The costs associated with three 'free' houses were debated during Tuesday's meeting of the Wayne City Council.
The houses, located at the corner of Walnut Street and Hillcrest Road, are owned by the Wayne State College Foundation. The Foundation plans to have the houses removed from their current location to make room for the construction of a building to house WSC students.
The Foundation is granting the houses to the Community Redevelopment Authority (CRA) on the condition they be moved before the start of construction this summer.
The bids received for moving the houses are $38,850 for the house at 502 Hillcrest, $42,000 for the house at 506 Hillcrest and $75,500 for the house at 1119 Walnut (known as the Alumni House).
The CRA requested funds from the city, in the form of a line of credit, to pay for the moving and preparing them for sale. The houses would be moved to lots in the southwest portion of Wayne on lots owned by the city.
Discussion centered on whether or not the CRA could re-coup the money invested in the houses and the value of having housing available and on the tax roles. It is estimated it could take up to $200,000 per house to get them ready to sell.
Mayor Cale Giese told the council he was in favor of moving forward with an attempt to move all three houses, saying "even if we take a little loss, this puts houses on the tax role. We know the demand (for housing) is there. I feel we need to spend what we need to, to get them to what we want. I don't want to see them go to the landfill."
Council member Matt Eischied said "this is a lot of money. Where is it going to come from? I see both sides of this issue. Timing is also very tight and there is a lot of work that needs to be done."
Following discussion, council members voted unanimously to extend the CRA a line of credit of up to $200,000 per house at an interest rate of .5%.
It was noted that if anyone comes forward with an interest in obtaining the houses, the city would be willing to consider an offer.
Cap Peterson with Northeast Nebraska Insurance, representing Employers Mutual, presented a dividend check in the amount of $15,613.21.
Peterson explained the dividend safety program has been in existence for 26 years and Wayne has received funds in the majority of those years. He also told council the amount of the dividend each year is based on an average of three years' worth of claims..
Following a public hearing, the council passed a resolution approving the water well permit.
Carl and Peggy Johnson requested permission to drill a non-domestic well on their property, with a capacity of less than 30 gallons per minute.
City code requires council approval for a permit to drill a well within the city's jurisdiction.
The well will not have any impact on city wells and council members approved the permit and waived the need to have an impact study for the well.
Approval was given for the closing of a number of streets in conjunction with the annual Henoween and Chicken Show celebration.
These include downtown streets on Friday, July 7 from 2:30 p.m. until midnight, the streets around Bressler Park on Saturday, July 8 from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., East Second Street for the Kiwanis Omelet Feed, Main Street from First Street to 10th Street for the Chicken Show Parade and West Second Street from Main to Pearl Street and Pearl Street from Second to Third Street for the Crowing Motors Car Show on Sunday, July 9.
In addition, conditional approval was given for the fireworks display on Friday, July 7 from the Prairie Park.
A resolution was approved in regards to amendment No. 8 to the Communication Tower and Real estate lease agreement for the tower located next to city hall. Plans call for removing six antennas and putting up six new antennas.
Discussion was held prior to approval of a resolution amending the original letter of agreement with Olsson for additional services on the Wayne Prairie Park Development Project.
Information was presented on various parts of the project that will be included in the design services as the project is being completed rather than after it is completed. City employees will be able to complete several of these items and will work with Olsson as the project moves forward.
Change orders and a payment to OCC Builders in the amount of $44,348 were approved for work on the Freedom Park Trailhead Project.
During Tuesday's meeting, annual reports were given by the Wayne Green Team and the Park and Recreation Department.
Sandy Brown, representing the Green Team, shared numbers on the various amounts of materials that have been kept out of the landfill, including glass, electronics, batteries and strings of lights.
She also highlighted the number of opportunities within the city of Wayne to recycle various items.
Parks and Recreation Director Lowell Heggemeyer talked about the employees within the department and the areas the department is responsible for, including 12 parks, the Community Activity Center (CAC) , Auditorium and mowing throughout the city.
Amber Schwarte gave an update on the programs offered at the CAC and the upcoming summer events.
The Wayne City Council will next meet in regular session on Tuesday, May 2 at 5:30 p.m. in council chambers.
