Council Summaries - July 6 and July 20, 2021

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. in the Council Chambers on the second floor of City Hall; Council Standing Committees may meet prior. View a list of City Officials and current council and committee meeting agendas.

Summary for Crete City Council Regular meeting - Tuesday, July 20
View this Meeting Agenda and attachments

The council approved the Consent Agenda items:

• Minutes of the following meetings: City Council July 6, Parks and Recreation Committee July 6, Legislative and Economic Development Committee July 6, Public Safety Committee July 6
• Treasurer’s Report
• Claims against the City 

The Council tabled action on the long-term stay request from Becky Hightower to camp at Tuxedo Park for the remainder of the camping season.

The Council approved the preliminary and final plats for Belohlavy Estates First Subdivision. 

• City Administrator Tom Ourada explained this development is being done by the Dana Point Development Corp. on the southwest edge of Crete, on Highway 103 south and the water, sewer, and storm sewer are already in. These improvements were designed by engineers used by the city and installed by a contractor who has done a lot of work in the city. The only thing left is paving. So with that, Ourada and Kyle Manley will prepare a personal guarantee agreement for the developer to sign prior to filing the plat.

The Council authorized the Library Director to apply for a 2021 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Formula Grant for the Crete Public Library.

The Council waived three readings and adopted Ordinance 2132: An ordinance granting a natural gas franchise to Black Hills Energy.

• Ourada explained the city has always had a franchise agreement with Black Hills; this agreement has been modified to meet the city’s standards; it’s a 15-year agreement and the franchise fee is unchained. Ourada noted Mary Martin with Black Hills was in attendance to answer any questions. Mary did state that the preferred agreement was for 25 years but the city attorney amended it to 15, which Black Hills accepted.

The Council authorized the Police Chief to apply for a highway safety mini-grant from the Nebraska Department of Transportation as part of the Fall 2021 Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign.

• This was recommended by the Public Safety Committee and Police Chief Steve Hensel explained it helps pay for overtime used during this traffic enforcement campaign.

The Council waived three readings and adopted Ordinance 2133: An ordinance issuing general refinancing bonds.

• Ourada said he and City Clerk-Treasurer Jerry Wilcox worked with Scott Keene with Piper Sandler. This action provides the funds to pay series 2018 bond anticipation notes at maturity on Aug 14; and outstanding 2014 bonds with higher interest rates.

The Council waived three readings and adopted Ordinance 2134: An ordinance issuing bonds for the 2021 Gap Paving Project. 

• Scott Keene gave a breakdown of these bonds to pay the cost of engineering and street construction on this project; the bond will have a final maturity of Aug 14, 2024, which is within the standard time the city has used for these types of projects. The bond amount will be $950,000, with interest rates estimated at 0.7 and 0.9%.

The Council waived three readings and adopted Ordinance 2135: An ordinance amending wages and salaries of non-bargaining unit employees.

• Ourada explained the changes are in Parks and Recreation and are necessary to address more functionality in Park and Recreation, as recommended by the Personnel Committee.

Officer Reports:

Reports may be given by Officers, Departments, Committees, or Council members concerning the current operations of the City. No action can be taken on matters presented under this title except to answer any questions or to refer the matter for further action.

• Joy Stevenson, Library Director:
  • reported on the library’s grand opening event planned for Sept 15, 1:30 p.m.
  • the Crouse Pavilion in Library Park is finished as of today (Tuesday). 
  • Reading with Friends program is ongoing, a program designed to help children at risk of loosing their English skills over the summer.
  • bilingual preschool story time starts on Saturdays on Aug. 7
• Tom Ourada, City Administrator:
  • He invited several members of the Wildwood Pool staff to the meeting. A video was shown of a lifeguard saving a young swimmer who struggled after wandering into water over her head. He wanted the Mayor and Council to see the quality of work and workers at the pool and this event showcased the this graphically through the video. Tom had recognition awards created for the lifeguard and her trainers and supervisor for their exemplary service and so people could see the city’s staff and the kind of people who work for the City of Crete. Ourada said “we get great people to do great things in an age when it’s hard to get people to fill positions.” Mayor Bauer added “this situation is one of the city’s fears and one reason the pool is one of the biggest liabilities, although it’s a needed and important recreation resource. He was happy to see the trainers have trained their individuals well as he understands the guards must be there when needed. To see an example of that is very rewarding for him as mayor.” The Council also had high praise for the pool staff.
  • The gap paving project will start the first part of August; all garage encroachments into city ROW have been resolved and are at 100% compliance;
  • FEMA flood plain map - the 90-day comment period should start this month (July) and the new map could take effect in late October barring any significant comment or protest; other than 18 properties along north Main Ave, all other inhabited properties in the area are planned to come out of the flood plain;
  • Three nuisance property hearings are scheduled for July 21 with two hearings next week. Tom noted Code Enforcement Officer David Paxton, City Attorney Kyle Manley, and Police Sgt. Chad Menagh have been exceedingly busy working through this process and yielding impressive results.
  • Tom was expecting a proposal from Olsson Associates for a Tuxedo Park project but has not received it yet. It should be here yet this week for a Park & Rec meeting next week.
  • There is outside interest in our Crete Housing LLC’s loan program by a development company. They are looking at a development on a tract of land near city limits and are inquiring about a partnership with us. CHDC currently has $560,000 available.
  • Channel 10-11 was in Crete to record segments for Our Town Crete; Tom did an interview to highlight the aggressive city parks and infrastructure agenda the elected officials have embarked upon and another with Community Assistance Director Nancy Tellez who represented her work with the city well.
  • Tom shared an idea to commemorate Crete’s 150th anniversary - 7,500 frisbees and dispersing them, one for every resident, to see where they end up and get the word out about Crete and our historic milestone;
• Wendy Thomas, Human Resources Coordinator introduced Alex Sawtelle, who was sworn in as Crete’s newest police officer; he will have badge #111. He currently serves in the Army Reserves and was most recently employed with Lancaster county corrections. His family, as well as members of the Crete Police Department were present at the meeting to offer congratulations.
• Mayor Dave Bauer read a thank from the Blue River Arts Council for the city’s $2,750 donation toward programming.

Meeting adjourned. 

Summary for Crete City Council Regular meeting - Tuesday, July 6
View this Meeting Agenda and attachments

Council member Kyle Frans absent.

The council approved the Consent Agenda items:

• Minutes of the following meetings: Finance Committee June 15, Legislative and Economic Development Committee June 15, Public Safety Committee June 15, Public Works June 1, Public Works May 18, City Council June 15, City Council Special Meeting June 29
• Treasurer’s Report
• Claims against the City 

The Council approved the amendments to the 2020 Downtown Revitalization Program Guidelines.

•  City Administrator Tom Ourada explained these are timeline changes that were suggested by the city attorney, then reviewed and recommended by the Legislative and Economic Development Committee. The State Historic Preservation Office is taking longer for reviews. Reviews for first round applications will extend to July 23, with Council decisions on awards on Aug. 3. The second round of applications opened on July 5 and will close on Sept. 24, with Council decisions on awards made by Dec. 7.

The Council adopted the Shelter Operations Plan for the administration of the Community Room storm shelter as recommended by the Public Safety Committee.

• Ourada said this has been in process for over a year and is a complex plan through necessity. Police Chief Steve Hensel and City Attorney Kyle Manley have done much of  the heavy lifting.

The Council approved providing the Blue River Arts Council $2,750 for summer cultural events as recommenced by the Legislative and Economic Development Committee.

• Ourada explained BRAC submitted an LB840 application, but BRAC is not eligible for those funds, however, he believes what they are doing this summer, with first Friday events, is a worthy endeavor for the city to contribute towards. He suggested these approved funds could come from economic development money in the general fund to which the L&EDC Committee also agreed.

The Council approved purchasing an electric vehicle charging station for city park along Linden Avenue as recommended by the Public Works Committee.

• Ourada brought this to the committee after research and work with the Nebraska Community Energy Alliance, of which we are members. He explained this would mean installing a two-port electric vehicle charging station at a purchase cost of about $13,000; this location would be highly accessible, would be high profile, wouldn’t block anything and would have security camera coverage. There is a fee to charge, which users would pay for with a card swipe. The cost would be paid for out of Electric Department - economic development funds.

The Council approved the proposed amendments to the Fire Department's bylaws as recommended by Public Safety Committee; reviewed by City Attorney.

• Fire Chief Tod Allen said these changes further define the department’s probationary member status and voting guidelines using Roberts Rules of Order.

Officer Reports:

Reports may be given by Officers, Departments, Committees, or Council members concerning the current operations of the City. No action can be taken on matters presented under this title except to answer any questions or to refer the matter for further action.

• Tod Allen, Fire Chief reported on an upcoming local news article about the departments new laryngoscopes. The department also made it through the Fourth of July holiday with only one grass fire and one dumpster fire. Tod also noted there were no transportable injuries noted during that period, that they were called for.
• Wendy Thomas, Human Resources Coordinator, reported on and introduced two new hires: Brett Hynes as a Street Operator and Lexie Rubalcava in the Public Works Utilities Office. The Mayor and Council welcomed them.
• Ryan Hinz, Council Member Ward II: reported on a discussion from the Legislative and Economic Development Committee Meeting about a request made for the city to allow chickens/hens in city limits. He expressed concerns this allowance would evolve from just having pets for eggs, to a food source and slaughter. This city will look at other municipalities and permitting processes.
• Tom Ourada, City Administrator
  • sports fields and Tuxedo Park ideas: In 2011, he approached the Fair Board with the thought of moving the rodeo arena and developing that area of Tuxedo Park further toward athletic field use. With all the interest and usage, he has been talking with the mayor and park and recreation committee about completed redesigning Tuxedo Park. A recent meeting with the president of the Crete Diamonds Softball Association showed their enthusiasm about improving these areas of the park. He wants to bring the Diamonds, the Legion, Ikes, Fair Board, and other stake holders together and see what possibilities exist. These groups who use the park extensively could also solicit donations for projects and the city could issue bonds with current low rates available. Toward that end Tom met with a landscape architect from Olsson Associates last week and talked about multi-purposing and re-tasking areas of the park; they will work on a proposal. The city is in a position to capitalize on this hidden gem with increased and regular use by local organizations hosting large tournaments as well as interest from Lincoln teams who ask about renting available fields.
    • Tom advised the mayor and council that as a result of a discussion of utility infrastructure property needs with a property owner, the city is now in negotiations with that owner on additional property that would be used for recreation purposes, namely soccer fields and off-street parking;
  • A bronze plaque done by Wackel Machine is ready for the old library site as plans are developed.
  • Tom showed a security video from Wildwood Pool showing a very quick response from a lifeguard to pull a struggling young swimmer to safety. He commented on the quick action of the guard, the excellent training displayed, and the payoff of having cameras at critical facilities.
  • Recreation programs: The Parks and Recreation Committee started a discussion related to a recent announcement that Crete Public School wants to start a recreation-type sports program. City officials will discuss how this affects city programs moving forward.

 Meeting adjourned.