SIDNEY — The Sidney City Council will discuss their contract with the Cheyenne County Community Center and decide on moving forward with applying for affordable housing during their second meeting of the month Tuesday night.  

Representatives with The Center have expressed interest in raising the amount of the contract back to its original annual amount of $120,000. In April 2021, council members voted to approve an annual budget of $108,000 for the recreational sports hub in Sidney.  

If council approves the contract, the city will give an additional $500 monthly to The Center, beginning in October, to reach the requested $120,000. 

Other agenda items include a decision on a $25,000 development fee in an application for the Nebraska Affordable Housing Trust Fund. The City of Sidney applied for $500,000 from the fund and committed $100,000 in matching funds. Council will vote to approve the applications guidelines to continue with the process of getting funding from the NAHTF.  

Sidney City Manager David Scott says the most difficult part of getting housing built in rural Nebraska is enticing contractors to bring their business to the panhandle. The grant provides the money for contractors, so they’ll have more of an incentive to build in Sidney when they know they’ll be getting paid.