Message from the Mayor
Mayor's Report -- July 2008
We have had a wet spring which is good, but it has also added to our cleanup chores.
All of us in City Government are very proud of the citizens for their efforts in keeping yards mowed and cleaned. We
do appreciate the efforts that have been put forth in remodeling and demolishing many of the abandoned houses. We know
that it is not a pleasant task but all of you have responded in a positive manner and shown your Broken Bow Pride and ability
to work together to make our town more attractive. We need to have controlled growth and the better our town looks,
the more likely we are to attract new businesses and people.
The City
Council set their goals two years ago and we have been working hard to achieve these goals.
- One of our goals was to cut costs by having a more energy efficient building of the Street
and Parks Department and this is well on its way to completion. We will continue to make all of our buildings more energy
efficient and that will provide even more cost savings for the City.
- We
now have a CD Cell and will soon complete our RV Park, both of which will generate additional revenues for the City. A Camper
Club and also some individuals who are attending a family reunion in Broken Bow this summer have personally contacted me and
they are interested in utilizing our new RV Park as soon as it is completed. This will be a very nice addition to our town
and will be a nice camping area for families.
- The Park Board and Council
have developed a very good overall plan for our City Park areas and the building of a softball and baseball complex at Melham
Park. We will have adequate and safe parking, as well as lighting to handle most of the ball activities. This will also consolidate
our Parks and help keep some of the maintenance costs down. The caboose had to be moved and was not going to fit into the
overall plans. It was never the intent of the City Government team to change any true historical sites and I believe no historical
sites were affected. I am quite sure that the railroad did not intend for the City to keep the caboose forever. It was given
in the spirit that if it was needed at the time, they were glad to donate it to the City. The Tomahawk Park location was not
a historical site. At one time there was a small zoo at that location but it has been gone for over 30 years. It appears that
it was used as a place to dump concrete and other building materials and covered with dirt. It was used for a soccer field
but it was very rough and unsafe.
We have tried to follow the
mandate of the people, which was indicated, on the Community Assessment Survey two years ago. The residents also gave
us a mandate when they passed the additional sales tax so that we could improve our infrastructure. We need to change
and improve our town so that we are competitive with other towns our size in order to attract people, new businesses and have
controlled growth.
All of the items that have been talked about
have been on the City Council agenda at one time or the other and we would have been glad to have input from you at the time
we were working on these issues. Please feel welcome to come to our Council meetings, as we want the citizens of Broken
Bow to be involved. You have a very hard working Council and Management Team that wants to meet your needs and help
this City remain viable and growing.
Let's all keep up
the good work and continue thinking positive and never give up on our Broken Bow Pride.
R.C. "Mac" McMeen
Mayor
