The Kearney City Council met on March 12, 2024, at 5:30 p.m. in Council Chambers. The meeting included ceremonial recognitions, a public hearing on a comprehensive plan amendment, approval of consent agenda items, and receipt of the annual financial report. The council also entered closed session to discuss litigation.
The council approved the following consent items (1–6) by unanimous vote:
The council voted to adjourn into closed session at approximately 5:53 p.m. for the protection of the public interest to discuss possible litigation matters. No formal action was reported after reconvening.
For March the 12th, that's uh this is one of the bigger crowds we've had a long time, so we do appreciate everyone showing up tonight. Uh if you'll rise, we'll have a moment of silence, and then we have some scouts to lead us in a pledge of allegiance. Thank you. And Cooper, Mary. Hello. My name is Cooper Young. I'm a Star Scout with Troop 136. Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. I Pledge of 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. Thank you, Cooper and Scouts. It's kind of nice to have the scouts back in the in the crowd. We used to do this. This was a regular part of our meeting, so we're glad to have you guys. So appreciate that. Um, in accordance with section 841412, the Nebraska Revised Statutes, the current copy of the Open Meetings Act is available for review, and it's posted on the on the wall in the council chamber. So you take roll, please. Mayor Cloud. Here. Here. Leader absent Nicola. Here. Here. Okay, Oral Communications. This time uh we have some uh present uh for a presentation to um Michael Camler uh with some recognition of the National Guard. So I think Garth, um we're gonna lead that, so Gar Skism. My name is Garth Sism. I'm with the employer support for Guard Reserve Program. I want to thank the city for having us here, and with your permission, we'd like to give you work. Sergeant Rodriguez. I'm with the employer support for guard and reserve program. You may not have heard of, but we're a part of the department of defense. I'm probably the only one here that remembers 1973, that that's when they ended the draft. When we went away from the draft, we went to an all-volunteer service. And an all-volunteer service put a lot of strain on the service member and his employer. A classic example, I won't go into too much detail. I was thinking of active duty got out in 1970. I joined the National Guard in 1970 and retired in 2000. But nobody in that time frame from 1970 to 2000 really was deployed. The National Guard and Reserve was part of a strategic reserve in case we had to fight a second war. After 9-11, that has changed in. The National Guard and Reserve are now integrated into our war fighting efforts and our everybody's part of this. At one point at the peak of deployment in Afghanistan and Iraq, 25% of our soldiers and service members overseas were members of the Guard Reserve. That puts a strain on the service member, on his family, and on his employer. What we do is we try to keep everybody happy, and we recognize outstanding support from the employer. The city of Carney and the Winkle Art Anyway. The nice thing about this is we don't recognize anyone. It is all driven by the individual soldiers. This soldier made the recommendation. I did not.