Bridgeport Council amends CFP, seeks DCRC grant

BRIDGEPORT – The City Council convened a special public hearing last Friday, August 31, to take comments about amending the city’s Capital Facilities Plan and allowing city officials to apply for grant funds from the Douglas County Regional Council (DCRC) by Wednesday, Sept. 5.

No member of the public showed up to comment; the council approved the CFP amendment, and Mayor Janet Conklin will apply for some of the $175,000 the DCRC is making available for community improvement projects.

Mayor Janet Conklin hopes to secure some $40, 000 to be applied toward the purchase and installation of an electronic LED reader board in front of city hall. Conklin’s goal is to add another avenue of communication with Bridgeport residents to help the community stay informed of city developments. With ordinance revisions like new junk vehicle and nuisance dog mandates, the reader board would offer one more way to let residents know what’s going on.

“There’s nobody reading papers,” said Conklin. Nobody’s reading our postings that we put up and that way any coverage we have we can put it on there.”

At the regular council meeting on August 15, council member Matthew Schuh wanted to defer any quick decision on the mayor’s request in the absence of a city sign ordinance.

“I want to see consistency in our signs across the city,” said Schuh. “If we don’t have a sign ordinance and we put up one then they’re going to start popping around the city.”

Schuh said he was concerned that an LED sign, with the brightness similar to the one installed at the Hope Lutheran Church along U.S. 97 at the west end of Brewster, could compromise the quality of privacy for nearby residents during hours of darkness.

The DCRC opportunity prompted another discussion by the council. The mayor learned about the DCRC monies during the 30-day interim between monthly council meetings and had to respond quickly to meet the early September application deadline. That event gave rise to the suggestion that the council consider bimonthly meetings. After a prolonged discussion, Mayor Conklin recommended that the meeting format remain as it is with special meetings called as needed to address issues requiring quick action.