By KALIN KROHE
Panhandle Post

The Alliance City Council met Tuesday night with newly elected Mayor Mike Dafney, Vice Mayor Brian Mischnick, and council members Annora Bentley, Earl Jones, and Ryan Reynolds.

Council members voiced concerns on a request for a conditional-use permit by Anthony Parascand to operate a salvage yard located at 923 W. Third St. The salvage yard has been in the city since the 1940s, and Parascand stopped the business due to his age and health. His family is wanting to sell the property, and the purchaser would like to continue operating the salvage yard.

Council member Annora Bentley stated that Alliance is trying to beautify the entrances coming into the city. Bentley expressed concerns about the salvage yard being visible to those driving into town. She did bring up the idea of having it rezoned for the city.

Councilman Earl Jones didn’t like the idea of having the salvage yard rezoned. Dafney suggested if the council did not approve this conditional-use permit, the property could turn into another Iron Horse and Drake Hotel — properties that have sat vacant for years.

“Council did act to approve it as a conditional use. The ones that are most important are a fence around the salvage yard,” said Alliance City Manager Rick Kuckkahn. “They don’t want the material behind the fence to exceed the heights so there’s going to be that visual shield.”

In other business, council members approved the Berean Church preliminary plat located south of 20th Street so the church can sell the property to a developer.

The Nebraska Department of Transportation is planning to perform pavement work underneath the BNSF bridge at Third Street.

“I think the community, when they learn about this, will be pretty excited because it’s been a real problem for many years,” Kuckkahn said. “Council felt that the Kansas Street detour was the best way to take trucks and cars around the bridge.”

The project, which is anticipated to start in 2020, will take about three weeks to complete.

Council also spoke about deciding a date with the Alliance School Board to have a joint meeting to discuss a resolution to the unresolved track issues. These issues relate to city property and utility services.

You can listen to a brief conclusion of what happened at City Council below with Kuckkahn.