Sale of city lot advances

McCOOK, Neb. -- The McCook City Council approved the second of three required readings authorizing the sale of approximately half a city lot to City Councilman Mike Gonzales and his wife, Monday evening.

The Gonzales family is looking to purchase 3500 sq. ft. of Norris Avenue property directly south of their residence and north of the recently completed McCook Public Library parking lot. The sales received second round approval at a price of $1,540.

City Councilman Bruce McDowell said he understood criticism of the sale presented during the first reading of the sale but after looking into the item even further was confident selling to the Gonzales family was the best decision for the city. McDowell said libraries were not rending towards expansion, but were shrinking rather in today's world, and selling the property would also get it back on the city's property tax rolls.

McDowell also said it was a good deal for the city to be able to avoid having to deal with the drainage issues and allow the Gonzales family the ability to deal with them in the manner they chose.

Mayor Dennis Berry echoed McDowell's support of the sale and reiterated the partial lot was not enough property for anyone else to do anything with.

Schneider said he was confident the Gonzales family would ensure the property was in good condition and added nobody knew the future of any piece of property. Schneider said a college professor once commented to him about "the parade of horribles" pertaining to any situation, and emphasizing the likelihood of those horribles actually occurring.

"I think the parade of horribles is imagined in this case, not actual," said Schneider.

The second reading of the sale was unanimously approved on its second of three readings with Councilman Gonzales abstaining from voting.

City Manager Nate Schneider recapped two marketing proposals the City of McCook has been presented with recently but neither seemed to garnish much support from either city staff or the McCook City Council. Following the discussion city staff indicated they would gather additional information pertaining to a proposal from CGI Communications and would communicate to Communities of Distinction they were not interested in their project.

CGI Communications Inc. is a marketing company specializing in the production of videos linked to city web pages and has proposed making a video promoting various aspects of the community which would be published on the City of McCook website. There would be no charge to the city and the expense of the video would be covered through the sale of advertising spots, and related promotional videos, framed around the video.

Councilman Mike Gonzales asked city staff to request a revenue goal from the company, establishing what they hoped to achieve locally for the project.

"There is a cost to somebody," said Gonzales, adding approval of the project essentially sanctioned the company to sell space on the city's website and he would want to know what CGI's advertising goal would be.

Schneider said he would like to contact other communities that have already participated and find out what their experience was, with both the video and how solicitation of the advertising spots was handled.

The second marketing company, Communities of Distinction, was seeking $19,500 to produce and run a 5-minute segment of video featuring unique attribute of the McCook area in an effort to entice visitors.

Schneider said he wasn't confident the airing time and affiliate markets were appropriate to effectively promote McCook tourism. The video would initially air on the Discovery channel but Schneider said it looked to be a 6:30 a.m. airing and the subsequent 18 airings in local markets didn't appear to be markets very likely to be enticed into a McCook visit.

Mayor Dennis Berry indicated the cost was likely too high and said even if it was split evenly among the Chamber of Commerce, Red Willow County Tourism, McCook Economic Development Corporation and the city, it would still cost each entity $5,000.

"Im not thinking that's a good deal," said Mayor Berry.

Other items on Monday's consent and regular agenda:

* Mike Brown asked City Council when the industrial park roadway branching off Ravenswood Road was scheduled to be paved. City Manager Nate Schneider asked Brown for his phone number and indicated he would contact him with further information on the project.

* Five T-hangars at McCook Ben Nelson Regional Airport were declared as surplus city property and authorized for disposal in the appropriate manner. City staff indicated the hangars are in old and deteriorating condition, no longer suitable for the storage of aircraft at the airport.

The site the hangars are located on will also be the location for a new 8-plex hangar to be constructed at the airport in 2015.

* The McCook Area Chamber of Commerce was approved to receive police and fire department assistance during the annual Christmas Lights Parade on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2014. Activities include Santa Claus flying into McCook Ben Nelson Regional Airport, the use of fire department vehicles in the parade, conducting a lighting ceremony and other activities.