Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
The Kimball board of public works discussed various upkeep projects during its Nov. 25 meeting.
One topic of discussion was the growth of trees in the city. Many trees in the city are growing at a rapid rate. While they are beautiful, these trees can become quite a nuisance to power lines. The solution to caring for these trees in a responsible and safe manner is to contract with an arborist, said City Administrator Daniel Ortiz.
“Our guys just don’t have the time to trim the trees in a way that will be beneficial to the growth of the tree as well as clearing the power lines. We need an arborist,” Ortiz said.
The board agreed and directed Ortiz to get more details concerning the cost of contracting with an arborist.
The board then approved a request for power to a local resident just past city limits.
This was followed by the boards approval of the Recycling Center’s request to install pathways and repair the building. This approval was based on the discussion at the previous board of public works meeting in which the Recycling Center presented a diagram of the planned improvements.
Due to visiting fracking companies’ need for water, the board discussed possibly changing the bulk water policy and rates.
The board decided that no action on the bulk water policies is needed at the present time, however, Keith Prunty, a public works board member who was elected mayor last month, moved that the board revisit the situation in six months.
Ortiz said he will attend more meetings concerning the Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska (MEAN). MEAN is currently suffering from poor financial projections and many meetings are being held in order to decide how to remedy the situation.
“Right now it looks as though the situation won’t be fixed without the customers of MEAN taking a bit of a hit. I will be attending more meetings and hopefully more information will be shared that will be of some use,” Ortiz said.
The board of public works will next meet at 4:15 p.m. on Dec. 23.
