By Clara Osten
A town hall meeting that was originally scheduled to take place in April of 2020 highlighted a large portion of Tuesday's meeting of the Wayne City Council.
Annexation of property in several areas of the city was discussed at length by both the council and members of the audience.
City Administrator Wes Blecke said the issue came to the forefront due to the fact that a business is opening on the east edge of Wayne that is not part of the city. A competing business is located on the west side of Wayne that is in city limits. The one outside city limits is not collecting city sales tax, while the one inside city limits is.
Blecke said the topic of annexation has been on-going for at least 10 years and discussed the city's options for annexation.
Police Chief Marlen Chinn spoke to the council and noted that there are several areas on North Centennial Road and along East Highway 35 that are in city limits and other areas that are not in city limits. This makes law enforcement confusing at times.
"It would be nice to get this cleaned up so we know which areas belong to the city when we receive calls," Chinn said.
City Street and Planning Director Joel Hansen echoed Chinn's comments, stating that same is true with streets in the area in regard to snow removal. Some of the city streets are graveled, making snow removal difficult with city equipment. The county crews do work with the city when needed.
Ken Marra, who owns property that is both in the city limits and outside city limits asked about the areas the city was considering annexing. He said that originally his property was annexed to connect with other property that was in city limits.
Adam Severson with Grossenburg Equipment said that having his dealership annexed and having to charge customers city sales tax would result in higher prices than his competitors.
Kevin Koenig with Koenig Enterprises said that part of the reason he put his business where it is was due to the fact that it was outside city limits.
While he does not collect a large amount of sales tax on the products he sells, having to connect to city water and sewer and having to pay higher property taxes would take away from his profits.
"I hope you (the council) take into consideration how this would affect my business and the other ag retail businesses in the area," he said.
Several questions were asked in regard to annexation on whether or not businesses could be grandfathered in should annexation take place and were told that this could not be legally done.
Following the town hall meeting, the council directed city staff to take the necessary steps to move forward with discussion on annexation of two parcels, one on Centennial Road and one on Grainland Road.
In other action, the council heard a presentation by Cap Peterson with Northeast Nebraska Insurance on the city's 2022 Property and Casualty Insurance package.
Peterson noted several items in the city's coverage that have changed in the past year. These include the fact that the valuation of the city's property has gone up approximately $1 million due to inflation and the fact that the city's Workers' Compensation Mod is at 1.32, which means the city is paying more than average. This is determined by a three year average of claims.
Following the presentation, the council voted unanimously to approve the package for the 2022 calendar year at a cost of $419,805.00.
Council members approved a request from the Wayne Community Housing Development Corporation for support in the amount of $25,600 to help with operating costs.
Director Mytzy Rodriguez-Kufner spoke to the council on the need for funding. She said the last year and a half since she took over the position has been challenging in terms of getting funding.
She said a new cycle of funding begins in January and she will pursue grants from several sources.
The money for the request will come from the surcharge on electric bills that is specifically designated for economic development.
Jon Mooberry, Project Manager with JEO Consulting Group, Inc., shared information with the council on the Pine Heights Road & Utility Improvements Project.
He talked about the work done on the project and the timeframe in which it was completed. He said, in his opinion, the project was completed in less time than anticipated and the contractor showed a commitment to the project.
He also said the contractors were working in a unique time period due to COVID-19.
He told the council that while the project was completed after the substantial completion date, he did not feel the city should assess any liquidated damages.
Council member Chris Woehler said he felt the contractor "didn't stick with the start and finish dates and started the project four months late. This will open up the fact that contractors can pick any date they want to start a project."
City Planner Joel Hansen told the council that the city has granted extensions to contractors in the past and not assessed liquidated damages.
Following discussion, council voted 7-1 to not assess any liquidated damages in regard to the project. Council member Woehler voted against the motion.
Approval was given for the Nebraska Department of Transportation's (NDOT) maintenance agreement. This annual agreement with the NDOT provides for surface maintenance of the state highways through the city of Wayne.
Resolution 2021-76 was approved. It approves the plans, specifications and estimate of cost for the College Hill Trail Head Project and authorizes the city clerk to advertise for bids for the project. It was noted that some work could be done yet this winter.
Resolution 2021-77 was approved. It accepts a bid and awards a contract for the purchase of a new fire truck for the Wayne Volunteer Fire Department to Field Fire. The bid of $605,951 was approximately $30,000 lower than the other bid received. It does include approximately $30,000 worth of what firefighters term "loose equipment" needed.
The truck will take approximately 365 days to complete and the cost will be spread into two fiscal year budgets.
Mayoral appointments included the following:
Betty McGuire, City Clerk; Beth Porter, Finance Director; Joel Hansen, Street and Planning Director; Marlen Chinn, Police Chief; Lowell Heggemeyer, Park and Recreation Director; Diane Bertrand, Senior Citizens Coordinator; Heather Headley, Library Director; Jeff Triggs, Electric Production Superintendent; Tim Sutton, Electric Distribution Superintendent and Casey Junck, Water/Wastewater Superintendent.
The Wayne City Council will next meet in regular session on Tuesday Jan. 4 at 5:30 p.m. in council chambers.
