OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Kearney City Council Meeting June 11, 2024: Saadi First Development Approvals and Siren System Update

City CouncilTuesday, June 11, 2024
BodyKearney, Nebraska
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, June 11, 2024
StatusFILED
Video Record

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Transcript — Verbatim
0:33

That you're the current copy of the open meetings act is available for view.

0:36

It's posted on all the council chambers.

0:38

Will you take role, please, big mayor Klaus?

0:40

Here.

0:42

Present.

0:42

Nicola?

0:43

Here.

0:43

More.

0:44

Okay, we have no oral communication and no unfinished business.

0:47

So we'll move right into public hearings one through eight.

0:49

They can be discussed together, but vote on separately.

0:52

And they pertain to the application submitted by Milton Associates for Camille Saudi, Windstart Enterprise LLC for the development of Saudi First.

0:59

Planning Commission recommended approval.

1:02

Good evening.

1:03

My name is Craig Bennett, 1111 Central Avenue from Millenni Associates, and here for Windstar Enterprises and with me in the audience too is Camille Saudi for Windstart Enterprises.

1:49

Of the 36 acres there, and then we're annexing 21 acres.

1:53

So the existing future land use map from the comprehensive plan shows this area, that same area, which is the 36 acres basically, consisting of some MDR and some MU2.

2:06

This portion of it, we're asking to amend the uh future land use map from MU2 to MDR.

2:12

And then this portion of it here highlighted in the blue, we're asking to amend the future land use map from MDR to MU2.

2:20

So just kind of flip-flopping both of those around.

2:23

This will be yellow, this will be blue, essentially is what we're asking for.

2:27

Um so that from the rezoning standpoint, it's all currently AG.

2:31

And so with this process, even though we're preliminary platting the entire 36 acres, which is shown in yellow here, we're asking to rezone this, even though we're only gonna um final plat half of it essentially.

2:43

So we'll be getting our rezoning in place and in order uh in advance of uh the next phase that we would have for our planning uh for our final plat.

2:53

So uh it is currently served with sanitary sewer.

2:56

There's a big trunk main going down, 27-inch main going down Antelope Avenue, and then along the south side, which is 39th Street, there's an 18-inch sewer main.

3:05

We'll be utilizing this to serve this uh particular subdivision.

3:10

Uh there's also a 16-inch water main that's located in uh 39th Street, and we will be extending that 16-inch water main uh along Antelope Avenue, and we'll have eight inch water main throughout.

3:23

Uh the stormwater, um there are there are some uh it's a very flat area, it's kind of at the cusp of where you go north to the Wood River and south to the Platte River.

3:34

And so if you've ever been out here in this 39th area, um there's four triangles here on this area, and that's where the drainage kind of circulates and goes back this way, and then if you're south of there, it goes actually south.

3:46

So um there's really no inlets located in this particular, but it all primarily will end up in this outfall channel on the north side of the solar farm.

3:56

Um as a point of reference here, there is a um uh hundred year or one percent chance of annual flood, which is the light blue and the um the gray area, there is a portion of it that does poke into it, which is um handled by uh the the levy of the so to speak of the outfall channel, and so that is the point two percent chance.

4:17

So before you tonight is a rezoning figure for the entire thirty-six acres.

4:23

We are asking to rezone from AG to C to C3 this portion, ag to R2 this portion, and AG2 C2 that portion, more clearly seen maybe with a little bit of enlargement.

4:35

Um essentially the north side of what we're showing is C3 is the boundary that I'll show you is where our final plat is.

4:41

So the rest of this will be unplatted, but we're just asking to rezone it at this time.

4:47

So when we overlay the preliminary plat, which we show a connection, um the alphabet ended with Z here.

4:55

So um we start over with a name of Adam Street.

5:00

So and so there's a system for that which makes really good sense.

5:04

But this will be known as Adams Avenue.

5:06

And then this will be an extension of what was already platted here, which would be known as 44th for 41st, sorry, 43rd and 45th Street.

5:17

So we'll be plating uh what would be known as Adams and 41st Street as a part of our final plat.

5:24

As I zoom into this.

5:26

Just as a question, just it's nerdy map geography question.

5:29

Are we going to name county names going east?

5:32

Is that what's going on?

5:32

Yeah, they go in.

5:33

I'll let Brenda answer that.

5:35

They do go in Nebraska County names in alphabetical order.

5:40

So that is how if you there's a chase and a butler and uh I was hoping to box mute and so yes, that is or we can name after former council members.

5:52

Well, there's always a chance to change the policy.

5:55

Anyway, okay, I appreciate it.

5:56

I was just curious how that was.

5:58

Nobody can spell bush cutter.

5:59

It's all right.

6:00

But it wasn't Bennett either.

6:01

Yeah, true.

6:02

Not Bennett.

6:03

That's fair.

6:03

Better chance of that.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Emergency Management██████████████████████████████████████38%
Zoning and Land Use█████████████████████21%
Procedural███████████████████19%
Engineering And Infrastructure███████████████15%
Public Safety████4%
Sports Facility Management███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Kearney City Council Meeting – June 11, 2024

The Kearney City Council met on June 11, 2024, at 5:30 p.m. in City Council Chambers. The main actions were the unanimous approval of all eight public hearings related to the Saadi First development (land use map amendments, rezoning, final plat, and annexation) and a presentation on the new Buffalo County two‑way siren activation system. The consent agenda and regular agenda items were also approved.

Public Hearings (Items III-1 through III-8) – Saadi First Development

  • Application: Miller & Associates, on behalf of Camil Saadi/WinStar Enterprise, LLC, for a 36‑acre site at the northwest corner of 39th Street and Antelope Avenue. The request included amendments to the Comprehensive Plan’s Land Use Map (from Medium Density Residential [MDR] to Office/Commercial Retail Mixed Use [MU2] and vice versa), rezoning from Agricultural (AG) to C‑2 Community Commercial, C‑3 General Commercial, and R‑2 Urban Residential Mixed‑Density, plus final plat approval (Saadi First) and annexation of 21 acres.
  • Presentation: Craig Bennett of Miller & Associates presented the plan. He noted the site is currently farmland, served by existing sewer and water lines, and that stormwater detention will be provided on‑site. A traffic study was conducted, and right‑of‑way triangles will be added to allow future roundabouts or widening. The final plat includes 21 acres for annexation.
  • Council Questions: Council members asked about drainage, street naming (Adams Avenue, continuing alphabetical county names), and right‑of‑way for Antelope Avenue. Staff clarified that detention and drainage will be managed via existing ditches and a regional detention cell, and that right‑of‑way will be captured per state statute.
  • Public Comments: No members of the public addressed the hearings.
  • Votes: Each of the eight public hearings was closed and the associated resolution or ordinance was approved unanimously (all council members voting aye on each item). The ordinances were passed on final passage after suspension of the three‑reading rule.

Consent Agenda (Items IV-1 through IV-5)

The consent agenda was approved unanimously by roll call vote. Items included:

  • Approval of minutes from May 28, 2024.
  • Approval of claims.
  • Annual renewal of manufactured home court licenses for nine courts through May 31, 2025, and extension for two courts to July 1, 2024, to correct deficiencies.
  • Authorization for the Mayor to send a letter of no recommendation on the liquor license application for Pronto Kearney, LLC (405 2nd Avenue East).
  • Adoption of Resolution No. 2024‑84 approving the Peterson Senior Activity Center Nutrition Service Contract with Community Action Partnership of Mid‑Nebraska.

Regular Agenda Item – Presentation on Buffalo County Secure Two‑Way Siren Activation System

  • Presenter: Darrin Lewis, Buffalo County Emergency Manager.
  • Overview: The county upgraded from a one‑way to a two‑way secure siren system, costing approximately $280,000, funded by ARPA dollars. The system covers 45 sirens countywide, 27 of which are within Kearney. Redundancy is built in with two standalone systems (at the 911 center and the Emergency Operations Center) that communicate via two tower sites.
  • Security: The system changes activation codes each time, making it extremely difficult to hack. It provided a status check for each siren (green = good, yellow = minor issue, red = failure). Previously, the county relied on public feedback via Facebook to know if sirens activated.
  • Capabilities: The system can activate sirens automatically when a tornado warning polygon covers a community, or manually for individual sirens (e.g., during a hazardous material incident). Reasons for activation include tornadoes, tennis‑ball‑sized hail, straight‑line winds over 80 mph, or any life‑/property‑threatening event. Sirens are designed as outdoor warning devices (range approximately 4,800 feet).
  • Status: All sirens currently showed green. The system polls sirens twice daily from both systems. A new siren near the veterans’ home replaced the old airport siren, which was described as sounding like “a dead cat.”
  • Council Comments: Council members discussed the importance of the system and noted that the new subdivision will be covered by an existing siren at Antelope and 39th Street.

Reports and Adjournment

  • Council members reported on a tour of the new field house construction and noted progress. Budget presentations will start the following month. No additional business was raised.
  • The meeting adjourned by unanimous consent.

Meeting Transcript

That you're the current copy of the open meetings act is available for view. It's posted on all the council chambers. Will you take role, please, big mayor Klaus? Here. Present. Nicola? Here. More. Okay, we have no oral communication and no unfinished business. So we'll move right into public hearings one through eight. They can be discussed together, but vote on separately. And they pertain to the application submitted by Milton Associates for Camille Saudi, Windstart Enterprise LLC for the development of Saudi First. Planning Commission recommended approval. Good evening. My name is Craig Bennett, 1111 Central Avenue from Millenni Associates, and here for Windstar Enterprises and with me in the audience too is Camille Saudi for Windstart Enterprises. Of the 36 acres there, and then we're annexing 21 acres. So the existing future land use map from the comprehensive plan shows this area, that same area, which is the 36 acres basically, consisting of some MDR and some MU2. This portion of it, we're asking to amend the uh future land use map from MU2 to MDR. And then this portion of it here highlighted in the blue, we're asking to amend the future land use map from MDR to MU2. So just kind of flip-flopping both of those around. This will be yellow, this will be blue, essentially is what we're asking for. Um so that from the rezoning standpoint, it's all currently AG. And so with this process, even though we're preliminary platting the entire 36 acres, which is shown in yellow here, we're asking to rezone this, even though we're only gonna um final plat half of it essentially. So we'll be getting our rezoning in place and in order uh in advance of uh the next phase that we would have for our planning uh for our final plat. So uh it is currently served with sanitary sewer. There's a big trunk main going down, 27-inch main going down Antelope Avenue, and then along the south side, which is 39th Street, there's an 18-inch sewer main. We'll be utilizing this to serve this uh particular subdivision. Uh there's also a 16-inch water main that's located in uh 39th Street, and we will be extending that 16-inch water main uh along Antelope Avenue, and we'll have eight inch water main throughout. Uh the stormwater, um there are there are some uh it's a very flat area, it's kind of at the cusp of where you go north to the Wood River and south to the Platte River. And so if you've ever been out here in this 39th area, um there's four triangles here on this area, and that's where the drainage kind of circulates and goes back this way, and then if you're south of there, it goes actually south. So um there's really no inlets located in this particular, but it all primarily will end up in this outfall channel on the north side of the solar farm. Um as a point of reference here, there is a um uh hundred year or one percent chance of annual flood, which is the light blue and the um the gray area, there is a portion of it that does poke into it, which is um handled by uh the the levy of the so to speak of the outfall channel, and so that is the point two percent chance. So before you tonight is a rezoning figure for the entire thirty-six acres. We are asking to rezone from AG to C to C3 this portion, ag to R2 this portion, and AG2 C2 that portion, more clearly seen maybe with a little bit of enlargement. Um essentially the north side of what we're showing is C3 is the boundary that I'll show you is where our final plat is. So the rest of this will be unplatted, but we're just asking to rezone it at this time. So when we overlay the preliminary plat, which we show a connection, um the alphabet ended with Z here. So um we start over with a name of Adam Street. So and so there's a system for that which makes really good sense. But this will be known as Adams Avenue. And then this will be an extension of what was already platted here, which would be known as 44th for 41st, sorry, 43rd and 45th Street. So we'll be plating uh what would be known as Adams and 41st Street as a part of our final plat. As I zoom into this. Just as a question, just it's nerdy map geography question. Are we going to name county names going east? Is that what's going on? Yeah, they go in. I'll let Brenda answer that. They do go in Nebraska County names in alphabetical order. So that is how if you there's a chase and a butler and uh I was hoping to box mute and so yes, that is or we can name after former council members.

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