No public action on Railroad Museum's offer
Judge has scheduled a Jan. 2 hearing
By News Channel NebraskaNEBRASKA CITY – A year after a district court ruled against Nebraska City’s motion for summary judgment in its right-of-way claim dating back to a decade before statehood, city commissioners met in closed session Monday regarding an offer from the Nebraska Railroad Museum.
The city council officially made no public action following the 52-minute session with the city's attorney and Nebraska City Area Economic Development Corporation.
At some point, city commissioners may have rejected the offer and directed the city attorney to make a counter offer, but such actions do not appear to have been made in open session.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway deeded property to the railroad museum in 2020, but months later Nebraska City Mayor Bryan Bequette proposed an ordinance to make it a punishable offense to keep non-operating railroad cars in city limits.
The city followed up by asserting its claim of right-of-way from an early city plat map. The city says the right-of-way issue is important because development of the eight acres and 2,000 feet of track deeded by the BNSF railroad could impact some connector streets.
City officials say the right-of-way means the railroad museum could be fined if it crosses city property without permission.
A district judge has set a a Jan. 2 hearing.
https://rivercountry.newschannelnebraska.com/story/47137940/group-mystified-by-citys-opposition-to-railroad-museum
https://ago.nebraska.gov/open-meetings#:~:text=The%20Nebraska%20Open%20Meetings%20Act,The%20information%20below%20details%20Neb.