Brent Pick was sworn in as the newest member of the Wayne City Council during Tuesday's meeting.
Pick will represent Ward 2, the northeast portion of Wayne. He is replacing Yasuko Taoka. Work commitments prevent Taoka from serving in the position.
A vacancy on the council still exists in Ward 3 and Mayor Cale Giese will bring forth a name to fill that position at the council's next meeting.
On Tuesday, Mayor Giese asked the council to consider having council representatives be elected at-large rather than by wards or the possibility of having one council member from each ward and the remainder of the Council elected at-large. Discussion will take place at future meetings.
A public hearing was held in regard to the Community Development Block Grant for the Pine Heights Road & Utility Improvements Project. The hearing was required to gain input from the community and express any concerns with the project.
The city received $435,000 in grant funding for the project and Jan Merrill with the Northeast Nebraska Economic Development Office spoke to the council on details of the grant.
No one from the public spoke during the hearing.
Also related to the project, council members voted to request an extension on the completion date. This will allow time for completion of minor portions of the project. It was noted that the concrete work on the project, including streets and sidewalks is nearly complete.
Council members also approved two resolutions in regard to Community Development Block Grant 21-PW-022, involving College Hill Park and the renovation of the bath house at the old swimming pool location.
The first resolution approves a general administration contract with the Northeast Nebraska Development District for the general administration of the grant funds.
The second resolution approves the contract between the city of Wayne and the Nebraska Department of Economic Development for $303,000 in grant funding for the project. Estimated cost of the project is $383,400 and local matching funds of $80,400 will be used.
City Administrator Wes Blecke told the council that the city was notified on Oct. 18 that Wayne was awarded this grant. He also said that Wayne was the only 'city' to receive funding, as other grants were awarded to smaller communities.
Council members voted unanimously in favor of a recommendation by the LB840 committee on a Revolving Loan Fund application.
The application came from Sanctuary Apartments, LLC and was for $400,000.
The money will be used for the renovation and re-purposing of the former First Baptist Church on the corner of Fourth and Main Streets. It will be converted into a six-unit apartment complex.
Matt Ley, managing member of Sanctuary Apartments, LLC, was present at Tuesday's meeting and discussed the plans for the building.
He said the building was originally built in 1909 and he and 'several like-minded people have gotten together to discuss what we could do to save the building.'
Ley also told the council that while he is not generally in favor of using city money for projects he has been involved in, "this project really can't be done without city help."
He shared a basic budget and timeline for the project and his desire to "make things better and provide downtown living."
Following discussion, council members voted to approve the request, citing historic preservation as one of the reasons for approval.
The money will be dispersed when the project gets underway (spring 2022) and will have an interest rate one-half of the rate set by the primary lender.
The final item on Tuesday's agenda involved the adopting of the official City of Wayne Ward Map.
This is done every 10 years, following the census. The city of Wayne grew by 319 people and a very slight change was made in the ward boundaries. Two blocks were added to Ward 4 from Ward 3. The other two wards retained the same boundaries.
The Wayne City Council will next meet in regular session on Tuesday, Nov. 16 at 5:30 p.m. in council chambers.
