Council approves liquor-license changes, engineering contracts, wastewater monitoring and Wellness Center spending

At its meeting the Seward City Council approved a package of administrative items: a liquor-license address amendment for Squire Wards LLC, special-event liquor permits for a summer arts series and an Independence Day event, engineering agreements and task orders tied to temporary wastewater treatment, a construction award for a metering manhole and sampling building, and capital-improvement spending requests for the Seward Wellness Center.

Greg Nelson, representing the Squire Wards project, described an access easement being finalized to ensure fire egress between 608 and 612 Seward Street; he said attorneys were polishing the easement language and that the Liquor Control Commission had reviewed the access plan. "The easement we're drawing up...should be done tomorrow or the day after," Nelson said. Council approved the address amendment.

Representatives from Red Path Gallery and the Seward Arts Council asked to sell and serve alcohol at the Seward Band Show during the Second Saturday Arts Connection; council approved that request. Council also approved a special designated license for Provision for events planned July 3–4 and noted that, once applicants are approved, future SDL requests can be expedited.

On infrastructure, council approved a general-services agreement with Shimmer Associates and a related task order of $20,938 to support temporary wastewater treatment and construction oversight tied to the dairy project. Staff said the temporary facility and associated work are intended to keep the wastewater plant in compliance while the new treatment plant comes online. "This will treat 60% of that waste that comes into that station," staff said of the temporary treatment setup.

Council approved Shimmer Associates’ construction-oversight agreement for $54,232.50 and awarded the construction contract for the metering manhole and sampling building to Vancirk Brothers, the low bidder shown in the packet. Councilmembers asked about sampling frequency and whether monitoring would include fats, oils and grease; staff said the monitoring will include pH and oils/grease and will provide real-time data plus at least weekly composite samples.

The Seward Wellness Center requested use of capital improvement funds (accumulated from a local sales-tax measure) for final building items: a storage shed, an HVAC upgrade to a web-based building-management system, a water softener and preventive maintenance for rooftop units. Joel, speaking for the center, described the items as efficiency and operations improvements; council approved the expenditures and discussed a separate, larger decision on pool design funding (roughly $500,000 budgeted for design work) that the council expects to address soon.

All items described above were approved by the council during the meeting. Staff will proceed with the engineer oversight work, construction contracts and the Wellness Center expenditures; council also directed staff to continue working on the Squire Wards easement and the proposed pool design timeline.