Information was shared during Tuesday's meeting of the Wayne City Council regarding an ordinance which allows the city to move forward with the issuance of municipal improvement refunding bonds.
Andy Forney with D.A. Davidson & Co. spoke to the council on the benefits of long-term financing of the Series 2023 and 2024 tax supported municipal bonds.
Forney told the council that while the bonds are not due until December of 2026, because the projects used with the bond money are complete and the city will get a good bond rating, it is a good time to refinance.
"This transaction will take place after the Federal Reserve meeting if the rates do what we think rates will do. If this does not happen, we can keep the bonds the way they are," Forney said.
The bonds include the Series 2023 bond for $4,950,00 dated Oct. 5, 2023 and the Series 2024 bond for $495,000 dated Feb. 15, 2024. These bonds were used for projects such as Prairie Park and the new Police Department/City Hall.
Following discussion, the council approved the ordinance and waived the three readings, allowing the process to move forward.
Ordinance 2025-15 was approved and the three readings waived. It will allow the city to execute an energy management and market participation support agreement with Tenaska Power Services Co.
It was noted that the agreement is for assistance with market participation, not the actual energy.
David Levy with Baird Holm and Dave Peterson with JEO were at Tuesday's meeting to talk about the process that the city has gone through before the selection of Tenaska was recommended.
"Tenaska is an expert in the field. They will be acting as an agent on behalf of the city. This agreement, which is for three years and is renewable, allows the city to use its own generation also," Levy said.
Peterson echoed those statements, saying, "this agreement will allow the city to participate in competitive bidding in the market and ties in with what the city wants."
The actual agreement goes into effect Jan. 1, 2027 when the current contract ends.
In other action, council members approved a resolution which adopts the local hazard mitigation plan update. This document was prepared by the Lower Elkhorn Natural Resources District and updates the 2020 Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP).
An update was given on the upcoming Electronics Recycling event scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 6. This year's event will be held at the FNBO parking lot on East 10th Street.
Sandy Brown with the Wayne Green Team explained to the council some of the changes that will take place with the new location and noted that this annual event is now in its 12th year.
A change order in the amount of $102,533.00 was approved for the Wayne Seventh Street Trail Project.
The amount is for the installation of seven street lights along Highway 35 on the west edge of Wayne.
The city needs to follow state guidelines for this installation, which means the lights will be on alternating sides of the highway.
Due to a 22 week delivery time frame, it is anticipated the lights will be installed in the spring.
A payment in the amount of $42,182.05 to Gehring Construction and Ready Mix, Inc. for the Wayne Seventh Street Project was approved.
An update on the project indicated that the contractor is waiting for Century Link to relocate cable in the area before work can continue. All the necessary materials are on site and it is anticipated that work will continue again in the coming week.
Mayor Jill Brodersen was given approval to solicit members to a Downtown Improvement & Safety Committee.
The committee would look at curbs, paver bricks, and other areas of downtown and make recommendations to the council.
The committee will be made up of council members, city staff and downtown business persons.
Council members set Monday, Sept. 29 as the date for the next mini retreat. It will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Wayne Fire Hall.
The Wayne City Council will next meet in regular session on Monday, Sept. 15 at 5:30 p.m. in council chambers at 513 Main Street.
