Scottsbluff Council to consider land sale to Croell, Inc.

The Scottsbluff City Council could consider the sale of a large piece of land east of town to Croell, Inc. during their meeting Monday night.

According to the council's agenda, the council could enter closed session to discuss strategy in selling just over 365 acres of land to the Iowa-based corporation. The agenda indicates the sales price for the property about 4 miles east of Scottsbluff and just north of Highway 26 would be $548,010.

Croell had previously approached the city of Gering to purchase an 80-acre tract of a proposed industrial park for $726,000, but city officials told the company they had to turn down the offer, due in part to state law. A letter sent out by the city explained that other entities had previously expressed interest in the same property, meaning the sale had to be conducted through a sealed bidding process. In addition, Gering did not own the mineral rights to the property. Croell's request to Gering has since been referred to one of the Gering council's standing committees.

Croell had sought to locate a concrete plant and regional offices with the land purchase from Gering, but their plan for the Scottsbluff-owned property is unclear. When contacted about the possible sale, Scottsbluff Mayor Randy Meininger told NBC Nebraska he was not aware if Croell's plan for that property would include the plant and offices originally proposed for Gering, or if it would be used for other purposes.