City of Fairbury Town Hall

Welcome to the City of Fairbury MindMixer. Think of this site as a virtual town hall. We’re looking for useful ideas that will make Fairbury a great place in the future. Your ideas will help the City update its Comprehensive Plan and to create a Capital Improvements Plan—the blueprints for Fairbury’s future redevelopment and potential growth. Click on any topic to start participating!

 
     

Recent Comments

»Good idea -it'd be nice to take classes here in town instead of commuting.
»Sandy, I couldn't agree more. Ultimately, most of the other matters here can be achieved through the private sector whereas this cannot. This needs to take priority over all else, as all else depends on this.
»The owner of any property can be found on on the tax rolls -its public information and can be found via phone call/visit to the courthouse or online at any time. I personally have contacted several owners through this method, and bought/restored properties this way. Ultimately, is not the city/county that's responsible for the buildings; its the owners. The government can enforce codes, but they still have to be enforced through the property owners. I also consider it a more respectful approach, and often people are more receptive towards friendly letters from concerned neighbors over nuisance notices from our law enforcement -not to mention helping our authorities focus on more important matters.
»I am against this. It is a loss to lose a good building, especially one with historic value. It is furthermore appalling to see structures bulldozed without any consideration for de-construction/salvaging materials. Do people simply not realize the value is historic trim work, hardwood floors, solid joists/lumber, fixtures, etc?
Demolition is an easy/lazy solution to a problem that actually requires dedication, motivation, and hard work to actually reap rewards.
Examples have already shown that when a neglected building is torn down you get a neglected lot in its place, whereas a when such a building is restored you get a contributing property for years to come.
Common sense also dictates that when restoration of a building costs significantly less than rebuilding new, that restoration is the way to go. Realistically, we'll only have a bunch of vacant lots with more demolitions, and our town will become little more than dust in the wind.
»Two good resources that I can think of immediately is Laura Bedlan, the assistant street and alley superintendent or someone off the CRA. They both are involved in how to improve the city and can give you direction on where to look for the ordinances. But leave it to say if something is really offensive to you appearance wise you should be able to contact your city council member and that should start ball rolling. But until someone says hey look here there son't be action taken at least immediately. This means the citizens have got to get involved.
»There are methods in place and have been for years but many of them have been forgotten or ignored for one reason or another. We cannot choose to enforce some rules and not others. Also there should be an easier way to find out what conditions violate city ordinances so that a complaint can be filed. I know many ordinances and codes can be found online but they can be difficult to sort through and understand.
»It still has a good facade, newer roof, and natural oak woodwork throughout. The owners are looking to sell it soon, either by auction or listing. The major downside is dryrot throughout and no current plumbing/electric. It needs to be refurbished or secured -which, by the way, is a fire code and the owner is required to keep the doors locked/broken windows covered. It would be a loss if it were demolished. In such an instance, and many others, the city would be better off making the properties availiable for little to nothing provided minimal repairs are made.
»Has anyone looked at the old Park School lately? Windows are busted out and doors are usually wide open. I think we should prioritize this property due to its proximity to the city Fun Park. It needs to be demolished or refurbished.
»Basically numbers 2, 5, and 6 appear to one in the same. Each just stated a little differently. I was just recently informed that the city does have methods in place to address a lot of the dilapidated issues around the town, but first someone has to officially complain or bring attention to it. This requires involvement and willingness to commit. This also brings to light the need for people to become involved.
»It is important to have a sound basis to start building on anything. Presently there are sewers that cannot take anymore drainage, they are aging. Before putting additional stress on our supports we have to be sure our supports can handle it.
»Being that we're a small town, I don't usually think of safety issues -though I'm an able-bodied male, so I am less likely to fall under a "likely victim" category. That said, I support enabling ANYONE to feel safe wherever they are in our community. I don't know if the costs for lighting would justify itself, but that doesn't mean we can't post signs and organize more group jogging, using the trails during daylight, etc.
It is sort of a catch 20/2 with justify expenses for trail improvement. You don't want to spend a lot on something that is underused; yet its when the trails are underused that safety is more of a concern.
»I too would like to see more youth involvement in the community. I wouldn't say there isn't enough offered -we have great parks, good schools, fairs, museums, trails, scouts, 4-h, not to mention what every community has of friends, family, pets, hobbies, etc- , but I think we can build upon that and extend invitations to encourage youth participation in other ongoing events such as the 1st Friday art walks and others.
Ideally, it would be nice to see youths come up with ideas or seek participation in community groups and events. It is too easy to play the blame game of "they need to quit being lazy" or "their parents need to give them something productive to do", so I think the best we can do is foster creativity and opportunity throughout our community in general. It may be a slow process at first, but people will take to it and the natural course will develop.
Maybe we need to have registration/participation on www.fairburytownhall.com open to all ages?......
»I think this is a great idea, but I think the city would see this as a cost prohibitive issue. A lot of these beautiful buildings are so old, you are bound to run into asbestos issues... not to mention bringing them up to code if you are going to encourage business use. If the city isn't willing to do it, a private owner would be taking risks to attempt it. Especially if they haven't had experience with it. If there were some strong incentives it may be worth a shot, but if you're inexperienced on funding, it could get expensive to find help. Very intimidating and very unfortunate.
»Oh, absolutely. When I came back from college, I contemplated living in the Mahaska, KS lofts because they were new... even though the drive would have been a hassle. They are low income though, so that limits people. There are younger people who come back to Fairbury because it's their hometown and they feel they have a future here, but I can see the lifestyle of towns like Lincoln keeping them away. I think if the option to rent something that appeared to be of high quality, they would consider saving up for their first home while renting in town.
»Would you have been interested in a historic, loft-style apartment? We're slowly getting those -you just have the initial drawback of 28-32 step...

Project Details

  1. Rewards Available

Leaderboard

  1. 286
    1
    David L1
  2. 160
    2
    Brad K
  3. 144
    3
    Sandy Z
  4. 94
    4
    Joseph P
  5. 82
    5
    Laura B
  6. 78
    06
    Melissa W
  7. 70
    07
    Bob D
  8. 60
    08
    Dave T2
  9. 60
    09
    Janice M
  10. 58
    10
    Jaime L1
  11. 58
    11
    Brian S2
  12. 58
    12
    Marcus G
  13. 50
    13
    Lurri S
  14. 50
    14
    Stephanie H2
  15. 50
    15
    William D

Topics
Sort by

Site Questions or Concerns?

support@mindmixer.com
View The Demo
Mind Mixer

Fairbury, Nebraska

  • Convenient
    participation.
  • Your voice
    is heard.
  • Ideas chosen
    on merit.