The Lincoln City Council has delayed for a week a decision on selling 17th Street through the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus, at the request of Mayor Chris Beutler.
It was Beutler who in a letter last week urged the council to approve the $80,000 sale to NU, contending the sale price was fair and the city would have additional costs in maintaining the street if it isn’t sold.
Transitioning 17th Street through campus to a pedestrian corridor has been part of UNL’s master plan for two decades.
As a part of the plan that included development of Antelope Valley Parkway into a main traffic thoroughfare, the city has switched 16th Street through campus to two-way traffic, replacing signals with four-way stops.Ìý
The Beutler administration asked to delay the 17th Street decision for a week because Councilman Carl Eskridge was not at Monday's meeting because of a family emergency, said Rick Hoppe, chief of staff to the mayor.
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Councilman Roy Christensen, who has suggested the city should get more than $80,000 for the property, said UNL is also getting a good deal by being allowed to close the street without paying the city anything, as work continues to clean up from the demolition of Cather and Pound residence halls.
If a private company was involved, the city would be collecting a daily fee for blocking the street, Christensen said. A private company would also be required to fix any problems with the street created by the demolition work, he said.