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future. The Board could be a player in submitting a proposal by establishing a committee to do <br /> that and determine what we would like to see. There has not been any contact in the last 5 <br /> years the veterans have a stake and you want to have a positive outcome. He noted the CAAP <br /> Reuse committee and how the county is using the Federal Building. There are some historical <br /> buildings on the veteran's campus that can be demolished. Jay stated we need to move <br /> forward positively and he has ask for agenda items for the City and County to build a <br /> relationship and make a recommendation in the terms of a committee on how to move forward <br /> positively. <br /> Quandt noted that there was $4,000,000.00 to demolish the building that is an extreme move. <br /> The long term usage of the building should be addressed. <br /> Lancaster questioned if there is a government program to address these building. She was ask <br /> to serve on a committee but is not sure what happened to it. <br /> Hartman noted that Grand Island came in third behind Hastings and that should have not <br /> happened but you can't change that. <br /> Ray O'Connor stated that TIF funds can only assist private entities but there are different ways <br /> to do this. Jay stated that there are no decencies in the buildings. <br /> Bob Lacey 2521 Park Drive suggested that they could use some of the building to train comfort <br /> dogs for the veterans. He also expressed concern on how the property was transferred in the <br /> past there were dollars from the farm ground that went into the general fund but questioned why <br /> those fund couldn't be used for upkeep. He would like to see the building used for the veterans. <br /> Hartman questioned why they did not take all of the ground and why it was transferred in <br /> sections it shouldn't have been split up. Lancaster noted the transfer was done in stages. Jay <br /> stated it was 3 phases. He also noted the Veterans Club had been trying to get some ground <br /> that is behind the club to the tree line and the have finally been able to sign a 100 lease with the <br /> state of Nebraska. <br /> Veterans Service Officer Don Shuda noted the waiting list for the various facilities. <br /> • Norfolk <br /> • Kearney <br /> • Scottsbluff <br /> • Bellevue <br /> Peterson stated his wife worked at the Veterans Home and they had a difficult time keeping staff <br /> that was a problem. Lancaster stated that if money is not an issue it was management. <br /> Peterson stated the health care industry has a shortage of people and does not pay well. <br /> Chair Lancaster called for public participation <br /> Ry O'Connor he was on a committee that was established by mayor Jensen regarding the 600 <br /> acres of land. 40 of the acres are the Veterans Home. They wanted to define the needs of the <br /> community. He noted that they build townhomes and then another 80 unites that were for <br /> limited income of$24,000.00 at the end had a waiting list for 250. The Housing Authority has a <br /> waiting list also. Central Community College and Doan also looked at the facility but it did not fit <br /> into their programs. There was an estimate of 20 to 25 million dollars that has been put in those <br /> building and also another $7 million dollar upgrade to the kitchen. Housing is a huge issue and <br /> 13 <br />