Jeff Hajny

    The Seward City Council focused on a wide variety of new ordinances and resolutions during its Dec. 4 meeting.
     The main focus was a resolution to increase the fees for wood chips charged by the city.
     Fees were established for the purchase of chips which included $10 for a pickup load, $30 for a farm truck load, $20 for a medium size trailer and $120 for a semi-truck trailer.
     The council unanimously passed this resolution.
     The council also heard from Building Director John Hughes regarding the need for roofing permits in Seward.
     Hughes drew attention to the fact that the 2006 International Residential Code states that in moderate to heavy hail zones, no more than one layer of shingles shall be placed on the roof. It was because of this that that the Building Inspection Department should initiate a $25 fee for re-roofing and then go out and make sure that the roof is stripped down from a ground level, he said.
     The council passed Ordinance 39-07, which called for a $25 roofing fee within the city.
     In other business, the board:
     • heard a report on the status of the negotiations with TransCanada regarding the Keystone Pipeline Project. An agreement has still not been reached and will be set for a later date;
     • heard from Hughes and HWS members Brian Ray and Brian Huff regarding the status of the study by the Transportation Committee. The committee said they are compiling a travel demand model and are planning a public hearing regarding transportation issues at a later date;
     • approved an ordinance which stated any property which is to be annexed by the city should have a complete legal description of the property, a certificate of the city planning director, the complete name of all owners of the property to be annexed, and a complete description of all water wells, septic tanks, drain fields or other utilities located on the property to be annexed;
     • passed an ordinance which stated that every all-terrain vehicle driver must have a valid class O operator's license or a farm permit, shall have liability insurance coverage for the vehicles and shall not operate such a vehicle at a speed in excess of 30 miles an hour or the posted speed limit, whichever is less;
     • accepted the resignation of Richard Sommerfeld from the Housing Authority and confirmed the appointment of Mike Klintworth to take his place through 2010;
     • confirmed the reappointment of Boyd Gabel to the Housing Appeals Board for a three-year term;
     • confirmed the reappointment of Ted Hughes for a one-year term as dike supervisor;
     • confirmed the reappointment of Daniel Bruhm as assistant fire chief for a two-year term;
     • confirmed the reappointments of Loren Pogreba and Robert Fiala as chairmen and Mark Eilers, Sid Kamprath, Verlon Vrana, Brett Smith, John Singleton and David Stewart III to the Council Standing Committees for Utilities and Public Properties Finance, Audit and Budget Personnel ; and
     • postponed the election of a new council president for the Tuesday, Dec. 18 meeting due to the fact that two council members were not present.