New Council Members Take Office

The wall behind the Sidney City Council seats was conspicuously empty of two pictures as council members filed in Tuesday night.

The photographs will soon be replaced but the seats were filled that night.

In the November General Election, voters returned Roger Gallaway and Bob Olsen to their seats on the council, and added Brad Sherman and Burke Radcliffe. Wendall Gaston and Kelly Utley did not seek re-election.

Following the present council's acceptance of the Nov. 27 minutes and Cheyenne County Clerk's certification of the votes, the council adjourned sine die. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines Sine Die as "without any future date being designated (as for resumption)." The newly elected council members were then sworn in by the city attorney. The City Attorney served as the acting president of the council until a mayor was chosen from within the council. Roger Gallaway was chosen as the new mayor, and former mayor Joe Arterburn as the vice-mayor.

"It's been an honor to serve as mayor," Arterburn said. "I truly believe there's a lot of good things going on in Sidney."

"I certainly appreciate the support of the council. Its been a pleasure to work with him (Arterburn), " Gallaway said after his selection as mayor.

With the seating of the new council, the council meeting resumed.

Library Director Andrew Sherman presented his annual report on the library.

"This is a very interesting report this year in relation to Cabela's," Sherman said.

He said the library staff were watching Bass Pro's acquisition of Cabela's and the impact on library use. He said there has been a 10 percent increase in the number of library cards. The increase is likely related to the number of people moving into Sidney. He added there is also a slight decrease in the number of library visits. The biggest decline is in summer programs, he said.

"That's where we saw a big, big hit," Sherman said.

He said the drop in housing prices likely attracted new families, speculation that was later affirmed by City Manager Ed Sadler. Sherman did say the numbers for 2017 returned better than expected.

Sherman also discussed a grant the library received to electronically archive the Sidney-Sun Telegraph newspaper. He said the library was awarded a Library Improvement Grant, a 75-25 percent federal matching grant with the local community responsible for 25 percent matching funds. He said the number of people using the archive jumped from about 200 to 2,600 this year.

"There's no cost to use it," he said.

Sherman said the program is available for anyone with a computer and internet, and has issues dated back to 1875.

The program costs about $1,000 annually.

Sherman said the library is working on a 10 percent budget reduction. Part-time staff were let go and hours of operation have been reduced by an hour a day.

Sherman was asked how much funding Cheyenne County provides for the library. He said the county's share is about 18 percent, nearly the same as the number of cardholders outside of Sidney. He said the funds are typically committed to maintaining the bookmobile. He referred to the bookmobile as a bridge between generations, reaching people who do not have computers or have not developed the skills to use one, and those who would rather read a hardcover book.

Mayor Galloway asked about resources, a public/academic library. Sherman said one of the issues is if the library is on school premises, there is the conflict of heightened levels of school security compared to public libraries.

The council also set a public hearing for Jan. 8 regarding a rezoning application by Darin VanNatter and Susan Hiett to rezone 2525 11th Ave. from R-1 (Residential) to R-1A (Rural Residential Estate).