of solar, which basically act as excess capacity on that substation.

So looking at the substation, the location, the distances we had from residential customers, um, we thought, okay, if there's any situation where we would be open to it, this is it.

So we did an RFP for a land lease.

Upon the land lease, we actually did out and did site investigations at several of these.

Um the pictures on the screen are actually a similar build to what we'd be looking at.

This one's south of Aurora.

Um we took a decibel meter um to all locations, measured those.

And then with the help of legal, we actually researched what other entities were using as uh sound thresholds, and then we set ours five decibels lower than what the others were.

And so in the end, the ambient noise just from the location in general will actually likely end up being higher than what will be realized from this facility.

In addition to the one in Aurora, we went a step further and even requested a sound barrier wall.

So what it is is a wall that's the full length of the exhaust that will set approximately 20 feet back from the exhaust side and dissipated sound out and up.

And also the building will sit, be situated between actually I got pictures here.

So the green block is approximately the location we're looking at.

So that sits between SWIFT and the wastewater plant as far as directional.

Um got one more picture.

So that's the larger site.

So you can see the distances away.

At the one in Aurora, when you would drive a quarter mile away, it was basically indiscernible.

Um the houses here are 1800 feet to the north, the property line is about a quarter mile, and the one in Aurora did not have the dissipating wall that we plan to add.

So those were the things we looked at.

We did not want to add cost to our customer base.

Another thing which you guys helped with last year to start this process was a lot of utilities have they take up capacity.

We didn't want to give up capacity or generation capacity, so the requirement is this thing has to be 100% interruptible.

And what that means is any time that it would put us to a new capacity requirement, we take them offline, and that's in the agreement.

So it will not affect our generation requirement for the city.

It has uh very financially beneficial um capability for the city, and then also we've been very cognizant about the sound um potential and have done great research on that.

So I feel pretty confident in all those things, and I guess with that I'll open up to questions.

Gerald Pools, did you want to speak thank you again?

Uh in reading through the document they talked about uh the company would pay 18,000 a year for the lease.

Uh they pay various sums to the uh they paid 250 in sales tax and 60,000 for what are 900, whatever.

About 125 or about one and a quarter million dollars about.

And I just and they're gonna get these companies come to Nebraska, and I think they take advantage of the cheap land and the cheap electricity because they've got all this this is the big money, guys.

Now, when I was a kid, if I was gonna mine anything, I walked a ditch and got a pot bottle and got two cents for it, you know.

I did a little bit of work.

These guys are gonna come in, they'll make millions of dollars, get reduced electricity rates, I believe.

Now, now if they were paying residential rates, how much money would would go to the electric company?

How much how much would that what would be the difference between paying regular residential rates for electricity as opposed to uh about the one and a quarter million, which is kind of what's uh mentioned in the in the file.

First of all, 100% agree with Jerry.

That's the reason we've been very cautious with this, um, as far as our look at it.

It's hard to compare them to residential because they're a demand customer, so they're based off a demand charge.

How this will work is this is just the land lease portion.

There will actually be uh an agreement that goes along with the rate they will be on, which is in city code.

Um, they will pay a distribution charge for the use of our distribution system, and if they don't run at all for a month, they still pay that demand charge 100% of it, and they pay a $10,000 a month customer charge for the administrative part of us having to bill differently and to take them on and off.

Um, the other part of it is they will be given an energy pass-through, but only down to a dollar fifty a megawatt, and I say that because in the winter time it goes negative, and all that negative pricing will get rolled back into our customer base.

We've to actually taken a theoretical run of this complex and put it in last year's PCA, and it could realize up to a 30% decrease for everybody's PCA, the fuel cost adder in everybody's bill by lowering the rate.

Now, you're right about them eating up infrastructure, and that's what we've been very careful of.

We've been very clear, this is capped at this, there'll be no expansion, there'll be no other locations in town.

This is a one-off because we have a depreciating asset, and actually, the 10 megawatts of solar are on two feeders, those two feeders will actually be what tie into this facility.

So technically, the transformer in the substation won't even see that load on certain days, it will come right out of the substation and go right into that facility.

So this is just a unique situation, and although I agree with everything you're saying, which is why it's seven years in the making, this is a uh a rare circumstance, I'll say I gotta go to the microphone, but but the you know, in this area age of green energy, we got the solar panels and this and that.

You know, a little bit higher rate might make them become more efficient in their use, and that's that's part of it.

That's part of it too.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And I will add that this agreement that will be signed does not exclude them from being subject to adjustments on future rates like everybody else.

So any other questions, Mr.

Nickerson has a motion.

Make a motion that we approve.

Let me get my spectacles on here.

2025-299.

Mr.

Sheard, thank you.

All second, Mr.

Brown, discussion.

I appreciate all the hard work that you did to figure all this out and and out of the whole area of Grand Island that this is the only place that we can put this.

And you did a lot of hard work, and I I appreciate you.

And the the money will come back to Grand Island and the citizens.

Thank you.

Mr.

Nickerson, I think what I'm really after, and this is all Greek to me, which is why I ask you to share it with us tonight.

Because let's let's talk about the type of business because we're talking about this business.

So elaborate on the type of business going in here, what their purpose is, and how this all ties together.

Um, my understanding is it'll be a typical what you hear of the the Bitcoin or a load center, they they have the ability to switch over and do computing capabilities on different realms, but primarily probably Bitcoin type activities is what would be involved.

I mean, um they I think they would employ just a couple people.

I mean, that's very typical of these things.

All the concerns that Jerry listed is correct, and if we couldn't set this up in a way that was financially viable for the city of Grand Island without any skin in the game on our part, then we wouldn't do it.

So it's not it's not a boon by number of jobs.

That's not gonna be the case.

Um they there are many rural electrics that have these at varying sizes across the state.

Um, they are financially good for those utilities.

In our case, beyond what we've discussed already.

My personal opinion is you do not want to get too much vested to the point where if the business goes away, it has such a swing on your rates from losing it, so you're so heavily slanted in that area.

Um, we've talked to Next Era, who's our marketing agent with SPP.

We've walked through this with them.

We've had uh I want to say there's six, seven people internal to the utilities that we've had along this process the whole way, so we wanted everybody's input back and forth.

So I'm not gonna sit here and tell you it's a business boom because as far as jobs or anything like that, but it's a financial very viable financial option for the city.

Well, I am cryptocurrency ignorant and plan to stay that way because I have no reason to to get into it.

I'll let all the rest of you play with that.

But we're we're talking about high consumptions of energy in these things.

I still don't have a concept how the thing works.

I like to see my money in my hand, not wherever it is.

But you're talking about trying to tie it in with the solar panels and to primarily feed them as much as possible.

But is anybody going to be starved because of that solar panel energy going away to these folks?

Is anybody else going to be starved for energy needs because we put those solar panels there for a reason to start with?

Physically, that's how it will work.

Financially, all our power technically goes out to the market and we buy back what we need.

So it really doesn't financially it's not going from A to B, but physically it is.

I guess I say that just from the point that it doesn't put any new stresses on our substation transformer because we're not transforming that power coming in from elsewhere.

It's it's right there.

Okay.

Well, and I agree with Doug.

It I mean, a lot of research, you've you're once again you're guarding the things that are important to you and to us, and I appreciate that.

Again, have no clue about the business or the success or failure of such a business, but it sounds like it will be in a place where it's it's relatively isolated from residential people, and it's in kind of a commercial area, so that seems to fit.

Now, the footprint that you showed, does the business take the majority of that footprint, or is there is a small part of it?

The the footprint will be two-thirds of an acre, and that will allow for um the equipment such as transformers, reclosers, the building, and the wall.

And so for that $18,000 a year, um, we will have a three percent adder per year.

It's a 20 up to a 20-year lease, and then that adder will go to four percent after 10 years and five percent after five years.

And at any point, if they quit paying, the building becomes Grand Islands.

So we we can inherit the building, we can make them tear it down, we can do whatever we want.

They will also be funding the full capital involved in the infrastructure to connect to us.

So, really, if they walk away tomorrow, we're no worse off.

Right.

So, in the research that you've done, what has the longevity of these type of businesses been?

Are they still going wherever they were planted?

They they uh and I I'm not in that business, but my understanding is they expect it to go on that long.

Um again, if if if it doesn't, the way I look at it is we've we're no worse off.

We wanted to do this as a lease because we didn't want to give up the rights to the land, so the land would come back to us, the building would be ours to do with as we see fit.

We're not really out anything on capital.

So that and the big thing is I did not want anything that would the customer base would have to subsidize.

We were very careful at structuring this.

And when we've had these conversations and you have these entities come in and they're kind of like, Well, can you do this?

That's how you know you're close, right?

You're at their break-even threshold, and you don't want them to come and just be rushing in, but you don't, you know, so that's how you know you've got your rates set about where you want.

So I feel like we're protecting the customer base here, and and we just will there's verifications in there that they have to show with a a certified technician on the sound, which would be the big thing we're gonna hawk.

So and the nice thing is most of these are containers.

This will be a building, which I um was the option they offered, and uh it looks very aesthetic.

Okay, well thank you, Ryan.

Mr.

Hawsey.

Thank you, Mayor.

Uh Ryan, you and I have talked about this just briefly uh not too long ago.

And I I understand I I think appreciate Mr.

Paul's point.

Um the residential rate class pays a higher rate than commercial and pays a higher rate than industrial.

That's just the fact of whether they come or go, that's just the cost of the service.

The only way this makes any sense for the ratepayers and the citizens of Grand Island is if there's some part that would credit back through the PCA, something back towards every residential, and that's why I support this, and I support it because I think this is this is part of the future.

You know, electricity is gonna be a big thing.

It is a big thing, and it has been for a hundred years.

It's gonna be an even bigger thing in the future, particularly for these types of applications.

Um I think we need to get in the game.

I think this is a great way to do it, and I think there's some payback for citizens to support this as well.

So thank you, Ryan, for bringing it forward.

Mr.

O'Neill.

Uh just a couple of quick things.

I know you kind of talk about the noise and putting like the the wall up as well.

And there's some housing up to the north.

Do you know about what the decibel level would be for the closest housing that's thresholds 50?

50.

Okay.

And I can tell you the ambient out there is higher than 50.

So I don't think it's going to be an issue.

Everything we've measured off the existing building shows that everything they're they seem very comfortable.

Their their biggest concern was being held to bring ambient down.

And uh you can't bring ambient down, but um sounds like there's been a lot of due diligence in the noise then.

So as much as possible.

Nothing's foolproof, but as much as could be realistically done.

And I've seen a lot of these uh crypto coin uh cryptocurrency mining type of facilities are basically just packed full of computers.

Uh but no, I appreciate the the due diligence you've done in that as well, and thanks for sharing.

Please vote.

Motion adopted 7U approving engineering services for Burdick Station Generation Project.

Mr.

Schmitz.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

So this is the first step going down the road of building out new generation that we talked about a few months back.

Um it was bid out.

We had four qualified bidders.

Um the one that we're bringing forward tonight, not only was the most value, but also one of the leaders in the industry, which is Burns a Mac.

Um the first step in this process would be to analyze the type of generators that best fit Grand Island, and then upon selecting those, um putting those into the SBP portal, the portal, so analysis phase to get the approval to build them out.

So in each step in this contract, it there's also all um steps in the contract for the design build, and then to help with the procurement of the generation, and then um overseeing the construction.

So what we're approving tonight is the analysis part of the type of generators and um putting um it into the SPP process along with approving their qualifications so that we could bring forward those further steps later.

Do you want to speak on this?

Thank you again.

I my question was in reading through the uh packet, they're talking about uh looking at a hundred million dollars within five years uh for 35 to 40 megawatts.

And I what I did is I kind of tied that into the data center usage, and and then of course I'm gonna get into the Woodson's housing project and all these housing projects that we have going on that aren't contributing uh property taxes to these these types of endeavors.

And and so that was my question is what where are we going to get that hundred million dollars in the next five years?

And uh I mean, what's what's the plan?

Because I'm sure the power the cut the generation station will be built, but I just wondered if if there is a plan going forward as to are we gonna be bonding this and then paying more in debt service, you know.

So that but that was my question is like if if we're using this, we're going a hundred million dollars is what's shown in the packet in the next five years.

So got an idea of where that's gonna come from because we also need we got public schools that are gonna be needing to be rebuilt.

That'll be another 200 million.

So we got a lot of expenses coming up, and I just kind of want to know where that's money if you foresee the uh where that money is coming from.

So thank you.

I'll speak a little bit to that.

Um, what we hope to bring forward is options.

Uh, we brought in the study session we talked about 2040 to fully build out that site would actually be 60.

We can bring all three options.

Um, part of that funding.

Um, we will we pay four million towards our debt service right now, and that will expire in 2028 prior to this going in.

So that money, the intent would be to repurpose that.

Um, in addition to that, you know, it would be up to discretion at that time how aggressive we want to get with our crystal ball.

Um, and I'll paint the picture and it will you know bring it to you guys to let me know your thoughts.

But this will be just getting the consultant on board to start that process.

Thank you.

Mr.

Hawsey.

Thank you, Mayor.

I move to approve resolution 2025-302.

Mr.

O'Neill.

I'll second that motion.

Discussion, Mr.

Brown.

Yeah, I was just kind of amazed uh when we talked before about the lead time of some of these generators that uh when you order them, it could take five to six years to get them.

You know, that's you gotta think way in the future to be able to think like that and and start the process.

Correct.

Some of yeah, the the generator depending on which size we pick.

The other one that's got a long lead time is the uh transformer for the step up in the substation.

Those have a notable lead time as well.

So our our intent all along has been that 2031 timeline, and so it's what we're shooting for, and we'll see how the timeline plays out.

But this is the first step.

Thank you, Doug.

Mr.

Aussie.

Thank you, Mayor.

I just want to point out to the council that the last time this council approved a hundred million dollar power plant, it was called Plat Generating Station south of town in 1977.

We built the power plant, and it was a hundred million dollar project at that time.

That 100 million dollars was paid off in 1999, and that thing is still working today.

Twenty-six years later, we have been able to produce power at plant generating station without any debt service on that piece.

Now our power demands have grown since then.

You know, but I want to talk about the last time we spent a hundred million dollars.

We did pay it off in 20 years, and it's been a blessing, absolute blessing to the people of the city of Grand Island through their lower utility rates, not only for that 20-year period, but also in the 25 years since then.

So it was a great decision at that point, and I think this one is going to be equally as good or should be as good.

Please vote.

Motion adopted.

We'll now take up our public hearings.

Fawner Park Road to 2nd Street, project number 2021-P6, Garcia, and STSM LLC.

Mr.

Kurtz.

Good evening.

Uh so this is uh permanent and uh temporary or excuse me, permanent easement and uh right-of-way acquisitions for the South Focus Street project.

Again, a couple more.

Hopefully, we're done sooner than later on this, so uh we can continue on, but uh just another uh acquisition on the project.

Public hearing is now open.

Is there anyone that would like to speak on this item?

If not, public hearing is now closed.

Mr.

O'Neill.

I move that we approve 2025-305.

Mr.

Brown.

Second that motion.

Any discussion?

Please vote.

Motion adopted.

8B public hearing on acquisition of utility easement 1810 Union Road AOM machining LLC.

You're back up, Mr.

Schmitz.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

This is for a service at AOM machining.

Um, it's uh I believe it's uh I was gonna give the width for you, but it's three 300 KVA transformer.

Thank you.

Public hearing is now open.

Is there anyone that would like to speak on this item?

If not, public hearing is now closed.

Mr.

Brown.

I move we approve 2025 TAC 306.

And Mr.

Sheared.

Thank you.

I'll second that.

Discussion.

Please vote.

Motion adopted.

Resolutions 9A approving RFP contract for public baseball entertainment at Ryder Park Legion Field.

Mr.

McCoy, please tell us about this.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um council is aware that we've talked about the renovation of and we have plans in place for the renovation of the Ryder Park baseball field.

Um tonight I'm excited to announce another opportunity for Ryder Park and the community.

Um we're recommending an agreement with National Sports Service to bring Diamond League Baseball to Grand Island.

So they are their proposal is to provide about six, they'll have about 60 games, about 30 games in Grand Island.

Um they'll start the end of May, they'll use the Ryder Park facility, they'll be done by the end of July.

Um the plan is for them to start in 2026.

They are proposing to invest $250,000 into the facility.

And to talk more about it, I would like to invite with the mayor's permission, Matt Perry with uh National Sports Services to talk about Diamond League Baseball.

Certainly.

Please state your name, sir.

Matt Perry.

I'm excited to be here.

There's been a lot of work that's gone into getting to today.

A little bit about myself and my company.

I am a true husker.

I grew up in Holdridge.

Came here and to Grand Island and played against the Legion when I was playing Legion Ball back in the day.

My company again is National Sports Services.

For 40 years, we've been in the business of owning and operating sports teams.

And it's principally been in minor league baseball.

All levels of affiliated baseball, triple A, AA, single A, independent professional baseball, and summer collegiate baseball.

So we've been really, I call people, I I tell people that we're kind of mutts in the business because we've done the ownership, the operation, we've developed stadium projects, we've opened and operated stadiums, we've sold naming rights, and but so this is the space we live in.

We're not hobbyists, if you will.

So I've spent most of my career going to airports, getting planes, going somewhere, get a rental car, staying in hotels.

So for me, I really like the idea that I can get in a car and I can get to where I'm going.

I I live in Lawrence, Kansas right now, so I'm kind of in the in the hub of the geography of the league.

So it's it's I'm really excited about that as well.

Um so you know, so we're gonna uh we'll own all the teams, at least initially.

Uh it's something we've learned, I guess, from the industry that doing this and starting a new league.

If we own all the teams, we'll get to control how they're operated, putting in our systems, hire and train the people we want to train, make sure that it's done right, make sure that it's properly capitalized.

You know, all critical things because when we do this, we're not dipping our toe in the water.

We want to be here long term, and that's the kind of relationship we want to develop here.

Uh one of the things, too, that when you look at people we partner with to do this to again do things right.

Uh one of our founding partners is a guy by the name of Ralph Nelson.

Ralph is has 25 years of background with Major League Baseball as an executive with the Giants and the Diamondbacks.

He's worked in the Major League Commissioner's office.

So, you know, really quality individual that's gonna uh that has great contacts in the industry that's gonna just help us going forward.

Um Scott Gallusha back here.

Um Scott has been uh an operator and owner with the the team in Hastings, and we've gotten to know him through our efforts of of building this league.

He's gonna do some consulting for us with the operation here in Grand Island.

Uh so we're excited to have him uh you know as part of our team going forward, if you will.

When when we got the RFP and we responded to it, um, one of the things we wanted to send a message to you and to the community is that we're willing to invest in what it is you're doing with Ryder Park.

Um tremendously excited about what's going on there, uh what the plans are to renovate out there, but we felt that we needed to step up and be a part of that, and so part of this lease agreement, yes, includes us investing 250,000 to be a part of making that what it what it can be.

One of the other things we did early on, and looking at the RFP and understanding the users of the facility and the history of the facility.

Because it was very obvious to us early on that they are they're an important user, they have great history here.

And they're doing a lot to help make that renovation happen.

So we met with uh Kirby and Clint and Monty and some of the other folks there, and wanted to understand what their needs are, what's important to them to make sure that we have that we're a great partner, a great partner with the city, a great partner with them, and in using the facility, figuring out scheduling, figuring out how we do sponsorships, food and beverage, all that.

And you know, I feel good that I can say I think I think we're off on the right foot in developing that relationship.

You can expect us to operate this.

It's summer collegiate baseball.

So these kids are college age, and they'll come mainly regionally, they'll be from schools in the area, but we'll have some kids that may come from California, may come from New York or Florida, uh, whatever the case may be.

And they'll be here during the summer, they'll stay with host families.

Uh so we'll develop those host family relationships, and uh it'll it'll be neat to see them advance their careers and hopefully you know some of them will end up playing Major League Baseball eventually.

So we get to be a part of that whole process.

We'll hire a full-time staff of people that live here and work uh in the community community year-round.

Um of the things that's really important to us is uh we want to put a good product on the field and have it be competitive.

At the same time, we'd like to be known as good corporate and community citizens by having programs in the school systems and rating programs and and helping kids to stay off drugs and you know anything we can do, fundraisers for um needy groups, um youth organizations.

We want that to also be a staple of what we how we're seen by the community.

So that that too is very important to us.

Um we will very shortly be making a public announcement that the team's coming here, provided that we we get the nod to move forward with you.

Um and that will include a name the team contest, so the public will be able to get involved in selecting the name of the team here, which is you know, one of the funnest parts about this is creating this brand for something that's gonna be Grand Island's team.

Um the makeup of the league, so we'll have three teams in Nebraska, two teams in Missouri, one in Kansas to start.

We've already been working on expansion opportunities to grow the league, and um we are very bullish on our background, our contacts, the way we've set this up, and the way we're gonna do things that we're gonna be one of the premier summer collegiate leagues in America.

And I you know, and and in Grand Island is gonna be one of our main state inaugural franchises, you know, as we as we make that happen.

So thanks for all the work you've done to get to this point, and you know, we're excited about the opportunity to move forward with you.

Thank you, Mr.

Perry.

Mr.

Sheard.

Thank you.

I move that we uh approve 2025-307.

Mr.

Brown.

Second that motion.

Mr.

Hossey.

Uh thank you, Mayor.

I've got a couple of questions, and I'm not sure who to direct them to, but the first one is is under section six of the agreement the city is responsible for the maintenance and repairs of the facility.

I mean, is that a is that normal, Todd?

Yes, we do currently.

That's that's how we operate with the high school baseball team and the Legion team currently today.

Okay, and then so in section three, the team refers to the the league operates the food and beverage for all events held at Ryder Park.

So it doesn't matter who's at Ryder Park, they then have the because that that's a revenue source to do a food and beverage at any event.

So they're gonna be compensated through the food and beverage, but not only for their baseball team, but any other thing that goes on in in Ryder Park.

So I'll tell you what we currently do, and then maybe what I'll do is get Matt up here because he's has some plans in place and has had some of those conversations already with the Legion folks.

Um right now we don't operate the city does not does not operate the concession stand, so the the Legion and the school just are we give them the the concession rights and then they can use it as a fundraiser or whatever so they would operate their normal um concessions and then like I said, they would collect all the revenue and be responsible for it.

And I and I think uh Matt has worked out some plans in place, and I think there's some future agreements coming, and maybe I'll let Matt just kind of respond to that.

Yeah, because I just want to know are we stepping on anybody's toes who other people who in the community might operate the concessions and and use those funds for other purposes that that are benefit the community?

Those are the two things that when I look at one side, the city's doing the maintenance and repairs, the other side is we get no revenue on anything, nor does anybody else in the community do, you know.

And so I'm just kind of curious how that overlaps with the existing community operations of the facility.

No, good question.

And so what we talked to the Legion folks about was that it's harder and harder for them to get volunteers to operate the concessions for their events.

So we what we proposed was well let us just do it, because we're gonna have to hire people for our events.

Um we're gonna know how the equipment works, and we're gonna we may be investing in that um as part of our deal.

And we have a lot of experience operating food and beverage and other facilities.

So the premise would be that look tell us how much you made historically, and you know, we'll either at least guarantee that so that you don't lose money from this relationship, and then have some sort of uh on top of that way to make even more money, um, or we'll just give you you know the lion's share of the net income that comes from us operating it, and maybe we take I don't know, five percent or ten percent to cover overhead or something, but the whole concept is to your point.

Our presence shouldn't be a money losing situation for the other users.

Hopefully, it's additive, and that's how we're approaching it.

Okay, well, thank you very much.

Mr.

Nickerson, yeah, Todd, I need you to educate me here.

I don't know a heck of a lot about what goes on at Ryder Park on any given season.

My kids never grew up to play at that level.

They played a lot of the entry-level stuff for years.

But what is the current how does Ryder Park currently function?

The teams that play there, how does this mesh with that?

Does it replace what's going on?

Is it all of the above?

Just help me understand what goes on.

Currently today, um, before this agreement, there was just two groups.

There was the high school baseball program and the Legion baseball program.

So the high school baseball program would start in March.

Uh they would practice there, have their home games there, and then they would conclude in the middle of May.

Um, and then at the end of May, the Legion program would start.

So with the the new baseball league that uh we're talking about today, proposing today, uh, they would overlap, they would not overlap the high school at all, but they would overlap the Legion, and that's why it was important I that Matt uh made those connections with the Legion folks uh so that uh um like I said to make sure that would work.

And so and I've talked to the Legion folks as well, and they're all comfortable with it.

Um I know Scott's here, they they do the same thing in Hastings, the Legion uses Duncan Field and the Sodbuster uses Duncan Field as well.

So they're they're both using the same field.

This is primarily weekend play or through the week, or how's that all work on that?

I'll let Matt explain.

Well, as far as the Legion, as the Legion goes, they will play on the weekends and the weekdays, so they'll play a little bit of both.

But it's not every day.

It's I want to say, you know, um every you know, other weekend they would be off type of a thing.

Yeah, so ours will be kind of a mixed bag too.

Um just generally speaking, in that time period where we have games from the end of May through the first week of August, we might be at home half of those weekends, just generally speaking, then on the road the rest of them.

And then the Legion would be when we're on the road, you know, they would be having their tournaments or games, whatever the case may be.

And same thing during the week.

Um we'll we'll have some weekday games, Legion will have some weekday games.

And so one of the things that was important to us early on in meeting with them was just sitting down and talking about the schedule.

You know, can we make this work?

And Kirby, who who does the scheduling, you know, after we talked through it, he said, Yeah, I think we can we can make this work and we can give be good partners in using the facility.

Who's going to control that schedule?

Do you think?

Who's going to be the master of the schedule?

Todd will be that guy.

We'll still we'll still uh be the we'll still um be the master scheduler.

Okay.

I still have more questions for Matt, so before we got away there.

Again, trying to understand your your six teams that you'll have playing, it sounds like uh they play in the evenings, afternoons, uh what evenings?

It's gonna be evening games.

Yeah, approximately seven o'clock, and the games generally last uh on average, you're gonna say two and a half hours.

Okay.

And I'm going to guess that National Sports Services isn't an entity just for the fun of it.

So I'm just trying to figure out what pays the bills.

So we make our we generate revenues through the following sources tickets, uh, concessions and sponsorships.

And if you were to lay a blanket over it, you would say it's a third, a third, a third.

You know, it varies by every market a little bit.

We make a little bit from merchandise sales, but not a lot.

So those are our primary revenue generators.

And then our expenses are our leases, our staff, um our in-game our our in season labor, marketing and branding, um, insurance, you know, basic infrastructure overhead.

Um, and hopefully, you know, we're able to set that up in a way that we can run a profitable, profitable business, and as much as anything, create opportunities also to dump more money back into the business to keep growing it.

And one thing we like about you know, getting into the weeds a little bit, but understanding a little bit more about the summer collegiate business.

One thing we like about it is we're helping young players develop, but we don't pay them.

And so we don't have heavy player development costs, which allows us to put our focus in other areas from an expense standpoint.

But we can still operate it like a minor league experience with the promotions and the in-game fun and and really making sure people have a great time.

So because of the higher skill level that goes with age typically, is that what's going to be the draw for the baseball games to see those people playing at that level?

You know what's interesting is um what we found over the years is we're in the entertainment business, and there just happens to be a baseball game going on.

So when we look at the pie of people that will come out to these events, from not only Grand Island, but around the area.

Um the we look at this big pie of who are people that want to be entertained or come out and have fun, and the pie's this big.

And then you look at well, how many people are really the hardcore baseball fans that really know the players and this little sliver right here.

And we still want to cater to them, but our focus is really on the to make it work as a business is this big pie.

So as far as the entertainment, there are gonna be some promotional things to get people engaged, and whether you're shooting hot dogs at people or whatever it is, you know, she t-shirts or whatever.

So it sounds like yes, I think you hit it with the entertainment aspect.

I can understand that.

I don't know the seating capacity at Ryder Park.

Apparently, it must be adequate enough that you feel you can generate enough ticket sales and fill the seats.

It is, it's a good size because I think we'll have a real good opportunity to have sellouts and really create the demand for the product, but we'll also likely add some things like um uh picnic group areas, which gives you a lot of flex space to maybe put in another 200, 250 people.

Okay.

Then lastly, here I am curious about your thoughts of rider park as a whole, and you already inferred earlier that you kind of know what we're where we're trying to head with that.

What's your overall feeling and what do you see the 250,000 going toward that project or additional upgrades that you're seeing that are important?

Well, my overall take is that it's in a really cool setting in the park itself.

Um you know, when I see the plans to renovate it, I I get incredibly excited because when we look at the opportunity to market to have people come out to an event, part of that's gonna be I want to come out and see what's happening with this stadium that I've known for all these years, and now you know, I hear about what it's gonna be, and I want to see that.

So we're able to also benefit from and piggyback off of that excitement uh that's going on.

You know, one of the key elements in having discussions with the Legion and with the with Todd and his folks about scheduling and making the scheduling work is the artificial turf, which gives you really that opportunity to make that work.

Very hard to have the level of play on a natural grass surface that would include us and the Legion, and it's just too difficult to work around weather issues and turnover and all that.

So having the artificial turf is gonna I mean it it's I would say it's essential, you know, to make it work for all the users, but the city's gonna see that much more use and that much more benefit from making that investment.

I'm not sure I heard maybe you touched on it, I just wasn't listening.

Where did you see your 250,000 dollars going on?

Good question.

We're working on that.

We're we're figuring that out with the city.

There's a lot of things that need to be considered on where that should best be applied.

And so we didn't think we were quite ready to say this is absolutely where it should go for this meeting, but we'll have conversations here, you know, after this and figure out where's where's the best use of those funds uh for the product.

We're we're pretty flexible from our standpoint in terms of what that is.

And that's fair enough.

And I I guess that level of commitment on your part speaks highly that you're that interested in rider park and making this thing a go.

So that's what impresses me.

And just had a lot of questions.

I think you've answered most of them, so thank you.

Well, thanks.

And and that excitement goes beyond Ryder Park, it's the community.

Um, we see just a tremendous opportunity to create a really cool asset for the for this market, and so we really just like Grand Island.

You know, I hadn't spent a lot of time here before.

I've been through the town, but uh it just comes off as clean, progressive.

There's a lot going on here.

Um, and when we're we're just excited about you know the opportunity to be here.

Please vote.

Motion adopted.

Thank you, Mayor.

Uh tonight, and it's a little bit of background on this agenda item is in 2024, 2024, Grand Island was awarded a National League of Cities advancing economic mobility rapid grant of 20,000.

The funding led to foundation for the innovative pilot program designed to empower aspiring entrepreneurs living at or below 200% of the federal poverty level.

In partnership with the Grand Island Area Economic Development Corporation, Central Community College Entrepreneurial Center, the city launched the Grand Island Community Kitchen Pilot Program and targeted entrepreneurs in the cottage food industry, providing them with business knowledge, financial resources needed to grow their small businesses.

Upon successful completion of four weeks of programming through Central Community College on business structures and support, business insurance and financial planning, effective marketing strategies for small businesses, and in Nebraska cottage food laws.

Each of the 10 participants received microgrants of $2,000 that were spent to implement specific business plans, examples of investments, including development of marketing materials, equipment purchases, renting commercial kitchen space, and purchase of raw material to expand production capacity.

Based on the tremendous success of the community kitchen pilot program, the city, Grand Island Area Economic Development Corporation, and Central Community College Entrepreneur Center wish to continue their partnership and expanding the business and development workshop model to high wage, high skill, high demand H3 industries.

Many successful comply successful completion of a six-week workshop.

Participants will be eligible for a $3,000 LB 840 grant to be used towards equipment, software, marketing, business rent, professional services, etc.

A detailed plan for the weekly instruction modules is included in the LB 840 application found in your agenda packet.

Tonight we also have Mary Burley here and someone else.

Sorry.

And they have a presentation on this program.

Thank you, Mr.

Brown.

Please proceed with your presentation.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Mary Burley representing the Grand Island Area Economic Development Corporation and presenting on the Grand Island Business Blueprint workshop.

This is a brand new program, but I wanted to give you a little context before we dive really far.

Really far into oh, that's a little schoony.

Not quite.

Okay, we're just gonna we missed a slide there.

I wanted to give you a little context before we dive into this business blueprint.

Uh we know that when entrepreneurs are supported, it creates a community culture of innovation.

It helps people realize and visualize a path to their dreams and their their ideas, but it also creates a connection to that community.

And so this is one more layer of entrepreneurial and business support that Grand that we're asking Grand Island to support.

The slide that is not on there was the uh fourth big idea Grand Island pitch contest.

Um this is a program that Economic Development Corporation and Central Community College Entrepreneurship Center with Amy Steinhart, Steinhart Dyson is with me today.

Uh this is a program that we have put together.

It's similar to ABC Shark Tank.

And so we collect and um go out for RFPs of businesses.

Last year we collected 30 business ideas.

We drilled them down to the top 10.

Those top 10 individuals pitched their business in front of a live audience for two minutes.

They then had a panel of judges that did a little QA back and forth for another two minutes, and then the audience um asked questions for one minute.

After all 10 entrepreneurs pitched their business in that two-minute time frame, then the audience chose the top five, and the judges chose the top three.

First place prize wins $10,000 cash in order to put money towards their new business.

Second place wins $2,000, third place wins $500.

And so this next slide will help articulate what a little bit of that support uh from a programming standpoint, from an entrepreneurial standpoint, what that little bit of support does uh to that individual and that business.

If we have sound, do we have sound?

Darn, doesn't sound like it.

So this is Melissa with Deli Boards.

Um, you can see there, she is in that black jacket with white t-shirt holding another contestant's hand.

Uh she is announced as the winner.

Um, she comes up here in front of a live audience, and there are probably 350 people up here.

Uh Melissa is not originally from the country, nor is she from Grand Island.

But her speech, and hopefully we will send this to you because it's pretty heartwarming.

Her speech says that she's not from Grand Island, but she is today.

And Grand Island is her home because she's had folks invest in her, and she will continue to invest in Grand Island because of big idea and because of the support.

So this is Melissa with Delhi Boards, and this is just one example of the ROI tiny bit of uh of ROI when we support those entrepreneurs and those dreamers.

Like Patrick mentioned in 2024, the City of Grand Island received a $20,000 grant from the National League of Cities Advancing Economic Mobility Rapid Grant Program.

Uh upon the receipt of that $20,000, the City of Green Island engaged the economic development corporation and Central Community College Entrepreneurship Center and said, what the heck are we gonna do with this $20,000 and this rapid economic mobility grant?

We came together and we identified that we were gonna put together a Grand Island Community Kitchen Pilot program.

This pilot program was going to target cottage industries.

These cottage industries are individuals who manufacture food grade products in their home or commercial kitchen for retail consumption.

That's cottage industry.

So they they produce these food grade um products in their home and then sell it to a retail.

We did have some stipulations attached to this $20,000 with the National League of Cities.

Uh those participants had to be 200% under at or below the poverty line from the federal standpoint, but we really wanted to engage a different, a different population than what we've been able to engage in the past.

But we really wanted to engage a different, a different population than what we've been able to engage in the past.

And so we opened up the RFP to the community for two weeks, and we had 11 RFPs come through or requests to participate.

We drilled that down to the top nine.

Those top nine individuals then went through a very rigorous, I'll say four-week business boot camp.

Now we did not teach the cottage industry.

We did not teach how to bake cupcakes or cook tamales or manufacture the candies.

What we did was we helped foster those very basic fundamentals and very basic skills to grow their business, whether it's from the legal standpoint or marketing or accounting, scheduling their appointments.

These are all of the individuals that were able to participate in our pilot program.

Many of these individuals and their businesses can be found at the farmers market on Saturday morning now at Bosselman Enterprise.

And so that is quite the success for us.

But after the completion of the four-week business boot camp in which we had 100% participation at 100% of those workshops, we distributed $2,000 to each participant as a grant.

So City of Green Island Economic Development Corporation and Central Community College, we did not keep that $20,000.

We then distributed it back out to those participants.

Those participants used that $2,000 grant to purchase a generator for their food truck.

They paid an electrician to install a new 20 220 amp service in their home and expand the number of ovens that they have.

They use that $2,000 to purchase inventory and equipment to expand their home bakery.

And then they also utilize the funds for logo and marketing materials and some social outreach.

And because of that success and the positive impact that we had on that shoestring budget, City Administrator Laura McLeon and I traveled to Texas this last year to present Grand Island's project to the National League of Cities and our other cohort members.

Laura went on to present in Washington DC to additional National League of Cities, and then I will travel to Chicago later next month to continue to talk about Grand Island's project and how we were able to impact with just a tiny bit of incentive funding and a tiny bit of carrots that we were dangling and what impact we were able to have.

All of this travel I should mention is was also paid from the National League of Cities.

So this was no, there was no fiscal impact to our organizations to promote Grand Island and the positive impacts that we've had.

Now as we drill into the Green Island Business Blueprint, we would like to take the model of the community kitchen pilot program and make it bigger, better, and more impactful.

We would like the next phase of this economic mobility grant for entrepreneurs to target the H3 is what we call them, the H3 folks that are skilled trades as defined by occupations that require specialized skill, knowledge, ability, which can be obtained by a college technical skill or through that specialized training.

What that means is folks that are in the manufacturing technology, welding, machinists, mechanics, tool and die, programmers, electricians, plumbers, gas fitters, carpenters, bricklayers, insulators, construction technicians, HVAC, drywallers, concrete finishers, landscapes, and the list goes on and on.

Again, we will not be teaching this trade, but rather we are going to be walking these individuals in that H3 industry through the business basics of starting and upskilling and making their business more efficient.

This will allow us to continue to diversify our economic base as well as increase our residents' economic mobility.

This is a rough outline of our six-week course that all participants will need to successfully complete.

We are proposing three workshops hosted in the fall of 2025, the spring of 2026, and the fall of 2026.

That slide should reflect fall of 2026.

We are requesting 30 participants actively participate in those three workshops.

So roughly 10 individuals per workshop.

We're requesting that instead of the $2,000 grant after successful completion that we we grant $3,000 per participant after that successful completion.

Because we may have more expensive equipment, we may have more expensive scheduling and insurance needs for those businesses and so forth.

We're also requesting $15,000 for administrative expenses.

This could include expert fee speaker fees, travel fees, room rentals, bottled water, anything like that.

So this program in whole is over a year and a half, impacting 30 individuals over that year and a half, and we're requesting 105,000 over that one and a half year timeline.

As of last week, the LB 840 had a balance of one point nearly 1.5 million.

We've done five LB 840 applications and projects in 2025.

That's the lar the most amount of LB 840 projects that we've ever done in a single year.

So when we look at all of those projects, and if the business blueprint is approved tonight, that LB 840 balance will come in at 443,880.

So with that, we would kindly request and open for questions, but we would request the approval that says 150, 105,000 for 30 entrepreneurs to participate in the business blueprint workshop over the course of a year and a half.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Mr.

Hawsey.

Well, thank you, Mayor.

I move to approve resolution 2025-308.

Mr.

Brown.

I second that motion.

Mr.

Nickerson, thank you, Mary, for sharing that with us tonight.

Sounds like a very successful program to date.

I do have a few questions for you though.

First of all, help some of us understand what H3 stands for.

Sure.

So H3 is the high skill high wage high demand.

That's the H is the high skill, high wage high demand.

Okay.

All right.

Easily explained.

And then you've already marketed this to your previous group.

How do you now you're looking for 30 participants?

How do you market that to let people know it's available?

Yeah, so we'll definitely leverage uh our viewing tonight.

Uh, but also we'll send out press releases.

We have a very deep network at the economic development corporation at the Chamber of Commerce, the city of Green Island has a deep network with our building department, um, as well as Central Community College Entrepreneurship Center and the college as a whole and their network.

Okay, and if I understand this correctly, using the same model used on people that are you know making cookies, tamales, kalatches, whatever it is, you're saying let's take this to the next level, the trade level, and now you want to start a business.

And so we're going to help you, we're gonna educate you on and some of them may be running a business, you may teach them how to run it better.

Things that uh people don't realize when they get into it, and it's just a way to improve their educational process.

So that's really where you're heading with it this time, then correct.

Okay.

And then finally, the presentations that you made to the different city leagues around the country, what kind of feedback have you had from your little presentations that you've done?

We've had phenomenal feedback.

Um, we're not alone in not having commercial kitchen space.

We're not alone in some of our holes that we have in entrepreneurial support, uh, but it's so encouraging, so engaging that we get to tell our success stories, but we also get to learn from those folks too.

Um, and we bring that knowledge back and flip it.

How do we make our community much more progressive and much more uh the easy button for businesses, whether they're existing or startups?

All right, very good.

Thank you.

Mr.

Shear.

Thank you.

Um I could sit here and tell you all the things I've told you for the last 10 years uh about how awesome I think your dreams are for helping entrepreneurs and kids and young business owners uh start here in Grand Island.

But you already know how I feel about all that stuff, so I'm just gonna say it to the microphone.

Uh Mary has been doing amazing things, and she has these dreams and these ideas, and it's so awesome to see the successes that you've been able to do.

You've been telling me some of these ideas back to my GIPS days, that you had these dreams to get kids and and and uh young adults to invest themselves in Grand Island and to see these types of things, $105,000.

Uh yeah, I'd like the success you had out of the first one and these big ideas.

I just am so impressed with the things you continue to do and you back it up by finding ways to connect people to futures in Grand Island.

So I got nothing else.

I just want to say thank you.

You're awesome.

Very kind, and I I certainly can't take credit for all any or all of that.

Uh Laura Macluna has been a huge, huge cheerleader and a huge driver in all this, as well as Amy Steinhart Dyson at Central Community College and our partnerships there.

So thank you for your kind words.

Mr.

Hawsey.

Thank you, Mayor.

This is just a wonderful program, and I'm glad to support it.

Uh I think you know, tracking the young people to expand these needed businesses is just a wonderful proactive approach to building a community.

You know, I used to volunteer for SCORE, and I can tell you a lot of startup businesses needed help, and that's what we did in SCORE.

This isn't just another extension of that type of attitude towards helping young entrepreneurs.

So thank you for bringing it forward.

Please vote.

Oh, sorry.

Do you want to if I can just indulge just to add on to Jack and to Chuck what they said?

I was actually a judge at the big idea.

What a fun time that was.

Okay, please vote.

Motion adopted.

9C.

Approving contract amendment two with highway 281 Woodsonia LLC for Conestoga Marketplace.

Mr.

Nabity.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

And if I can take a quick aside and just throw in that of the number of people that passed the first of those entrepreneurship courses, if you do go, like Mary said, if you go to the farmers market at Bosselman's, there are three or four of them that are there every single week.

And it's a it's a wonderful way to just get things started.

But beyond that, I'll go into what I actually came up here to talk about.

Um what you have before you is the second contract amendment with Woodsonia Highway 281 for the Conestoga Marketplace contract.

The normally, as you know, contracts for tax increment financing are done between the CRA and the entity.

In this case, we did this one as a three-way contract between the city of Grand Island because you granted funds through the CRA to that project.

And to and so it's between the CRA, Woodsonia, and the City of Grand Island.

To amend that contract, because we had three parties involved in it, it takes all three parties amending that contract.

The amendment before you this evening does not increase the amount of TIFF, does not increase the amount of occupation tax that would be collected and could be remitted.

Um so it doesn't change any of those numbers.

All it does is allow the bonds because we will issue multiple bonds for the TIFF and multiple bonds for the EEA that can run the TIFF bonds, can run up to 20 years.

That will start then right after that.

What this does is allows the developer Woodsonia to redirect those funds that if one bond pays off a little bit early, those funds can cascade over into another bond.

Does not increase the amount that was committed to them, it just makes it very clear that all of that is available to them.

Thank you, Mr.

Nabity and Mr.

O'Neill.

I move that we approve 2025-309.

Mr.

Hawsey.

I'd second that motion.

Any discussion.

Please vote.

Motion adopted.

9D approving fiscal year 2025 to 2026.

Annual budget for South Locust Business Improvement District and setting board of equal and setting date for board of equalization.

Mr.

Brown.

Thank you, Mayor.

This is for the South Locust Business Improvement District.

They have set a budget at uh 180,000 10, but special assessments are they're asking special assessments to be at 104,617.

They're looking to spend down some of the cash reserves that they have in their account.

And we're re uh asking council to set as a board of equalization on October 14th, 2025.

Thank you, Mr.

Brown.

Mr.

O'Neill.

I move that we approve 2025-310.

Mr.

Paulick.

Um discussion.

Please vote.

Motion adopted.

Approving setting the date for board of equalization for party parking district number three off-street parking.

Mr.

Brown.

Thank you, Mayor.

So this is for the downs downtown parking district.

The special assessment charge for the uh 25 or 2425 year will be collected in 2526 fiscal year at $80,000, which is roughly almost five cents a square foot.

Property owners who have parking within the property that is open to public customers or users of the building can apply for a credit.

So using the say the $15 credit council provided the prior year, parking district number three would have an estimated credit of approximately 10,001, leaving 7,020 of special assessment amount collectible.

We're asking council to approve setting the board of equalization date to October 14th, 2025.

Thank you, Mr.

Brown.

Mr.

Hawsey.

I would move to approve resolution 2025-311.

And Mr.

Conley.

Thank you, Mayor.

This is setting the property tax request for the city and CRA.

The 25 valuation for the city of Grand Island, increase of 24 valuation by 378 million eight hundred and sixty-six dollars, or eight point one percent.

If the city applies the 2425 mill levy of 0.275631 to the new valuation of $5 billion, the city's property tax revenue would be $14 million and $60, a tax increase of $1 million.

The city and community redevelopment authority tax asked for fiscal year 2026 is $13,6530, which is leaving our tax ask the same as we have the last six to seven years.

And up here, I just wanted to show everybody the graph that we had last night.

So that's the graph of our uh mill levy.

So the city tax levy in 2025 was 0.261049, and the proposed mill levy would go to 0.241484 for the CRA last year is 0.1.0178086, and we would reduce in 26 to 0.015805.

The property tax for fiscal 26 would be 12207540 for the general fund and 798,000 for CRA for a total of 13 million six five thirty.

Thank you.

No.

Um you have nine F down down here too.

No, I'm not sure.

All right, thank you.

Mr.

Vaverchak, are you motioning to speak?

Thank you.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um I was gonna initially touch base on this upcoming on the city budget, but then when I saw you had this specifically on resolutions, I omitted that um opportunity to Jill.

So I appreciate the uh consideration.

I I would just point out that that once again uh when you look back in the history of the tax asking from the city, some of you may remember, but when the sales tax was passed some 20 some years ago, the property tax rate was reduced by 70 percent from the city's property tax rate.

And as you look at what's occurred in the last several years, and in some respects, I don't know if we if you don't brag enough, but yet when you go ahead and consider the fact that uh contrary to what some news media reported today, this asking is not flat.

You're the city's mill rate will be reduced.

So I think that's commendable, and when you think and look at all the other political subdivisions, they also could go ahead and possibly do the same.

I think that's a good measurement and a good challenge to say, hey, uh there's ways that you can accommodate this because indeed it's a primary focus for many people and a detriment for fixed income, but also business owners.

So I just commend that recommendation.

The second portion uh I would just touch on is a CRA levy.

And I understand why it's shared, because indeed, when you compare the two, it's it's a way to minimize and lower both.

But I also believe that if we really want to go ahead and grow and we really want to develop the CRA rate really deserves consideration by that board to have a recommendation to either maintain the rate or even potentially increase it.

Because as you know, trying to do the same dollar amount in redevelopment next year compared to last year is gonna be less.

If you're devoting $700,000 plus for redevelopment, it's not going to go as far.

And I think we're giving up roughly 40% of the ability of the CRA's uh discretionary uh consideration to redevelop.

So going forward, I know it's not going to change the recommendation before you.

Uh I appreciate that.

But going forward, I look at the CRA and knowing it's its own tax entity, but by reducing the rate each and every year, we're minimizing the success that we could have in spurring new development, new entrepreneurs that I just heard is being uh worked on with the LB 840 grant.

But it's a sign that we need to go ahead and keep knowing that the CRA rate is separate, and I don't think anyone would really notice the difference, even if it would remain the same or even considered to be inched up a little bit each and every year.

So I just once again wanted to make that remark.

I appreciate so much of what you're doing, and I won't elaborate beyond that, uh, but I would appreciate the opportunity later on.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you, Council.

Mr.

Sheard?

Thank you.

I move that we pass resolution 2025-312.

Mr.

O'Neill.

I second that motion.

Mr.

Nickerson.

Yeah, I know Chad's out in the hallway.

Can I have him come in?

I hope you heard some of what Jay was talking about on the CRA.

Did you get to hear most of that?

I did.

Okay.

I I just I want to address that because I I think it's important to alleviate any concerns that uh former mayor of Albertchuk might have.

But I've been part of the CRA now for a year plus, I think.

In your opinion, and and from what I understand being in those meetings, and what you're asking for through the CRA is based on realistic expectations of what requests and demands might be coming forward.

Good part of that, is it is that correct?

That is general, yes.

I would say that is generally correct.

Um we have requests from other entities that are well.

Do you think the CRA would be interested in funding this?

Sometimes it's no, we can't fund that because it's not in a CRA area.

Other times it is yes, they might be.

You can make a request.

Well, how much money would you have?

And there's certainly the possibility that if we had another $300,000, and I'm pulling that number out of the air, that would be something that would support things potentially at Fonner Park.

Um 20 years ago when the Heartland Event Center was built, the CRA paid for redoing the parking lot out there, granted them over $500,000 at that point in time as part of that project.

Um we've done some of those kinds of projects in the past.

Could they be done?

Yes, they could.

Um, current budget constraints, it's a little bit more difficult to say, yes, we can do that.

The CRA, as you know, Mitch, uh, has talked about increasing the amount that we give for facade projects.

Generally, we've limited that up to 100,000 dollars, except in except in kind of extreme circumstances.

Um hundred thousand dollars doesn't go nearly as far in 2025 as it did in 2015.

Um we're all we all experience that.

So does it make as much of a difference in the project as it did before?

We may get more projects, may be able to do more, and have a larger influence with additional funding.

Can I promise that we will?

No.

And Councilman Hasy regularly asks, well, where's your budget?

What where are you putting the money back in?

How are you doing that?

Tomorrow we're going to finally pay off the grant given to the HEDI building for the life safety grant.

Seven years later, I believe.

Those projects take time.

And they take they can take a lot of time.

And we had those funds seven years ago.

We have held those funds until they got their occupancy certificates because that is our proof that they actually achieved what we were hoping they would achieve.

Would they have liked us to make partial payments?

Yes.

We don't make partial payments.

We we wait till the project is done.

Did that well so my my point is, and I've been in those meetings, and I would anticipate and I believe that if you saw the need out there, and people were coming with you with to with requests, that you would share that with the CRA group and say, as budget time comes along, and I I know a lot of people that you've dealt with, whether it's on for facades or other projects, even life safety, it's it's a matter of timing.

Right.

So it it's yes, you'd like this money, but when will the project be done?

So if you had more people coming to you saying, Chad, can we do this for $300,000?

And you said, well, we don't have it now, but based on your project, we probably could do that next year.

You would bring that to the CRA group, and if it was budget time and you said, I really feel strongly that we need to up this by 300,000 because we've got people out here waiting, you would probably encourage the group to do that.

I'm I I'm assuming that's what you do just based on the meetings I've been in.

Yes.

Um, but we're also very cognizant of property tax ask, and it is property tax dollars, and what can we what can we get by with which a I know is a very much different attitude than former Mayor Bavracek is saying, which is how much can we invest in this?

Um if the direction is how much can we invest?

We can find places where we could do things like that.

Um again, we have staffing capacity issues just within the planning department.

Uh we're not a very large department, so there's only so much that we can accomplish as staff, also.

Yeah.

Well, I my point is that being part of the group, I feel confident that if you saw the need out there, you would be sharing that need with the CRA group, and then we could make those decisions.

So I don't want the mayor to think that things are being squelched for on purpose, but I think as Chad sees the demands, he brings them forward, they've already shifted facade amounts by quite a bit because that's where the demand was.

We see the life safety grants, it's probably one of those programs that's dying out because where the funds were going to be designated, are pretty much being built up.

So we're not having a lot of the upstairs apartments in rail side and some of these areas.

Fourth Street might be a possibility, but a lot of those apartments are already built.

So I think the CRA is doing a good job, but I don't think they're being stingy, and I don't think they're they're not doing as much as they could for the most part, because I strongly believe that if you saw the need there, you'd be sharing that need with us.

That that's my opinion that based on what I've seen.

Now, you're the other hat you're wearing as I'm fiscally responsible.

But if you if you saw I know that I know where you're at, but if you saw the needs, I think those would be verbalized in those meetings, and then decisions would be would be made based on that information.

Okay, good, thanks.

Mr.

Hossee.

Thank you, Mayor.

Chad, as you know, I've talked on this right for a long long time.

Um I completely agree with Mitch in that I understand what Mayor Baberchak is talking about.

I think statutorily we can chart we can have a levy up to 2.6 or 0.026.

Uh, we're now at 15, 0.015805.

Uh so there is that 40 percent gap that Mayor Vaberchak uh spoke to.

Over the years, as I've looked at this, we want Grand Island to succeed, and this is one tool for success.

We have in the past gotten to where we had an accumulation of cash of up to three years worth of tax askings in the bank at one time.

And so because the projects weren't developing as fast as they were, and so the projects weren't there.

And so that's when I reach in as a council member, and we want to prudently be successful.

You know, we want we are not trying to impede success, but in the same token, it just some of these projects just take time.

And uh we if the projects were here, we would all be about the 2.6 cents uh per hundred dollars.

So uh they haven't been, and if they are here, I want we want to hear that too.

You know, and so if the demand is there, we're all about being successful, bring it forward and and we'll listen.

But I think historically we have not our demand has not exceeded our ability to fund it.

It's the other way around.

And the worst thing, in my opinion, is having a government with a bank with a bank of three years worth of your taxes.

I'd rather it sit in my pocket rather than the city's pocket or the CRA's pocket.

And and I just I just think that's the worst prospect for me is to have a government hold my money, particularly three years' worth.

I don't disagree with you.

It is the responsibility of the taxing entities to spend the tax dollars they receive for the benefit of the taxpayers.

Yeah, so I I like the life safety stuff, I like the facade, you know, maybe there's a third program that could come out of it, but nonetheless, I we want to make sure that we have enough funds for the demand that's out there, and I think this budget does that very thing.

Please vote.

Motion adopted 9G approving downtown improvement district number two, the ramp property tax request.

Mr.

Brown.

Thank you, Mayor.

Twenty uh 2025 valuations for the uh downtown improvement district number two, the parking ramp increased over the 24 valuation by 6.7 million or 7.8 percent.

The downtown approvement district number two ramp does not request an increase in property tax, thereby decreasing the mill levy from 0.010470 to 0.00971.

Uh the revenue request is 9,090.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Mr.

O'Neill.

I move that we approve 2025-313.

Mr.

Paul.

And I would say that.

Any discussion?

Please vote.

Motion adopted.

Ordinance 10, a consideration of approving salary ordinance.

Is there a motion to suspend the statutory rules regarding ordinances?

Mr.

O'Neill.

I move that we suspend the rules.

Mr.

Lanfear.

I checked that.

Any discussion?

Please vote.

Motion adopted.

Mr.

Schmidt, please tell us about this.

Thank you, Mayor.

Council.

Uh this is the annual salary ordinance that goes along with the annual budget.

Uh so this includes changes in wages uh according to union contracts that have been previously negotiated.

Um with that, the non-union group, in which this year we did a uh wage survey.

Uh this also creates uh the classifications discussed in the budget process.

So the budget and purchasing manager, controller, lead EIC tech, operations training and planning coordinator, and the planner two, and then it removes some classifications that we aren't using anymore.

Um this also includes all the changes to the FOP contract you approved a few meetings ago, uh, make some adjustments to clothing allowance in the fire department and adjust VIBA contributions for non-union.

Uh what it does not include is Aspian wastewater.

Those two contracts are currently under negotiations yet, and we should bring those forward in the near future.

Thank you.

Thank you again.

I my question was uh these wages are mostly paid by what we what the city collects, I believe.

And I do I are do we compare the wages that we're paying with what the private sector is paid?

And I just know we're negotiating with union negotiations are always tough.

But you know, do the are the wages we're paying comparable to what when we pay an increase when we give it a percentage increase.

Are these increases comparable to what is being paid in the private sector?

Because the private sector is what is paying paying these wages.

And I I just wondered if that is part of the consideration, or do we compare the wages that we're going to pay for union employees with other cities and other states because other cities, other states have a proper usually have a larger tax base from just if I could get uh you get if you could clarify Mr.

Schmidt can clarify that for you.

Thank you.

Yeah, the the process for setting wages is set by state statute.

Um so we look at cities that there has to be qualifications to it, so you can't have a city that's less than half your size, or you can't compare to a city that's more than double your size.

So we're an MSA, and what we do is we start looking at populations in 50 mile consent concentric circles.

And considering our size and our location, uh the cities we do compare to are out of state, so it's usually Iowa, uh South Dakota, Kansas, Missouri.

Um usually you get into like uh Colorado that's too far out, so you and there's some large larger metros out there that we don't compare to.

So we're not comparing to Lincoln or Omaha, but all the other cities within Nebraska don't meet the criteria.

We're just this kind of unique size of MSA that it's it's outside, but it's all set by statute how we have we must compare to those cities.

I I understand I just kind of disagree with the process.

So it it would be a legislative change.

Yeah, thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr.

O'Neill.

I move that we approve ordinance 10,032.

Mr.

Sheard.

I'll second that.

Mr.

Hossee.

Thank you, Mayor.

I think in order to Jerry's uh point, you know, and I think Aaron did talk about it, but we have had discussions at the council level about could we ever should we ever include local local matches because it has certainly been discussed in the council over the decades because it it makes sense, but it's not it's not made it into statute, you know.

And so unfortunately in the statute, and I think our non-union array today is Ames, Iowa, Dubuque, Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, Jefferson City, Missouri, Lawrence, Kansas, Manhattan, Kansas, Rapid City, South Dakota, Sioux City, Iowa, and St.

Joseph, Missouri.

I think that's probably the non-union array.

I I believe that's correct.

Yeah, so we don't we don't have Hastings or Carney or you know, uh in the non-union array.

Every union might have a different array or potentially could have a different array, but there's a lot of overlapping, but there are a few nuances.

Yeah, so I think the council is has made the same argument Jerry is has brought forward many times in the past, although not recently, unsuccessfully.

Um comparability in Nebraska has been around for at least 40 years in one form or another.

It might have changed slightly, but comparability is the law in Nebraska.

And really what they're trying to do is in when they compare municipality to municipality.

I think uh Mike at one time's talk talked about 80 percent match, and I think I talked about 85 percent.

I think statutorily there might be a 70 percent minimum match between the job duties and the time that they spend doing the work.

And uh 100 percent match would be a perfect match, they'd be doing identical, but that doesn't exist anywhere, no matter who you compare to.

So whether you're at 80 or 85 percent as Mike and I have talked to, those are good matches.

You know, but it's it is a trying to get a match to job duties and time spent in in doing that.

I really wish we could, because that's where our labor market is.

I wish we could include local local matches, local jobs, um, but we don't, and we're not allowed to by law, so um we have talked about it.

I wish there was another way in, but at this point we're all out of state right now.

Please vote motion adopted ordinance 10 be consideration on fiscal year 2025 to 2026, annual single city budget, and annual appropriations bill.

Is there a motion to suspend the statutory rules?

Mr.

O'Neill.

I move that we suspend the rules.

Mr.

Brown.

Second that.

Any discussion?

Please vote.

Motion adopted.

Brown, please proceed.

Thank you, Mayor.

Before you, we have hopefully approval of the fiscal year 26 proposed budget.

We'll do a little overview of the changes from last year.

This budget document is it's the single most important document used by our organization, and it helps us in the direction of giving the services that we provide to our citizens.

The following is a comparison of fiscal year 26 proposed budget to fiscal year 25 adopted budget.

The total 26 proposed budget disbursements and transfers is 8.3% or 25.9 million higher than 25 adopted budget.

Differences mainly due to the using general fund excess cash reserves and bond proceeds for several parks projects, good life district disbursements, and grants placeholder in order to have appropriation authority.

All funds revenue projections for fiscal year 26 increased by 1.2% or 3.4 million over the 25 budget.

As we had just indicated in the previous agenda items, 25 valuations for the city went up 8.1%, $378 million.

And again, we are reducing our mill levy for the seventh year in a row.7% higher than fiscal fiscal 25 adopted budget.

Personnel expenses are budgeted at 6.5% higher than 25, while operating expenses are lower by 3.48%.

Overall, the increase in expenses is 4.3%, or 2.2 million over fiscal year 25.

Total sales tax revenues forecasted 29 million, 29.7 million for fiscal year 26.

It's a 2% increase, uh, which is a $582,751 increase over the 25 budget.2 percent, so very de minimis.

Below here is a list of uh capital equipment and projects.

Um it's a long list.

The total uh capital improvement uh projects that we have is $82 million for fiscal year 26.

So this is all available on the website for uh any and all to see personnel changes.

So the city is adding additional FTEs and reclassifications.

So the additional FTEs are a police officer, uh two and a half community service officers, which is uh related to animal control, a parks maintenance worker, uh an attorney, and five air five library part-time workers, uh each working 16 hours a week, so equals 80 hours.

Um council had discussed earlier in this budget season about an office manager being reclassed to a support services administrator that has been pulled out of the budget for further discussion in fiscal year 26.

Other reclasses were removing in the finance department was two, uh move an assistant finance director to a controller and an accountant to a budget and purchasing manager.

Um we have in streets an accounting technician going to uh administrative assistant, and in utilities, we have a utility production engineer going on to a power plant training coordinator, and a senior power plant operator going to a lead EIC technician.

I used to know what EIC was, so I don't know right now.

Um other than that, uh the budget process I think went well, and uh turn it over to council, Jay Vabichek.

Would you like to speak?

Well, thank you for the opportunity, and I guess that's why I'm here.

Um, because I happen to read where no one was here yesterday during the uh public hearing on tax asking and so forth.

I would have been here, but my grandson had a soccer game at Northwest, and I figured, well, that's more important, but nonetheless, uh I'm just here to say a couple things.

Uh, first, thank you.

And as one that has been involved in similar to what you're doing here, but the city budget is such a monstrous task, it probably takes the longest amount of time, expertise, people, uh, you name it, visioning priorities, and and yet, you know, it might be the single biggest thing that it's accomplished each and every year, as opposed to seeing something with the groundbreaking and so forth.

So I would just want to say thank you with appreciation for all the efforts that go into a city budget.

I earlier said, I don't think you brag enough, and I just marvel at what is accomplishing in our city today.

And it's easy to see an elevator shaft going up for a new motel or a new fire station or a new fire station wagon or or the flashing lights of a of a uh law enforcement officer.

Those things people can see, but you can't see all the different things go into a city budget and what you're what you're doing.

And yet I'm also just cognizant of the fact that you have so many plates that you're spinning and so many resources to go ahead and accomplish just maintaining what we're what we're doing and what you're providing is no simple task, let alone being able to grow.

And if we're not growing, and all you have to do is sometimes travel in western Nebraska or western Kansas and see what rural uh America has experienced, because if you're not growing, you're not you're you're doomed.

And indeed, Grand Island is growing.

Also, I'm just you know, if you're not involved in something, you kind of lose track, and all you can do is kind of refer to what you knew when.

But I would just say this.

Seeing the parks and recreation budget of 29 million dollars of improvements is staggering.

And if we didn't have the resources and we weren't growing, there's no way we you could accomplish devoting what you're trying to do there.

Because once again, a couple of us can remember back in 2011, Mr.

Steve Austin had his whole capital improvement budget was 125,000.

So here you are talking 29 million, and if people think, hey, 16 million is going to Island Oasis, when I asked Todd earlier, said what are you doing?

He says, a lot.

Well, it's 33 years in the making.

It's it's time to reinvest.

So all those things are are great.

Uh I'm also assuming when I look at the budget, and I don't print that thing out.

I mean, it'd be this thick, isn't it, Mayor?

I mean, it's 400 pages.

Um, and I don't go through it, but I would just say broad strokes.

Um, I'm I'm I'm not surprised, but yet you have two people here in the council chambers for a city budget.

And I would hope people would get engaged and would are indicating their thoughts to you if they're not here, but I understand why they're not here.

A lot of priorities.

But when I look at visioning, someone said the other day when I was at a conference in Kansas, actually, if if you're not visioning what could happen, and if you're not planning for it, it's not gonna happen.

And you know, I think that's right.

If you're not envisioning uh once again making incremental steps to extend the hike and bike trail south, I mean it's not gonna happen.

And it doesn't need to be a destination of a trail.

It's part of the experience that people use each and every time they're outdoors, just like I don't walk, my wife is a walker, but when she goes around Stuart Museum, she's not going there to see Storm Museum, she's enjoying as other people the experience of being on a hike and bike trail.

I would hope that's not lost that can be looked at down the road.

Also, when you look at other needs and things and ideas, it's been talked about for years, and an indoor aquatics facility.

Granted, you're making the investment in the uh Island Oasis water park.

I would hope indoor aquatics can indeed be something that we can get done sometime.

And also the senior citizens uh facility, it also needs to be looked at and maybe even considered relocation to where it can reach out to more people in today's society and and maybe cohabit at a facility like that.

We all know the state fair, another outstanding success.

I agree with Mayor Steele's remarks that indeed this is a brand that we're all proud of.

And I just see so many different people coming there enjoying the state fair and up in economic opportunity, but family enjoyment.

Parking is a problem, there's no doubt.

I I know you're working maybe hopefully on some solutions for event center uh parking there that would go ahead and compliment people that come here because if we're gonna make it so difficult to get in the facility and park, it's just one more reason not to get out of your easy chair and stay home.

And we and we don't want that.

And when you look at all the different lodging facilities that are going on, I mean there's what two or three right now that are being built.

I mean, they can provide the occupancy for more visitors if we maintain support for those in future budgets.

So when you look about all the different things you're accomplishing, I marvel and I congratulate you and I appreciate your leadership.

And that's where I'm gonna come to this topic.

Um I don't think leadership should go unnoticed and unrewarded.

And I realize why no one ever wants to say, hey, we ought to have more compensation.

But I personally believe council and mayor's leadership ought to be increased in compensation.

It's not part of this budget, but I would just hasten after this is approved.

Why not?

And if I have need to reach out to Mr.

Stelk or Ms.

Mendoza, my council representatives, and say, hey, bring that forward for a discussion.

I would think the may any mayor's position, and none of you that I know of, or no person on this earth yet has indicated any desire to serve in a leadership capacity.

So if you have that discussion the next month or two before anyone ever files, or everyone ever gives a hint, there's no issues with having an open discussion on that.

I personally believe any mayor at least ought to have a 40 hour minimum, ought to be worth 40 hours at minimum wage.

I mean, we're we're in we're investing hundreds and thousands of dollars in elected and positions each and every day, a minimum wage position for a mayor ought to be a given.

Even a council members, you know, 20 hours a week at minimum wage ought to be something that it's ought to be considered because I personally take leadership important, and I know everyone's doing this for the right reasons.

You're not doing it for pay, but I also know that stewardship ought to be something that would be considered down the road.

It's not part of this budget, but also brings up the fact that that this finally uh as a uh longtime resident of Grand Island, I sure appreciate each of your efforts, all the city department members that are chip in on this.

That's a giant task, and I just congratulate you on bringing this forward in a very respectful manner and uh with and professionalism.

Thank you, Mayor Steele.

Thank you for your very kind words.

It's always nice to see you.

Thank you.

I I hate doing this.

Uh I just some of the things in the budget, uh the TIFF programming, things like that.

I think of and the state auditor has mentioned it too, that these programs are inflationary uh contributing to maybe to higher property taxes, but there was a day when companies used to call it overhead when they invested in a new project, and now they ask for a uh uh subsidy or uh deferred taxes is what it is.

And I I really wasn't gonna speak, but what I'm sorry, Chuck.

When you said there's one thing worse that you hate seeing the government with my money with in their pocket, it's like, well, I also hate to see the government spend my money, and and that's the other thing I was gonna bring up was that that uh water park.

And I know mayor, I didn't see your the path to the part in the budget.

I don't know if it's in there or not, but it is a wonderful idea, it really is.

I spoke, but it's just before it's time it but it thinks that is kind of the discretionary thing that I think budgeting is supposed to do.

You say, well, we can do this next year, we can do that following year.

But the one thing in that budget that just grabs my crawl is 16 million dollars for that island oasis, a facility that is only open 90 days a year.

And I didn't get a chance to ask, but I think the number they gave for budgeting for maintenance was 2.7 million dollars.

And I guess one of my questions was is that 2.7 this new water park, this $16 million expansion, because that's gonna be in affecting next year's budget.

But anyway, the $16 million is not in is not in my pocket, it's not in your pocket, but it's government spending, and and that's that's what anyway.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Mr.

Nickerson make a motion that we approve ordinance 1003.

Mr.

Shear.

I'll second.

Mr.

Hawsey.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um this budget is now just about spends a million dollars a day.

We're not quite there yet, but it's it's not very far off.

It takes all 10 of our council members to pass this.

It's not just a budget, but it's the program of services.

There are things in this budget that I wish were not in there.

There are things that I wish were in there.

But that's the whole discussion.

I I listened to taxpayers, ratepayers, neighbors, people on the golf course, people at Little Eater Crayons.

I listen to people all year round.

And that's where this culminates in this process in this vote tonight.

And what I can tell you is this is the most important thing a city council member does in the entire year.

Um today I I was going through the Grand Island City Cemetery, and it looks great.

And I think that is indicative of every city department that I see.

We do good work for citizens.

Our employees are the best that there are.

This is budget's going to have my support, not because it has everything I want in there, not because it does everything that it should do.

There's probably more things it could do.

But all in all, this this is a good process, it's thorough.

Pat has done a great job of going over and over where we're at, where we're at with all these projects, and there are a lot of them.

It's not perfect, but it is absolutely the most important thing we do, and this we spend a lot, a lot of time through this with constituents, with other council members, and and I'm glad we're at the point where we're at now because but this is a big number.

You know, almost a million dollars a day is what it takes to run the city of Grand Island.

Our department, our employees are the best that there are.

And so I'm appreciative of everybody who has to implement this program of services.

So this millions of dollars in this budget are all going to be implemented by city employees.

And so I want to thank them for what they're going to be doing next year and doing it for our citizens.

So thank you.

Mr.

Nickerson.

I wanted to talk a little bit about the process as well.

I and I want to touch on a little bit of what Chuck said here.

I'm not sure when I'm going to get there, but I'm going to get there, I think.

But first of all, Patrick, thank you for all the work that you've done on this.

And I I think you've had a heavy lift this year because we were short on financial support.

And I know you've probably had to lift a lot heavier than you have in the past, and I know you've had some support.

I truly hope you have.

But I want to thank you for all that you're doing too, because this is this is a huge event for you every year.

And there's so much to sort through.

I tell you quite often, it's like herding cats trying to figure out what what 10 people here want to do.

And I ask you quite often, are you you think you're gonna be able to determine what 10 people want without a vote?

And we well, yeah, you're gonna do your best.

And I think you did pretty darn well.

I I have some disappointments in the overall budget as well.

We're not gonna get everything we want.

I guess I do want to touch on this just for sure because I didn't see it when we covered the projects, but I did not see a trail project to Camp Augustine in there.

That was pulled out this year.

That was pulled out.

Okay, so that was pulled out, and I and I had don't have any problems with that.

In fact, my mental anguish ulcers and heartburn all went away very quickly, if that's true.

So I'm healed.

Now I know it'll come back, and we'll talk about it later, but in the meantime, we'll look for additional revenue sources, and that's going to be nice.

Because we're if we can chip away at that 4.3, and by the way, Keith, you are my hero for going back and rethinking that through and and asking the right questions that we need to look at for something of that magnitude.

And I hope it all shakes out really nice.

It's still gonna be way too much for what I want, but I understand the need for it.

But I'm glad that we're waiting till next year to talk about it again.

The positives that I do see is the park projects appear to all be in the budget, and so that's big.

We have two of those that are funded by the community.

We had private donations.

I think that's huge that those need to be supported because some of us probably here supported some of those as well, and we want to see those come together.

And according to Todd, he thinks a lot of those can be done in the next year, and I think it's phenomenal if that's true, especially Island Oasis.

I would love to see that.

But even we heard about Ryder Park tonight, the huge impact that might have.

And then, of course, we've got the other projects that we've talked about as well.

But Island Oasis is huge, and it's more than just a new water park.

We're talking about outdoor miniature golf, and we're talking about splash pads, and we're talking about reinventing it to Island Oasis 10.0 because that's what the communities ask for, and I think we have the opportunity to deliver that.

I think the five part-time library employees are important.

I know that was on Celine's list last year, and and we didn't get there, but this year the council says, yeah, we can see the benefit of that.

One of the negatives that I see, I was let me go back and tell you part of my frustration.

I I think we were almost in a perfect process this year, but we came up short by one voting meeting.

To me, that's where we came up short.

And I think if we would have had that one voting meeting, the things that Chuck said aren't in there that he wishes were, and some that I you know wish weren't in there, and whatever, we could have made some finite decisions that night of what the council's will was.

My frustration is that we don't know what all the council wanted.

We know what the vocal minority wanted, but we don't know what everybody else wanted.

So one of my frustrations is we don't give our quieter council members an opportunity to share their thoughts, and that is usually comes with a vote where you're gonna ask, are you supporting of this or you not?

And we're gonna get more, we're gonna get more input that way.

We we miss that, and it was all timing, and I understand that.

And I hope next year when we get into this whole gigantic thing, that we have that one meeting before I don't know if it has to be before after the public hearing, probably before, uh, to where we have a chance to vote on things that there's a little controversy over.

Because that's where you had to sort it out.

Now I listened to that Thursday night meeting that I wasn't here.

Almost two and a half hours you all were here.

I'm gonna tell you one thing right off the bat.

You all look good really good on TV.

You look really good, and that's without a hair and makeup department.

So, Jeremy, I don't know how you do it, but you make the council look really good.

And that was a great meeting.

But there were a lot of things discussed in that meeting that there was no consensus.

There was the concern about the reclassification in the police department.

It was pulled ultimately, but maybe it would have been voted on one way or another, you know, had we had that meeting.

There was some of the other issues that came up, the uh trail could have been maybe defined another way, maybe not the way I wanted it, but I'm happy that it's postponed.

I would like to have a chance to arm wrestle with with uh Carrie again over that other attorney.

I was just hoping for another chance to arm wrestle with her and see if you know how badly she really needed that attorney.

She did a great job defending herself on Thursday's meeting, but I'm not I'm not personally there yet.

It's in the budget, and I'm okay with it because that we are okay with that.

The other thing that I know Chuck had talked about, and I talked about in a much lesser value was it is great to say that we have not increased our property tax ask for seven years, but how much more would it have been if we could have said we were able to even reduce the ask?

Now I think Chuck was a little aggressive when he was saying one to two million.

I'm not that bold, but I would have been in favor of maybe a quarter million increment and just see how it rode.

But we didn't even get a chance to talk about that.

It's not a bad thing, but it was an opportunity for us.

One of the things that I tell people about the council is that we have a voice and a vote.

That's that's the power of this position.

We have a voice and we have a vote.

We had a lot of opportunities for our voice in this budget, but we for again we failed to have that final vote where we could have really known exactly the will of all the council.

That's the only criticism, and I'm not bashing all the stuff that's been done.

I just I wish we would have had that one more meeting.

It's just it was a timing issue.

The things that show up in the budget that we really didn't talk about, and I think it's just good to know publicly of the Island Oasis project, you really only budgeted four million out of the cash excess cash account, but it's a sixteen million dollar project.

So, what are the plans for a sixteen million dollar island oasis project with only four million coming out of cash?

Borrowing 11.6 million.

And the timing on that.

Once this is 15 days after adoption, uh start working on that process.

Okay.

That process will go fairly quickly.

Today we'll have an answer by September 26th.

So that's the kind of turnaround that we're getting.

Okay.

Very good.

Then the final thing that's that bothers me a little bit, and this is just I'm going to just bounce this off you again because somewhere along the way it was decided that we should probably take 15 million of the 22 excess cash balance to put toward these projects.

And I'm kind of curious why you felt comfortable to take 15 million out of 22 and not leave a little more cushion in an excess cash account around 10 or so.

It's just a number I'm throwing out there.

There's a reasoning that you've done that, but I'm going to give you a chance to share that.

Um my projection, uh, I think I believe it's a little over 7 million that I had in excess uh reserves.

I feel very comfortable with that number.

Um and that also works out with borrowing 11.6.

So I'm trying to keep my payments the same, kind of flat, um, just so that we can still keep doing those smaller park projects.

Okay, so you don't anticipate changing your thought process on that at all to give yourself you you must feel very comfortable.

To me, I think we've had this conversation before.

Cash is so important, especially today.

We don't know what's going to happen through this administration.

We don't know, we don't know the future.

We don't.

Uh to me, taking 15 million out is a little aggressive, maybe a little more aggressive than what I would have thought.

And uh, if you're okay with that, I know you're the mastermind of all this.

I I kind of wish we'd be sitting at more of a $10 million.

If you leave if you add the $7 million onto the excess, or not excess, into the cash reserves we put away at 25%, you're at 20.

I believe that's the number.

So that's why I feel very good about that.

Just having that cushion.

Because as I looked at your five-year projection sheet, that cash reserve disappeared, excess cash reserve disappeared within a couple of years pretty fast.

And then we start eating into the other, the the policy.

Yeah, and I think it's it's and and I truly appreciate the feedback.

I really do, because that's the only way we get better.

What I think we need to concentrate on going forward is building our revenue base.

So, you know, we have, you know, we have you know, Chick-fil-A's coming on, we have Target coming on, you know, and hope you know, hopefully that is a net increase of a pretty good sizable amount.

But what else can we do?

You know, like the Heartland Events Center, we have a new contractor in there, getting new things going on in there.

You could you could see the the effects of food and beverage tax and stuff like that.

So it's important now to start building that revenue base, and I think that's one of the things we're gonna look at this coming year.

Uh one of those is the hotel occupation tax.

Uh that will be coming up to council shortly, and there will be some options.

Good.

Well, that's the only thing that I'm really concerned about.

I just I think cash is just and here's the other thing that I think about the cash.

The cash that we have in excess cash reserves is earning interest, which helps pay theoretically the interest that we have on the bonds.

So that that cash that's accumulating interest is offsetting a portion of that.

So that's why I'm not worried about bonding a little more, because we've still got that ability to generate interest that will reduce that overall amount.

So that's that's why seven million really is seems to me to be low, especially looking at the five-year projection sheet.

And I know we don't want to be fat and happy, and we won't be fat and happy all the time because it's going to change, we know that.

But I think again, overall we've done very well.

The only thing I want to add here, and I wrote this on a note to myself, and this is to all our council members here, because we have a few of us that like to talk, okay?

We do, and we're used to it.

So we we were more comfortable with that.

But what we need to understand in a budget process that silence is not necessarily consent.

So when I don't hear opinions from other members, I get concerned about where are we really at as a council.

And that's where a vote really forces that.

But I just encourage people to not be fearful of sharing your opinions because really there's 10 of us here, and although four or five may do most of the talking, everybody's input is invaluable.

And it doesn't matter if we agree with me or anybody else, but I I learned from others, and that's what's important.

So again, overall, I think the budget process was almost perfect, except for that last voting meeting.

So we're getting there, and next year we'll see how it all shakes out.

But a great job overall.

And to Chuck's point, Grand Island does not just good work.

I think we set a standard.

We have a standard of excellence.

And I look at that, look at that all over the city.

And that's worth paying for.

We have to pay for that.

And I want to continue to be able to support that as a council member, and I know that the public appreciates that.

It's something that we kind of expect now, but it costs money.

And we want to make sure we're doing it right.

And I think you, Patrick's summed it up very well in a couple of interviews where you talked about not raising the property tax ask because we're finding ways to get the same services by being more efficient.

And that's the name of the game.

We always want to do that.

And I appreciate all the work that you're doing as well.

Mr.

Lanfear.

I'm going to be brief.

I don't support this budget.

As a whole, it's a good budget.

And I got to commend Mr.

Brown for all his work.

I can't imagine what you have to go through.

But there are just too many high dollar projects that I feel are a poor use of public money.

We have rehab buildings in the next year or two that we have to rehab.

That's going to take a lot of this cash.

I think it would be better to hold on to it.

So I'm voting no.

Mr.

Shear.

Thank you.

Counter to that, I'm going to go ahead and say I'm voting yes on this.

But I think this is a a really strong budget for a lot of the reasons that have already been said by some of our more experienced members on this council that have done this more times than I have.

I do have a question about the trail.

Because I have a very important constituent at home that was expecting it.

So I can address that.

So I believe it's best that the trail be held over for a future time.

Because when you when you go out and you try to raise money in the community, and people are thinking, well, the council isn't really behind this, that makes it very difficult.

Maybe next year, uh sentiments will change, but I thought for the private effort, it would be a big lift.

And uh that's not the fault anybody's opinion about the wisdom of the trail.

It's just to say I thought that the time was not opportunity, opportune for the private effort, and the decision to pull it is entirely mine.

That's good to know.

Because I was gonna chew your butt.

No.

I that's thanks for the explanation.

Um that's that's helpful.

I kind of agree that it's probably not needed in the next year.

I kind of thought that a lot of those comments were probably fair.

Uh I just don't want to see it put aside for too long because I do believe in that project.

Uh I believe in it a heck of a lot more at the 4.3 million than the seven million.

Uh so let's keep that price coming down.

Uh I did have another question that came up.

We've talked about the how extensive this project, this process is, and the amount of time that we all put into it.

And someone asked me, why don't you guys do a two-year budget versus a one-year budget?

And is there a reason for that that is easy to explain?

Uh I I see Mike saying no already.

Uh Chuck kind of give a funny look.

Um they do a two-year budget, and everything's great.

Is it but I mean are you thinking is the reason that we don't do that because of the unknowns, or is it what I guess what is the reason?

So it is a little bit more complex, right?

So you you're forecasting out two years.

And then you're you're not really getting away from doing the budget every two years.

Because you're gonna come back and at the end of your year one and just start doing some adjustments.

So yeah.

Okay.

Okay.

Um and I know that uh Jay mentioned paying the electeds more, and we did talk about that early on.

If you want to just remind Jay how we discussed that.

Yeah, absolutely.

There was a uh wage survey done.

Um human resource did that.

There is an increase in there.

I think it's a good idea.

I think Jay had a great idea to bring it forward in here in October, November uh for council discussion.

So perfectly.

But it wouldn't take place until after the next seating of the council.

Correct.

Which I think is a hundred percent fair.

Uh 20 hours minimum wage, huh?

And reduce taxes, huh?

Okay.

Uh that's interesting.

I think that's a fun topic to discuss.

Absolutely.

Uh, I just want to echo, yes, this has been an enlightening process this year, and uh all of you guys up here and you guys out there and your spouses, uh, thank you, all it's been good.

Mr.

Paula.

Thank you, Mayor.

And I'm like Jack, I thought the 4.3 million had been allocated for the trail, whether we used it or not.

That's the understanding I I got from one of the meetings we had, but that's neither here nor there at the time.

If we need 4.3 million, I guess we'll just have to wait.

I want to thank everybody on the council.

I know that a lot of you are not talkers.

I hear a lot of things from the council that I don't hear out here on the floor.

I don't like blowing my own horn or tootin' off about things that I don't know anything about.

I but I want to thank Pat for doing an excellent job this year.

This is probably the best best budget I've seen.

And I don't know about the mayor, but I know in the few years he's been here, this is the best one I've seen.

Thank you.

I to mention mine, I wish we had a another week.

So Mr.

Stilk.

Thank you, Mr.

Maynard.

Um I too am one of the quiet ones.

Uh I have a lot of business sense, counting background, and a lot of business school and a lot of running my own business.

Uh I like the process.

I think it's good.

I think there's a lot of good feedback.

As far as the budget goes, there's some things that were left out of it.

I I I like what we did on the reserves.

Um the thing I like to see for the budget is um something about what are we gonna do about the law enforcement training center.

That is still out there in Leftfield.

We don't know when that's gonna come and how much it's gonna cost.

Um on the trail to on South Locust, I like to see that.

I'd like to see us maybe set some funds aside for that and grow it over time.

Um instead of just kicking it down the road, let's like we've done other projects.

Let's let's start saving for it and put some reserves for it.

I like the water park project.

That's that's gonna be a gem for us.

That's gonna help the Fawner Park campus.

And uh I just want to continue developing the Fauner Park campus because I think it still needs a lot of work and uh a lot of support from the city in that.

Um I like the way um we vote on things.

Um we have input in that.

Um I like your thinking on building our reserves and figuring ways to get other money uh with the hotel tax and that.

Uh I just think we just need to be smarter at what we do and work together, but overall uh sure I'm not happy with everything on it, but you know, uh you can never be.

I'm I'm pretty conservative, and I I like where we're coming and I like where we're going and and I like what Grand Island's doing, and and I just want to uh drum in our parade and keep them the parade going.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

O'Neill.

I I just want to kind of commend you in particular for finding ways to spend the reserves down a little bit.

Um I I think it's really important um that we take some of that money um and give it back to the community.

It's not really prudent to use taxpayer money to hoard it to be on levels that we really need.

I think that's very important.

I've just never been a fan of that idea.

I know you're very watchful.

There's a reasonable amount.

We need to be prepared for a dark rainy day, but I think we've been well beyond that, and I'm really glad to see uh that going back to the community to do something good.

So thank you.

Absolutely, Mr.

Brown.

I just want to commend you, Pat, on a stellar job that you done.

And any time I've had any questions and ask you for anything, you've always enlightened me so I could understand what was going on and how both sides but uh really appreciate your your hard work and the mayor.

Mr.

Conley.

I'm getting pressure over here from now.

I I think you you did a good job.

Uh one thing I've been on the council for seven years, and I think it's something to say about you know, property taxes have not been raised for the last seven years, so I think city staff and the council's done a real good job at that, so keep up the good work.

Thank you.

I would just say that Patrick Brown has carried the work in assembling the budget over many months going back to the late winter.

That's when he starts.

Patrick, your steady leadership and calm guidance has been invaluable.

I thank you for your hard work.

I thank you for your expertise.

Well done, Patrick.

Thank you, ma'am.

You do great work.

You presented us with a great work product.

By the way, it's 872 pages.

Please vote.

Motion adopted.

NC consideration of approving assessments for railside business improvement district.

Is there a motion to suspend the statutory rules?

Mr.

O'Neal.

I move to suspend the rules.

Mr.

Brown.

I second that.

Any discussion?

Please vote.

Motion adopted.

Mr.

Brown, you're up.

This is the action item for the earlier agenda.

Uh item for rail side business improvement district.

This is setting the uh request to 150,000, 440.79.

Mr.

O'Neill.

I move that we approve ordinance 10,034.

Mr.

Hawsey.

I'd second that motion.

Any discussion?

Please vote.

Motion adopted.

Is there a motion to suspend the statutory rules?

Mr.

Lanfear.

I move we suspend the statutory rules considering ordinances.

Thank you, Mr.

Sheard.

I'll second.

Any discussion.

Please vote.

Motion adopted.

Mr.

Brown, you're up.

This is the action item for the fourth street, fourth street business improvement district, which was earlier in the agenda this evening.

This would establish the uh special assessments at 39,430 and 31 cents.

We have to suspend the rules first and then the regular vote.

We did.

Um didn't we did.

Oh it didn't record.

Okay.

Brown.

I move we approved 10,036.

30 36 or 35.

Which which are five.

35.

Mr.

Lanfear.

I was second.

Yeah.

Okay.

Oh, there it's back.

There.

10,035.

Any discussion?

Hold on.

The motion didn't take though on the regular motion on 1035.

I move we approve 10,003.

Mr.

Lansphere, your second.

There we go.

Please vote.

Motion adopted.

And E.

Consideration of approving assessments for Fauner Park Business Improvement District.

Is there a motion to suspend the rules?

Mr.

Sheard.

I move that we suspend the rules.

Mr.

O'Neill.

I second the motion.

Thank you both.

Any discussion?

Please vote.

Motion adopted.

Mr.

Brown.

This is the action item for the Fawner Park Business Improvement District for earlier in the evening.

This is for special assessments set at fifty-three thousand two hundred and two dollars.

Mr.

Sheard.

Thank you.

I move that we uh pass 10 E.

Mr.

Still.

I second the motion, Mr.

Mayor.

Any discussion?

Please vote.

Motion adopted.

The last item on our agenda is executive session to update council on threat of litigation and possible authorization of settlement authority.

Is there a motion?

Mr.

O'Neill.

I move to adjourn for executive session.

Mr.

Brown.

I second that motion.

In this any discussion.

Please vote.

Motion adopted.

We are going into executive session at 936 P.M.

To return.

Thank you, Mr.

O'Neill.

I second that motion.

Any discussion?

Please vote.

Motion adopted.

Just one second.

Mr.

Sheard, do you have a motion?

I do.

I move to authorized settlement of claims by mayor and city attorney pursuant to the authority requested.

Mr.

Hawsey.

I'll second that motion.

Any discussion?

Please vote.

Motion adopted.

We have completed our agenda.

Thanks for everybody who participated in tonight's meeting.

Thank you, Council Members, for an excellent meeting.