The Beatrice City Council voted 7-0 to authorize staff to apply for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Brownfields grant program to support cleanup and partial remediation of the Dempster property.

City staff told the council the draft application focuses on a roughly 3.7-acre area adjacent to Highway 77. Grant rules limit awards to one grant per parcel; the city sized the parcel to try to maximize available funding. Staff said the EPA Brownfields grant maximum for this round is $4,000,000 and the city's alternatives cleanup analysis (APCA) considered three options: do nothing; demolish structures and remove two feet of soil then cap the site for an open park; or perform deeper cleanup (15 feet) required if the site is to host enclosed buildings. Staff said demolition plus a two-foot removal and cap for the 3.7-acre application area was estimated at about $3.9 million, while the deeper remediation estimate for the same area was roughly $19 million, making the two-foot option the APCA's preferred alternative.

A Dempsters Committee member who addressed the council noted the whole property is about 17 acres with an 8.3-acre building footprint, and the application is only for the portion closest to the highway. The committee's reuse concept in the application is an open park with possible amenities including a fitness course, dog park, canoe dock, sports fields and picnic areas; the speaker emphasized these elements are proposals included in the application, not final commitments.

Council and staff also discussed ongoing asbestos issues at the site. A council member and staff described asbestos remaining in standing roof structures and partially in demolished materials; staff explained there are different forms of asbestos, that much of what remains is encapsulated in tar and not likely to be airborne, and that roofing material expected to be removed during demolition would be bagged and disposed of in the city landfill where regulations allow. The council member who pulled the asbestos pay request during consent said the McGill Asbestos Abatement pay request covers material already removed and that additional asbestos removal will be a future cost as remaining structures are demolished.

Staff told the council that the city has already written checks totaling $259,004 toward cleanup-related activities (fire response, overtime and related costs) and that if the council chooses not to pursue remediation the property remains a continuing financial drain. The application deadline was described as late November to early December depending on the federal portal; staff said applicants typically receive notice about six months after submission.

The council closed the Brownfields public hearing with no public comments and immediately passed resolution 7657, authorizing application for the 2026 EPA Brownfields Grant Program for the Dempster site, by a 7-0 vote.

Next steps noted by staff: finalizing the application on the city website for public review and comments, and if awarded, completing the selected cleanup alternative consistent with the APCA.