By Clara Osten,
clara@wayneherald.com
The city of Wayne's Future Land Use Map of the Comprehensive Plan was among the items taking up a portion of Tuesday's Wayne City Council meeting.
Council members had tabled an ordinance in regard to the map at the last meeting and spent considerable time again discussing the areas that should be included as possible areas for annexation.
City Administrator Wes Blecke talked about the area on the west side of Wayne near the Wayne County Fairgrounds. He gave an update on some of the requirements for declaring an area blighted and therefore eligible for TIF financing for portions of the development of the area.
City Planner Joel Hansen told the council that determining future land use and targeting an area for annexation "doesn't mean it will be annexed."
Council member Jill Brodersen said she favored not targeting the fairgrounds for annexation, but was in favor of including an area on the north side of Grainland Road to Pheasant Run.
BJ Woehler, who owns property in the area thanked the council for listening and said, "we all want Wayne to grow and TIF is a way to do this. The Fairgrounds would benefit from being annexed by having lower water and sewer rates."
He asked the council to approve the Planning Commission's recommendation to include a larger area in the plan for possible annexation and "give me a chance to move forward."
Following the discussion, council members voted to approve Ordinance 2024-2 with the amount of land to be considered as just the portion north of Grainland Road.
The ordinance will be brought back for second reading at the council's next meeting.
Council members also approved an interlocal agreement with the Second Class City of Laurel for water/wastewater services.
City Administrator Blecke explained to the council that three employees with the city of Laurel had resigned at once and this left the city without a licensed person to handle the necessary paperwork for those departments.
"How can the city of Wayne help and what resources do we have available?" Blecke asked. "We want to be good neighbors, but our city's services come first. We (Wayne city staff) have already talked about it and would be able to provide technical assistance."
An agreement has been drawn up that would allow the city of Wayne to provide services for 30 days, with the ability to have two additional 30-day extensions. The city of Laurel will pay $30 per hour (two hour minimum) plus mileage for these services.
Laurel Mayor Keith Knudsen was present at the meeting and explained what the city of Laurel is doing to "get back to normal as soon as possible." He also said the appreciates Wayne's willingness to consider the request for assistance.
In the absence of Mayor Cale Giese, Council President Jill Brodersen read a proclamation in regard to the month of March being Problem Gambling Awareness Month.
Council members approved a request from Anthony Cantrell in regard to the Electric Vehicle Energy Research of Nebraska (EVERON) 2024 State Power Drive Championship event. It will be held in the FNBO parking lot on Saturday, May 4 and Cantrell requested a portion of 10th Street to be blocked off from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. that day. He also asked the city to sweep the street prior to the event.
A payment in the amount of $100,493.00 to Otte Construction Co., Inc. was approved. This is for work done on the Wayne City Hall & Police Relocation Project.
A resolution was approved and bid awarded to TR Harris Construction, Inc. from Homer. The bid of $526,847.00 was the lowest of four received and is for work to be done on the Lake Wayne Amenities Project - Phase 3A.
Matthew Smith with Olssen told the council the bid was close to the engineer's estimate of $520,000 for the project and recommended the city approve the resolution.
Wayne Public Library Director Heather Headley presented information on library activities during the past year.
She noted that the cost of obtaining materials, both print and electronically, is continually going up. She is continuing to work on adding more options for patrons and providing additional resources.
In addition, Headley said the library is "at capacity for shelf space and would like to somehow work to have movable shelves to allow more space in areas during programming."
In other action, council members gave final approval to Ordinance 2024-1. This will amend the city code in regard to minimum yard requirements in the B-3 Neighborhood Commercial District. This only applies to properties that are along the highways.
An update on the Community Activity Center Relocation Project included a conceptional drawing for the project, which City Administrator Blecke said "is a work in progress."
The drawing is on the city's website for the public to view.
The committee continues to meet every two weeks and Blecke has met with several groups in recent weeks to "educate the public - we cannot promote the project."
The Wayne City Council will next meet in regular session on Tuesday, March 19 at 5:30 p.m. in council chambers.
