Information on the future of the Community Activity Center (CAC)and the land surrounding it was shared during Tuesday's meeting of the Wayne City Council.
Council member Matt Eischied, who is part of the council's Facilities Committee, said the group met with the Wayne Community Schools' Facility Committee last week and "had lots of good discussion."
Eischied said the school would like to have an Elementary Learning Center that would house Pre-K through second grade in one location. He added that the city is "not ready to sell the CAC at this time, but this is not closing the door on the possibility in the future."
The school committee felt positive about possibly obtaining city-owned property west of the CAC to build on. This would not take away a lot of recreation area.
"The city wants to keep the school within city limits. We want to help the school, not limit them. We are equal partners," Eischied said.
Council member Brent Pick, who is also a member of the school's facility committee, told the council that the traffic flow and security is better at this site and leaves other school-owned areas open for other projects.
Additional discussion will take place between the city and the school in coming weeks.
Council members approved a resolution which approves Task Order No. 221753.00 with JEO Consulting Group, Inc. for a Wholesale Power and Generation Capacity Options Project.
Dave Peterson with JEO was at Tuesday's meeting and talked about the timeline for the project and said "this is a good time to do this as the city's contract with Big Rivers expires in 2026."
The project will help the city determine options for power purchases and possible generation of electricity in the future.
Peterson has done similar work with the city of South Sioux City and according to Electric Distribution Superintendent Tim Sutton, "Dave is very knowledgeable."
It is anticipated that the city would receive information on Peterson's findings and offers for the purchase of electric power by April of 2023.
Certificate of Payment No. 5 in the amount of $199,504.31 was approved to Robert Woehler & Sons Construction Inc. for the Chicago Street Improvement Project.
Taylor Kube with Olsson said the "project is pretty much complete and everything has gone pretty well."
Certificate of Payment No 2 in the amount of $37,797.08 to Robert Woehler & Sons Construction Inc. for the Lincoln Street Improvements Project was also approved. Kube updated the council on that project also and shared information on the next steps.
No one from the public spoke during a public hearing in regard to the acquisition of property from First Methodist Church.
The property involved is a portion of the parking lot on Main Street, across the street from the church.
The purchase would be contingent on the city purchasing the Ameritas property.
Closed session discussion was held on authorizing the city staff to negotiate a purchase price for the property from the church.
In other action, Kim Endicott was reappointed to the Library Board. Her term will expire on June 30, 2026.
The Wayne City Council will next meet in regular session on Tuesday, Nov. 1 at 5:30 p.m.
