From the Desk of the Alliance City Manager
Reflections for the Week of November 14
Police:
• Attended APS Leadership Meeting
• Officers completed all firearms qualifications and annual continuing education requirements
• Reviewed proofs and selected staff photos
• Work continues to upgrade all radios and phone lines to our new digital recorder in dispatch
• Mobile Radio and Headsets installed in MRAP
Accounting and Finance:
• Payroll completed
• Council Reports completed
• Year End and Audit preparation
Utility Billing Services
• Cycle 1 bills mailed
• Cycle 2 bills mailed
• Eight new residential accounts
Electric:
• Installed new underground conductor and pad mount transformers at 4 apartment complex areas
• Rebuilt three phase line and irrigation well transformer bank south of Keith Road • Started new three phase line re-build north of Lincoln Road
• Met with MEAN representative to discuss new rates
• Hosted High School FBLA business tour
• Moved office equipment to allow new flooring to be installed
Library:
• This week the library floor made the transition to the auction floor for the annual literary basket event that begins Monday and runs through December 4th! This annual event is our only fundraiser for the year and provides resources for our year round contests and special events. This year we have many great options and LOTS of baskets focusing on
children! If you need a special, one of a kind gift, stop up Monday to get your bidding number! Watch our Facebook page for daily pictures featuring some of the items this year!
• Adult Services Librarian, Steph Hamilton, submitted website and social media updates and posts, maintained displays, arranged new displays, shelf read and straightened the fiction collection, prepared for book clubs and visited Highland Care Center. Steph assisted with library projects and is working to implement feedback responses received in October from the library adult events survey.
• Children’s Librarian Cynthia Horn’s Storytime featured Military Heroes with crafting Hands & Hearts for Heroes. LEGO Club worked on their creations. This week’s Digital Detox Friday featured A Peanuts Celebration, 75 years of the Peanuts characters by Charles M. Schulz, featuring books, music and more! Cynthia also shared KCOW announcements, coordinated bookmobile items and continued the Search for Butterball Turkey. Her ongoing projects include cataloging, backpack maintenance, book displays and preparations for upcoming events.
• Technical Services Librarian Mason Trumble has been busy with website projects and designing event flyers. He continues to do the weekly bookmobile deliveries and runs many errands for the staff throughout the week.
• Library Clerks Carolyn Hamel and Pam Becker have been a great help preparing for the , 2025 auction by working to create bidding sheets for each basket and preparing bidder information handouts.
Airport
• Passenger counts for October were 360 passengers enplaned and 326 passengers deplaned. These are both an increase from last year in October.
• Work continues with aviation consultants and Denver Air Connection to come up with the best schedules for the coming year. A press release will be put out for the holiday schedule for Christmas and New Year’s.
• Working on a request for an amendment to a lease agreement and a couple of new leases. Researching some items we have not had before.
• Fiber project continues. There is work still being done on the airport road. The first part of the airfield portion of this project was completed on Wednesday and Thursday. One of the maintenance staff was with the contractors during the airfield portion. The next portion of the airfield project will require coordination with FAA personnel.
• Engineer’s surveyor was on site due to the fiber project. We need to know where this line is on the airfield due to the upcoming electrical project. He also did some surveying for the water/sewer line in the capital budget.
• Still working on the kinks to update and edit the airport webpage. Thank you to Mason with the library staff for his efforts.
• Continue to put together the winter operation training for airport staff that will take place on November 18th.
• Researching some possible training for staff from the National Association of State Aviation Officials website. This is a new membership provided by the Nebraska Department of Transportation’s aviation division.
• NEO electrical inspected the MALSR this week. The repair to the one flasher was not an easy fix and will require parts to be ordered. The MALSR is still in compliance and operational.
• Maintenance staff had to troubleshoot a heating issue at the National Weather Service building. That repair was completed by a contractor.
• Warehouse inspections continue.
• Airfield sign repairs were completed.
• Tumble weeds everywhere! We are appreciating the couple of days with no wind but clean up efforts continue as they like our fence.
• Prairie Dog control continues to be a priority. Work will continue in this area weekly. Obtaining quotes for a contractor to look at all airport property is the next step. Fire:
• Monthly department meeting Wednesday evening.
• Career Staff meeting Thursday morning.
• Preparing for delivery of the new ambulances, scheduled for next Thursday. Streets:
• Swept streets
• Cleaned drains
• Hauled dirt to landfill for road
• Serviced, washed and waxed unit 919
• Made repairs to alleys
• Organized and put away new street signs
Landfill:
• 218.68 tons of refuse collected; assisted 210 customers
• Processed and bundled 131 bales
• Worked with streets dept to start road to next lift , 2025
• Started building future loose fill pit
• Performed backup trash truck driver training
• Performed maintenance on all equipment
• Exchanged 3 rollouts
• Removed dumpsters from ballfields for winter
Water/Sewer:
• 18 locates and 31 work orders completed
• 11 radios installed
• Collected routine water samples and chlorine residuals
• SOC water samples and coliform samples taken at the airport
• Worked with contractors at the airport for fiberoptic boring project
• Hydro excavated and changed curb stop at Alliance Trap Club
• Exercised treatment well generators
• Updated water sample site locations to submit to state
• 1 employee attended backflow training course
• Back dragged road at wellfield
• Hauled dirt to airport to fill hole for curb stop
• Jetted and vactored out wash rack pit and pipe
Museum
• Hosted the School Land Lease Auction
• Several businesses used the conference room for interviews and training, including Nebraska Game and Parks, Box Butte General Hospital and Farm Credit Services. • The Theater was rented to host a baby shower
• Continue to prepare for the 29th Annual Christmas Festibal to be held November 29th through December 6th.
• Assisted with out of town research
RSVP & Senior Center:
• RSVP had seventeen volunteers in the community this week • RSVP hosted a station partner volunteer fair to allow individuals to talk with representatives from local organizations who need volunteer help • There will be an art project event, coordinated with Highland Park, at the Senior Center on Wednesday, Nov 26th at 2:00pm.
• Continued serving dine in and delivery meals for area seniors • Hosted card parties, Bunco, Bingo and Coffee and Treats this week Parks:
• Picked up tumbleweeds at 3rd street underpass
• Picked up tumbleweeds and debris at 10th street overpass fence
• Started setting up and preparing snow removal equipment for the winter season • Raked and cleaned up needles and leaves at 3rd and Box Butte Minipark • Mowed and picked up leaves at City Hall
• Removed pine needles and leaves from the new tennis court surface • Power washed and cleaned the fountain in preparation for the Christmas light setup happening soon
• Cleaned up leaves at 8th street tennis courts
• Emptied trash cans in all park areas
• 1 funeral this week
• Watered all newly planted trees
City Manager:
• Final Changes to GPS for City Manager Recruitment brochure.
• Working on Community Redevelopment Authority (CRA) issues.
• Met with BBDC and Development on preliminary housing development • Attended BBDC’s Annual Meeting.
• Worked with Public Transit regarding scheduling and overtime management • Responded to public requests for information
• Completed revisions to service agreements and sent them to agencies for approval • Completed necessary documentation for a federal grant funded project Community Development
Permitting
• 11 Building Permits for a total estimated improvement valuation of $100,882.35. • 2 Zoning Permits for a total estimated improvement value of $4350.00. • 3 Right of Way Construction, Excavation, or Obstruction Permits.
• 1 Demolition Permit.
• 13 Plumbing and Mechanical Permits.
Nuisance Abatement
• 86 new Nuisance Abatement Contacts.
• 58 completed Nuisance Abatement cases.
• 787 total Nuisance Abatement Cases in 2025 so far
Facilities Maintenance
• 25 Facilities Maintenance Work Orders.
• No October Planning Commission Meeting.
• Board of Adjustment held their statutorily required annual meeting. They approved minutes from 2024, reorganized, and had training.
• Uploaded subdivision plats to ArcGISonline to include them with our public mapping software.
• Ordered 11 computers for the annual workstation replacement. Working with Bytes to schedule a time for them to set them up and put them into service. This will conclude our computer update project to get all City network based computers off Windows 10 to 11.
• Made updates to the Community Development pages on the City Website. • Consulted with other cities in the Panhandle about upcoming medical marijuana regulations.
Human Resources
• This week brought a lot of positive momentum across our City organization. We continue to see great teamwork, strong service to our community, and employees stepping up to support one another; all reminders of the talent and dedication we’re fortunate to have in our workforce.
• In HR, much of our work continues behind the scenes. We’re finalizing updates to our 2026 Benefit Guidebook and preparing our HRIS for Open Enrollment to ensure employees have clear, accurate information for their benefit choices. These details may be technical, but they make a big difference in creating a smooth and supportive experience for everyone.
• We also made progress on an important long-term effort: developing an employee initiative centered around our organization’s shared values and goals. This initiative will help us strengthen our culture, celebrate what we do well, and create a more unified sense of purpose across all departments. It’s exciting to start shaping something that will help guide how we work together moving forward.
• HR staff met with members of the public to assist them in the application process, scheduling, and administering skills assessments and interviews for open positions.
• New Employees: Taylor Vogel, Streets Maintenance Worker. Welcome, Taylor! Thank you for joining our team!