When someone inquired about placing alternative energy production equipment within the city limits, Seward officials found that while the city had addressed the possibility of such equipment, it had not determined where it could be located.
The Seward City Council on June 2 adopted a revised matrix of city zones that included the allowance for such equipment – which would have to be fairly small, City Administrator Greg Butcher said – only in zones designated for agricultural/urban reserves, limited industrial or general industrial uses.
But as it turned out, the person inquiring chose not to pursue the alternative energy production project.
While there are no wind turbines within city limits, Butcher said the city – which retails electrical power to residents via Nebraska Public Power District – contracts with Blue Stem Energy for wind-generated power from a turbine west of the city.
Also on June 2, the Seward City Council voted to rewrite a portion of the city’s zoning regulations eliminating a separate board of adjustment to hear appeals from citizens related to zoning permits and actions that are not required to go through the city council or planning commission.
Butcher said the Nebraska Legislature made possible the deletion of separate boards of adjustment in recent years, and the local change reflects both the city’s ability to recruit members for the board and the infrequent need for the board to meet.
Seward, like other government entities, faces challenges in recruiting people to hold elected and appointed positions in the community.
“I would argue that Seward has a disproportionate number of boards and commissions,” Butcher said.
The board of adjustment was challenging, Butcher said, because it only met when needed – often every few years – but dealt with sometimes complex regulations. Butcher said that meant review of processes and policies could be needed from meeting to meeting.
In an unrelated matter, the June city council and other meetings scheduled in the Municipal Building on Seventh Street between Seward and Jackson Streets have been moved to the Seward Civic Center while the city repairs the building’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning system.
Butcher said the system has not been replaced in the decades the city has owned the building, and that some city staff who work out of that building have temporarily moved to city hall.
Also at the June 2 meeting, the council:
• Approved rezoning the Deer Hills acreage owned by HBH Farms/Tim Hughes, from agricultural to rural residential to separate an existing residence from agricultural land within the city’s extra territorial jurisdiction area.
• Amended the city’s employee handbook to facilitate and pay for city employees involved in mutual aid, such as the city electric department’s assistance in Fairbury after recent storms, and for employees who serve as election workers in the county as allowed by state statutes.
• Approved an agreement with The Schemmer Associates for engineering services for the Second Street lift station temporary wastewater treatment site design at a cost of $82,071.
• Approved a memorandum of agreement allowing the Nebraska National Guard Museum to keep a shipping container for storage on city property.
• Tabled a revised interlocal agreement with the Seward County Rural Fire Protection District pending additional information.
