Council has three meetings scheduled for this week

By Ralph Pokorny

Nevada Daily Mail

The Nevada City Council has a busy week ahead of them with a regular council meeting Tuesday night, at 7 o'clock, and two special sessions; one at 2:30 p.m., Wednesday, to hold a public hearing on establishing an Enhanced Enterprise Zone and the second meeting at 7 p.m., Thursday, to have a public hearing on the proposed 2007 municipal budget. Tuesday night, the council will be having the first reading of an ordinance to terminate the city's agreement with Burns & McDonnell Engineering Company for their engineering services on the wastewater treatment plant renovation. This will not affect the contract for work on the Municipal Airport runway. They also will be considering ordinances to extend interim city manager Harlan Moore's contract for another six months, ordinances approving MNOD Shuttle Service and the Vernon County Ambulance District, which operates a van providing transportation for people with disabilities, to participate in the city's taxi coupon program, as well as a resolution to adopt the city's five-year capitol improvement budget and a second resolution authorizing the city manager to pursue a Federal Emergency Management Agency pre-disaster mitigation grant to build a community shelter. The council will also be holding final reading of an ordinance to approve an agreement with Jack Ball and Associates Architects PC for the design and construction services for the new terminal building at the Nevada Municipal Airport. They also plan to consider ordinances accepting a sewer easement from Edward L. Hyde Sr. and Karen A. Polen and an ordinance adding the infrastructure and animal control boards to the list of city boards and commissions.

Wednesday afternoon, the council will be holding a public hearing at 2:30 in the council chambers concerning the establishment of an Enhanced Enterprise Zone that will include the entire cities of Nevada and Deerfield, as well as Coal and Deerfield townships and a portion of Vernon County immediately outside the Nevada city limits. The Vernon County Commission will be hold a public hearing on the issue Jan. 2, at 6:30 p.m.. in the City/County Community Center, 200 N. Ash, in Nevada.

If the application is successful the Enterprise Zone will provide property exemptions for certain new businesses established in the zone, including the bio-diesel plant west of Deerfield. The City Council will wind up their week with a public hearing on the city's 2007 municipal budget.