Nebraska City approves $727,000 fire truck purchase

Police promote Falk to sergeant

NEBRASKA CITY – City commissioners approved the purchase of a $727,000 pumper truck for the fire department at their meeting Monday.

 The city has set aside $150,000 in ARPA funds and will use $220,000 in the equipment reserve fund, leaving $357,000 left to be financed.

The new pumper will replace a 1979 pumper, which has not passed certification and is beyond its 20-year life expectancy.

In other action, Public Safety Commissioner Byran Bequette and Police Chief Dave Lacy introduced Sgt. Andrew Falk.

 

 

Falk has been with the police department for five years. His duty as a patrol officer require him to maintain the intoxilyzer and managed highway safety grants.

Sgt. Falk has  a criminal justice degree from Peru State College and previously worked the state Department of Corrections for eight years. Chief David Lacy says he has demonstrated a willingness to reach out to the public.

Lacy: "Probably what I see in Andrew is he is willing to sit down and talk with a person. Oftentimes people in this society are invisible to us or we just kind of blow them off because we don’t have time. That’s a quality I wish I had that I’ve seen in Andrew -- he’ll actually sit down and talk to a person.”

Nebraska City Fire and Rescue set a new record for most EMS responses in a month.

The top busiest month is September 2022 with 157, surpassing the previous record of 154 in January of 2021. There were 150 responses in July and 141 in April of 2021.

City Administrator Lou Leone also reported on space available at the Wyuka Cemetery green space. There are 642 spaces available with single monuments and 342 spaces with one monument per four graves. The city expects to sell 30 to 40 spaces a year.

The green space had been proposed for soccer fields, but Leone said the focus for the fields has been moved to the sports complex.

Construction of a turn lane on 11th Street from the viaduct north to Central Avenue is expected to cost $2.2 million.

The city expects to use highway allocation funds, $500,000 in street reserve funds and a $1.5 million bond issue.

In May, the city council moved to include an $11,000 repair to the viaduct.

The project will be in two phases with full removal and replacement of the roadway. Seventh to Fourth corso is in the first phase and fourth Corso to First Corso in the second.

Nebraska City Tourism and Commerce requests use of Ninth Street from Central Avenue to the alley for the Trail of Treats in downtown from 3:30 to 5 p.m. on Oct. 31.

Central Avenue north of the Courthouse will be reserved for Santa Claus for the Nebraska City Tree Lighting at 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 26. A mailbox for letters to Santa will be available and the NCHS pep band will play.

Child Care Providers of Otoe County are organizing a trunk or treat at the Sunken Parking Lot from 3 to 5 p.m. on Halloween.

The city is seeking bids for repainting of the Steinhart Aquatic Center pool at an estimated cost of $85,000. The NCRA has $28,000 and the council approved $75,000 from reserve funds. Once the pool ponds are repaid, the NCRA will reimburse the city.

The city administrator reports that the pool paint is in need of maintenance to replace sealant, repair caulk and repainting of the entire surface. The pool has been used for seven years.

Laurence Falk, the treasurer for the Friends of Riverview Nature Park, requested the creation of an account to maintain the park.

The Friends of River Nature Park has $9,500 in its account.