Council To Meet With Brief Agenda

SIDNEY – The Sidney City Council will meet tonight in council chambers at 7:15 p.m. to attend to city business published on a brief agenda. One of the items up early in the program is a statement by Mayor David Weiderspon.

According to Weiderspon on Monday, the statement to be issued at the council meeting is in regards to a timeline of discussion regarding a high-profile subject that seemed to be the focus of the previous council meeting.

On Jan. 20, The Sidney Sun-Telegraph published Weiderspon’s statement to the public in its entirety, in which he disclosed the outcome of a meeting between himself and City Manager Gary Person in regards to the recent events from the prior council meeting.

In the Jan. 12 council meeting, Councilman Bob VanVleet motioned to direct the city attorney to draft amendments for an ordinance that currently combines the positions of city manager and economic development director. The amendments suggested would change the word “shall” to “may” in the sentence that combines the duties in ordinance 1206.

A second on the motion was withdrawn and the motion died due to a lack of a second.

The mayor’s statement also addressed an issue Weiderspon has with the Sidney Deadwood Hiking/Biking/Walking Trail project currently under a seventh supplemental agreement for state funding. The council’s reconsideration of continuing with that agreement is a later item on tonight’s agenda.

Comments by the public is listed as the agenda item directly following the mayor’s statement.

Also on the agenda for discussion is an issue with easements and drainage in the area between Summit Drive and Clark Drive. No information on the problem was placed inside informational packets for the media.

Person is expected to update the council on proposed sales tax legislation. District 47 Sen. Ken Schilz introduced LB967 to create a fund for communities to utilize should local option sales tax refunds tally more than 10 percent of a city’s sales tax revenues for a year.

The City of Sidney has been working closely with Schilz over the issue of the state refunding local option sales tax as part of its business incentive programs. Last year’s attempt to introduce a bill that would allow cities to opt out of the state plan failed to advance far in legislature, as the bill was postponed indefinitely.

Financial statements for all city departments for December 2009 will be discussed and up for approval near the end of the meeting.