By Clara Osten,
clara@wayneherald.com
The status of several Community Redevelopment projects, needs in regard to public transit in the city and the opportunity work with other government entities were on the agenda when the Wayne City Council conducted a mini retreat on Tuesday.
Council members, city staff, county officials and members of the public were on hand to listen as council members took time to discuss a variety of potential projects for the city.
Greg Ptacek, representing the Community Redevelopment Authority, told council members about several projects currently underway.
"We have a goal and a vision for the community. We appreciate the council believing in us and allowing us to move forward," Ptacek said.
He specifically talked about a half block area at Seventh and Main, which he noted "is the busiest intersection in town."
One house has been razed and another will be moved to a location on South Lincoln Street in the near future. Work will be done on the former First National Bank facilities and plans call for acquiring the house on the north end of that block.
Plans have been made to bring a business into the bank location and additional options are available for the other property.
The CRA is also working to determine the best use of property at Second and Logan Streets. However, no definite plans have been made at this time.
Diane Bertrand, who handles the city's transit system, shared information on the current status of the service.
She noted that as the city works to develop an area on Clark Street, a building that houses the transit vehicles will be taken away and "I feel it is important to have the vehicles inside."
Discussion at the retreat included expanding the time the transit system is in operation (currently 7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., Monday through Friday in the city limits), working with the city of Norfolk to take over the transit system and building a facility that would both house the vehicles and the dispatch office.
"The Senior Center is not set up to handle the transit system also. It has been even more of a struggle since we started cooking meals in-house. It is amazing what we have to do to keep the transit going. Our people get very, very good service," Bertrand said.
City staff will look into what services could be provided by the city of Norfolk's transit system and what services the city of Wayne could still retain.
Council members also discussed the need for more space for several other departments, including the Park and Recreation Department and the Street Department.
"As a city, we need to get a plan and decide where a building could go and how big it should be," Matt Eischied said.
Discussion included possible ways the city could work with the county and other entities, such as the Northeast Nebraska Public Health Department, to share spaces.
Information on the city's water main transmission line indicated that samples taken from the line on Sunday and Monday passed all necessary testing criteria.
Rutjen's Construction, general contractor for the project, paid for a company to work on the water main and this work has accomplished what was intended.
Also discussed were several items in regard to housing projects.
It was noted that the CRA has approved moving forward with Tax Increment Financing for the R. Perry Construction project in the southeast portion of the city.
Additional steps will be taken to determine if the project can only move forward with the use of that money.
Options for an area of South Lincoln Street and Centennial Road were on the list of items discussed during the nearly four hour retreat.
The Wayne City Council will next meet in regular session on Tuesday, April 5 at 5:30 p.m. in council chambers.
