The North Platte City Council held its regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday. Seven council members were present with Michelle McNea absent.

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Carrying concealed weapons will now be allowed in North Platte city parks, following action by the North Platte City Council Tuesday.

The council approved on third and final reading the repeal of section 93.05 of city ordinance 3852 by a vote of 5-2.

Dan McGuire and Judy Pedersen voted against the repeal. Pedersen asked if discharging firearms in the city limits would still be illegal. Mayor Marc Kaschke and City Administrator Jim Hawks assured her that would still be a violation.

Also, the council agreed to solitic bids for five new trash compactor trucks on a 7-0 vote. Councilman Jerry Stoll questioned this, noting that it was not included in the 2012-13 budget that the council adopted two weeks ago.

Hawks explained that the insurance money from a recent collision of two trash trucks on South Buffalo wil help offset the costs. The two compactor trucks were totalled, he said, and insurance would be used as the down payment and the first year’s payment. Also, Hawks said old trucks would be traded in, and after that, payments would be included in future budgets.

The city’s salary schedule for the fiscal year was also approved, 6-1, with Council man Tim Barrett voting no.

Barrett objected that some of the top pay rate brackets were reduced. He said employees who are now in the middle of their pay scale would lose out as they advance. He said that’s unfair.

All employees’ salaries were adjusted according to a comparative salary study that was conducted in 2011. No employees will see a decrease in pay and a 1-percent raise was given to all employees.

User fees

User fees for city services were approved 6-1 with Councilman Dan McGuire voting no. McGuire objected to raising the recreation center fees.

“Why not leave them where they are?” he asked. “I can’t vote against the people of North Platte.”

Pedersen said “that would be hard to do without knowing the impact on the revenue side of a budget that has already been approved.”

City Attorney Doug Stack told McGuire that he could bring a motion to the council in the future to revert the recreation center fees back to previous rates.

Several interlocal agreements with Lincoln County and surrounding communities for emergency services were approved by unanimous votes.

Also approved:

• A special use permit application from Fun Center Inc. dba Cedar Bowl/Touchdown Club for a martial arts fight at the D&N event center on Oct. 15.

• Mayor’s appointment of Robert Barnhouse to the library advisory board to replace Jessica Chen’s expired term.

• The sale of surplus vehicles and equipment at the next police auction on Oct. 14.