Reflections for the Week of Nov. 7-11 – alliancetimes.com

Newspaper of the Sandhills
BBDC:
• Hosted four members of the International Economic Development Council early this week as part of a site visit to enhance county-wide business retention and expansion efforts. The team attended the Parks and Recreation public meeting on Monday night as well.
• Hosted 35th Annual BBDC Meeting Tuesday morning. Two board members, Dawn Butcher and Dustin Chester are retiring from the board. Blanch Randolph was re-elected for a second term and Dr. Travis Miller and Dave Weber were both elected to their first term. The BBDC board recognized Entrepreneurs of the Year Lee & Elizabeth Fritzler; Small Business of the Year West Side Events Center and Large Business of the Year Western Potato Inc.
• Met with Autumn Calkins with High Plains CDC on options for additional housing in Alliance and Hemingford.
Chamber of Commerce:
• Ambassadors presented Special Stitches/Studio A with the Spotlight Banner and visited State Farm Insurance.
• Held a Heritage Days Arts and Artisans Fair meeting. We are looking for individuals to help with this event. Please contact the Chamber at 762-1520 if you are interested in participating.
• Arrangements are being made for the Chamber Annual Meeting/Dueling Pianos on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023.
Community Development:
• The Berean Church addition project is working on interior finishing.
• Heartland Flats was issued a building permit for the retail space/apartment hotel/apartments south of Runza.
• Planning Commission recommended approval of the rezone of an 11.11 tract of land at 1630 W 10th from Agricultural to Heavy Commercial use. This rezone will be considered by the City Council at its regular meeting on Nov. 15.
• Condemned three houses utilizing the property maintenance code. 640 Belmont, 1730 Plains Street, and 321 W 6th. Property owners are granted 30 days to remedy the issue; If no action is taken, the City will take action to have these homes demolished and a lien placed against the property.
Electric:
• Finished the rebuild of the primary lines and secondary line to the Burkholder Building on Black Hills Avenue.
• We are working on a new service for temporary construction power at the new extended stay hotel site by Heartland Flats. Met with job site foreman to discuss electric service.
• Working on the two, three phase rebuild projects off of CR 60 and Knox Road.
• Working with L&G on metering issues.
• Installed several new LED streetlights on Black Hills Avenue.
• Experienced a few “minor” issues associated with the strong winds last Saturday and Monday.
• Met with representatives of company looking to install a potato warehouse facility south of Alliance on Valley Road.
Human Resources:
• Finalizing preparations for the City Council to consider updates and potential changes for the health insurance renewal for city employees for the 2023 plan year.
• Finishing references and pre-employment conditions for new hires; working with department heads to complete job offers and new job postings.
• Assisting employees with requests regarding benefits, policies, and training.
Police Admin:
• Meetings: Panhandle Opioid Settlement, Nebraska PATH, DOJ Community Based Violence,
National Institute of Police
Police Communications/Intelligence:
• Coordinated 531 calls for service
• Completed 13 report requests
• 2 firearm permit issued
Police Operations:
• 4 Child Welfare Investigations
• 0 DUI, 13 Traffic Stops; 3 accidents,
• 0 K9 deployments
• 149 Building Checks; 35 Community Contacts/Business Checks; 0 Vacation House Checks
• 7 Active Investigations
Animal Control:
• 21 Animal Calls
• 1 Dog Impounds. 1 dogs currently in the shelter.
• 0 Cat Impounds. 1 cats currently in the shelter.
Code Enforcement:
• 2 Code enforcement issues
PD Notable Service:
• Satisfaction rating 90.7%
• Overall crime is down 5.8% YTD from last year YTD
Water /Sewer:
• Washed and vacuumed landfill sludge pits
• Changed injector valves at 18th and Colorado well
• 15 work orders; 4 locates
• Received sewer camera from factory after annual maintenance
• Inspected manhole on Box Butte for potential breakage.
• Manhole washout and maintenance on Big Horn Ave.
Facility Maintenance:
• Repaired or replaced toilets at the police department annex and main building
• Library boilers received annual maintenance
Transit:
• Dispatch software installed and in use. This software will help reduce emissions and make transit services more responsive and efficient by allowing drivers to plan routes and respond to requests for service without returning to the shop as often.
• 702 riders this week
Landfill:
• 132 customers this week
• 194 tons of refuse collected this week
• Shoveled out under conveyor; Ran burn box
• Built and replaced dumpsters and roll outs
• Exchanged roller bearings on unit 1112; Serviced bobcat; Replaced hydraulic line on loader
• Moved wind fence
• Assisted airport with tumbleweed removal
• Completer repairs on 4 of 6 heaters
• Installed and calibrated weather station
• Completed quarterly methane testing
• Received and forwarded quotes for scale replacement
• Ongoing trapping (5 raccoons, 2 fox, 3 cats, 1 skunk)
Streets:
• Sweeping ongoing
• Grading on Sweetwater
• Applied Slice during freezing rains
• Ongoing vehicle servicing
• Assisted parks with Christmas decorations
• Assisted airport with tumble weeds
• Assisted with Veterans Day parade barricades
Fire:
• Zoom meeting with ESO.
• Public Education at Kidde Campus: “What does the fire department do?” Took fire engine and ambulance for tours.
• Preparing for FTS to be on-site for inspection on fire training facility.
Museum:
• The Christmas Festival planning and set up is started with our items already coming in for the week-long festival. There are still trees and wreaths available. Stop by and check out the donated items available for you to work with to make a creation. This is our once a year fundraiser. It is getting exciting!
• We hosted two business meetings in the conference room.
• Several new artifacts have been added to existing displays including Dr. Kennedy’s Dental chair and a cool stove from a C B & Q caboose.
• The Museum Partners will hold their quarterly meeting on Weds. Nov. 16 at 3 in the Museum Conference Room. This is our auxiliary group and is open to all patrons that enjoy history and would like to help out with projects or events.
• Check out our Facebook page to enjoy our historic photo collection and follow what is going on at the Museum.
RSVP & Senior Center:
• Continued to provide dine in and delivery meals to local Seniors
• Coordinated a mobile food truck and gave out 270 food boxes and completed surveys with participants
Library:
• There has been a flurry of activity this week in the workroom with preparations for the Bountiful Basket auction, which begins November 14 and ends December 1st. Please take time to come up and see all the options this year!
• Adult Services Librarian Nalani Stewart hosted a Christmas Gnome Door Hanger class featuring the teaching talents of local artist Laura Higgins. 16 people took part and we are happy to say there will be more exciting classes to come!
• This week Technical Services librarian Emily Nelson updated the website with new Bookworms and programming information, processed ILLs for patrons and book clubs, assisted patrons with computer questions, and made Bookmobile deliveries. She also assisted with crafts and bidding sheets for the Bountiful Baskets Auction. On Wednesday, she was asked to visit the students at Kiddie Kampus who are learning about Community Helpers this week. She spoke to them about the Bookmobile and read to them. Kiddie Kampus is one of the several preschools that we deliver to each week.
• Children’s Librarian Cynthia Horn has been very busy planning a great calendar of holiday events for our younger patrons. Watch for details!
• Library Clerks Pam Becker and Kris Wilder have been busy helping prepare for the Bountiful Basket auction beginning Monday, November 14!
Parks:
• Spent a day helping at the Airport remove an extensive accumulations of tumbleweeds from the fencing after the extreme wind. Cleared tumbleweeds out of the 6th street pedestrian underpass.
• Spent several days at the Museum assisting with unpacking and moving Christmas decorations in preparation for the Christmas Festival.
• Worked on snow equipment attachments in preparation for winter weather.
• Started disassembling and servicing summer equipment for winter storage.
Golf:
• Sanded the greens in preparation for winter weather
• Play is extremely limited with the arrival of the cold temperatures
• Items continue to arrive in the golf shop so new inventory is always available!
• Collected quotes and ordered a mower that is scheduled for delivery in January or February, and we are hopeful it will arrive on time.
Administration:
• The Parks Department hosted a very successful visioning session on Monday, Nov. 7. Thank you to all those who showed and shared your vision for future park improvements, and a special Thank You to Jessica Davies of Panhandle Public Health District for facilitating such a successful session.
• Conducted a staff meeting discussing internal process improvements and employee retention.
Alliance Times-Herald

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