City Holds Strategic Planning Session

SIDNEY--On July 2 at noon, the City of Sidney held a Strategic Planning session at City Hall. Mayor Brad Sherman, Councilmen Brandon Bondegard and Burke Radcliffe, City Manager David Scott, Economic Development Director Brandy Stone, Finance Director Kegan Carwin, Human Resources Director Autumn Ramirez, City Clerk Lori Borchert, and former Water Superintendent Rob Kuhns were in attendance.

After reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and announcing the meeting was covered by the Open Meetings Act, Mayor Sherman asked City Manager David Scott to start the session. The strategic plan was created in January 2023 and facilitated by Jamie Weingart of JNW Consulting, and their efforts were categorized into four “Strategic Pillars.” This meeting was focused on updating the progress of the action items established within each pillar.

Pillar 1 is focused on Community Improvement Projects. The first project in the pillar is the creation of a City Auditorium or Civic Center. The action items described included creating partnerships to achieve the goal and identifying financing opportunities to achieve the goal. The City Manager and Council are listed as the parties responsible for this project, and the actions to be taken include re-applying for an LCCFF Grant for the proposed Civic Center. There was also a conversation between Scott, Bondegard, and Kuhns concerning the grant-requesting entity, Way Out West. The WOW group is affiliated with the Elks Lodge and has partnered with that organization on grant writing requests, as the WOW group is set up to handle grants. Bondegard asked if the grant could go through SAGA rather than WOW, to which Kuhns said “Maybe”, but Scott expressed doubts, noting SAGA is more of a Grant-Giving organization and doesn’t generally write grants. It is most likely the case that the grant process will go through WOW and the Elks Lodge.

The next project in Pillar 1 is Improving Recreational Opportunities and Amenities. David Scott mentioned that the development of a Sidney Trail System is underway, but there has been no update on a proposed Dog Park. These projects are being managed by Scott and Mayor Sherman, and they are scheduled to have a design plan completed by September 2024. Part of the Sidney Trail project is to partner with the Safe Streets 4 All Committee (SS4A), and Scott said an agreement between the City and SS4A is already in place.

The North Side Park project is in the works, with David Scott waiting to receive preliminary designs from Brickyard Consulting for the park to be included in the City of Sidney’s Grant Request, which has a deadline of July 25. Scott also noted that Sidney Public Schools Superintendent Andrew Farber had requested Scott and a member of Brickyard Consulting address the Board of Education about the playground equipment included in the proposal. Another ongoing project listed is the Creation of Housing Opportunities using TIF and other funding and incentive opportunities. This project is being handled by the City Manager, City Council, and EDCA.

Next is the Improvement of Downtown Buildings and Entertainment Venues, and Scott said the city had received a $475,000 grant for building improvements in the downtown area. The action steps for the project involve the city continuing to expand and find funding for lighting projects and to begin revitalizing the Hickory Square Project. Scott mentioned that the City should pursue grant money to help finance public input on what to do with the $475,000 grant. An example he gave was constructing public restrooms downtown. Scott said public input on what this money should be spent on is critical. The final action item in Pillar 1 concerned the completion of Energy Projects. Scott spoke about the completion of the Solar Farm project, which he estimated would be finished by the end of the year. He noted the Generator project is also moving forward, and the generators have been delivered and are being staged until the time to move them is reached.

Pillar 2 concerns Financial Stability and Growth. The strategy involved capitalizing on the city’s excellent A+ bond rating. Financial Director Carwin said that Sidney would have to have practically zero debt to get a better rating, and even then that better rating would not save much more money than the current A+ rating. Much of the actions being worked on concern researching more grant opportunities, and exploring partnerships with public and private entities. The City Manager, Finance Director, and Economic Development Director are primarily responsible for these initiatives.

Pillar 3 concerns Employee Development. The strategy involves anticipating future organizational structure needs and striving to recruit and retain employee talent. Organizational structuring plans, and finalizing a cohesive “Pay Grid” are part of that effort. To recruit and retain talented employees, the actions required are addressing wage competitiveness and future Federal wage requirements while continuing to support employee engagement and training. These actions will primarily be managed by the City Manager, Human Resources, and the City Council.

Pillar 4 is focused on Economic Development. These strategies involve the continuation of development along the I-80 corridor, the continuation of supporting the development of the industrial/business park, continuing to pursue the diversification of the economic landscape, and continuing to explore regional and panhandle partnerships. Scott said two additional companies have signaled their willingness to move to the industrial park, and Scott said each company would build million-dollar buildings to house their enterprises. Scott did not identify the companies that planned to move to the industrial park. Most of the actions that will be taken to move forward with the pillar 4 strategies involve LB840 initiatives and grants.