Nevada residents Austin Vier and Kevin Vier spoke to City Council members Monday during the public forum about school safety. The two brought this topic to the City Council because they believe it’s time for Nevada to have an officer in the schools again.
As business owners of Mid-States in Nevada, the Viers want to be part of discussions about school safety, especially in light of what just happened with a school shooting in Perry.
“I see a heck of an opportunity that we have (in Nevada) to make a statement…and get a discussion started,” Kevin Vier said. “It’s for our children, our coaches, our teachers…”
Mayor Brett Barker noted that School and City officials meet regularly and this has been talked about during some of those meetings.
Brian Hanson said he was also in favor of renewing the discussion and making school safety and the Nevada Police Department presence in our schools a priority.
City Administration will reach out to the School leaders to set up a meeting.
Monday’s meeting was also a time for the annual Nevada Library report. Library Director Erin Coughlin gave the presentation, with some of her board members in attendance.
Coughlin said that 2023 was very much a year that things felt “back to normal” at the library following the pandemic years. She said it was a year of seeing people think of the library as part of their normal routine again, which was noticed by simple door stats that showed over 10,000 people come through the front door over previous year. The library also saw more than 400 new patrons in 2023.
Another big increase, probably as a result of things learned during the pandemic, is the use of digital resources. Coughlin said people are much more comfortable with those resources now.
One more thing that was back to normal and showed huge growth was in-person attendance for programs, especially youth programs, like story times. She said youth services librarian Dylan Davison has done an amazing job of making connections with moms, caregivers, and children.
The staff of the library, Coughlin said, likes an active library. “Our best days are when we are busy at the library. We all love that.” She commended her staff on the great job they do, and members of the library’s board. She also spoke highly of the partnerships the library enjoys with many other organizations in the community, the tremendous amount of grants received over the previous year, and business partners who have given generously to library programming.
During other reports, Councilman Steve Skaggs gave a shout-out to City crews on putting up beautiful Christmas decorations in town, including the big tree in front of City Hall this year. He also was thankful for the timely manner in which those decorations were taken down.
–Written by Marlys Barker, City of Nevada
