Kearney City Council Meeting - May 23, 2023
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Kearney City Council Meeting - May 23, 2023
The Kearney City Council met on May 23, 2023 at 5:30 p.m. in City Council Chambers. The meeting included two public hearings, a consent agenda, and regular agenda items covering land development, utility easements, staff introduction, an NPPD transmission line update, public notification procedures, and a claim approval.
Consent Calendar
- Approved the minutes of the May 9, 2023 regular meeting.
- Approved the claims for payment.
- Received Planning Commission recommendations and set June 13, 2023 at 5:30 p.m. as the hearing date.
- Approved Amendment No. 003 of the Standard Form of Agreement for the Community Tennis Facility with RDG Planning & Design in the amount of $25,578.00 (Resolution No. 2023-78).
- Adopted Resolution No. 2023-79 approving final payment of $99,700.50 to RMV Construction, LLC for the Harmon Park Sonotorium Restoration project and accepted the Certificate of Substantial Completion.
- Adopted Resolution No. 2023-80 approving the updated agreement with Suburban Fire Protection District No. 1.
- Approved the annual renewal of eight manufactured home court licenses through May 31, 2024.
- Adopted Resolution No. 2023-81 approving the renewal of the Property Maintenance and Lease Agreement with Greg Dollman for a 40-acre detention cell.
- Adopted Resolution No. 2023-82 approving payment of $1,591,259.17 to John T. Jones Construction Co. for WWTP Phase II Improvements.
- Adopted Resolution No. 2023-83 approving Change Order No. 2 ($12,000 increase) and payment of $138,600.00 to Caldwell Tank for the 2.0 MG Elevated Water Tower.
- Adopted Resolution No. 2023-84 accepting public improvements for Millennial Estates Third Addition (Developer Constructed Infrastructure Agreement).
- Adopted Resolution No. 2023-85 accepting public improvements for Millennial Estates Fourth Addition.
- Adopted Resolution No. 2023-86 approving a Developer Constructed Infrastructure Agreement for Meridian West Second, Lots 1 & 2, for water infrastructure for fire protection.
- Accepted the bid from Nielsen Contracting, LLC in the amount of $1,596,870.00 for the 2023 Part 1 Improvements Yanney Drive Water/Sewer/Paving (Resolution No. 2023-87).
- Adopted Resolution No. 2023-88 authorizing designated city officials to sign checks and withdrawal orders.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No oral communication from the public during the routine business portion.
- During public hearings, no members of the public spoke.
Discussion Items
Public Hearing 1: Sorensen Park Fifth Addition (Vacation and Final Plat)
- Mitch Humphrey of Buffalo Surveying Corp., representing CFT NV Developments, LLC, presented the request to vacate Lot 1 of Sorensen Park Second Addition and approve the final plat for Sorensen Park Fifth Addition. The site is located at 4910 and 4920 3rd Avenue (currently Panda Express and Office Max). The project would split the existing lot into two parcels. The zoning remains C3. Easements for water, sewer, access, storm sewer, and signage are included.
- Council Member Tami James Moore asked about parking requirements; staff explained that each lot is reviewed for adequate parking, and a shared parking agreement could be used if needed. Humphrey noted the developer had carefully planned parking counts.
- The council voted to close the public hearing and approved Ordinance No. 8634 vacating the lot (suspending three readings) and then approved the ordinance on final passage. They also approved the final plat for Sorensen Park Fifth Addition via a separate motion.
Public Hearing 2: Access and Utility Easement for Wastewater Treatment Plant
- Tony Alnik, Director of Utilities, presented the request for a 10-foot access and utility easement from Archview LLC (Steve Mercer, manager) adjacent to previously acquired easements for the WWTP expansion. The easement is needed for future development and plant expansion.
- The council closed the public hearing and adopted Resolution No. 2023-77 approving the acquisition.
Regular Agenda Item 1: Introduction of Taylor Jaeger, Assistant Finance Director
- Kayleigh James, Director of Finance, introduced Taylor Jaeger. Jaeger is a Kearney native, CPA, and former senior accountant at KSO CPAs and Advisors. She started May 15, 2023. Jaeger expressed excitement about focusing her expertise in one area to serve the city.
Regular Agenda Item 2: NPPD 115kV Transmission Line Presentation
- Paul Bruni of Nebraska Public Power District provided an informational update. The project is driven by Kearney's growth. Two open houses were held in September and November 2022, and a public hearing in March 2023. The final route was announced on May 11, 2023. Right-of-way agents are now contacting landowners. Surveying and design will occur through summer and winter 2023-2024. Construction is planned to start fall 2024 and be completed by May 2025. Bruni noted that 98% of easements are obtained voluntarily; eminent domain is rarely used.
- Council Member Randy Buschkoetter asked about eminent domain usage; Bruni confirmed the 98% voluntary rate.
Regular Agenda Item 3: Public Notification Procedures for Public Hearings (Resolution No. 2023-89)
- City Planner Felicity O'Hara presented staff's research on peer cities. The proposed change adds mailed notification letters to property owners within 300 feet of a project area, sent 10 days before the Planning Commission meeting. The city currently meets state requirements with newspaper publication and on-site signs. The new procedure would be a third notification method. O'Hara explained that staff will use GIS to identify affected parcels, and the letters will include a vicinity map, project description, and meeting information.
- Council discussed costs, legal exposure, and implementation. City Attorney noted that the policy does not create additional legal liability as long as minimum requirements are met. Staff will document mailing efforts. The resolution was adopted unanimously.
Regular Agenda Item 4: Open Account Claim to NPPD
- The council approved an open account claim to NPPD in the amount of $100,558.90. Mayor Jonathan Nikkila abstained from the vote.
Key Outcomes
- Public Hearing 1: Ordinance No. 8634 passed unanimously (5-0) to vacate Lot 1, Sorensen Park Second Addition. Resolution No. 2023-76 approving the final plat for Sorensen Park Fifth Addition also passed unanimously.
- Public Hearing 2: Resolution No. 2023-77 for the utility easement was adopted unanimously.
- Consent Agenda: All 15 items approved unanimously.
- Consent Agenda Ordinance: Ordinance No. 8635 (sale of property to Airport Road Rentals, LLC) approved unanimously.
- Regular Agenda Item 3: Resolution No. 2023-89 approving the public notification procedures was adopted unanimously.
- Regular Agenda Item 4: Open account claim to NPPD approved with Mayor Nikkila abstaining.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening, everyone, and welcome to our city council meeting for May the 23rd. And if that's the rise, we'll have a moment of service difference. And then the pledge of allegiance. Okay, thank you. So join us in the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. In accordance with section 841412 of the Nebraska Revised Statutes, the current copy of the Open Meetings Act is available for review and is posted on the wall. The council chambers uh take roll, please, babe. Mayor Cloud here. Bushcutter, Lear. Present. Nicola. More here. Okay, we have no oral communication, no unfinished business, so we'll write public hearing one, and it pertains to property located at 4910 and 4923rd Avenue as submitted by Buffalo Surveying Corp for CFT NV Developments LLC to one consider ordinance number 8634, vacating lot one, Sorensen's part, second edition, and two consider resolution number 2023-76 for the final platform for the Sorenson Park 5th edition. This item was previously withdrawn from the September 13th, 2022 council agenda at the developer's request. Planning commission, I recommend approval at the August 19th, 2022 meeting. Mitch. Very good. For the record, my name is Mitch Humphrey with Buffalo Survey Corporation located at 5308 Parkland Drive here in Kearney. Um this project is then kind of interesting from the standpoint that we did as uh Mayor Klaus state uh present this project before the planning commission some time ago. It was presented before or submitted or forwarded on to the council with a positive recommendation, and then the owner elected due to their internal issues, decide to uh continue and ultimately pull the item from the agenda. So what you have before you tonight is the site located at 4910 and 4920 uh second avenue. I was gonna say, or maybe it's third avenue, I'm sorry, and uh what it is is the Panda Express site and the Office Max site and CFT NV Developments LLC, which is a Nevada corporation, really just wants to split that into two parcels, uh, which would necessitate the vacation of the existing lot one of Sorensen Park second. The zoning for the tract is still gonna remain C3, nothing changes there. We'll vacate the existing lot and then come back before you, which will be a two-lot final plat. And as part of the final plat, the city along with the developer or the owner, uh granted some additional uh waterline easements, which uh which is shown in blue. There'll be a sanitary sewer easement which is shown in green. There'll be a 24-foot wide access easement, which if you've driven into that space, it it's there. Uh we've we've all done it, and then there's uh gonna be a little stretch of storm sewer easement and a sign easement that needs to be accounted for. So really my presentation is relatively short in the fact that nothing's changed from what we presented before, other than uh dates on the plat and the elimination of a of a lender. So there is a close-up view of the final plat as as presented, and uh with that stated to keep your move meeting moving along. I'm finished with my presentation, and I'm free to answer any questions that you might have. Okay, good. Thank you, Mitch. Council have any questions? I do have a simple question. When you split a lot like that, does that affect our minimum parking requirements for each building? So we review um each lot to ensure that each building has the appropriate number of parking stalls on their site. If they don't, then we would look at like a shared parking agreement between the two law owners. Gotcha. And what's interesting about that is CFT NV developments is one of the most thorough groups I've ever seen and worked with. They outlined the area that they need for the PANA site and for the other site, and therefore that's why you see kind of a jagged line, so to speak, between the east line of lot two and the west line of lot one. They're counting stalls, making sure that everybody has more than enough and that they work out just fine. Okay, thanks. Good. Thank you. Any other questions, comments? Okay, this is a public hearing. Is there anyone in the audience who wishes to address public hearing one?
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