GRAND ISLAND – The Grand Island City Council approved a 14-page list of fee changes by a vote of 7-0 at its Aug. 27 meeting.
Council members Maggie Mendoza, Bethany Guzinski and Chuck Haase were absent from the meeting.
Fee changes included increases for aquatics passes, golf fees, the Stolley Park railroad, the Community Fieldhouse, the Grand Island Public Library, and the adoption of the redevelopment plan.
Regional Planning Director Chad Nabity explained the additional fees for filing the paperwork for redevelopment plan adoption. The fees are: Under $500,000 $1,500; $500,000 to $1.5 million $2,500; $1.5 million to $3 million $4,000; $3 million to $5 million $7,500; and over $5 million $10,000.
Council member Mitch Nickerson asked about the fees for the redevelopment plan. Nabity replied that other municipalities also charge fees.
The Grand Island Public Library continues to offer free space rentals to government and nonprofit organizations, and will continue to do so. Fees apply only to for-profit organizations that have not previously been able to reserve the space.
In other business, the City Council voted 7-0 to vacate part of an easement at the corner of 2104 and 2120 S. Blaine St. A building permit has been filed to build a garage at 2120 S. Blaine St. There are no utilities in the easement area.
The City Council also voted 7-0 to approve a field training contract between the Grand Island Fire Department and Scottsbluff-based Panhandle EMS Training. Panhandle EMS Training has requested that students be sent to the Grand Island Fire Department for training.
The City Council voted 7-0 to approve the Fonner Park Business Improvement District’s (BID) fiscal year 2024-25 budget. The BID was created on February 14, 2017.
The 2017 ordinance established the purpose of the BID, described its boundaries, and provided that properties in the district would be subject to special assessment to support the district’s purposes.
The budget for fiscal year 2024-25 includes special levies of $53,202. The levies on property owners are based on the frontage of the property. The BID plans to raise external funds for a multi-year landscaping project.
The Grand Island City Council met on August 27 (Carol Bryant, Central Nebraska Today)
