Editorials 

Reflections for the Week of November 6-10

Posted By: Seth Sorensen, Alliance City Manager 433 Views

BBDC:

  • Prepping for Annual Meeting next Friday, November 17th at 9am, BBDC office.

  • As part of the Career Connections of Western Nebraska Sophomore Career Day, assisting with the Northern Career Cab planned for November 29th

  • Held Community for Kids Open House Tuesday, November 7th to review some of our Early

  • Childhood Survey Results and hear presentations from Guests Rachel Sissel, Nebraska Children & Families Foundation and Mike Feeken, First Five Nebraska (more to come soon – tune into our new Facebook Page for updates – Box Butte Co. Community for Kids).

  • Assisted UNL Extension with their Connecting the Dots day at AHS for Alliance and Hemingford Sophomores.

Community Development:

  • October Permitting:

o 6 Building Permits for a total investment of $478,500.

o 0 Zoning Permits.

o 16 Plumbing and Mechanical Permits.

o 2 Right of Way Excavation, Construction, or Obstruction Permits.

o Issued a Building Permit for a new house at 211 North Park Estates.

o Issued Final Certificates of Occupancy for the Berean Church addition and the Westco Tire Shop.

o Roof installation at the Westco Fertilizer storage facility.

  • No November Planning Commission meeting due to lack of agenda items.

  • Board of Adjustment will meet November 28 for their statutorily required annual meeting to reorganize and approve minutes.

Fire:

  • Staff participated in a Firefighter funeral in Schuyler Nebraska.

  • Monthly department-wide meeting was held Wednesday evening.

  • Staff participated in a FAA webinar on Fluorine Free Foam (F3) Transition Awareness.

  • Working on several fire station projects.

  • Chief attended the City Council to present on proposed new fire truck.

Airport:

  • October passenger counts was 373 enplaned and 368 deplaned. These are both new October record highs.

  • Working on filling airport vacancy. Training continues for new temporary employee.

  • Welcomed the FBLA club to the airport on Wednesday. We appreciate being included on their tour day!

  • Preparation work for winter/snow operations training was completed.

  • New road signs installed on airport road.

  • Maintenance on the air compressor is in progress.

  • Tumbleweed removal and routine maintenance performed on airfield fence.

  • Capital project work continues, specifically for windows and flooring.

  • Airport warehouse cleanup complete and summer equipment moved in for the winter.

Chamber:

  • Veteran’s Day is jam packed with events, the parade @ 10am, Sallows Open house 11am-4pm, Carnegie Gala @ 5-8pm, Miss Alliance Pageants @ the PAC starting at 6pm. Fundraisers all next week!

  • Basketball, Wrestling, One Act are all starting in November. Come out and support the students.

  • Ribbon Cutting next week for The Brickhouse Gym on Friday.

  • If you know of any jolly volunteers, send them our way! We are looking for Santas for the minipark Santa’s House and Parade.

HR:

  • Processing New Employee Hires, Transfers and Onboarding.

  • Completed Police Review Board Interviews and Civil Service Commission Meeting for Police Officer candidates. Human Resources is now working to complete screenings to assist in establishing an eligibility list (Reference: Sections 19-1823, R.R.S. Nebr. 1943 as amended and Section 3, List of Persons Eligible for Appointment or Promotion, the Rules and Regulations of the Civil Service Commission).

  • Submitted finalized 2024 Benefits information for City Council Approval. Preparations for Open Enrollment have started and will be available to employees before the end of November.

Electric:

  • We replaced 5 “reject” poles.

  • Completed single phase to three phase line conversion project on Rock Road.

  • Operated one generator per MEAN monthly requirement.

  • Off loaded diesel fuel for generation plant.

  • Replaced damaged hardware on CR 59 from previous lightning strike.

  • Energized new service at Logan Road and Highway 385.

  • Replaced underground cabinet and repaired wires at Lincoln Road and Highway 87.

  • Started a three phase rebuild project south of Keith Road east of CR 63.

  • Upgraded secondary service on east 3rd street.

  • Working with Engineers to determine cause of 11-4 power outage.

  • Started single phase rebuild project north of Sarpy Road east of CR 59.

Transit:

  • 789 Riders this week.

Landfill:

  • 275 tons of refuse this week.

  • 206 customers this week.

  • Removed baler eject door and hydraulic piston.

  • Placed order for new refuse collection truck.

  • Began bid process for concrete chipping.

  • Placing loose fill on top of MSW.

  • Conducting Loader repairs.

  • Place order for new loader tires.

  • Serviced bobcat.

  • Conducted repairs on refuse truck.

Streets:

  • Poured 8 cement slabs and installed anchors, bases, posts, and signs for crosswalks.

  • Ongoing alley grading.

  • Ongoing street sweeping and drain cleaning.

  • Clean slice out of trucks.

  • Heavy equipment servicing.

  • Training on conducting proper locates for new employees.

  • CDL testing and training ongoing.

  • Hauled sweeper dirt and leaves to landfill.

Water/Sewer:

  • Pulled check valve and air release on pump #4 and lift station A.

  • Placed order for bypass pump for lift stations.

  • Had PAX mixer installed on Elkhorn tower.

  • Dug up water main on golf course and installed yard hydrant.

  • Installed new grinder plate on pump #1 at lift station A.

  • Worked on E station electrical issues.

  • Pulled pump #2 inspection plate and check valve at lift station A.

  • Moved man lift from museum to fire station.

  • Filled out EPA questionnaire for UCMR samples.

  • Placed de-greaser in all lift stations.

  • Conducted weekly water samples, airport samples, water tower samples, and chlorine residual samples.

  • Completed 39 locates. Completed 10 utility office work orders.

Knight Museum:

  • The Christmas Festival is in full swing but there is still plenty of time to jump on board and take part in creating an auction item for this wonderful holiday kickoff celebration.

  • The Sandhillers met here this week. This is an interesting group that gets together monthly to discuss and share information about the Sandhills area.

  • Signups are available on The Knight Museum Facebook page for a cookie decorating class and a door hanger workshop to be held during the Christmas Festival.

  • 25 Scrapbookers enjoyed the November Scrapbook weekend and will meet again in January. Call the Museum for more information at 762-2384.

  • We hosted the Scenic Byway group’s monthly meeting.

  • We will be hosting the NAC traveling art show starting November 13th until December 6th in the Museum theater. These are the yearly winners from the Conference in Columbus.

Parks:

  • Formed the area for the new sidewalks at the tennis courts.

  • Continued picking up leaves in the parks and on the islands.

  • Collected the necessary hardware for installing Christmas lights on the fountain.

  • Prepared for one burial on Friday.

Senior Center:

  • Staff conducted a meeting to get a board and volunteers together to oversee the creation of a youth volunteer organization in Alliance.

  • The Senior Center will no longer host weekly craft/art projects. These events will now take place only on every third Tuesday at 12:30 pm.

  • RSVP Volunteers assisted with Meals on Wheels and the Community table this week.

  • Meals continue to be served for dine in and delivery. Call 762-1293 for times and prices.

Library:

  • Preparations for the annual APL Foundation Literary Baskets fundraiser are winding down! The auction begins Monday, November 13, and will wrap up on Friday, December 1st! There are 40 baskets this year to choose from, so come up and see what we have!

  • Adult Services Librarian Nalani Stewart created a survey for the APL Book Club book suggestions for January, February and March. She also helped put up the Christmas trees, and hosted Fiber Arts Club and the book club at Highland Park Care Center. Nalani also hosted the Humanities Nebraska Presentation by Charlotte Endorf, Nebraska Spirit: The North Platte Canteen, in honor of Veteran’s Day.

  • Children’s Librarian Cynthia Horn had a busy week of programming with Story Time featuring American Heroes, outreach visits with Head Start classrooms, LEGO Club, and Veterans Day event with Girl Scouts Spirit of Nebraska. She also organized the Book Mobile, craft projects, and assisted with seasonal preparations.

  • Technical Services Librarian Emily Nelson ordered Inner Library Loans for the book club, helped with creating items for the basket auction, and assisted in the training of new library page, Avy Knapp.

  • Library Clerk Pam Becker has been very busy taking care of business at the circulation desk! We are happy to say we continue to issue many new cards from both those new to our community, and to those who are decided to give the library and its services a try!