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RANDOLPH – There will be no mural project downtown this fall and grant funds to complete the project were returned.
The Randolph Economic Development Advisory Board had been awarded a Cedar County Tourism Board grant designated to promote the Randolph Community Fair and Honey Fest activities this summer.
Enough funds were left over to look at painting a mural in downtown Randolph.
The board and the city council spent months reviewing mural designs to be painted at the corner of Main and Broadway streets, on the brick exterior of Country Estate, owned by Bob Kint.
At last week’s city council meeting, Deputy City Administrator Josh Rayford said Kint changed his mind on the project.
“Bob decided he didn’t want to put anything on his walls,” Rayford said. “We did reach out to other potential options but I think it was just too far gone at that point.”
The city had already asked for an extension of the funds to finish the project, and ultimately had to return $1,600 to Cedar County.
“We can always re-apply,” Rayford said of the grant funding.
Mayor Dwayne “BoBo” Schutt recognized the time and effort that went into the project only to see it come to an end unsuccessfully.
“What a colossal waste of time,” Councilman Ted Stubbs said.
Kint said he’s asked the city for 20 years to fix settling in front of his building and “until they start helping me, I’m not helping them.”
Asbestos removal
In other action, city council members approved asbestos removal from three recently purchased buildings downtown.
The city bought 106, 108, and 110 W. Broadway St. this summer. The buildings are the former Nebraska Finest Meats, the former Seek N Find Consignment store, and another which served as storage and upstairs apartments.
All three buildings - considered nuisance properties - failed an internal city inspection in 2021 and were condemned by the city.
The council paid $35,000 for the properties owned by Vernon Forney, Pierce.
Environmental Services Inc., Norfolk, performed the asbestos testing and estimated the asbestos removal for all three properties at about $11,000.
Quotes from other companies are being sought. However, the council approved for City Administrator Sheila Korth to move forward, authorizing approval for the work not to exceed the ESI quote. It cost $1,600 to have the asbestos testing done.
The council agreed that ESI is reputable, having worked with them in the past to remove asbestos from the Cedar Motel site that was later transformed into the Stonacek Funeral Chapel. Randolph Public Schools also recently contracted with ESI to remove asbestos from the elementary building.
Korth is looking into grant funds available for up to half the cost of the asbestos removal, however, with any grant, there are associated requirements.
The city is still pursuing estimates on demolition of the buildings but the asbestos would have to be removed first, Rayford said.
“We’re going to have to do it one way or another,” he said. “We have to do this first before we can move with anything else.”
The city also purchased 104 N. Bridge St., owned by Rose Ann Rohloff, and some additional lots along the floodplain project at about the same time this summer.
That property was the subject of discussion in executive session at the end of last week’s meeting.
The city had originally bought the easement on the lots to finish the floodplain project and then purchased the entire lots for $40,000.
After exiting executive session, the council approved for Korth to start drafting terms for accepting bids for the sale of the property.
Removal of stop signs
Before closing out the meeting, Councilman Daniel Korth suggested removing stop signs at the intersection of Douglas and Wayne Streets. Since the floodplain project dead-ended Douglas Street, there is no need to stop traffic there, he said.
Moving the stop signs to stop traffic flow east and west would make more sense, he said.
“I recommend you talk to your constituents because the last time we did stop sign changes, it was a (big deal),” Rayford said.
Since it wasn’t listed on the meeting agenda, no action was taken but is expected to be discussed at a later date.
The city will host a town hall meeting to review community survey results at 6 p.m., Monday, Oct. 21, at the city auditorium. The next regular council meeting is set for 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 13.
