Broken Bow council approves moving DMV motorcycle test site to Tomahawk Park

The Broken Bow City Council on May 27 approved Resolution 2025-11 to authorize City Administrator David Schmidt to amend the Department of Motor Vehicles Rider Skills Test (RST) agreement and designate Tomahawk Park as the primary site for motorcycle skills testing, with an alternative lot west of the wellness center near the tennis courts.

City Administrator David Schmidt told the council the RST agreement, originally executed in 2023, uses the parking area at Melham Park for testing one or two days per month. He said the current layout forces new riders to cross town and travel over railroad tracks to reach the test site and then navigate back if they fail. Schmidt said the Tomahawk Park parking lot offers ample room "as long as no one is parked there" and that testing usually takes less than an hour in the early morning; he added that testing would be canceled for that day if the lot were occupied. Schmidt also said staff had mapped the alternative area by the wellness center as a second option.

Mayor Rod Sonnichsen said the city is "extremely fortunate to have a testing DMV here in Broken Bow," and noted council approval is required whenever proposed activity would impede or block traffic. The council approved the resolution on a roll-call vote: yes—Russ Smith, Travis Kleeb and Paul Holland; no—none. The motion to adopt Resolution 2025-11 was moved by Paul Holland and seconded by Travis Kleeb.

The authorization allows the city administrator to finalize the site designation with the state; council did not authorize any changes that would permanently close public access to the park or increase the number of test days. According to Schmidt, the change is intended to reduce short-term traffic conflict and keep testing local and brief. No further action by the council was recorded at the meeting.

The council will publish any formal changes to the RST testing schedule or site once the agreement amendment is completed.