SIDNEY — The Sidney City Council adopted legislation Monday to revise the city’s purchasing manual, and the Shelby Public Transit’s drug/alcohol policy, as well as accept an Echo Drive plat dedication.
City Council adopted following three resolutions:
• To authorize changes to the city’s the purchasing manual. City staff reviewed the manual and recommended various changes, said Finance Officer Renee DuLaney including:
— Within section II: Define a minimum threshold of $1,000 for purchase orders as well as update exceptions where purchase orders are currently not required city insurance, employee benefits and reimbursements, and refund payments.
— Within section IX: Changes to reflect all increases to threshold dollar amounts per the new purchasing ordinance.
— Within section XIII: Update wording to reflect current shipping practices for purchased items.
• To authorize the adoption of updates to the Shelby Public Transit zero tolerance drug and alcohol testing policy to comply with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s latest revisions to 49 CFR Part 40, as amended, published as a final rule on Nov. 13, 2017.
• To OK a city of Sidney request for an extension of Echo Drive that was approved by the Sidney Planning Commission during its July 18 meeting.
The city of Sidney’s proposal for the dedication of right-of-way for an extension of Echo Drive from the current terminus east to an intersection with Folkerth Avenue was approved by the commission.
The right-of-way is 60-feet-wide with a length of 436.54 feet and a total area of 0.612 acres. The extension of Echo Drive to connect with Folkerth Avenue has been planned since the initial approval of the Echo Business Center Subdivision preliminary plat in 2009, said Community Development Director Barbara Dulworth.
The two-fold purpose is to: 1) provide developable commercial property in the Echo Business Center subdivision, and 2) to provide a secondary outlet for the commercial properties on Folkerth Avenue, Dulworth explained. The Folkerth Avenue/Michigan Street intersection is one of the busiest in the city, she said, and encouraging some of that traffic to go out to Vandemark Road should relieve some of the congestion at that intersection.
The land to the north and south of the right-of-way dedication is currently undeveloped. The new lot to the south is 1.764 acres, and could be developed as is, or it could be split along the Echo Drive frontage to create two or more lots, she said. The new lot to the north is 11.520 acres, and, while it could be developed for a larger user as a single lot, it could also be subdivided with new streets dedicated and developed as proposed in the original subdivision preliminary plat. The new lot meets the lot size, width, and lot width to depth requirements of the zoning code and subdivision regulations.
