Council learns about upcoming event at Wayne Municipal Airport

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Information was shared on an upcoming event at the Wayne Municipal Airport during Tuesday's meeting of the Wayne City Council.

Travis Meyer and Scott Hammer, two of those helping organize the MayDay STOL Event, were at the meeting and gave an in-depth description of what will be happening at the Wayne Municipal Airport April 28 through May 1.

STOL stands for Short Take Off and Landing and involves races between pilots. A video of an event was shown during the meeting to allow council members the opportunity to see how the event works.

Meyer said he has been working with an "awesome 'Team Wayne' group to make the event a reality."

In addition to the competitions that will take place during the four days, Meyer said he has reached out to local schools and at least one of these will be bringing students to the airport to learn about career opportunities in the aviation field.

Hammer talked about the number of people who might be attending the event. These include those from throughout the area who are interested in seeing what the event entails, pilot/aviation enthusiasts and those who will be involved in the competition. 

Organizers anticipate competitors from at least 34 states will be in Wayne for the event

It was noted that the Wayne County Fairgrounds will be used for camping and a shuttle service will be offered to those individuals, with stops in downtown Wayne.

Among the highlights will be an awards ceremony and band on Saturday night.

Both Meyer and Hammer thanked the city and all those involved in helping organize the event and said the group is working to make sure "this isn't 'a one and done' event. We want to make it a multiple year event for Wayne."

In conjunction with the event, council members approved a special designated  liquor permit for The Jug Store LLC for the four days of the event.

Ken Jorgensen and Andrea Zara spoke to the council on plans for serving canned beer only during the event. They explained how they will monitor the area and what areas are included in the liquor permit.

It is anticipated that there will be one main bar area and several satellite areas. The airport grounds will be monitored by a number of people, including members of the organizing committee.

Rusty Parker, President of the Wayne Country Club Board, was present at Tuesday's meeting and gave an update on the Wayne Country Club Clubhouse Addition and Remodel Project.

Parker said discussion of the need for the project began in January of 2014 and a capital campaign to raise funds began in the fall of 2017. That campaign resulted in 118 pledges - 115 of those as cash and three as in-kind.  In addition, the Country Club received $210,000 in an LB 840 loan, which has since been repaid.

This is the final year of the five-year commitment for the pledges and over $358,000 has been received from those pledges.

The total cost of the project was $567,316.49.

"I would like to thank Beth Porter (City Finance Director) for all her work, the city administrators and staff, as well as the council, for their support. We have a really good facility and had an incredible year last year and are looking forward to this year," Parker said.

Resolution 2021-22 was approved. It accepts the bid and awards a contract to Milo Meyer Construction for work on the Old City of Wayne Lagoon Berm - Phase I project. Work on this project is scheduled to begin June 1.

A bid from T. R. Harris Construction, Inc. was approved for work to be done on the Greenwood Cemetery - West Driveway Project. Work is scheduled to begin after Memorial Day activities at the cemetery.

Ordinance 2021-6 received final approval. It will amend the language in the city code  in regard to administrative subdivisions within the city.

Council members set the date of Tuesday, March 30 for the next council "Mini Retreat." 

The retreat will be held at the Wayne Fire Hall and will begin at 5:30 p.m. Among the items to be included on the agenda are pavement and rest room improvements at Henry Victor Park, determining the next steps in dealing with the lagoon, the old pool house, a community-run daycare and housing.

The Wayne City Council will next meet in regular session on Tuesday, April 6 at 5:30 p.m. at the Wayne Community Activity Center.