Proposal hopes to make landlords responsible for tenant's utility bill

Monday evening members of the Superior City Council approved on first reading an ordinance which, if passed on three readings, will make owners of rental property responsible for any unpaid utility bills renters of the property may leave the city with.

Plans are being formulated to familiarize landlords with the proposal.

Following a state supreme court case which opened the door for such rules, the League of Nebraska Municipalities is encouraging the state’s utilities to adopt the policy.

Also passed on the first of three readings were two changes to the city traffic regulations.

The most noticeable change will be the lowering of the speed limit on the unpaved portion of East First Street which runs along the north side of the Superior East Elevator from 35 to 20 miles per hour. It is hoped the slower speed limit will reduce the dust caused by the trucks entering and leaving the elevator.

The second change removes verbiage relating to the school zone speed limits near the former North Ward and South Ward schools. The ordinance has gone unchanged since the schools closed.

Van Kirk Brothers, the contractor hired for the first phase of the Bloom Street water main replacement project, is the apparent low bidder for the second phase. Monday evening the council authorized the signing of the second phase contract. It came with a price tag of $347,912.05. The high bid was $462,991.00. The two projects call for the replacement of the Bloom Street mains between Second and Fifteenth streets.

The first phase was to have been done this year but work has not yet started. Now the contractor plans to do both phases while the equipment and crew is in town. The new completion date is July 15 of 2021.

Mayor Chris Peterson’s appointments of Mike Smith and Levi Gunn to the economic review committee were approved by the council.

The council agreed to move forward the abatement of nuisances associated with two properties on South Kansas Street. The one property was identified at 184 South Kansas. The other property adjoins the first. Though registered letters had previously been sent, the owners apparently have not taken action to correct the code violations.

The council also approved taking the next step to force the owners of the property at 908 East Fourth Street to comply with the nuisance regulations.