Deena Winter: Private poll tests West Haymarket waters

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A privately funded phone survey was conducted earlier this month to gauge Lincolnites’ support for an arena and test ideas that would help sell the concept.

Attorney Kent Seacrest said a “private sector group of West Haymarket supporters” paid for the survey to help figure out the “best way to engage and listen to the public.”

West Haymarket is the area targeted for a new arena, hotel, condos, parking garages, conference center and possibly much more, all the way to Cornhusker Highway, including sports facilities.

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“We’re trying to figure out: What does the public want? If we propose something they don’t want, it won’t be successful,” Seacrest said.

He has preliminary results but would only say, “I’m not discouraged” by them.

At least one person polled thought the survey was long and confusing at times, but Seacrest said they took a shotgun approach to test a variety of topics.

Arena supporters — working with the city — next plan a round of public meetings on a new arena in July or August, he said.

Would you pay $1.25 a month to balance the budget?

A prediction: When Mayor Chris Beutler unveils his budget proposal in early July, he’ll propose a 1-cent increase in the city property tax levy to make up the remaining $1.5 million budget shortfall.

And if the City Council doesn’t go along, it can instead find more budget cuts.

It’s either a 1-cent increase or another round of fairly draconian budget cuts that Beutler would rather not implement.

A recent comment by Councilman Jonathan Cook may be a glimpse into how the administration will frame the issue.

During a luncheon with the Lincoln Young Professionals Group — an offshoot of the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce — Cook asked how many of the  youngins realized the average Lincoln homeowner pays $35 a month for city services.

Mind you, that’s just the city portion (police, fire, libraries, streets, etc.) of the property tax bill, and not the 800-pound gorilla, the school system.

Then Cook asked how many people would be willing to pay an extra $1.25 per month to take care of the remaining $1.5 million budget deficit, rather than cut more city services (like grass mowing). Roughly half raised their hands.

Just so happens, that’s the net effect of a 1-cent increase in the property tax levy on a $150,000 house.

LIBA (yes, LIBA) applauds mayor

Mayor Beutler got a round of applause during last week’s monthly luncheon of the Lincoln Independent Business Association — where Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey was guest speaker.

Before Fahey’s speech, LIBA head Coby Mach asked for a clap for Beutler for trying to reduce the city’s 2-to-1 retirement match for civilian employees. LIBA has been pushing for a re-examination of what it calls an overly generous match.

Beutler also made LIBA happy by proposing a half-million dollar cut to the StarTran bus system. That’s not as much as LIBA has proposed in the past, but it’s something.

Although perhaps it’s not that surprising for the pro-business budget hawks over at LIBA to applaud Beutler; he’s been a member for  years.

Well, they’re both American

Let the record show Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey exited the LIBA luncheon to an idling slick, black Chrysler Aspen SUV, where a driver awaited.

Then Lincoln’s mayor exited the building and got into an assistant’s beige Chrysler Sebring.

Actually, the Sebring is probably nicer than the older Ford Focus that Beutler drives.

Man tells city to mow its “snake pit”

Henry Cech didn’t mince any words when he went to city hall Monday to try to get someone to mow the urban jungle next to his home at 4101 Clifford Drive.

In the early 1990s, the city bought a couple of low-lying acres east of  his home for a detention pond. They mowed it periodically from May through September, and kids played in the area, flew kites and all was well.

But last year the city stopped mowing, and now he says trees are “growing wild” and the weeds and grass are 4 to 5 feet high.

That despite the fact the council recently refused to increase the maximum height residents can allow weeds to grow from six inches to 12 inches, he noted.

Residents in the 13 homes ringing the park have complained to no avail, Cech said. He says the Lancaster County Noxious Weed Authority folks “laughed” at him, saying they couldn’t make the city cut the weeds.

He said either everybody should obey the ordinance or it should be thrown out.

 “Kids can’t go down there now. You’d lose ’em. You’d have to look for ’em.”

For 16 years, he and his wife have cared for a portion of the land, he said, trimming trees, mowing grass and planting flowers. Now he says it’s time for the city to take care of the rest.

“It’s a snake pit, if you wanna call it that, and I’m not exaggerating. I hate to think I’m paying taxes and having a swamp next to my house. My taxes are $6,694 and I live next to a swamp.”

Building & Safety head Mike Merwick was in the room, and assured Cech he’d call Public Works and have someone “get it squared up.” The area is likely among the many city-owned areas no longer mowed due to budget constraints.

Cafe outgrew city hall gig

We recently reported the operator of the little cafe in city hall will be pulling up stakes.

Main St. Cafe will not renew its contract, which runs through the end of July.

Owner Jason Kuhr said it’s not that they weren’t making money; the company has just “outgrown the situation.”

“We aren’t leaving because we were failing,” he said.

The city hall cafe is one of the company’s four locations: Main St. Cafe at 1325 O St.; the Capitol cafe; and jtk Cuisine & Cocktails in the Haymarket. It’s also working on an Omaha development.

Once the company notified the Public Building Commission — which manages the County-City Building —  of its intent to leave, building administrator Don Killeen asked if it would stay if the city subsidized the cafe.

That’s the only reason Kuhr submitted a proposal for a subsidy, he said.

This is the fourth or fifth cafe operator in the past decade, Killeen said, and the Public Building Commission will consider putting in vending machines instead of another cafe.

He said employees like the convenience of the cafe, but the number of operators who’ve come and gone indicates there may not be enough business to justify a cafe.

He said it

“You guys aren’t working either, I’ve seen.” — Lincoln resident Henry Cech, to the City Council, after mentioning he was retired and had time to come down to complain about weeds taking over city property.

Reach Deena Winter at 473-2642 or dwinter@journalstar.com.