BROKEN BOW – The Broken Bow City Council approved the sale process for a surplus property on Tuesday, aiming to recover costs and return the lot to the tax rolls.
During a brief meeting, council members focused on Resolution 2026-05 for the authorizing sale of Real Property valued at more than $5,000. The council members unanimously approved the resolution after listening to the history of the property.
The property includes Lot 6 and the north half of Lot 7 in Block 12 of Jewett and Lilly’s Addition in Broken Bow. The City Administrator, David Schmidt noted the location is 843 North 6th Avenue, commonly referred to as the “Peterson property.”
Schmidt explained the city acquired the property about a year and a half ago as part of an abatement request and has since invested significant resources into it.
“We have paid $5,000 in back taxes on that property,” Schmidt said.
The property was previously listed for surplus about a year ago, but no bids were received at the time. It was mentioned during the meeting that the condition of the property may have contributed to the lack of interest.
“At the time, there was an old dilapidated house and some outbuildings that were quite in need of cleaning up,” Schmidt said.
Since then, the site has been cleared by the street and parks department, improving the marketability of the property. The estimated total investment in the property is around $12,000, including clean up costs and back taxes.
“I would say we probably have about $5,000 to $7,000 in cleanup with about $5,000 in back taxes,” Schmidt said.
While no minimum bid was formally set, a suggested minimum bid of $10,000 was discussed. The council will have the opportunity to accept or reject any and all bids. During the conversation it was emphasized that the primary goal is to recoup some expenses while putting the property back into productive use.
Following approval, the city will begin the formal sale process, which includes publishing notices and accepting bids.
“It takes about two months,” Schmidt said. “We have to run it in the newspaper for a minimum of three weeks, and then there’s a 30 day window.”
Bids are expected to be opened in late June.
After the vote, the council entered executive session at 6:05pm to discuss real estate strategy. No action was expected following the session.
