The Seward City Council approved submission of the Seward Blue River Historical District’s application for a $5,000 Seward Foundation grant April 21, but not without some deliberation on the nonprofit group’s relationship to city government.
The Seward Foundation accepts funding applications that come through the council or the Seward School Board, but the foundation board makes the final decision on which projects receive its grants.
Pat Coldiron brought a proposed Seward Foundation request for $5,000 to support the Blue River Historical District’s efforts to further develop an area on Izaak Walton Road near the Blue River where a historic log cabin was moved from another part of the county.
The district is now adding informational and historic markers about the Blue River Cattle Drives in the 1800s and an act of heroism recorded along the railroad in that area along a trail, and the application indicates the area will be used for educational purposes and tourism.
The district first received a Seward Foundation grant about three years ago, but it turned out the group was not ready to utilize the funding, Coldiron said. So they are seeking another award at this time.
“We are experiencing a remarkable amount of support for this project,” Coldiron said. “We have a remarkable amount of people helping.”
The grant would fund replacement lumber to refurbish the cabin’s roof, replace several logs in its construction and replace filler material between the logs, according to the application. Coldiron said the labor is being donated.
Councilmember Karl Miller questioned whether the independent nonprofit should fall under the city’s umbrella for the foundation’s consideration, noting that other city-endorsed grants have been agencies of the city or, like the foundation for the Seward Memorial Library, affiliated with a city entity.
But he also noted the Seward Arts Council has applied for and received foundation funding through the city process.
Councilmember Matt Stryson noted that the district and the Seward County Historical Society are both requesting voter support for tax revenue on the November ballot and asked whether the two organizations could be merged.
Each of the two organizations filed to have voters determine whether a $0.001 per $100 taxable valuation tax levy could be added to the county’s taxes, raising about $40,000 annually for each. State statute allows local history groups to seek up to $0.003 levies and neither has sought tax funding before.
Coldiron said it is not unusual for a county to have more than one organization focused on its history.
The Seward County Historical Society archives the history of the entire county and the focus of the Blue River District is separate and in addition to that work, she said.
Mayor Josh Eickmeier noted the foundation would make the decision on which grants are awarded.
The council voted 5-1 in favor of the Blue River District’s foundation application, with Stryson voting against the measure and council members Tatum Tonniges and Jessica Kolterman absent.
Following the meeting, Stryson said he voted against the application because he would like to see the two entities work together, noting the progress made after the county’s multiple economic development entities came together years ago.
“People build a lot of things, and it is hard to sustain them,” he said.
City updates zoning definitions
In other business April 21, the council approved tweaks to definitions and the addition of a few new words in its zoning regulations to address what Building-Zoning and Code Enforcement Director Tim Dworak described as terms “that have plagued us over the last five or six years” and some that surfaced in recent work with data center zoning regulations.
The terms added or tweaked definitions related to: basements and building heights, business campuses, family, fenestration, nuisance and townhouses.
In other business, the council:
• Reappointed Jon Burhoop, Randy Chapp and Lacey Koch to the Parks and Recreation Board for three-year terms.
• Reappointed Juanita Hill and Nancy Lamberty to the Library Board for four-year terms.
• Conducted a public hearing at which no one spoke and approved the rezoning of property identified as Hofer Hills from AG-Agricultural District to RR-Rural Residential District.
• Approved an addendum to the interlocal agreement for cooperative public safety purchase and use of the Zuercher software in law enforcement and the E911 Center to allow Fillmore County to join the group based in Seward County Software.
