Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First

Friends of the Goodhand Theater address council

Members of the community are working together to bring others family-friendly entertainment at the now closed Goodhand Theater.

"There is a group of people getting together to form a non-profit (organization) called Friends of the Goodhand, to actually try to get it running," Caskey said.

She had a list of communities in which the theaters were operated by non-profit organizations as well as a group of volunteers dedicated to cleaning the property currently owned by Forward Kimball Industries.

"We are working on ways to actually show some family movies for special occasions inside the theater," Caskey said. "They are not running new releases, they are running classics; they are running the old stuff."

The heating and ventilation system is in poor condition, but Caskey reported that a local business has offered to donate the use of large heaters for the cause.

Jo Caskey, director of both the Chamber of Commerce and the Visitor's Center sought support from the Kimball Board of Public Works on Tuesday, November 24 in the form of utility donations.

"We would love to do this, if we have your blessing and maybe some help with the utilities," Caskey added.

Board member Greg Robinson asked if the intent was to run the theater full-time. Caskey clarified that in the beginning the group would run movies for special occasions, holidays in particular.

Once support grows, and with funds from free-will donations, the theater could host a movie each month, or even weekly. Money would continue being raised through concessions during the movies.

"It would be nice to be able to do one or two during Christmas break when the kids are out of school and there are not necessarily a lot of places for them to go," Caskey said.

Caskey asked for utilities to be donated through the end of May, as that is the time frame they have been given by FKI as well. At that time the group would evaluate how well the idea is received in the community and act accordingly.

The group is currently raising money to purchase the portable digital equipment that Kimball Police Department has rented in the past for movies in the park. Caskey reported that they have raised more than half the funds needed for the equipment as well as a trailer to move it.

Robinson asked about the interior condition of the building, to which Caskey said it really needs cleaned.

"We have only had one meeting and we have more than two dozen people that are willing to jump in a do a work party, and I think once the word gets out that number could grow to the point that we will have to say come back next week and you can work in that work party," Caskey said. "People so desperately want the theater back and running."

The board was presented with a year of utility costs, during which the lowest monthly utility bill was approximately $200 while the highest was near $350. The group would not plan on using the theater every day, and probably no more than once a week.

"The theater has not been operational since I think December of 2011," City Administrator Daniel Ortiz said. "We are not talking about a large number by any stretch. Just for your information, if we were to say $350, $350 a month for six months is $2,100."

The board voted unanimously to donate utilities to the group, and will plan to revisit the issue at their May 2016 board meeting.

The board brought off the table the matter of reconnect fees versus late fees.

"We tabled it at the last meeting because there were some questions in terms of how we were going to implement this," Ortiz said. "We kind of worked it out basically to adjust our reconnect fee for when you are disconnected for non-payment and also for after hours."

Currently those fees are $50 for a reconnection fee, which doubles if the reconnection is after normal business hours.

"We are going to move forward if you approve this. After the due date we are going to assess, for those who haven't paid, a $25 late fee and then the reconnect fee will be $25. The same thing with the $100."

The board was further asked to define what constitutes a reconnection and how service charges would be assessed.

"We encounter a number of requests throughout the year from anyone with a grain bin, or people with separate water meters on sprinkler systems or the one case where we had a pivot on our system we were contacted at least twice a year so we could shut off and disconnect the electrical meters so they can reposition the meters and then we get called out again a couple of days later," Ortiz explained.

Board president Jim Cederburg said that he believes that a reconnect fee should be expected in the case of a utility user requesting the service.

"Whenever we get called out to reconnect something it takes a man or two to go out there and do it," Robinson added. "I would expect to pay somebody to do it. I think (the charge) should be anytime it is reconnected. It keeps it consistent."

The board voted unanimously to approve Resolution 2015-05 approving a utility late fee and memorializing reconnect fees as well.

Ortiz then presented the board with payment agreement forms

"For the most part the payment agreement works well and assists many customers that utilize it to make sure they are able to pay their bill for an extended period of time to match up to their payroll periods," Ortiz said. "In certain instances you have customers who abuse it, they sign up reoccurringly (sic) so they can keep power on and then never fulfill the agreement itself."

A list was provided to the board without personal customer information to illustrate Ortiz's point. The list showed a number of accounts that make excessive agreements that go unfulfilled.

"I think what we are proposing is if a customer doesn't fulfill their agreement they are ineligible to participate in the payment agreement for three months, if they don't fulfill a second one they are ineligible for 12 months," Ortiz proposed.

One example showed a customer who had made 54 payment agreements. Of those arrangements, 25 were completed, or paid as arranged but 28 were cancelled or unfulfilled. Terms of the agreement are generally set by the customer, including the payment schedule as well as the amounts that can be paid at those times.

"That is frustrating, we work with them to set the terms and they still don't fulfill the agreement," Ortiz said.

An addition to the policy states that though past due bills are to be paid off before the next billing cycle extended payment plans can be arranged only with Ortiz's approval in cases with very large balances.

Cederburg asked if city personnel had thought about limiting the number of agreements that could be made.

"We did but we opted for this because you do have a number of people who come in on a regular basis solely for the fact that their due date may not coincide with their payroll period," Ortiz said. "They don't want to disqualify them from doing that by limiting how many they can do in a year if they are in fact following through with the terms. This would kind of address some of the more chronic abusers and add some teeth to the policy."

The board approved the new payment agreement form for past due utility accounts unanimously before hearing a report from Ortiz about the upcoming Western Nebraska Economic Development electrical projects as well as a report regarding the power outage on November 17 that left the majority of Kimball without electricity for nearly eight hours.

 
 
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