Kearney City Council Meeting - April 22, 2025: Proclamations, Audit, and Pool Oversight Transition
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Kearney City Council Meeting - April 22, 2025: Proclamations, Audit, and Pool Oversight Transition
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.
Proclamations
- Youth Week Proclamation (May 1–7, 2025): Presented to Kearney Elks Lodge #984. Representatives Doug and Jim described the Elks' 52nd annual Hoop Shoot contest, junior golf programs, prescription drug take-back events, and 120 years of service to the community. The lodge has 340 members across the region.
- Proclamation for Robyn Bowman: Honored for 43 years of employment with the City of Kearney, starting in 1982 as office manager in Parks and Recreation. Over her tenure, the city added 11 parks, 30 miles of hike/bike trails, and facilities including the Harman Park Activity Center, Meadowlark Hills Golf Course, Peterson Senior Center, skateboard park, and Ernest Grundy Tennis Center. Bowman expressed gratitude for the city's support.
- National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week Proclamation: Presented to the Buffalo County Sheriff's Office 911 Communications Center. Chief (speaking on behalf of the sheriff) noted the co-located dispatch center and highlighted a recent award for a dispatcher who provided CPR instructions that saved a life. The center is currently a few staff short but operates with four personnel per shift.
- National Police Week Proclamation (May 11–17, 2025): Accepted by the Kearney Police Department Chief. He announced the sixth annual police memorial ceremony on May 12 at 5:30 p.m. at the Law Enforcement Center, honoring officers killed in the line of duty.
Public Hearings & Testimony
- Postponed to May 13, 2025: Public hearings (Items III-1 and III-2) regarding the Good Samaritan Village development (vacation, rezoning, and final plat at 2201 East 32nd Street) were further postponed at the request of the applicant (Miller & Associates for Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society). The council voted unanimously to postpone.
Consent Agenda
- Item 6 Postponed: The amendment to the Developer Constructed Infrastructure Agreement for Saadi First (Resolution No. 2024-144A) was postponed to May 13, 2025 at staff request.
- Approved Items 1–5 and 7–11: Included approval of April 8, 2025 minutes; claims; setting May 13 date for planning commission recommendations; liquor license addition for Le Chateau No 22; conditional use permit renewal for Kappas Enterprises (sand and gravel operation, two-year extension); interlocal agreement with NDOT for East Highway 30 roadway lighting reconstruction; award of snow removal equipment bid to M-B Companies, Inc. ($835,822.16); payment to John T. Jones Construction Co. for WWTP Phase II ($90,779.14); change order and final payment for 2022 Part 2 Improvements (56th Street and Avenue N turn lane) – increase of $63,701.75 and final payment of $142,505.56; and addendum to the Law Enforcement Center Agreement regarding shared use of the LEC West building and crime analyst position.
Discussion Items
- Annual Financial Report (Regular Agenda Item 1): Timothy Lenz of Bergen KDV (CPA firm, part of Creative Planning) presented the draft audit. Key highlights: the city's assets exceeded liabilities by $365 million (increase of $21 million over prior year); governmental funds reported combined ending fund balance of $42 million (decrease of $21 million due to capital investments). The audit received a clean (unmodified) opinion. Two findings were noted: a material weakness due to proposed journal entries (attributed to first-year audit with the new firm) and a significant deficiency in segregation of duties due to staff size. The city also received a clean single audit report for federal funds expended ($20 million, with two major programs tested: clean water and drinking water state revolving funds totaling $14.4 million). Council member noted the audit was well-presented and appreciated the clean bill of health.
- Two Rivers Public Health Department Presentation (Regular Agenda Item 2): Katie Mulligan (program manager), Dr. Organ (epidemiologist), and Mike Henry (legal counsel) presented the transition of environmental oversight for public swimming pools from the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (NDEE) to Two Rivers. The department now inspects all public pools (hotels, motels, municipal pools, etc.) in its five-county jurisdiction. There are 77 total permits; Buffalo County has 47 (mostly in Kearney). The program started April 1, 2025. Fees: municipal pools pay $200 for the first permit (plus the state's $40 permit fee); additional permits at the same location cost $150. The city of Kearney owns three pools (Harmon, Centennial, Cottonmill Park) – Harmon counts as one permit because it's one circulation system. Inspections are free (no additional charges for repeat visits). The department has a team of four, with one additional inspector being hired. Inspections cover water chemistry (chlorine, pH, alkalinity), safety equipment (buoys, shepherd's crooks, lifeguards), engineering controls, and deck safety. The department also offers free CPR training through two certified nurses. Council members asked about the inspection frequency (city tests five times a day) and fee differences (state previously charged only $40 permit fee, no inspection fee; now the city pays $240 total for the first pool). The city's Parks and Recreation director Scott was present to answer questions about city pool operations.
- Open Account Claim (Regular Agenda Item 3): Approved payment of $42.25 to UNL Marketplace.
Key Outcomes
- Postponement of Good Samaritan Village hearings to May 13, 2025 (unanimous).
- Consent agenda Item 6 postponed to May 13, 2025 (unanimous).
- Consent agenda Items 1–5 and 7–11 approved (unanimous).
- Annual financial report accepted (unanimous).
- Open account claim approved (unanimous).
- Meeting adjourned after no public comments or council reports.
Meeting Transcript
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.
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