Kearney City Hall (Brian Neben, Central Nebraska Today)
KEARNEY — The Kearney city council approved the 2023-2024 fiscal year budget during their meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 12.
Proposed total expenditures are expected to total $159,441,162, which is down eight million from last year. It was note there were many extra ordinary items in last fiscal year’s budget.
General fund expenditures total $35 million, up 2.3 million or seven percent from last year. The other fund expenditures are around $123 million, down 10 million from last year.
This includes just over $60 million in capital improvements.
The top ten projects include the Kearney SportsPlex, Wastewater Treatment Plant phase two, Younes Drive, airport box hanger, 28th St., I Ave. to L Ave., Cemetery North Addition, Younes Drive stormwater drainage, airport terminal renovation and Yanny Park Pavilion.
The property tax levy was set at .14887 per $100, the same it has been for the past six years.
It was noted that the City of Kearney still has the lowest levy in comparable communities. The next highest was Scottsbluff at .22137, 48 percent higher and Seward, 2.9900, 100.8 percent higher.
Moving onto public hearings was a conditional use permit submitted by Buffalo Surveying Corporation for Kenneth Richter for a resource extraction site west and south of 7310 2nd Ave.
It was noted resource extraction had taken place without a permit and Richter seeking this permit was to rectify the situation. He had been under the impression that a previous permit still covered the extraction.
The permit was for five years and there is no stockpiling on the site, with materials being excavated, processed and hauled off site.
The planning commission had voted to recommend approval of the permit. The council voted to approve the permit.
The next hearing was for a rezone and final plat for Petersen Estates, a subdivision that is a quarter mile north of 11th Street and on the west side of Sweetwater Avenue.
The application had been submitted by Trenton Snow, surveyor for the property owner, Joshua Petersen.
Snow appeared at the meeting and said the intention on the property is to create four lots to allow for housing development. The area would need to be rezoned from agriculture to rural residential.
The question of water drainage had been raised during the planning commission meeting; a majority did vote to recommend approval.
Snow commented to the council that the developer understands the drainage issues but noted that the future homes will be built on the highest elevation in the lots.
The council approved the rezone and final plat.
Andy Harter, Director of Public Works, appeared with the one-and six-year road improvement plan. Harter said the major improvement project for 2024 is on 28th St. between I Ave. to L. Ave.
After the hearing for the plan, the council voted to adopt it.
