LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Dear Editor:

I feel again the need to pick up the pen and write a note. As most everyone has heard now there has been the beginning of a recall effort for our mayor, Keith Prunty.

I cannot speak to the charges regarding “Disrespect & Mistreatment of City Employees & Elected Officials,” nor of any “agenda” that Mayor Prunty may have. Though to be honest, any elected official has an “agenda” for what they hope to accomplish while in office. Otherwise, why run?

I feel that I can speak on two projects that have happened in Kimball, that people were both for and against, including City Council members. I did ask questions, get information, and feel that I can remark on these confidently.

The first is the sale of the Longhorn Building. This building was in disrepair, behind on taxes, and on the verge of collapse. Previous owners gifted this building to the city just to get out from underneath it. The city put it out for sale/bids, but there were no bites as there was asbestos that would need to be dealt with.

When talk turned to tearing it down, still the city had to bear the expense for the asbestos removal, plus the added debris in our City Landfill. Shane Hays came to the council with a plan to purchase, renovate and make the building usable. Did the city still handle the asbestos? Yes, BUT they would have had too regardless.

People complained that Hays received “kickbacks” to help with the electrical and other stuff. Not true. Hays applied for improvement grants, which ANY business could have done. Some on City Council decided against this and thought it would be a waste of time and city money – that another empty lot would be better. Community members picked up on this vibe and were against it.

Flash forward two years later and look at how AMAZING that building looks. They took over the fitness center and improved it 10 times over. They have additional business going, plus room for more. Upstairs are three incredible looking apartments, which with the housing shortage, are much needed.

This building went from being an eyesore, delinquent in taxes, and removed from the tax roll when it became city property to providing tax revenue for the county and city, a beautifully rehabilitated downtown anchor, employing people, and providing living space.

Not to mention it cleaned up how the downtown looks. Mayor Prunty pushed for this, believed in the vision that Hays envisioned, and look at the result. Was this really a bad move for the City of Kimball?

The second is the sale of the Kimball Event Center, now The Sagebrush. This building/business had been a drain on the city for many years, never really producing a profit, but the city felt it was needed in the community and kept it open.

However, the city should not be about running a business that the private sector can do better. It was put up for sale/bid. It seems that it was not clear that it was always up for sale/bid. Dawn Moser and her brother Rich Patterson put in a bid/proposal and got the event center. They invested in remodeling, repairs, and brought the building up to code etc.

What do we have now? A much-needed restaurant, lounge, arcade for the community kids, and a large place for meetings and events. Again, this building and property went from NOT being on the tax roll or earning revenue to doing just that for city and county. They are employing restaurant staff and paying wages.

If anyone has stopped in there, then you know how busy and well they are doing. This is a project that Mayor Prunty championed. In this case, he received more pushback from the community then he did the City Council.

Here are just two instances where Mayor Prunty saw an opportunity to better the community and worked towards improvements despite resistance. Does this show that he has his own agenda? His vision has benefited the community in so many ways. Mayor Prunty has a vision and did not do this without following locally prescribed order of government protocols.

I could throw in the work & passion that he has put into the Goodhand Theatre, working along fellow community members with the same goal. Mayor Prunty has done both physical labor as well as serving the popcorn to movie goers, goes around to promote the movies, collect receipts, and anything else he can do to improve it and again give back to this community. He is not breaking any laws or padding his personal pockets.

What else I can say as a citizen that I see from going to meetings, watching them, talking to council members and city staff, is that if anything is going to hurt this city, it is this potential recall and the “us against them” attitude between City Council and mayor. We have people buying more buildings downtown to fix up and trying to get business into them. We just sold the old Shopko building.

More people and companies are looking at industrial ground near the interstate for development, not to mention the Missile Project that EVERYONE is aware of. We need to be working together, not butting heads over every little thing. We need to present a united front, or no one, not even a city administrator, is going to want to come to Kimball, NE, no matter how much we toot our own horn.

We are behind in what we should be doing to attract business, government jobs, etc., and that is sad because everyone wants to say, “Make Kimball Great Again” and we have an opportunity to do this as a community.

Rosa-Ellen Williams

Kimball