[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6082756,"mediaKeyId","2936239-93efb2b545ebd0c7a1564d41a64d47eb","parentId",2936239,"title","Columbus City Council approves loans, contracts and calls June special election on 1% sales tax","audioSeconds",785,"startMs",1909000,"endMs",2694000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2936239-93efb2b545ebd0c7a1564d41a64d47eb&start=1909&end=2694","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2936239-93efb2b545ebd0c7a1564d41a64d47eb/thumbnail_1909000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6082756/Nevada/Columbus-City-Council-approves-loans-contracts-and-calls-June-special-election-on-1-sales-tax","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6082756-5ff37246005f6873d7e94fe9293628a4/orig.mp4?Expires=1770442656&Signature=AHNtIdBcgxj0A55h38ub80yweEeVPRSe9Uz2xthp~1lPvZ0KS~QghCqxmj05E~yhkj-h9yE3PRqGNwWEDFeiEF6b4tkrQA04r29xQzvMGHEOmSKoAzCqhjYnvF0IjXP5aSpNQRXYHMzf8OsZPfjYFcMtXHwOf46kC9m04kCsqJOQ3~Rdre1DUMdx2vnV4hLx4zk2X3kEwXqUC5DfdahjSDtppMmLUgSIGCTDGRvApd4~llYwV0Epty5DIfZXHdmdGf4TB-CuxbzBKnwPsDefjy3Ou5dx7n5FiIVGy~otAsR0k8KqbESg3GfQqrP-pLNhaQBcqbKUkwUhIcY-SYr-kw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City Council of Columbus, Nebraska","date","2025-04-09T21:49:12.507Z","article","Columbus City Council on April 7 approved a range of loans, contracts and routine quotes affecting workforce housing, park facilities, sewer work, airport funding and the schedule for a special election on the city’s 1% local sales tax.

Key approvals included two workforce housing loan agreements totaling $2 million, design-phase contracts for Gerard Park restrooms and a cemetery maintenance shop, a contract for sanitary sewer rehabilitation, an agency agreement to pursue federal airport funding, and a resolution setting a June 10 special election to ask voters to continue the 1% sales-and-use tax and to amend the city’s economic development program if the tax continues.

The council approved the following items (amounts and CIP numbers where provided): Quail Meadows LLC loan agreement, $800,000 for workforce housing and infrastructure (Resolution R25-48); Kay Herman Development LLC loan agreement, $1,200,000 for two workforce housing projects including units at Vitality Village subject to previously adopted affordability covenants (R25-49); a $100,000 design-phase agreement with BD Construction Inc. for Gerard Park restroom and concessions design (estimated construction cost cited in staff documents: $1,200,000; R25-50); a $33,500 design-phase agreement with BD Construction Inc. for a cemetery maintenance shop addition (R25-51; estimated total project cost discussed at $250,000); a $168,208 contract award to Midlands Contracting d/b/a Johnson Service Company for Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation 2025 (R25-52); and an agency agreement with the Nebraska Department of Aeronautics to obtain federal funding assistance for construction of an eight-place T-hangar at Columbus Municipal Airport (R25-53).

Routine quotes and purchases approved include a Cisco HyperFlex subscription renewal from Sirius Computer Solutions LLC for $22,196.94; Microsoft Office and Access licenses from CDW Government for $11,466.94; annual fire pump, ladder and hose testing from Danco Emergency Equipment and Firecat Precision Service Testing totaling $16,956.05; test-well drilling and data collection from Downey Drilling Inc. for $29,306.50 (North Wellfield, CIP 25-67); and an emergency backup generator from High Plains Power Systems for $27,700 for well number 16 (CIP 25-58). The council removed from the agenda a $10,352.24 quote for replacement parts for the aquatic center air handling unit after staff identified a less expensive alternative.

Council discussion was generally brief. A council member asked whether the workforce housing loans include income-based units; staff clarified that one of the Kay Herman projects is within Vitality Village and must meet previously adopted affordability covenants, and that both loan packages are structured as lower-interest (2%) loans to be repaid into the economic development fund. \"With interest, these are lower interest than a prime rate,\" staff said, describing the loans as a revolving fund to be repaid and reused for future projects.

On the Gerard Park project, staff said the design-phase contract is based on a schematic design with an estimated construction cost of $1.2 million and a planned building footprint around 4,500–5,000 square feet. That estimate implies an approximate construction cost of $240 per square foot based on the $1.2 million figure and a 5,000-square-foot footprint.

Council approved a resolution (R25-56) calling a special election for June 10, 2025. Proposition A would ask voters to authorize continuation of the 1% sales and use tax for property tax relief, public safety, capital improvements, annual aquatic facility operating costs and funding the economic development program. Proposition B would permit the city to amend the economic development program’s term and funding provisions, which may be amended only if Proposition A is approved.

During council comments Mayor James B. Bulkley announced a series of brown-bag lunch events and town halls on April 10 at the Charlie Lewis Fire Station, the airport and Pawnee Plunge to present information about the 1% sales tax and answer questions. Councilmember Charlie (surname not specified in the transcript) and others noted the city’s role as final approver of economic development recommendations and discussed interest-rate practices at the Citizens Advisory Review Committee.

All listed motions and resolutions carried by voice vote as recorded in the minutes; individual roll-call tallies were not recorded in the meeting text.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Columbus Nebraska, City Council Meeting 4/7/2025","oneSentenceSummary","At its April 7 meeting the council approved multiple loan agreements, design contracts, public-works contracts and a resolution calling a June 10 special election to seek voter approval to continue a 1% local sales tax; the council also approved routine IT and maintenance quotes.","taxTitle","Events, School Districts, Nevada","taxId",80332,"location","Nevada","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6082761,"Council recommends retail liquor license for Celtic Smoke Shop to state commission after public hearing",172,1170000,1342000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2936239-93efb2b545ebd0c7a1564d41a64d47eb&start=1170&end=1342","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2936239-93efb2b545ebd0c7a1564d41a64d47eb/thumbnail_1170000.jpg","/articles/6082761/Nevada/Council-recommends-retail-liquor-license-for-Celtic-Smoke-Shop-to-state-commission-after-public-hearing","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6082761-e3fcad4ab8b85e5dc7f0788268022e51/orig.mp4?Expires=1770442656&Signature=I9vUOKF0YJBEFYJURyjUo9BLk3KKlZn9P~UutT~JPnk6I5DdyAYDRNC6FkPA1BM9hB9aKGmTg3va0xmSesEi6u5GET6XY54B8-R4o37KZAntT6YvKmkYVluPoYjSJNvQNrbds0vPb7bUAhS2lITS-W6~FZMaBS1Tcnev7kYYizUBxxJ7GLk-4rveURVU4caTXiYnFqZpErIInArtsRu9fPra1uywr6ibtAIZ01K06Gxn6mex5EJhCnhI8IQQzdgFHoLCNa46Rb6-zMi10dfN4egLGjO5yqZyoaw5Egzj5dp8WyX4IdGU3UggTxmu4eDE5SGugA7XCtglQgjE6FDLHw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Columbus City Council on April 7 voted to recommend that the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission approve a retail Class D liquor license application for NYC Tobacco LLC, which plans to operate as Celtic Smoke Shop at 232220 Third Street in Columbus.

The recommendation followed a short public hearing during which David Houghton, representing the applicant, said the shop’s hours would be 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Houghton offered to answer council questions about the business.

Council members asked about age-verification and staff training. The applicant’s manager, Abraham Albin Saab (listed on the application as Ibrahim Almansab), described a point-of-sale system with an ID-scanning device that produces a red indicator for under-21 IDs and a green indicator for patrons 21 or older. \"We have a point of sale and we have, like, a machine where you could just scan the ID in it and it tell you if all over 21 or under 21,\" Saab said.

Saab was not present at the start of the hearing; the application lists him as the manager. After the council closed the hearing, a motion to forward a recommendation of approval to the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission passed on a voice vote.

The council did not record roll-call votes in the minutes. The recommendation means the final licensing decision will be made by the state commission.

The application and the council’s recommendation will be part of the record submitted to the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission; no construction or operating permit was discussed during the hearing.","After a brief public hearing, Columbus City Council voted to recommend approval of a retail Class D liquor license application for NYC Tobacco LLC doing business as Celtic Smoke Shop and forwarded the application to the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission.","actionData","errors"]

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Columbus City Council approves loans, contracts and calls June special election on 1% sales tax

Council recommends retail liquor license for Celtic Smoke Shop to state commission after public hearing