The Kearney City Council met on April 22, 2025 at 5:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers. The meeting featured multiple proclamations honoring community organizations and individuals, a postponed public hearing on the Good Samaritan Village development, approval of consent agenda items, and regular agenda items including the city's annual financial report and a presentation on the transition of public swimming pool oversight from the state to Two Rivers Public Health Department.
Okay, in accordance with section 84 1412 of the Nebraska revised statutes, a current copy of the open meetings act is available for available for review and it's posted on the wall of the council chambers. Peggy, please take roll. Mayor Nicolas Bush Cutter. Eric Schmidt, Stratman. Here. All right. We have a fun evening planned. More more proclamations than normal, but a lot of really worthy and exciting uh things to honor and discuss. So we're gonna kick it off with Elk Lodge. Um so at this time we want to invite those present from the Elks Lodge to come to the front for the reading and presentation. And Doug and Jim, come on up. All right. I'll go ahead and read the proclamation, and then if you guys want to talk about um more about what you what you're doing in the community. Are you sure, Jim? Okay. More of what you're doing in the community and and uh the importance of the proclamation, that would be great. And then we'll take a picture with you and perfect. Thank you. Okay. All right. Uh whereas the benevolent and protective order of the Elks has designated May 1st to 7th, 2025 as Youth Week to honor America's junior citizens for their accomplishments and to give fitting recognition of their services to community, state, and nation. And whereas Carney Elks Lodge 984 will sponsor an observance during that week in tribute to the junior citizens of the Kearney community, and whereas no event could be more deserving of our support and participation than one dedicated to these young people who represent the nation's greatest resource, and who in the years ahead will assume the responsibility for the advancement of our free society, and whereas our youth need the guidance, inspiration, and encouragement which we can give in order to help develop those qualities of character essential for future leadership and go forth to serve America. And whereas to achieve this worthy objective, we should demonstrate our partnership with youth, our understanding of their hopes and aspirations, and a sincere willingness to help prepare them in every way for the responsibilities and opportunities of citizenship. Now, therefore, be it resolved that on behalf of the citizens of Kearney, we hereby replay proclaim May 1st through May 7th as youth week. So thank you very much. So tell us more about what you have planned and the kind of things you guys are doing in the community. Um probably don't have the enough time to tell you everything we're gonna be doing. That's better now, but we're gonna actually kick it off this Saturday. If you uh watch uh this will be the 52nd year of the Elks National Hoop shoot contest. Sure. And uh Cole Cavany from Elm Creek will uh be one of the 11-year-olds that's shooting uh to win the the state in York. He shot 24 out of 25. Um his dad kind of kidded him and said, Well, why didn't you make the last shot? And he was gonna save it for Colorado Springs for the regional, and he actually got 23, but he still won in a shootoff out there. So we're gonna kick that off this week, and then we have junior golf. We have lots of different activities that are coming up. We're gonna help um Kearney Police Department and the Sheriff's Office this Saturday with our prescription drug take back that we help with the Buffalo County Community Health Partners to take those prescription medications that aren't being used, kind of off the streets, out of the med medicine cabinets and keep youth uh and adults, all of us safe from overdoses. So we'll be on the lookout, I guess, for the junior golf stuff that'll be coming up, and we usually have 75 to 100 youth that participate in that free of charge. They get to come out and get some free golf lessons, learn how to golf, golf etiquette. Um I keep talking to them about me doing that because I need to learn some new shots. But um, Jim's this will actually June will be our um 120 years that we've been in Elk Lodge in Nebraska, and Jim and I were just talking. If we added our number of years we've been members, it'll be close to almost 120 years, but not quite. So um this year is 60 years' 60th anniversary of being a Carney Elks Lodge member. So we've been doing youth and veterans activities for that whole 120 years, and we appreciate the partnerships that we have with the city of Carney with Buffalo County, um, and all of the community members. So thank you guys very much for the proclamation. We do appreciate it. I'm fairly sure I was I wore an Elks jersey for Carney Little League one year. So we've supported the little league uh baseball and done that quite a few times too. And we do the highway cleanup. We have uh the University of Nebraska at Kearney, usually it's either a fraternity or sorority group that helps out.