Repair or resell Kimball Event Center

A continual need for updates and repairs to the Kimball Event Center in addition to waning reservations for the facility has some Kimball City Council members questioning if further investments are wise.

Roofing, at a cost of approximately $100,000, was the latest in a long and growing list of repairs that have been necessary for the aging building. In addition to the new roof, previous administrations have updated the HVAC system and made repairs as needed.

City Administrator Daniel Ortiz said during the Jan. 5 City Council meeting that rebidding will be required if the council chooses to move forward with additional necessary renovations, such as a fire suppression system and restrooms that are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Originally updates included new carpeting in parts of the building, as well as new lighting and other improvements, but because the bids came in over the budgeted amount for the improvements, council chose not to accept a bid at that time.

Instead, council decided to eliminate non-essential features and minimize costs before putting the project out for rebidding.

“Roughly, right now, I think the estimate we are looking at is about $675,000 and I think where we are at with Keno funds – we are just right at that mark, approximately,” Ortiz said. “So it will be very tight. We will probably have to consider additional cut backs in the project in order to ensure we have enough cushion to cover the project.”

Ortiz added that the fire suppression system is about a third of the total cost, though any updates to the structure would require installment of that system.

By law, due to building codes, a fire suppression system is required once structural improvements are made to address the outdated, non-compliant restrooms. Likewise, the bathrooms are required if other changes are made to the premises.

“As much as I would like to see the event center redone,” council member Christy Warner said. “It is really hard to know that we are going to use our entire savings, per se, just on the Event Center, knowing that our income from all levels is going down and we might need that money in the future for other projects.”

“We are preaching to every home owner and land owner to keep their property up. We had a lot of people really upset at just having to take down a dead tree,” James Schnell. “In my mind either we need to get out of it and put it out for auction or whatever or we invest in it like we are telling home owners and land owners.”

Schnell added that previous interest in leasing the property fell through often due to the current condition of the building.

“That would get us out of a lot of the headaches, of us having total control of the building. You still have the headaches when you are leasing to anybody,” Schnell added. “The minute they have seen the condition it is in we lost the opportunity to lease. They knew they couldn’t go in and move walls to make it the restaurants they wanted because the minute you touch it that would all have been on their ticket.”

Ortiz said that $625,000 would be a more comfortable budget for the project and added that the revised plan included scaling back the restrooms on the north end and foregoing the barroom remodel.

Schnell added that the council may be wise to allow the State of Nebraska to pay for the fire suppression system through the Keno funds, while that opportunity presents itself.

“We have attempted to keep it usable, but we can’t quit. Every ten to 13 years they have done something,” Schnell said. “That money will basically take care of that and bring it up to code. Either we do that or we get out of the building and put it up for auction.”

Ortiz was directed to bring back a plan that can be let out for bid with a reduction in both updates and cost.

Council moved on to consider the multi-county housing study through Western Nebraska Economic Development, a topic that was previously tabled.

“We had talked about this at our first meeting in December,” Ortiz said. “We tabled the motion due to the cost and the fact that we had completed a comprehensive plan with a housing study portion.”

At that time Ortiz was directed to inform the WNED board that Kimball was in the process of completing a housing study as part of the city’s comprehensive plan. He was further instructed to seek involvement with the regional study with a reduced cost contribution, since a local study was already in process.

“They recognized where we are at, having already gone through our portion of it,” Ortiz said. “I think the consensus was to still try to be part of this so we can benefit from the action steps afterwards, and try to develop and gather attention from developers for the region.”

Ortiz reported that the leaders of WNED offered to reduce the amount Kimball would pay towards the regional study from 86 cents per capita, or more than $2,000 to 75 cents per capita, or just over $1,800.

Money for participation in the regional study would come from local economic development funds and would allow Kimball to be part of each stage of the process.

Participation in the regional study has the benefit of enticing developers into the Panhandle with the likelihood of a longer-lasting project as opposed to short term local development, according to Warner.

“I think it is a great idea to collaborate,” she added.

Warner further clarified that each participating community gets one vote, that no community has more voting power than another. Villages with less than 500 residents can join together and also have an equal vote.

Warner moved and Schnell seconded to use local economic development funds to pay the required fee for participation in the regional housing study, and the motion passed unanimously.