Shields And Terrill Out, Ingram In, Baliman Back

The Kimball City Council year end meeting saw the departure of long-time council member James Shields and the installation of previous Councilwoman Kim Baliman and newly elected Councilman Gabe Ingram.

The City of Kimball continues to look for a city administrator and now will also be looking for a city clerk, as Katherine Terrill's resignation was accepted at the meeting.

The council will be ready to tackle a new year as the housekeeping business was tended to at the December meeting. Appointments, boards, committees, newspapers, radio and banks for city operations were approved and remained the same with the exception of the newly appointed city attorney, Matt Turman.

In related yearly duties, the city council ratified the 26 members of the Kimball Volunteer Fire Department and officers for the year 2021. The fire department is loaded with experienced and dedicated individuals committed to the department.

Chief is Andrew Bohac and first and second assistant chiefs are Mark Whetham and Taylor Brown, respectively. Timothy Culek is president and vice- resident is Tyson Culek, while Jordan Autrey assumes the duties of secretary/treasurer.

New sidewalks should soon be appearing in Kimball when the weather warrants, as the council approved the Sidewalk Improvement Program. Property owners or tenants can receive a loan or a partial cost reimbursement to assist in "repairing or replacing hazardous sidewalks and installation of new sidewalk in areas currently without sidewalk." Initially $25,000 was approved of during budgeting for the program. Although not all of the particulars have been nailed down, the program is up and running.

Twin Cities Development presented information about the Rural Workforce Housing Fund. According to the presentation, the Western Nebraska Rural Workforce Housing Grant Fund is a "revolving loan fund that would encompass Scotts Bluff, Morrill and Kimball Counties." The city would have to make an initial donation to the fund for the program to work. Members of the city council were excited about the opportunity although no formal decision was made. The program is fast paced and a decision would have to be made in January, they talked of donating between $50,000 to $75,000 to become part of the program.

The council gave its blessing to economic director Elyse Schlake to pursue and apply for the USDA Rural Business Development Grants. According to information about the program, "This program provides grants for rural projects that finance and facilitate development of small and emerging rural businesses, help fund distance learning networks, and help fund employment related adult education programs."

Finally, Mayor Keith Prunty's report included a list of City of Kimball abatements. From June to December 2020, owners of 71 different properties in Kimball have been issued abatement orders. These include abandoned residences, businesses, family residences and rental properties. Many of the property owners quickly cleaned up their residences and the property was deemed up to code.

Businesses are encouraged to register to do business with the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent Project. The project is expected to start between 2023-25 and will last 10 years. To register go to: https://gbsdbound.com/business-check-list