Council approves contracts, payments and cemetery-fee updates; votes at a glance

At its meeting the Seward City Council approved several administrative and contract items and adopted a resolution updating cemetery fees and policies.

Contracts and payments: Council approved a geotechnical engineering services agreement related to the wastewater treatment facility redesign to accommodate Dairy LLC; the packet lists a contract amount of $26,318 for additional borings and soil evaluation. Mike, the project representative, described the need for additional borings to identify bearing capacity and noted risks from underground conduit on the existing site.

The council also approved a prepayment to Wilson and Company for BNSF Railway flagging and monitoring services tied to the Wharton Boulevard phase 3 water-main project. Staff said the invoice for flagging totaled $127,926, covering required flaggers and monitoring during a planned bore beneath BNSF track and that some credit might be available if scheduled days are reduced.

Off-street parking: The council approved a developer request (Kevin Softman) to establish off-street parking stalls on the east side of 3rd Street between Moffett and Robert for a new fourplex (Perry Apartments). Staff said the stalls are to be paid and maintained by the developer and would improve emergency-vehicle access on that block.

Cemetery fees and policies: Council introduced and passed Resolution No. 2026-5 to clarify cemetery fees and overtime rules. The resolution removes a Sunday/holiday grave-opening fee line that had been misplaced and defines overtime windows (May 1–Sept 30 after 3:30 p.m.; Oct 1–Apr 30 after 4 p.m.) and requires 48-hour notice for funerals.

Claims and other administrative items: The council also forwarded a property-damage claim from Saint Andrew's Episcopal Church for $3,270.63 to the city's insurance carrier for disposition.

Several items were approved on recorded roll-call votes; the clerk read votes into the record for each action.