Committee named for street, safety levy campaign

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SIDNEY — Sidney Mayor Mike Barhorst has announced the names of the volunteer committee members who will be working to pass the 0.30 percent levy that will be on the May ballot. The levy will provide permanent funding for street maintenance and for fire department operations.

The levy will replace the five-year 0.25 percent levy for street maintenance that will expire Dec. 31, 2019. The new levy would be split evenly between street maintenance and fire department operations, with half of the proceeds permanently designated for street maintenance and half for fire department operations.

“The funding will allow the progress that has been made to improve the condition of city streets to continue,” Shelby County Commissioner and Committee Chair Bob Guillozet said. “In addition, it will allow the construction and staffing of an additional fire station.”

“The need for an additional station was first identified nearly four decades ago,” Guillozet stated. “Since then, the city has grown from 5,204 acres to 7,740.89, a 48 percent increase in size. In addition, Sidney’s population has grown 20.2 percent! That population growth does not include the several thousand people who do not live here but come to Sidney to work each day, use city services and then return home.”

“We have made substantial progress in our effort to improve city streets,” Barhorst said. “Council wants to continue that forward progress. I believe that our citizens do as well.”

“The additional fire station will benefit the entire community,” Barhorst said. “As a rule of thumb, fire doubles in size every minute. It doesn’t take long for a small fire to become a roaring inferno.”

“Even more important is having emergency medical care available,” Barhorst said. “Waiting five or more minutes for a medic unit to arrive for a victim of a heart attack, stroke or serious accident greatly lessens the chance that the victim will survive.”

In addition to Barhorst, campaign committee members include Shelby County Treasurer John Coffield, retired Sidney Fire Chief Stan Crosley, retired Creative Marketing Strategies President John Dunlap, Wilson Health Same Day Surgery Nurse Jeff Emrick, Farrel Kaplan, Shelby County Commissioner Bob Guillozet, Third Ward City Councilmember Ed Hamaker, Shelby County ARC Executive Director Kendra Hamaker, Johnson Medtech Project Manager Mary Ellen Paulus, and Fourth Ward City Councilmember Steve Wagner.

In addition to Guillozet chairing the committee, Coffield is serving as the committee’s treasurer.

Sidney volunteer levy committee members John Coffield, left, and Chair Bob Guillozet look over the paperwork for the city’s 0.30 percent levy that will be on the May ballot. Coffield is serving as treasurer for the levy committee.
https://www.sidneydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2019/04/web1_IMG_4640.jpgSidney volunteer levy committee members John Coffield, left, and Chair Bob Guillozet look over the paperwork for the city’s 0.30 percent levy that will be on the May ballot. Coffield is serving as treasurer for the levy committee. Courtesy photo

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