By Clara Osten,
clara@wayneherald.com
Considerable discussion was held at Tuesday's Wayne City Council meeting on the topic of an interlocal agreement between the city and Wayne Community Schools.
The city and school have been in discussion for several months on having a uniformed police officer in the schools for up to 10 hours per week.
Wayne Police Chief Marlen Chinn told the council the two entities have been discussing the possibility of this agreement but were unable to move forward due to the police department not being fully staffed.
"The main purpose for having a resource officer in the school is to open lines of communication so things don't become criminal," Chief Chinn said.
It was noted that this agreement will be on a trial basis as it has not been tried in the Wayne school system before.
City Attorney Amy Miller said she had some questions about the agreement and language that needs to be updated.
The officer who will be working with the school will need to attend training, as will the administrators at each of the buildings. The school will be responsible for the cost of the training.
The plan calls for the officer to be in the school buildings for a total of 10 hours per week. This time will be divided between the elementary school and junior-senior high school and will involve random hours.
The school will pay the city for the 10 hours the officer is in the school.
Wayne Area Economic Development Director Luke Virgil gave an update on LB840 activity in recent months. He said that there are currently seven projects being funded with LB840 Revolving Loan funds and another application that will come before the council in the near future.
A pay application in the amount of $15,784 to OCC Builders, LLC for work on the Freedom Park Trailhead Project was approved.
City Administrator Wes Blecke showed a number of pictures of the building and said the project is nearly complete. City staff completed some of the work, especially on the grounds around the building.
Pay Application No. 1 in the amount of $83,033.56 to Vrba Construction, Inc. was approved. This is for work completed on the 2023 Wayne Sanitary Sewer Service Improvement Project.
Second reading approval was given to ordinances involving the installation of a stop sign on West Fifth Street and the city's floodplain district.
Resolutions were approved allocating tax dollars to the Wayne Airport Authority and the Wayne Community Redevelopment (CRA).
The Wayne Airport Authority receives a specific dollar amount each year and this year's request is $79,044, up from $69,337 last year.
The request from the CRA is new this year and will allocate 2.6 cents per $100 of taxable value of real property. It is anticipated this would generate approximately $80,000 for the CRA and allow the group to be more sustainable.
The CRA is looking for other long-term projects in the city.
A resolution approving the specifications and authorizing the purchase of a John Deere 320G Skid Steer Loader and related equipment received unanimous approval.
The $56,800 cost will be split between the Water/Wastewater Department and Electic Distribution Department and will be paid for from the next fiscal year's budget.
Casey Junck and Tim Sutton spoke to the council on the benefits of this piece of equipment over another brand and noted that they will be able to cross over with the equipment they already have.
The skid steer loader comes with a five-year warranty.
Several changes were made to the city's fee schedule, including the additional of rental fees and damage deposits to the Freedom Park Trailhead Building.
Dwaine Spieker was appointed to the Planning Commission.
Council members also voted to hold a council retreat on Tuesday, Aug. 29. It will be held at the Freedom Park Trailhead Building on West 13th Street.
The Wayne City Council will next meet in regular session on Tuesday, Aug. 15 at 5:30 p.m. in council chambers.
