Equipment Purchases and Law Enforcement Mutual Aid Agreement Highlight Sidney Council Meeting

SIDNEY--Sidney's City Council held its regular meeting Tuesday evening, October 8, and several important issues were on the agenda. After approving the previous regular meeting minutes and minutes from the Budget Hearing, the council moved to the current business.

First on the regular agenda was a public hearing concerning an application by Travis Allen to subdivide a tract of land located in the southwest (SW/4) of Section Twenty-Five, Township Fourteen North, Range Fifty, West of the 6th PM in Cheyenne County, also known as Road 109, Sidney, to divide into three parcels with Lots 1 and 3 to remain Agricultural (A) and Lot 2 to be rezoned to Agricultural Residential (AR). Allen addressed the council and said the changes were approved by the Zoning Commission. The council had no objections and there were no public comments. The changes were approved by a vote of 4-to-0, with Vice-Mayor Paul Strommen abstaining.

A Manager Application for Natalie Lucero of MSW Liquor, d/b/a Hometown Liquor was made to the council. The application would swap the names on Hometown Liquor's license from Paul Strommen to Natalie Lucero. Lucero has been the manager of Hometown Liquors for approximately two years and has shown she understands the responsibilities of managing a Liquor Store and holding a Liquor License. The council voted 4-to-0 in favor of the application, with Strommen abstaining.

Interim Sidney Police Chief Sam Lovato and Kimball Police Chief Jose Ruiz addressed the council about adapting a Law Enforcement Mutual Aid Agreement. Lovato said that an agreement would allow the two entities to share resources and provide better services for both communities. For example, Lovato noted how Kimball law enforcement personnel were able to assist at last weekend's Oktoberfest event in Sidney. Ruiz clarified that the agreement was not about one city's personnel patrolling the other city regularly, but that it would be of great assistance in the service of warrants or in emergencies. He brought up a recent incident in Kimball where a man had barricaded himself in a house and although other police department personnel were on the scene to assist, they could not go in the house due to liability concerns. The same issue also exists in the service of warrants. Councilman Brock Buckner, who was formerly in law enforcement, asked if the agreement would be beneficial in training circumstances. Ruiz said it would be, and it would be beneficial for both forces if a member needed to go out of jurisdiction for specific training, for example, the use of pepper ball or "less than lethal" firearms training, officers could then train their counterparts in the other department on the techniques without incurring the cost and lost time of having to send personnel out of the area to receive the training. Ruiz also noted that the City of Kimball had already approved the Mutual Aid Agreement, and it was up to Sidney to agree to enact the agreement and move forward. Both Lovato and Ruiz agreed that the agreement would provide additional resources to both communities when necessary and would save money for the taxpayers of both cities. The council voted 5-to-0 to approve the agreement.

Kendra Mitchell of the Cheyenne County Tourism Board next spoke to the council about Wayfinding Signs. The signs are designed to provide clear directions to visitors and tourists to help locate prominent attractions in Sidney. She said that the Visitors Committee had worked with Maly Marketing to design the signs and that all the necessary steps were taken to ensure the signs conformed with Nebraska DOT regulations. The agreement between the County and the City of Sidney would be the Visitors Committee would pay for the cost of the signs, and the City of Sidney would pay for and provide the labor for installation. The costs for the signs and the installation costs would be about $15,000 for each entity. Mitchell said she hoped that the signs would be installed by the Spring and that starting next year the Visitors Committee would work to provide similar signs for the other villages in Cheyenne County. The council approved the request 5-to-0.

The council then approved the appointment of Dana Revell to the Tree Board. Revell served as a member of the board in the past and currently runs the Deer Run Gardening Club. She said that now that she's retired, she would have more time to devote to the Tree Board and her goal would be to see more trees planted in all parts of Sidney. The council approved her appointment 5-to-0.

The council next approved the purchase of Zero Turn mowers for the Parks Department and Cemetery. The units will be purchased from 21st Century Equipment in Sidney. Parks Department Superintendent Chase Frerichs noted that both expenditures were already incorporated into the Capital Equipment Budget, and trade-ins would be used to help offset the cost and bring the purchases in under budget. The council approved the purchases 5-to-0.

Other items of discussion that came up at the end of the meeting included noting that Mosquito Spraying is over for the year, and yard waste pick-up in Pink Trash Cans ends on October 30.