Reflections for the Week of March 20-24

BBDC:

• Submitted the application for the 2023 Rural Workforce Housing Fund Grant.

• Attended Hemingford Annual Meeting Tuesday.

• Hosted Nebraska Department of Economic Development team on the first leg of their Familiarization Tour in Western Nebraska, first in Hemingford, then here in Alliance; always fun to brag about the great things happening in Box Butte County!

Electric:

• On Monday we “switched” all of the electric load to the Cody substation so that we could deenergize the 10th street substation, so that maintenance could be performed on the transformer and breakers. Thursday we “switched” all of the load back to normal operation.

• We continue to make progress on the rebuild project on Sarpy Road west of HWY 385.

• We assisted the contractor working on the 10th street substation. Performed maintenance on multiple pieces of equipment. Repaired/replaced numerous streetlights. Completed numerous locates.

Police Admin:

• Meetings: VERA, Strategies for Youth, Motorola, PAARI, PCAB, RVCRI, University of Omaha, Power DMS, Terawe, PCAN, CALEA.

Police Communications/Intelligence:

• Coordinated 478 calls for service.

• Completed 4 report requests.

• 3 firearm permits issued.

Police Operations:

• 0 K9 deployments.

• 4 accidents.

• 0 DUI.

• 167 Building Checks.

• 19 Community Contacts/Business Checks.

• 6 Child Welfare Investigations.

• 8 Traffic Stops.

• 0 Vacation House Checks.

• 20 Active Investigations.

• 12 Cases Resolved.

PAARI:

• 4 New Referrals.

• 8 Active Service.

• 2 Medical Service Referrals.

• 2 Financial Service Referrals.

• 0 Graduates.

• 0 Known relapses.

Animal Control:

• 28 Animal Calls.

• 3 Dog Impounds. 1 dog currently in the shelter.

• 2 Cat Impounds. 1 cats currently in the shelter.

Code Enforcement:

• 4 Code enforcement issues.

Notable Service:

• Satisfaction rating 91%.

HR:

• Working with HRIS implementation specialist for performance management and system updates.

• Assisting employees and department managers with requests for benefits enrollment and FMLA processing.

Senior Center:

• We are seeing significantly more senior attendance and participation in our weekly activities.

• Preparing for a volunteer recognition dinner to be held in May.

• Meeting on Thursday, March 30 at 10 a.m. for newly organized Senior Center Book Club. All are welcome to attend.

Knight Museum:

• Andrea Myers presented a program Thursday evening, March 23 in reference to her book, “Behind the Wire”. The story portrays a woman from the Midwest and contains actual letters from soldiers to the author’s grandmother during World War II. Signed copies of the book are available at the Newberry Gift Shop located at the Knight Museum.

• Becci consulted with the Sheridan County Historical Society on ideas to display and catalog their collections.

• The museum hosted the Alliance Police Department Advisory Committee.

• The Newberry Gift Shop has been rearranged to accommodate new spring items.

• General building maintenance is being planned for Spring 2023.

• Scrapbooking will take place in the basement of the museum on Friday, March 31 and Saturday, April 1 starting at 8 am and throughout the day, as long as people want to stay.

• The Knight Museum is also sponsoring a photo contest, “Sunrises and Sunsets in Western Nebraska.” Two age groups are available: 12 and under and 13 and over. Children and adults are welcome to submit their framed or matted photos. Winners will be announced Monday, May 8th. Cash prizes are available for 1st -3rd places in both categories. Call 308-762-2384 for more information.

Skyview Golf Course:

• The Golf Course Advisory Board met in March.

• The golf course is in good shape coming out of the winter months, but is open only for walking at this time. Cart usage will be determined according to upcoming weather.

• New merchandise is arriving and ready for purchase.

Library:

• This week we cleared out the furniture from the new DVD area in the northeast corner of the library to give patrons easier access to the collection. We are completing the move of the Regional Collection to the North nook of the library.

• Adult Services Librarian Nalani Stewart catalogued new Non-Fiction and new Fiction, and hosted book club at the Highland Park Care Center. She also prepared for Yvonne Hollenbeck’s “Patchwork of the Prairie” Humanities Presentation which had 23 people in attendance. She catalogued three new Book Club Kits: Daisy Jones & the Six, The Last House on the Street, and The Four Winds.

• Children’s Librarian Cynthia Horn hosted Story Time books and crafts, cataloged new juvenile nonfiction, attended the “All Together Now” Summer Reading Workshop hosted by APL on Thursday, and performed an outreach visit at Immanuel Lutheran School featuring Spring programming for April, May and Summer Reading events.

• Technical Services Librarian Emily Nelson updated the Facebook page and website with programming information, made Book Mobile deliveries, and processes ILL’s for patrons. She also helped rearrange some of the furniture in the library.

• Library Clerks Pam Becker and Kris Wilder have been busy getting items ready for spring and assisting the librarians with programming needs.

• Work on the Air Conditioning and fans continues to progress.

Parks:

• Removed ice and snow from the north tennis courts for matches next week.

• Picked up trash in the parks.

• Serviced the compressor and other equipment maintenance.

• Disposed of dead water fowl in the lake. Turned aerators on in the lake.

• Removed tumbleweeds from 3rd Street underpass and 10th Street overpass.

• Replaced trash receptacles at the dog park.

• Finalized the budget for 23-24 fiscal year.

• Took mowers to the dealer to be repaired.

CLS:

• Anyone wishing to sign up for swim lessons after April 1st can do so at the Knight Museum located at 908 Yellowstone Avenue during normal hours. Registrations will continue until May 24th. For questions you may call the Knight Museum at 762-2384.

Transit:

• 578 riders.

Landfill:

• 146 customers.

• 197.3 tons collected.

• Standard maintenance of baler, conveyor, and equipment.

• Scale calibrated.

• Began moving dirt for dirt cover.

• Mapped trash routes and will be available on the P-Drive.

Streets:

• Ongoing vehicle maintenance.

• Poured concrete at the 2 main break sites.

• Sweeping and Grading around town.

Water/Sewer:

• Replace/repair fire hydrant at 31st and Laramie, repaired main break at the scene.

• Main break repair at 13th and Emerson.

• Weekly water samples completed.

• Chlorine residuals completed.

• Worked on lift station A PLC.

• Pump repair and installation at lift station B.

• Began water supply paperwork for the Airport System.

• Replaced battery at 18th and Colorado APU.

• Exercised APU’s at 18th and Colorado and Elk Horn wells.

• 8 Locates.

• 7 Work orders.

Fire:

• Working through some minor unforeseen challenges with our ESO Records Management System.

Airport:

• Airport staff traveled to Scottsbluff Airport to tour their de-icing system for the airfield. This is a system that allows the airport to mix their own chemical that is applied to the surface for deicing.

• Continued work with maintenance on budget items. Reviewed capital items for future years to update.

• Preliminary work for upcoming security program inspection.

• Reviewed spill plan for updates.

Administration:

• The updated City of Alliance website is now active! See what’s new at https://www.cityofalliance.net/

• Shelbi Pitt was selected as Interim City Clerk by the City Council at their meeting of March 21, 2023.