NORTH PLATTE – The North Platte Area Chamber & Development Corporation has secured the tax certificate for the Pawnee Hotel. The tax certificate, representing several years’ worth of delinquent real estate taxes, was recently assigned by the former certificate holder, Street Corner, Inc., to the Chamber Development organization.
According to board chairman Dr. Ben Lashley, the board of directors officially voted a week ago to pursue the action and was able to successfully negotiate the assignment with Street Corner Inc. of Lincoln.
“Our board did not take this issue of financial commitment lightly and had discussed the Pawnee situation for several years leading up to the decision. In the end, we felt it was the right thing to do for North Platte. Our sole purpose is to gain some control over positioning the property so that we eventually get it into the hands of an experienced developer, which will redevelop the grand old structure into a useful life once again, sooner rather than later,” Dr. Lashley said.
The Chamber Development organization has had conversations with different private entities expressing interest in the historic hotel, but those groups or developers were unwilling to wade through the complicated legal entanglement surrounding the Pawnee. According to Chamber Development board member, Bill Troshynski, “The Pawnee’s tax certificate is the key to clearing the legal cloud that looms over the property as a result of the dissolution of the Pawnee Assisted Living Corporation, the current property owner.”
With the recent assignment of the Pawnee’s tax certificate to the Chamber Development organization, the Chamber Development board will now monitor and implement the necessary legal steps required to ensure the future of the Pawnee is placed in the hands of those who recognize its significance and importance to the City of North Platte and its residents.
Chamber Development CEO Gary Person said this initial step was critical in the continued effort for downtown revitalization. “There is still a long complicated journey ahead. We looked at this situation from every angle and it just didn’t appear to have any positive path moving forward. At least this gets one of the critical issues off dead center,” Person said.
Chamber Development Board members include Dr. Lashley, Dr. Rich Raska, Troshynski, Brent Burklund, Brandon Jones, Nancy Faulhaber, Mel McNea, Jarid Childears, Clarine Eickhoff, Josh Harm, Dee Klein, Matt Hasenauer, Tony Orr, Glenn Peterson, and Joe Hewgley.