City Council:
• David Briggs and Jess Wimmer of Westco presented a venery generous grant of $40,000 to the Alliance Fire Department. This grant will be used to replace equipment that was damaged fighting a fire, as well as other small but important purchases.
• At this week’s City Council meeting, the City Council approved the second reading of the proposed FY2023 Budget, approved the Classification and Compensation Plans for city employees, approved a new three-year contract with the Fraternal Order of Police #51 Union, and entered into a contract with SE Municipal Solar, LLC for the establishment of a solar field and sale of electricity to the City.
• The Council approved an engineering services agreement with Baker & Associates and appropriated $350,000 toward the design of an addition and retrofit of the Alliance City Hall/Municipal Building. Design work will include making the majority of the building ADA accessible, refinishing the gymnasium to be able to open it back up to the public, as well as electrical and HVAC improvements.
• The Council also approved entering into a contract, not to exceed $400,000, with Renner Sports to construct four post-tensioned concrete tennis courts over the top of the asphalt tennis courts located at the corner of 16th and Box Butte. The Alliance School District has generously agreed to contribute $100,000 toward this project, with the balance being paid for by the Federal Government through the Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund. Work will also include the installation of a pickleball court and a basketball goal. Work is anticipated to begin later this fall, with work completed Spring of 2023.
Fire:
• Participated in a Zoom meeting with Public Facilities Investment Corporation along with the City Manager and City Treasurer to discuss financing alternatives for a public safety center.
• Sandry Fire completed annual flow testing on our self-contained breathing apparatus.
• Staff participated in the Fire Apparatus Engineer/EMT position interviews.
• Received the generous donation from WESTCO at this week’s City Council meeting for which we are extremely grateful.
Police Admin:
• Meetings: State IT interface, Action, Crimewatch, INA Alert, Geolitica, Central Square, FirstNet, CALEA, Datalytics, Viper 7, DOJ LICHT, NOSRAC board members, High School Media, South Central, DEA.
Police Communications/Intelligence:
• Coordinated 629 calls for service.
• Completed 9 report requests.
• 2 firearms permit issued.
Police Operations:
• 5 Child Welfare Investigations.
• 0 DUI, 20 Traffic Stops.
• 4 accidents.
• 0 K9 deployment.
• 90 Building Checks.
• 35 Community Contacts/Business Checks.
• 7 Vacation House Checks.
• 5 Active Investigations.
Animal Control:
• 26 Animal Calls.
• 6 Dog Impounds. 3 dogs currently in the shelter.
• 0 Cat Impounds. 1 cat currently in the shelter.
Code Enforcement:
• 19 Code enforcement issues.
Notable Service:
• Satisfaction rating 91.8%.
• Overall crime is down 4.6% YTD from last year’s mark
• DEA conducted a surprise audit of property and evidence specifically related to drugs – everything was accounted for.
HR:
• Coordinated and conducted interview for Fire Review and Police Review Boards, along with Civil Service Commission for the positions of Fire Apparatus Engineer/EMT and Police Officers.
• Hosted WNHRA Meeting.
• Preparing for end of FY 2022 and start of FY 2023.
Carhenge:
• Switched to fall hours so the gift shop is open Thursday – Sunday for visitors. The final date for the Pit Stop will be September 25.
• Started completing inventory and reviewing annual sales to determine what items to order for the 2023 tourist season.
• Completed repairs on the septic system.
Library:
• This week we have seen an increase in library activity, which is typical for beginning of a new school year. On Tuesday we had 175 people visit the library!
• Children’s Librarian Cynthia Horn was on fire this week with great attendance for Story Time and LEGO Club. She also began the Autumn in Alliance Coloring Contest for preschool through grade 12 featuring two designs by local artists and AHS alumni, and has been busy cataloging many new items for the library collection.
• Adult Services Librarian Nalani Stewart finished up a Programming and Outreach NLC class. She also created a new section on the website for the B.Y.O.B. club that will begin September 29th. Along with a new bulletin board that will soon be displayed in the library, this page on our website will allow people to see what our B.Y.O.B. members have been reading and what recommendations they have for other patrons. She catalogued new materials and contacted Kathy Brock to set up a Polymer Clay earring class for October.
• Technical Services Librarian Emily Nelson sent out the news release for the upcoming program with author and former Husker cheerleader, Debra White, who will be presenting her program at our library on September 22 at 6:30 p.m. Also this week, several of the schools resumed bookmobile services after being closed for the summer. Emily is also still working on Nonfiction inventory and learning the tech services position.
• The Clerks have been busy creating window displays in the front of the library and processing all the new fall materials; come on by to “check them out” (and some books while you are at it)!
Parks/Cemetery:
• Prepared for and worked two funerals.
• Street department assisted Parks by hauling crushed concrete to be spread on the Bower Parking Lot.
• Mowed empty city lots on the north side of town.
• All the parks and ballfields got mowed despite the short week.
• Installed air bags on one of the pickups to help when towing the trailer.
• Adjusted components on one of the mowers to improve performance.
• Met with the irrigation contractor about a zone in Central park and finalized the tennis court system.
• Pumped out the fountain pedestal and met with the contractor about a broken pipe inside.
RSVP/Senior Center:
• Continued preparing meals for dine in and delivery.
• Volunteers assisted with the Nutrition site as necessary.
Museum:
• Visitor traffic picked up again this week after a late summer slowdown.
• Staff took down the traveling art exhibit that has been in the theater for three weeks.
• Visited several off site locations to look at items for donation.
• Assessed and inventoried items to get them added to the museum collection.
Golf:
• Play continued to be steady.
• Evaluated proposals for leasing the golf cart fleet for future years.
• Prepared for the “Golf for a Cure” tournament.
• Repaired equipment as necessary. Coordinated ordering and delivery of equipment and parts.
Airport:
• Preconstruction meeting for the Rehab of the Taxiways/Apron project will be on Monday at 9:00 a.m. with construction to start Monday, September 19th.
• August passenger counts were 342 enplaned and 326 deplaned. This is a slight increase from last year’s passenger count.
Tourism:
• Met with Civic Plus to discuss the City website redesign.
• Focused on Autumn in Alliance planning. Autumn in Alliance will be held September 23-25 at Central Park. It will be a great way to celebrate the changing of the seasons and back to school!
BBDC:
• Attended Leadership Box Butte committee meeting to finalize details for Orientation. Day 1 coming up on September 28/29.
• BBDC held monthly board meeting – making final edits to Industrial Site marketing video.
• Held first organizational meeting for planning the NEDA Annual Conference in May for 50th Anniversary.
• Met with 2 prospects this week.