Council approves Keno funds for Eagle Scout dog park
Five hundred dollars in Keno funds were approved by the Grant City Council for a new dog park south of town.
Jarin Tines of Grant approached the council at their Feb. 27 meeting to request the funds for his Eagle Scout project.
Tines plans to build a four-foot chain-link fence to contain a 100-by-100 square foot area for a dog park by the Perkins County Veterinary Hospital and Animal Shelter.
In his request, Tines said the dog park will allow a safe place for people to let their dogs roam free and get exercise.
Councilman Bob Bounds questioned whether it would be possible to locate it on the east side of the park, as he felt it would be utilized more there.
He encouraged Tines to speak with the city staff to see if that was a possibility.
Tines said he chose the land by the vet hospital because Dr. Shannon Jensen offered to donate and care for the land. Water would also be provided.
The animal shelter would also be able to utilize the dog park to exercise the dogs housed in the shelter.
The project is estimated to cost around $2,000. Tines requested $500 in Keno funds, which the council unanimously approved.
Library annual report
Hastings Memorial Library Director Robin Quinn presented the library’s 2017-18 annual report to the council and those in attendance.
In addition to Quinn, library staff includes Val Foster and Sarah Pick.
The Nebraska Library Commission requires libraries to attain accreditation to be eligible for state aid and receive state and federal grant funds. The library was recently informed they were reaccredited at the gold level, which is the highest level of attainment, making them eligible for additional state aid.
The library continues to promote their Early Childhood Literacy Initiative which includes three main areas of focus: literacy at home, literacy at the library and literacy in the community. Visit the library to learn more about each of these focus areas. One component, Toddler Time, is held every first and third Tuesday from 10:15-11 a.m.
The 2017 summer reading program, “Build a Better World” saw an average of 120 participants each of the five weeks, making it their most attended program to date.
The number of books read during the program totaled 1,201, with 7,188 pages read, totaling 4,808 minutes read.
In addition to the ever-popular after school program for grades three to six, Quinn presents three storytimes a month at Hugs-n-Teddybears and Perkins County Schools Early Childhood program.
For the second year, the library facilitated Summer Backpacks. Families who participated in the backpack program during the school year were eligible to receive a backpack with non-perishable food to take home.
The library’s registered borrowers now reach 1,376, up from 1,314 last year. Their annual visits averaged 21,476, increasing by almost 700. Their total print circulation increased by 5 percent with 16,808 and their e-book/audiobooks tally 5,133, an increase of 40 percent.
Board of trustees include Ronda Lawyer, Deb Marshall, Larry Peterson, Brenda Styskal and Jeff Wallin.
Lift station bid accepted
Bids were received for the sewer lift station renovation located in the alley between Washington and Hancock Avenues on Seventh Street.
The lift station serves approximately 44 homes with sanitary sewer service and is in need of repair. According to City Engineer Tom Werblow of T.C.Engineering in North Platte, the lift station is down to one pump and doesn’t meet current criteria.
Three bids were received for the renovation: Midlands Contracting in Kearney for $104,500, BSB Construction in Curtis for $117,527 and Myers Construction in Broken Bow for $151,959.
Werblow recommended to the council to accept the low bid from Midlands. In addition to constructing the lift station replacement in the park and the water line along Washington Avenue, they have also completed many projects around Western Nebraska.
The bid comes in under the $115,000 amount budgeted in sewer capital outlay, which Werblow stated was also a plus.
The council unanimously accepted the $104,500 bid from Midlands. The completion date for the project is July 1.