tom hanafan

Council Bluffs, Omaha and Carter Lake are getting ready to enter the amazing Google race. Mayors Tom Hanafan of Council Bluffs and Jim Suttle of Omaha announced Thursday they are in the early stages of jointly responding to a Request for Information from Google to bring ultra high-speed Internet to the Metro area. The Google Fiber for Communities project plans to test ultra-high speed Internet broadband networks in one or more trial locations in a city with a population between 50,00 and 500,000, acco

That’s the unique spin we’ve put on it, hopefully to attract more attention   -Ron Gerard

 

The Mid-America Center is doing what it was intended to do when it opened eight years ago, city officials said this week. It has helped create an entertainment corridor for residents and out-of-town guests. "There have been 2.25 million visitors who have gone through there since it opened," said Verne Welch, chairman of the Arena Commission that oversees the arena/convention center.  

The Omaha area has been named as a site in a nationwide search for Google to test a new, super high-speed Internet service. Council Bluffs and Omaha have been engaged in a collaborative effort to lure the Internet giant into the area. Google set up a Web site asking local governments and citizens why their city should be picked.

I just think it's a better place to try a test site and offer this Internet service -- right here in the middle of the country with a lot of opportunities for growth and development that we have that other people don't have   -Tom Hanafan

 

Council Bluffs, which won out several years ago in an effort to land a Google server farm, hopes to strike it big with that company a second time. City officials, according to Mayor Tom Hanafan, are in the application process to seek Google's experimental fiber-optic network, which promises to be more than 100 times faster than the Internet connections currently available to most Americans. "We are going to apply for the test area," Hanafan said Friday.

We are going to apply for the test area   -Tom Hanafan

 

Council Bluffs Parks Director Larry Foster apparently isn't a man to leave a job half-done. Foster, who also spent years with the Omaha Parks and Recreation Department, was involved in developing Omaha's side of the river, including the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge. He visited the Omaha Northwest Rotary on Tuesday to discuss River's Edge Park, a new 85-acre park planned for the Bluffs' side of the river.

There were a lot of things I liked about taking the Council Bluffs job   -Larry Foster

 

That's what happened Friday for Frontier Savings Bank on 23rd Avenue just west of the South Expressway. Members of Cee Bee Ambassadors, the Council Bluffs Chamber of Commerce and those representing City Hall praised the bank's renovation of its "expressway" office as a symbol of support and confidence in the community's future growth. "I want to congratulate Frontier Savings Bank for its commitment to our community and its investments in our community," said City Councilman Scott Belt, who filled in f  

The Council Bluffs City Council Monday evening approved a city operating budget for fiscal year 2011 that calls for a decrease in the property tax levy for a fifth consecutive year. That called for some nice words from council members. "I think we'll very lucky in Council Bluffs," said Melissa Head.

We’re fortunate to have a budget of this nature to keep everybody employed and to reduce the tax levy   -Scott Belt

 

Council Bluffs residents who haven't been paying their trash bills may have a new fine dumped on them. The City Council on Monday evening will consider an ordinance to fine people $20 if they don't pay their sanitation bills on time. "It's unfortunate that most of us pay our bills but have to pick up the cost for those who don't," said Mayor Tom Hanafan.

These two actions should create the financial incentive to pay refuse fees on time and dramatically reduce the number of properties that are liened for nonpayment   -Tom Hanafan

 

For Council Bluffs residents who haven't been paying their trash bills, a new fine may be dumped on them. The City Council Monday evening will consider an ordinance to fine people $20 if they don't pay their sanitation bills on time. "It's unfortunate that most of us pay our bills, but have to pick up the cost for those who don't," said Mayor Tom Hanafan.

These two actions should create the financial incentive to pay refuse fees on time and dramatically reduce the number of properties that are liened for non-payment   -Tom Hanafan

 

There were no public requests at Monday evening's Council Bluffs City Council meeting to keep some 200 trees along the Missouri River from the chopping block. The council held a public hearing on the removal of those trees to make way for a new park just across the river from downtown Omaha. There were no speakers in favor or against.

It will be a really nice park and something that will benefit the community   -Matt Schultz