Remonstrance petition results on council agenda

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The majority of Tuesday's Wayne City Council meeting revolved around a public hearing in regard to a remonstrance petition for the sale of a parcel of land owned by the city of Wayne.

Earlier this spring, a group of concerned citizens put together a petition to delay the sale of a parcel of land in the southeast portion of the city. More specifically, the parcel is Lot 3, Southeast Addition in the city of Wayne.

Petition organizers turned in 638 signatures to be verified by Election Commissioner Debra Finn. A total of 625 valid signatures were required to delay the sale of the land.

City Attorney Amy Miller discussed the process and noted that after going through the signatures, it was determined there were 611 registered voters living at the addresses listed on the petition whose signatures were valid. The determination by the Election Commission was that there were not enough valid signatures to halt the sale of the property.

Miller also discussed several state statutes that deal with the remonstrance process and the process of obtaining signatures.

She also noted that the council "can accept or deny the findings of the Election Commissioner."

BJ Woehler, who submitted the petition, told the council he didn't agree with the Election Commissioners findings and "I am asking for more time to get affidavits from those whose signatures on the petition did not match that on their voter registration card. I didn't get this information until Friday and would like to know what the council would want to verify these signatures. This has been a huge learning curve." 

Lee Brogie spoke on the issue and said the "remonstrance was an attempt to delay the sale for one year to allow for time to look at other opportunities."

She also read several state statues in regard to the ability to vote in an election if a voter has moved.

Chele Meisenbach, a member of the Wayne Planning Commission spoke during the public hearing and told the council that she has "talked to lots of people and I haven't heard anything that makes us want to give an extension. There are deadlines and we need to meet them. We need to work toward moving forward on this project."

Mayor Cale Giese said those in support of the remonstrance petition should present evidence on why the council should change its mind and he did not see any evidence.

Following the public hearing, the council voted unanimously to accept the findings of the Election Commissioner. It was noted that that vote did not prevent the council from amending decisions on the actual project.

Council members also listened to a presentation by Josh Moening with Bluestem Energy.

Moening, who is the mayor of Norfolk, presented information on a 2.5 megawatt solar farm and the benefits to the city.

He shared information on what would be needed to bring the solar farm to Wayne, cost estimates and savings in the future.

"Solar costs have come down considerably in the last 10 years and more communities are looking at solar energy," Moening said.

Dr. Marysz Rames, President of Wayne State College, told the council the college has been looking at ways to diversify their energy sources and "moving forward, we would like to be a partner in the discussion and would be happy to be part of a committee looking at solar power."

In other action, the council tabled a request from Joe Gubbels for compensation for a fence on his property.

A fence on Gubbels' property was damaged when work was being done on the Wayne Pedestrian Trail. Since that time, the trail was installed along three sides of his property. Two of these were originally farm ground.

"I went from having no neighbors to being surrounded on three sides by the trail. This has impacted my privacy. Also, the trail is a lot closer than expected on the west side of my property. It would be difficult to put in any type of natural barrier," Gubbels said.

Council directed city staff to get measurements of the area involved and bring back information to a future meeting.

A bid of $64,187.97 from Kay Contracting was accepted for the 2022 Golf Course Sewer Improvements Project. 

The bid is for labor only as the city is supplying the materials. Work will begin after the Wayne Chicken Show and is scheduled to be completed by Sept. 1.

A request from the Wayne Baseball Association was approved. It will allow for the closure of Windom Street from north of Third Street to the intersection of Fourth Street during home baseball games.

The Association noted safety concerns with youth chasing foul balls into and across the street as the reason for the request.

The Association would be responsible for putting up and taking down the barricades before and after each game.

Approval was given for Allo Communications to use the old Riley's area on South Main Street for a company event on Tuesday, June 21 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

A resolution was approved providing for an interlocal agreement to share law enforcement resources between the City of Wayne and the Board of Trustees of the Nebraska State College, dba Wayne State College.

Police Chief Marlen Chinn told the council the city has had an agreement with the college since the early 2000s and the current agreement, which includes the city providing law enforcement on the campus for 18 hours a week, is for a three year period.

He highlighted several changes and requests from the college, including having an officer at home football games as much as possible.

Council members approved Mayor Giese's request to appoint Brandon Mainquist to the LB840 Revolving Loan Fund Review Committee.

The Wayne City Council will next meet in regular session on Tuesday, June 21 at 5:30 p.m.