By Allison Peck
Listen to the full interview on our Kubota Podcast
North Platte City Council members approved a Cody Keno ownership transfer, financing for new sanitation equipment and preparations for the 2026 NebraskaLand Days Parade during a brief meeting Tuesday night.
One of the more notable items involved approval of the transfer of shares of Cody Keno, Inc. from longtime owners Bill Snodgrass and Mike Hammack to Mike Neverivy and Ryan Palabrica.
During a Wednesday morning interview on “Following Up on the City Council Meeting,” Mayor Brandon Kelliher said Snodgrass and Hammack are stepping away after decades of involvement with the local Keno operation.
“Mr. Snodgrass, Mr. Hammack are retirement age,” Kelliher said. “They want to retire out of owning Keno.”
Kelliher explained Cody Keno operates the Keno machines found in local bars and restaurants, with a portion of the revenue benefiting both the city and the state.
“The city and the state take a portion of those Keno revenues and use them for various things,” Kelliher said. “Lately we’ve been using the Keno revenues to pay off the pickleball and tennis courts that we rebuilt here in the community.”
Councilman Jim Lucas asked for the item to be separated from the consent agenda so the ownership transition could be discussed publicly. Lucas said he wanted to ensure the operation would continue to maintain local involvement.
The council unanimously approved the transfer.
Council members also approved a resolution for the 2026 NebraskaLand Days Parade.
Kelliher called the annual parade “one of the most exciting events in our community,” but noted future routes may temporarily change depending on construction plans connected to the Dewey Street project.
“Depending on how the state decides to construct the new Dewey Street, it’s possible that the parade will have to take a different route in one of those two years,” Kelliher said.
The council also approved the second reading of Ordinance 4249, rezoning property near East Francis Street and Bryan Avenue from transitional agricultural zoning to commercial and residential districts.
Kelliher said the rezoning proposal already received extensive debate during the previous council meeting.
“This property is kind of on the side streets around the new Francis Street,” Kelliher said. “We have a local developer there who wants to be able to do some commercial activities on two of those pieces of property.”
The ordinance will return for a third and final reading June 2.
Council members additionally approved lease-purchase financing for two Freightliner semi-tractors and two Mack waste-moving floor semi-trailers for the sanitation department.
Kelliher said the equipment is used to haul waste from North Platte’s transfer station to the landfill near Ogallala and the current units are nearing the end of their lifespan.
“The trailers as well as the tractors that are used to haul them are now worn out and so we need to replace them,” Kelliher said.
During the interview, Kelliher also discussed several upcoming community projects and events, including the opening of the new Cody Pool features and continued construction at the Rec Center.
“The Lazy River is going to be fantastic and those slides are going to be cool,” Kelliher said. “People are super pumped about the Lazy River so it’s definitely the talk of the town right now.”
The council also approved claims and warrant financing before adjourning until its next regular meeting on June 2.