Kearney City Council Meeting – November 8, 2022: Vacations, Rezonings, Bond Authorization, and NPPD Update
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Kearney City Council Meeting – November 8, 2022
The Kearney City Council met on November 8, 2022 at 5:30 p.m. in Council Chambers. The meeting included three public hearings on subdivision vacations, a rezoning, and final plat approvals; a consent agenda with 22 routine items (one pulled for separate vote); a regular agenda item authorizing up to $3,100,000 in general obligation bonds for street improvements; and an informational update from Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) on a proposed 115 kV transmission line preferred route.
Public Hearings
Public Hearing 1 – Prairie Meadows Second Addition
- Applicant: Miller & Associates on behalf of DT Development, Inc. for property between 56th and 57th Street, east of 10th Avenue (11.86 acres).
- Actions considered:
- Ordinance No. 8604 – Vacate Lot 2, Block 2 and the dedicated temporary cul-de-sac in Prairie Meadows Addition.
- Ordinance No. 8605 – Vacate the east 65 feet of Lot 2, Spruce Hollow Estates Fourth Addition.
- Resolution No. 2022-238 – Approve Final Plat and Subdivision Agreement for Prairie Meadows Second Addition.
- Staff presentation: Craig Bennett (Miller & Associates) described the site, removal of the temporary cul-de-sac, extension of street and infrastructure (sanitary sewer, water, storm sewer), and that zoning would remain C‑2. The Planning Commission recommended approval.
- No public testimony was offered.
- Council voted unanimously to close the hearing, suspend reading requirements, and adopt both ordinances and the resolution.
Public Hearings 2 & 3 (combined discussion, separate votes) – Turkey Creek Fourth Subdivision
- Applicant: Miller & Associates on behalf of Turkey Creek Properties, LLC for property at west end of Turkey Creek Lane, north of Talmadge Street.
- Public Hearing 2 considered:
- Ordinance No. 8606 – Vacate Lots 8, 9, 10, Block 1 and Lots 5, 6, 7, Block 2 and all dedicated easements in Turkey Creek Second Subdivision.
- Ordinance No. 8607 – Vacate a portion of Turkey Creek Lane abutting those lots.
- Ordinance No. 8608 – Rezone the 6.95‑acre portion from RR‑1/PD (Rural Residential/Planned Development) to RR‑2 (Rural Residential, Intermediate Standards).
- Public Hearing 3 considered:
- Resolution No. 2022-239 – Approve Final Plat and Subdivision Agreement for Turkey Creek Fourth Subdivision (three lots, approximately 6.95 acres).
- Staff presentation: Craig Bennett explained that the 10.6‑acre vacation area would be replatted into three larger lots; the road would be realigned westerly; lots would have well and septic service (no city water/sewer); the Future Land Use Map designation (Rural Estates) would remain unchanged. Planning Commission recommended approval.
- No public testimony was offered.
- Council voted unanimously to close Public Hearing 2 and adopt the three ordinances, and then closed Public Hearing 3 and adopted Resolution 2022‑239.
Consent Calendar
- The consent agenda originally listed 22 items plus one consent ordinance (No. 8609). Mayor Nikkila abstained from the consent agenda but voted separately on the ordinance. One item was pulled: Resolution No. 2022‑240 (see below).
- Items approved as a block (items 1, 2, 4–22) unanimously (Mayor abstaining); included:
- Approval of minutes from October 25, 2022.
- Approval of claims.
- Resolution No. 2022‑240 was removed (see Regular Agenda).
- Resolution No. 2022‑241 approving Change Order Nos. 2 and 3 for Lighthouse Point Park Shelter Structure and Playground ($3,400 increase).
- Acceptance of bid for Harmon Park Bathhouse Renovation – Duncan Theis Construction, Inc., $233,400.
- Payment certificates for various infrastructure projects (Part 3 Improvements, Water Tower, Trail Projects, Booster Pump Stations, etc.).
- Approval of plans and specifications for 2022 Part 2 Improvements (56th Street and Avenue N Turning Lanes) with bid opening December 6, 2022.
- Development Agreement with Talmadge JAM, LLC for indoor sports complex (Resolution 2022‑249).
- Development Agreement with Kearney Visitors Bureau for indoor sports complex (Resolution 2022‑250).
- Agricultural deferral applications for KPT&G, LLC.
- Agreement for Management Services with Great Platte River Road Memorial Foundation (The Archway) (Resolution 2022‑251).
- Agreement for Services with Kearney Visitors Bureau (Resolution 2022‑252).
- Liquor license items: addition for The Cup 1919, no‑recommendation letters for VFW Post 759 manager and Sims Shop EZ license/manager.
- Consent Agenda Ordinance No. 8609 – Deed of sale for Lots 5 and 10, Block 1, Patriot Industrial Park to Burmood Investments, LLC. Adopted on second reading with all council voting aye (Mayor did not abstain on this separate item).
Regular Agenda
Item 1 – Ordinance No. 8610: General Obligation Various Purpose Bonds, Series 2022
- Authorizes up to $3,100,000 in bonds to pay off bond anticipation notes (interim financing) for Paving Improvement District No. 2020‑004 street improvements.
- Bruce Leffler (Piper Sandler) explained that the bonds will be sold in December; the city recently reaffirmed its A+ credit rating, which should help keep interest rates low.
- Council unanimously approved the ordinance on first and final reading (suspended three‑reading rule).
Item 2 – NPPD 115 kV Transmission Line Project Update
- Paul Bruni (NPPD) presented a summary of the preferred and alternative routes for the proposed transmission line in the Kearney area, based on prior public input.
- Next step: public open house on November 17, 2022 (2:00–7:00 p.m.) at the United Conference Center to gather additional feedback.
- Council Member Kotsiopulos noted that the line’s alignment may affect future street widening on 30th Avenue, and urged public attendance at the open house to discuss that impact.
Pulled Consent Item (Resolution No. 2022‑240)
- Resolution certifying Brandon Shafto as City Street Superintendent for 2022 for Nebraska Department of Transportation highway incentive payment.
- Pulled because the state required the Mayor or Council President’s signature, and since Mayor Nikkila abstained from the consent agenda, Council President Buschkoetter would have signed all consent items. The state preferred mayoral/executive signature.
- Adopted unanimously on separate vote.
Key Outcomes
- Public Hearings 1-3: All vacations, rezoning, and final plats approved unanimously.
- Consent Agenda (items 1–22): Approved as moved, with Mayor abstaining; Ordinance No. 8609 approved separately.
- Resolution No. 2022‑240: Approved separately.
- Ordinance No. 8610: Approved (bonds up to $3.1M for street improvements).
- NPPD Presentation: No council action; next public open house scheduled for November 17, 2022.
- Council Comments: No further business; meeting adjourned.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening, everyone, and welcome to our city council meeting for November the 8th. Uh if you all rise, we'll have a moment of silence and then uh join us in the Pledge of Leviathan. Please join us on Pledge of Leviance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and the Republic for which it stands. Thank you. In accordance with section 841412 of the Nebraska Revised Statute, a current copy of the uh Nebraska revised the open meetings act is available for you as opposed to all the council chambers. Peggy, you would take roll, please. Mayor class here bush cutter, clear Nicolas More. Okay, we have no uh oral communication, no unfinished business. We'll move right in public hearing one, and that's uh pertains to property located between 56th Street and 57th Street, east of 10th Avenue, submitted by Miller Associates for DT Development Incorporated, and to consider one, ordinance number 8604, vacating lot two, block two, and the dedicated temporary cul de sac in prairie meadows edition. Two, ordinance number eighty-six zero five, vacating the east sixty-five feet of lot two in Spruce Hollow Estates fourth edition, and three resolution number 2022-238, approving the final plant subdivision agreement for prairie meadows second landing commission recommend approval. Okay, all right, good evening. My name is Craig Bennett, 1111 Central Avenue from Miller Associates, and I'm here to represent DT development for Prairie Meadows 2nd edition. And so the area that we're talking about tonight consists of one lot that is um previously platted in prairie meadows, and then a portion of another lot. It's located north of 56th Street, um, just east of 11th and um 57th. So it's 11.86 acres. So the area that we have right now, currently there was a new dentist office that was just built west of of where we're looking at tonight. So we'll be asking to vacate this lot and then the strip that was left because it was minor sub when we platted this this portion or split that off to be developed. The current zoning on the property is C2, and we're asking for that to remain C2, and you can see that that's consistent with what was next to it. Um the overall master land use plan really hasn't changed too much in terms of what we're at. We're in this area here when we done this master preliminary plat, and that's the future land use that we would show in the at that time. So the zoning that we have at C2, we have um this was a conceptual plan and it's kind of unfolding in the way that we did this plan. This is kind of the building that we were showing in the skematics that we had there. And we're looking at an area that's in this location for tonight. And of course, we're leaving the rest of this as we're proposing schematically here. Eventually, there would be a road that would connect, which would be 57th Street extended easterly and then northerly without knowing exactly how this will unfold. This is why we've been showing this as conceptual and it's kind of unfolding kind of in the same way that we've been uh proposing. So this lot was left as one big lot when we platted it last, and we're gonna leave it with the exception of what we have here. So as we're looking at the preliminary platform, this is what we did in 2009. And so when we last came back through and proposed um that subdivision and then did prairie meadows, this was that lot two that we're asking to vacate. It had temporary cul de sac. We're asking to release at the end of this street there, and then this is the strip that was uh remaining after the minor sub was done. All the easements would be asked to remain in place. Uh that was the conceptual view that we did. Um that was the underlying um concept that we had for that layout and master plan and circulation of 57th Street uh with the connection north-south to 59th Street, which will happen sometime in the future. Um those are just some conceptual views that we uh you guys had seen before, and this was kind of that area in that corner. So currently, right now there was a coldie sac with a previous subdivision here, which we're highlighting in red, which we would be removing and demoing out, and so it'll look like just a straight T intersection when we're done. So the remnants of the Coley Sack will be removed. We'll extend the street out here, and we'll build the temporary cul-de-sac at the end of this street, which will then eventually connect north. So really what we're here tonight for is this area. Lot one and lot two of Prairie Meadows 2nd. This is kind of an enlargement of that area. Infrastructure, we're gonna extend sanitary sewer. We'll extend the water shown in blue and a large trunk main storm sewer located on the south side in green. So in order to do that, there's the vacation plat, vacating the minor sub and what's known as lot to block two prairie meadows edition. Um the associated preliminary plat of the same area for the two lot subdivision and that road dedication, um, a little bit of an enlargement area there. Um, and then the final plat of the same for the two lot subdivision. Okay, thank you, Craig. Council have any questions or comments? Yeah, nice suit and tie.
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