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Alma, Nebraska

Alma residents find life is fine next door to Nebraska’s second largest lake

Located just north of the Harlan County Reservoir, Nebraska’s second largest body of water, Alma is a progressive, cotton-wood shaded community with acres of green space and easy access to outdoor activities such as bicycling, wildlife viewing, fishing and upland game hunting. Lots of amenities such as parks, a golf course, and bicycle and hiking trails, combine with think-big vistas, affordable housing, and a can-do community spirit to create a town with a lot to offer businesses, entrepreneurs, retirees and families.

Although a quiet town, Alma is changing. It recently announced the opening of a new 40 room Super Eight Motel overlooking the meandering Republican River and Alma’s popular municipal golf course. Tax Increment Financing from the city assisted in financing the motel. “Alma businesses and the city council work diligently to attract people to town,” says Mayor Hal Haecker. “The town saw a need to provide new and updated motel rooms and got together and made it happen.”

An outdoor perspective

Alma has enough backyard wilderness and parks to compete with any “dream” town in the U.S. Enter Alma from Highway 183 and you’ll pass by a spacious public park dotted with picnic tables under a cool canopy of maple, ash, and cottonwood trees. The garden-green, 9-hole golf course, set adjacent to the scenic Republican River, is a magnet for golfers throughout the South Platte region.

Nearby Harlan County Reservoir’s blue waters, plentiful camp sites and sandy beaches attract thousands of tourists annually. And no wonder. Eighteen-thousand acres of public land surround the 13,250 acre reservoir, and the area features seven parks boasting 133 sites with electric hook-ups and approximately 450 primitive camping sites.

Walking trails include the River’s Edge Nature Trail and the paved and lighted Pheasant Ridge Trail and there are also two full-service marinas and miles of horseback and 4WD trails as well as swimming beaches and volleyball courts to keep visitors well entertained.

An all terrain vehicle trail southeast of the Harlan County dam was a project of Harlan County Tourism in partnership with the Army Corp of Engineers which acquired funding to build trails for ATVs on 470 acres.

“When the county experienced a seven-year draught and lake levels were low, we saw the need for activities other than water sports to attract tourists,” says Pat Underwood, director of Harlan County Tourism. “Although we knew that at some point the lake levels would come back – and they have – trail riding is a popular sport for many people.” Construction of the trail is progressing with hope for completion in late autumn of 2008 or early spring 2009.

There’s plenty going on around Alma, especially during the summer months, including the Governor’s Cup Walleye Tournament, a full slate of theatrical programs at the nearby Theater of the American West, golf tournaments, boat shows, sailboat regattas, Jeep rallies, horse shows and more. There’s never a good reason to be bored.

An emphasis on citizen participation

Creating an exquisitely livable town calls for active participation of the citizens.

“People in smaller communities communicate face-to-face,” says Mayor Hal Haeker. “When constituents want to talk to the mayor, they stop me on the street or come to my office.”

But if you want to send an email to the Mayor, you can, because three different providers offer broadband service in the community. Perhaps surprisingly, more than half of Alma’s residents take advantage of the broadband service.

Alma public officials and businesses encourage everyone in Alma to get involved in community projects. “Just-do-it people with creative ideas impact small town life,” said Haeker. He cited as an example how two Alma citizens had taken it on themselves to plant and care for flowers on a piece of city property near the courthouse that had become overrun by weeds. He also noted that a family who moved to Alma from Lincoln to retire sponsored a street dance to celebrate their move, and that an Alma man recently donated $100,000 for the benefit of Alma’s children.

Haeker adds, “People who care, get involved.”

In 2008 the community formed a committee which included high school seniors to tell us what the town needs. “We want to get the next generation involved,” says Haecker. “We listened to our youth and leveraged funds to put in a new swimming pool.”

Newcomers to the community are encouraged to meet and join the people who do things in Alma. “If people want to get involved and belong in Alma, there’s plenty of opportunity,” says Bill Hogeland, Alma entrepreneur and business owner.

Hogeland noted there were a number of volunteer-driven opportunities for Alma residents to get out with their neighbors, including the community movie theater; baseball, softball and T-ball leagues; volunteer fire and emergency service groups; the Hiking/Biking Trail Committee; and events such as the Independence Day celebration and various community projects sponsored by the Rotary and others.

Government close to people

In a town like Alma, one often knows town officials personally. In addition to Mayor Haeker, the town is guided by four elected city council members. In a survey conducted by the Center for Research and Development at the University of Nebraska, Kearney, residents indicated that a clean, attractive community and easy communication with city government were among the town’s most important attributes.

City officials are able to boast of several recent project improving the quality of life for Alma citizens, including a new three-mile hiking/biking trail from Alma to Methodist Cove on Harlan Country Reservoir, improvements to the water and sewer systems, a new airplane hangar at the Alma Airport, and a new clubhouse at the municipal golf course.

To help businesses start up or expand, the City of Alma voted for tax increment financing (TIF) as well as a 1% sales and lodging tax to stimulate economic development.

The city council encourages the public to participate in city council meetings and to report concerns, ideas, issues on the city Web site, www.almacity.com. The site also publishes meeting agendas, minutes, reports, goals for the city, and other information.

An exceptional hospital

For a small town, Alma has a very impressive health system. The Harlan County Hospital recently doubled in size when an additional 17,000 sq. feet were added to house state-of-the-art emergency and operating rooms and diagnostic imaging services.

The Harlan County Hospital is a 25-bed facility, Medicare certified providing short-term acute medical-surgical, along with a full range of outpatient services. Alma’s health system provides skilled care as well as intermediate care nursing service. Home health and hospice services are also available.

The hospital features a full-service laboratory and X-ray department. CT scaner, ultrasound, EKG, and other advanced technologies. Specialists see patients at the Harlan County Hospital in cardiology, urology and surgery, orthopedics, podiatry, ophthalmology and general surgery. Physical, occupational and speech therapists are at the hospital almost every day.

A special place for seniors

The Good Samaritan Nursing Home and Hillcrest Terrace, provides assisted living in three separate houses, each with 12-18 residents and its own director of nursing, instead of a single, large facility.

The arrangement allows for a very flexible daily schedule, according to Good Samaritan Director Markus Meyer. “Instead of rigid meal times that usually arouse the household by 5:30 or 6:30 a.m., elders can choose to eat a Continental breakfast in bed at 7:30 a.m. or enjoy a brunch with lots of choices between 8:00 and 10:00 a.m.” Relaxed scheduling leads to improvement in the quality of life for the household.

Many hours of listening to elders and their family members told Good Samaritan executives that elders in these times are choosing to live in their homes far longer than previous years. “Our elderly community members are asking for Good Samaritan to organize a health care agency that serves them in their own homes,” said Meyer. “Good Samaritan plans to bring basic health services to their home, in addition to assistance with home improvement, home maintenance, shopping, meal preparation and whatever other help they may need to sustain their independence.”

High quality schools

A progressive curriculum, school buildings wired for cutting edge technology and excellent teachers facilitate a public school system in which 70% of Alma’s graduating seniors enroll in college.

The town’s success in public education is attributed in part to the small turnover of teachers in the Alma schools. “Alma teacher turnover is minimal because teachers like living in Alma and teaching in the Alma school system,” says High School Guidance Counselor, Cliff Jorgensen. Jorgensen notes than almost 100% of the parents attend parent-teacher conferences in elementary school, and that 70% of parents of high school students do so. “Teachers who know the parents and the community personalize their instruction,” says Jorgensen.

Extra-curricular activities for the youth include competitive sports for boys and girls, speech, drama, band, choir, and a variety of opportunities to practice leadership. “Alma students usually qualify and place in speech and drama at state competitions,” said Jorgensen.

An eye on the future

When Alma’s leaders assess the future, they note that Alma’s vitality and amenities make it an especially appealing location for young retirees. “We’re making sure that our community responds to the needs of the retired population,” says Mayor Haeker, noting the community’s plans to install handicapped accessible sidewalks on every street corner in Alma.

Alma has maintained the congeniality of the small town, but with modernized services and added amenities.

“Few small communities have everything we have,” says Haeker. “We have paved roads, moderate taxes, all-season recreation, beauty outside our backdoor, an archery range, horseback riding trails, good fishing, pheasant, turkey, grouse, quail and deer hunting, professional services, such as dentists, doctors, lawyers, pharmacies, and a lot more besides.” says Haeker.

“We need to get much better at public relations to tell people about our community and the area.”

Who to Contact

City of Alma
614 Main St, Alma, NE
(308) 928-2242
www.almaisforyou.com
www.almacity.com

Alma Public Schools
PO Box 170 Alma, NE 68920
(308) 928-2131
Cliff Jorgensen, cjorgens@esu11.org

Harlan County Health System
717 Brown St, Alma, NE
(308) 928-2151
Rebekah Mussman, Health System Interim Administrator, rmussman@harlancohealth.org

Colonial Villa Good Samaritan
719 Brown St, Alma, NE
Markus Meyer, Director
(308) 928-2128

Harlan County Reservoir
http://www.nwk.usace.army.mil/haco/harlan_home.htm
Jim Brown
Natural Resource Specialist
(308) 799-2105
James.C.Brown@nwk02.usace.army.mil

Super-8 Motel
David Fleischmann
(308) 928-2383

Harlan Yacht Club
(308) 995-6609

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