Council summary - Nov. 17, 2020

Individuals and media outlets are encouraged to contact the City Administrator for additional details or clarification on the following material. Regular meetings of the Crete City Council are held on the first and third Tuesdays of the month at 6 p.m.; Council Standing Committees may meet prior. View a list of City Officials and current council and committee meeting agendas.

Summary for Crete City Council meeting - Tuesday, Nov. 17
View this Meeting Agenda and attachments

This meeting was held in the Community Room at Crete Public Library to accommodate social distancing.

The council approved the Consent Agenda items:

• Minutes of the Oct. 20 Council meeting
• Minutes of the Nov. 3 Finance Committee meeting
• Minutes of the Nov. 3 Legislative and Economic Development Committee meeting
• Minutes of the Nov. 3 Personnel Committee meeting
• Minutes of the Nov. 3 Council meeting
• Treasurer’s report
• Claims against the city

Police Officer Lavance Reed was sworn in at the beginning of the meeting.

• Officer Reed was previously an officer in Crete for about a year prior to briefly relocating to California. He was rehired by the City and police department this fall.
• Another new officer hire will be sworn in at the next council meeting.

The City Council heard a report of a ‘Santa in the Park’ event organized by the Blue River Arts Council. The council approved the route as given: 12th Street west from Juniper, right turn onto Linden, right turn into the park at the post office, exit onto 13th Street through the utilities drive-thru. 

• Planned for Sunday, Dec. 6, from 4-6 p.m. in City Park, where families will drive past a living nativity, Christmas trees, community groups handing out treats, music performers, etc., with the final stop being Santa Claus waving at each vehicle.
• This is in response to the cancellation of the traditional Breakfast with Santa event at the high school with the Chamber and FBLA groups, etc.
• The organizers will work with Chief Hensel on making sure the route will work with traffic flow on the streets around the park.

The City Council approved a total of $40,000 in LB 840 economic development funds to Woods Jones Enterprises, LLC to purchase The Brew House and create an event venue space on Main Street.

• Tom Ourada said the LB 840 Economic Advisory Board discussed the issue that day (Nov. 17). The item also went to the council’s Legislative and Economic Development Committee.
• Half of the award is for down payment on the building purchase; the city attorney will draft a deed of trust.

The City Council approved actions taken by Jerry Wilcox at LARM’s virtual annual meeting.

• This a procedural item for the city to ratify actions taken on behalf of the city by its representative.

The City Council approved the wage/salary scale of the Code Enforcement Officer position.

• This was formerly the Community Service Officer position.
• This person will “monitor, identify and investigate City code violations, ensure animal control, and provide relevant support to the police and other City departments.”
• The position is now advertised for applications, due by Dec. 6.

The City Council approved and Memorandum of Understanding with Crete Public Schools on administration of the School Resource Officer Program.

• This program has been a partnership with the city and CPS since 2013 and is paid for using a 75-25 split between the school and the city, respectively.

The City Council approved the following agreements/resolutions:

• Compliance and maintenance agreement with the Nebraska Department of Transportation on city maintenance of the state highway through Crete from 2020;
• A renewal of the city’s maintenance agreement with NDOT on highway maintenance for 2021;
• Resolution 2020-30: Year-End Certification of the City Street Superintendent 2020

Officer Reports:

• Steve Hensel, Chief of Police, said police department staff was affected by COVID, but will be up to full speed soon.
• Jerry Wilcox, Finance Director, reported the independent audit has started and will be largely conducted in a virtual format.
• Tom Ourada, City Administrator, had several items:
  • The Electric Department sent a crew to West Point for three days to work the ice storms; they worked high voltage and then secondary service work; Crete was the last crew to be sent home.
  • There was a Zoom meeting set for Nov. 18 with Dr. Kate Hesser, who serves as the city’s Medical Director, about what Crete should or shouldn’t be doing during this stage of the pandemic.
  • The city is getting ready to start another round of DTR (downtown revitalization) - about $500,000 worth of improvements are possible with this program.
  • The city was able to get four pylons from the bridge demo to use for sign supports as part of a downtown project. RDG did a planning grant before the first round of DTR involving this sign design.
• Mayor Dave Bauer said he was interviewed for an article in The Crete News encouraging people to wear masks. He said everybody he’s talked to says the kids are doing well with wearing masks in school, and that maybe we need to look at their example. The City of Beatrice just mandated masks. At this point the city is following the governor’s direction, but will see what happens; so far individual businesses are decide on requiring masks or not in respective stores.

Meeting adjourned.