Kat Country Hub

A Minute with the Mayor

Can you believe October is almost over! It sure has been a beautiful fall so far. The leaves have been vibrant this year.   I just can’t wait for this nice weather to get over so we can start experiencing the harsh cold of winter. (Who says a mayor can’t have a sense of humor!)

The pool is pretty much ready to go for next summer. The health department will have to come back before it opens to sign off on a couple of minor things that weren’t quite done when they came for their inspection in September. We won’t take final possession of it from the contractor until it has passed its final inspection so we will have the winter to see how it fairs. I’m excited for everyone to see all the neat features up close.  In the meantime, just keep thinking warm thoughts and pool season will be here before we know it.

The second phase of the community center renovation has been bid out and Fauss Construction came in with the winning bid. They are the construction company that had the bid for the first phase of construction. The second phase is the meat and potatoes phase. Most of the renovation will take place moving forward. It is going to be really cool when it is completed. Again thank you for your patience as we move through the renovation phase. It is going to be well worth it in the end.

The water tower has been repaired. There was some maintenance issues happening with the inside of the tank that fell under warranty work that needed to get completed. The catalytic protection system was replaced to help prevent future rust issues and the drain valve in the base of the tank was also repaired. We should be good to go for another forty years (knock on wood).

We are working on upgrading the electrical system at the camp ground in the park. We will be upgrading the camp ground hookups to be able to accommodate larger campers. Oh, and if you are wondering what caused oil-like streaks on the streets last week, it was the garbage truck. I guess a hydraulic hose busted and the drive was unaware that it had occurred. The city did go around and try to hit the heavily affected areas to soak up the fluid. Hope it helped.

Not much else has been going on. The auditors will be coming soon to do their annual financial audit of the city. We are not anticipating any issues. The new budget was filed with the Nebraska state auditor’s office and the county clerk’s office. We have applied for a grant to help with an additional baler for the recycling center and are working on a grant to help us with a lighting/sidewalk project for downtown Main Street. As you read in a previous article, the city has signed up for a city credit card. It is just too difficult to do business without having one anymore. It is the right thing to do and will make doing city business more convenient.

November 4^th is quickly approaching. Because the big room of the community center will be under construction, we plan on moving the election booths into the old library or room right across from the city office door. It will be a little tighter quarters but we have new table top election booths that will take up a lot less space. Thank you to all the Election Day ladies who run the voting process for putting up with the change of location within the community center. Please take time to go vote that Tuesday. This is your opportunity to voice your happiness or frustrations with your elected officials; at all levels of government. So take a few minutes out of your day and go vote. You won’t regret that you did. That’s all I got for now. I’ll just sign off saying one last thing. “GO ROYALS” Win the Series! Talk to you soon.

Mayor Andy Fuston