BROKEN BOW – The Broken Bow City Council tackled several major items during their regular meeting Tuesday, including proposed regulations for e-mobility of electric bicycles, scooters, and hoverboards, the opening of bids for the former “Armory” building, and approval of city’s annual audit.
Personal E-Mobility
One of the most discussed topics was a proposed ordinance 1311 that would regulate electric scooters, electric bikes and similar devices on public property. The proposal was amended from what was submitted as a draft from the previous meeting. Some of the highlights and changes include no e-bikes on any of the sidewalks within the business district and no one under the age of 18 can operate an e-bike in the business district. It was noted if above the age requirement the bikes would need to ride in the street, anyone under 18 would not be able to ride at all on the streets and would need to walk through the area. Requirements also were drawn up for having no bike riding in the parks on trials or in the grass.
“You could ride them to the park, but you couldn’t ride them around the park,” City Administrator David Schmidt said. “We have had issues with grass getting torn up.”
Additional safety regulations were also added requiring all minors to have an approved helmet.
Council members and residents discussed several potential provisions, including age restrictions and where e-bikes should be permitted. Two residents urged the council to take additional time before final approval, expressing concerns that responsible riders could be unnecessarily restricted. It was also noted the increasing public concerns from past meetings about young riders operating high speed e-bikes throughout the community.
Council member, Travis Kleeb pointed out that the regulations are addressing class one, two, and three bikes for up to 28 miles per hour not exceeding. He questioned, at 25 miles an hour, “do we want e-bikes on the sidewalks citywide not just in this district.”
Another point Kleeb mentioned, if someone was 16 with a driver’s license they could drive a motorcycle on the street, but not an e-bike.
Rather than waiving the remaining readings of ordinance, council members voted to continue the standard review process, allowing additional discussion before final action.
Former “Armory” Building
The council also opened sealed bids for the sale of the former armory property, which had previously been declared surplus by the city. City Administrator, Schmidt reported the city received five bids before the June 5 deadline.
The highest bid came from Becton Dickinson at $900,000, followed by Sargent Pipe Co. Inc. at $728,500. Other bids from Opportunity Land Investments LLC, Taylor Heating and Cooling LLC and Gene Chapin ranged from $350,001 to $376,001. The bids will be reviewed before a recommendation is presented to the council at a future meeting.
Audit Report
Council members also approved the city’s annual audit for the fiscal year ending October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2025. RJ Meyer and Associates issued what was described as a “clean” or unmodified opinion, indicting the city’s financial statements were fairly presented according to accepted accounting standards.
According to the audit report, the city finished the year with approximately $658,000 in governmental fund cash accounts and $3.7 million in certificates of deposit. Proprietary funds, which include utilities and other enterprise operations, reported approximately $14 million in cash accounts and $2 million in certificates of deposit.
Other Business
The council approved reappointments of Chad Shaw, Scott Adams and Jeff Woodrow to the Board of Public Works and appointed Alec Romer and Justin French to new terms on the board through June 2029.
The council also approved a service agreement with Nebraska Public Power District and discussed project changes intended to reduce the length of future electrical outages affecting local residents.
