Council summaries - Dec. 1 and Dec. 15, 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, Dec. 15
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 following meetings: Dec. 1 Public Safety Committee, Dec. 1 Council
• Treasurer’s Report
• Claims against the City

Tom Ourada, City Administrator, made the council aware of a donation from Kevin Carruth, of Sonoma, Calif. of an envelope from Crete identified with the dedication date of the new Crete Airport on Aug. 24, 1941. Carruth’s father, George, had just passed away and the envelope was part of his stamp cover collection. George Carruth served in the Navy before the bombing of Pearl Harbor and rejoined the Navy after, serving for the next 25 years, retiring in 1962. He had served on the USS Honolulu. Tom asked Telisha Carnes to print a description of the donation and frame it with the envelope for display in City Hall. (Please see attached photo.)

Mayor Dave Bauer said Council Standing Committee assignments will remained unchanged.

The council approved the corporate manager liquor application for Brenda Donner at Fraternal Order of Eagles 3909.

The council approved the Crete Fire and Rescue Department slate of officers as recommended by the Public Safety Committee:

• Fire Chief - Tod Allen
• Asst. Fire Chief - James Yost
• Rescue Captain - Marvin Barlow
• Rescue 1st. Lt. - Terry Petracek
• Rescue 2nd Lt. - Nikki Wells
• Fire Captain - Harrison Gaman
• Fire 1st. Lt. - Brandon Smedjir
• Fire 2nd Lt. - Colin Gaman
• President - Steph Yost
• Vice President - Matt Bakker
• Treasurer - Courtney Marcelino
• Secretary - Emma Frerichs
• Transfer Administrator - Brandon Smejdir

Waived three readings and adopted Ordinance 2115 - Fire Department on-call compensation as recommended by the Public Safety Committee. This changes on call hours segments and moves this code out of compensation and  into the fire department ordinance.

Waived three readings and approved Ordinance 2116 - amending wage and salaries Ordinance 2113 as recommended by the Finance Committee.

The council tabled two items to the next regular council meeting in January:

• item involving Central States Group quote authorizing expense of $46,590 for noise control panels around the library’s chiller.
• Item involving an external Social Media Policy for Crete Public Library

The council approved on the first of three readings Ordinance 2117 - relating to the annexation of property along South Boswell Ave.; they also approved a motion for the Planning Commission to set a public hearing at the December meeting on Ordinance 2117

• Ourada said this is two properties totaling 2.91 acres: one owned by Carol Quick and the second owned by the Coulters. They want to administratively subdivide the property into smaller parcels of a size that can’t be done in A-1 zoned property outside city limits. The Coulters petitioned Carol Quick, and Fitzgeralds, who had no reservations on the annexation request. The Planning Commission and Council have to follow certain procedures,  including having three readings on an ordinance to annex property into the city.

The council approved on first of three readings Ordinance 2118 - Zoning definitions; Accessory Buildings, Home Occupations, Design Standards. It was recommended to do a first reading and judge the perceived impacts; it’s also suggested the Planning Commission take this up with a hearing.

• Ourada said this issue went to the Legislative and Economic Development Committee; it’s an ordinance that talks about a number of different things and different approaches to buildings and uses.
  • It addresses accessory buildings and includes updated definitions.
  • It redefines home occupations, where they are allowed, and how they are evaluated.
  • Allowed uses in zoning districts is addressed through primary and secondary uses and definitions.
  • Design standards are also covered in residential and commercial areas.

Officer Reports:

• Fire Chief Tod Allen -  gave a report on the fatality incident call on Saturday night from Smithfield’s cold storage facility south of Crete (formerly Americold). A large expanse (300 feet long by 50 feet tall) of cold storage racks and frozen product collapsed and one employee was reported missing in the area of the incident. He said his department responded with 13 personnel, 3 ambulances, and rescue Unit 90 and also called in Nebraska Task Force 1 USAR (Urban Search and Rescue), which came with a team of 15-20. A specialized camera and K-9 unit found the victim 4-5 hours later, with no signs of life, at which point their efforts switched from rescue to recovery. Tod said everything was done in a safe manner involving a plan from USAR’s structural engineers to take off layer by layer from the large, unstable pile of materials and product. The recovery efforts also involved CVFD members helping the teams of USAR members on both Sunday and Monday. The victim was recovered late Monday morning.
  • Allen talked with John McKee, Jefferson/Saline Emergency Manager, who also called NEMA.
  • Ourada said Allen called him about the incident, and he in turn informed Steve Hensel and Mayor Bauer. Ourada said they utilized  NIMS (National Incident Management System) and that’s how it’s supposed to work and that the department did a really good job; they talked about CVFD’s social media posting and interview as well.
  • Ourada also mentioned city staff who are not NIMS certified, need to be.
  • Mayor Bauer asked Allen to thank the department on behalf of the city for their work.
• Joy Stevenson, Library Director, reported there have been a lot of requests for appointments to visit the library, which is the currently recommended process to browse the collection or use patron computers.
• Dale Strehle, Ward II Council Member, reported he received a call from someone living by parking lot at 12th and Norman; they would like ‘no parking’ extended from Norman to Oak on 12th.
• Tom Ourada, City Administrator
  • He said there is discussion about the COVID19 vaccine in terms of how to treat people who decline and have to quarantine down the road. He said he and Mayor Bauer have discussed through the continuity of operations plan how to address this and don’t want to mandate vaccinations. The city did get a call from the National Guard dispersal unit on details of dispensing vaccinations; he is working with the mayor and Chief Hensel.
  • The city will likely extend an offer to a candidate for the code enforcement officer position. He said this is an important and impactful position; the bar is high on expectations from the Council and the community so he asked the heads of the police and legal departments to assist HR with the selection process.
  • Tom met with JEO on water rates; it doesn’t seem like the budget is where is needs to be. Discussion focused on the revenue side.
  • The council has accepted water and sewer bids on new housing projects; the developer has asked for an invoice to pay their portion even though the project has not yet started.
  • An engineer reviewed north side paving projects, including keeping sidewalks in the plans; he said there are some properties where sidewalks would be very close to houses because they are already close to property lines.
  • He asked Emerson Andelt, GIS Technician, to research GIS surveying equipment; two companies are viable and one will let the city test equipment before purchase. Emerson, and maybe Trent, will train on it. This can benefit issues with properties where the City can work with the equipment to solve problems.
  • Ourada showed the council current photos of downtown holiday decorations - rope lights, snowflakes. He would like a plan to purchase new decorations for next year - garland and LED lighted decorations, which look more uniform. He said new decorations would draw people downtown; maybe the community foundation, chamber, and downtown businesses participating could become part of that. This could be done for under $100,000 and the city can still use current snowflake decorations on 13th Street and the highway entrance into town.
• Mayor Dave Bauer thanked the street department for snow removal downtown. He was extremely pleased with the work they did, especially around the new bump outs.

Meeting adjourned.

Summary for Crete City Council meeting - Tuesday, Dec. 1
View this Meeting Agenda and attachments

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

The council acknowledged the results of the 2020 election: Council members Travis Sears (Ward 1), Dale Stehle (Ward 2), and Jack Oelshlager (Ward 3) were reelected and took the oath of office. The council later reelected Strehle as Council President.

The council approved the Consent Agenda items:

• Minutes of the Nov. 3 Public Works Committee meeting
• Minutes of the Nov. 17 Legislative and Economic Development Committee meeting
• Minutes of the Nov. 17 Personnel Committee meeting
• Minutes of the Nov. 17 Public Safety Committee meeting
• Minutes of the Nov. 17 Council meeting
• Treasurer’s report
• Claims against the city

Shelby Brown, Human Resources Coordinator, introduced the newest police officer, Jordan Monk, who was present at the meeting with his wife, Jessica. City Administrator Tom Ourada provided some background information, including that he is a Doane graduate and already enrolled in the next session at the law enforcement academy in Grand Island. Officer Monk’s sister teaches second grade in Crete, which Tom remarked may have him dividing his time between the department and visiting the second graders.

The council confirmed the mayor’s re-appointments: Dan Papik to the Airport Authority (term ending 12/01/2026) and Blaine Spanjer to Board of Adjustment (term ending 11/01/2023).

The council approved the engineer’s recommendation to award the contract for the 2020 Water System Improvement Project to Van Kirk Brothers for $147,727.

• There were five bids on this project; range: $147,727 to $232,765
• The awarded bid was about 26 percent lower than the engineer’s estimate of $200,000.
• Tom Ourada said Van Kirk Brothers, from Sutton, has done projects for the city in the past and they have always done good work.

The council approved Resolution 2020-31 - restricting parking on the south side of 12th Street between Norman and the alley between Norman and Oak avenues.

• Tom said there were complaints about this in the past causing traffic hazards; the Public Safety Committee took this issue up and recommended this resolution.

Officer Reports:

• Joy Stevenson, Library Director, reported Santa Claus will be at the library reading letters from children on Dec. 22 in a recorded event that will also be on Facebook; children who send letters will all receive a book.
• Tom Ourada, City Administrator
  • The city has been working with an architect on the barrier for the mechanical area at the library; city forces may be able to build it for less expense.
  • Seward’s city administrator has been in contact: Their mayor and council are considering a mask mandate. Their hospital offered a petition to take to their council. Crete and Seward have different factors to consider given their local situations and hospital affiliations.
• Mayor Dave Bauer
  • On masks: He has gone around to businesses and sees they’ve been good about wearing masks and most have signs encouraging masks with employees wearing them, indicating Crete is doing a good job.
  • Governor Ricketts has made virtual meetings acceptable for voting officials through January.

Meeting adjourned.