Council Summaries - Aug. 3, Aug. 17 and Aug. 24, 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 Special meeting - Tuesday, Aug. 24
View this Meeting Agenda and attachments

Council member Ryan Hinz absent.

The council approved the Plans, Specifications and Engineers Estimate for the Water and Sewer Extensions to West Crete and set a bid letting date for Sept. 16, at 10 a.m.

• City Administrator Tom Ourada explained the updated proposal for boring with a quote that was higher than the preliminary estimate  planned, it is now to $244,000 just for the two bores, however, it could go down more; the proposed 14 inch casing pipe was changed to 16 inch because the larger pipe is more accessible and therefore less expensive, but a revised permit is needed from Burlington; Keith Gilmore doesn’t think is will hold up the work too much.

The council approved the BNSF Railway agreements (one each for water and sewer) for underground bore crossing ROW for Water and Sewer Extensions to West Crete.

• Ourada said plans will only note the change from 14 to 16 inch casing. The City Attorney, Kyle Manley, has reviewed this and the city understands Burlington is able to dictate the terms they deem acceptable.

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

The council approved the Consent Agenda items:

• Minutes of the following meetings: City Council Aug. 3, Parks and Recreation Committee Aug. 3, Legislative and Economic Development Committee Aug. 3, Finance Committee Aug. 3, Public Works Committee June 6, June 15, and Aug. 3
• Treasurer’s Report
• Claims against the City
• Approve the corporate manager liquor application for Crete Lodging LLC

The Council approved action on the quote from Nutri-Ject for Digester Cleaning, Removal and Land Application of Bio-solids at the WWTP for a total cost of $80,640.00 based on 17 feet of solids in both digesters.

• City Administrator Tom Ourada provided an explanation on this item during the Public Works Committee meeting and to the Council: the wastewater treatment plant process uses sequential batch reaction chambers, which have been generally full of sludge since early operation. When the staff does processing, they use a lot of polymer. This cleaning would pump out the sludge and decrease the use of large amounts of polymer. This should stabilize polymer use over the next 4-5 years.

The Council approved action on the Project Manual, Drawings and Estimate from Gilmore & Associates for overlaying Linden Avenue (13th Street to 14th Street) and 12th Street (Linden Avenue to Hawthorne Avenue).

• Ourada explained the city’s request from the last meeting to amend this project to include estimates for an overlay on 12th Street, which was originally only estimates for an overlay of Linden Ave from 13th to 14 streets. Council member Ryan Hinz suggested including a block on Ivy from 12th to 13th, which sees a lot of traffic by drivers using 12th Street to bypass the downtown area, to which Ourada suggested letting this project go to bid and see if that additional block can be added at unit cost pricing.

The Council approved setting a street name, Dogwood Ave, for former County Road 2400, a section of which is now in Crete city limits. 

• Ourada shared that the sequencing of street names indicate that a “Q” name should be next but there are only really two “Q” named trees left and they are not common names so we looked at “R” names. Although the committee selected Rosebud Avenue originally, Ourada recommended that perhaps with the dog park at the 13th Street intersection with yet to be officially named road, the Committee would consider Dogwood Avenue. The Committee did rescind Rosewood and recommended Dogwood Avenue for the new name of CR2400 south of 13th Street.

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.

• Lt. Gary Young, Police Department reported that Southeast Communications 911 Center in Beatrice, which dispatches for the City of Crete - Crete Police Department, has officially started dispatching with Richardson County and that with new requirements, by 2022, other agencies will see the futility of trying to continue with their own dispatch centers and more centers will look to merge. Tom added that when the center takes on new members, the expenses pool for all the members and costs can go down for each member.
• Kyle Frans, Council Member - Ward II, commented on the great city participation at the Back to School Picnic, held Aug. 5 at Doane University.
• Tom Ourada, City Administrator:
  • The Chargepoint electric vehicle charger is in and functional on Linden Ave near 12th Street; the energy is free right now and signs will be up soon; a new electric charging rate proposal will be included at the next committee and council meeting for review and action;
  • Tom will be in Kearney Wednesday and Thursday for MEAN meetings; electric rates look like they could remain stable over the next year or two, he will have more after the meetings.
  • The city received Burlington Railroad approval to bore water and sewer for the West Crete improvements and a special meeting will be scheduled for review and action;
  • Tuxedo Park planning meeting for the P&R Committee and city officials is set for Sept. 1;
  • nuisance property work, including hearings, is moving along, with the street department executing the orders, and doing a great job of it;
  • Wendy is rolling out online timekeeping for city departments;
  • gap paving projects in the north part of town are progressing;
  • flood plain potential buyout program appraiser is here, with 9 of 16 eligible properties contemplating participation ; 

Meeting adjourned.

Summary for Crete City Council Regular meeting - Tuesday, Aug. 3
View this Meeting Agenda and attachments

The council approved the Consent Agenda items:

• Minutes of the following meetings: City Council July 20, Committee meetings for July 20: Parks and Recreation, Legislative and Economic Development, Public Safety, Personnel, Finance
• Treasurer’s Report
• Claims against the City
• Approve the Mayor's reappointments of Pam Busboom and Kathy Stastny to the Cemetery Board. 
• Approved the corporate manager liquor application for Casey's General Store's new regional manager.

The Council approved providing Saline County Aging Services $7,803 for elderly and aging programs and services, as recommended by the Finance Committee. 

•  Lori Moldenauer, Director of Saline County Aging Services, gave a short report explaining she was not requesting an increase in funding this year. Her current data shows 1,020 seniors 60 and above in Crete; 2020 was was busy year with adjusted programs due to COVID-19. Meal services for seniors included delivering 50-75 grocery packs and month and continued counseling for Medicare enrollment, retirement and social security programs; increased mailers with fraud and scam prevention information, as well as fun information and puzzles. They assisted about 250 seniors with Medicare D open enrollment that saved county seniors about $107,000. She also took in about $20,000 in grant funds. Aging Services will also work with Public Health Solutions on an upcoming flu and COVID vaccine clinic.
• Mayor Dave Bauer said he has received calls from people concerned about their elderly relatives in Crete who could benefit from meal programs; Moldenauer said she would look into current and previously run programs in the area.

The Council approved entering into an open contract with The Bridge Behavioral Health for emergency detoxification services.

• City Administrator Tom Ourada explained the issue was recommended by the Finance Committee and discussed with Police Chief Steve Hensel who spoke about this program being the only service of its kind in the area and it is utilized by the police department.

The Council approved terminating the City's HR Services Agreement with Zelle on recommendation of the Finance Committee.

• Ourada explained the city used Zelle for human resources services in the past and the city’s previous HR person used Zelle services somewhat, but the new Human Resources Coordinator, Wendy Thomas, brings a high level of proficiency to the position and does not use Zelle services to a level that warrants an annual agreement.

The Council adopted Resolution 2021-08: A resolution to renew the City's commitment to the League Association of Risk Management (LARM); this is a 3-year renewal agreement for a 5% discount.

The Council approved entering into an agreement for professional services with Olsson & Associates for the development of a Tuxedo Park Master Improvement Plan.

• Ourada explained he had spoken with the Mayor and the Park and Recreation Committee about how a plan for Tuxedo Park is a tremendous opportunity and he feels the city is not taking a risk with this as there are successful programs using the park now; the city would be leveraging this success and investing in it. Ourada said the city could invest a couple million dollars and really build something great for the community that would pay dividends for decades.
• Kyle Frans, chair of the Park and Recreation Committee, said they recommended moving forward and they are really excited to see what Olsson, the City, and stakeholders can come up with for the betterment of the park and community.

The Council approved appointing Matt Reed, Distributed Resources and Generation Specialist for NMPP Energy, as special engineer for the City's solar power project as recommended by the Public Works Committee.

• Ourada said the city is proposing a solar array on property containing a new municipal well on the east side of Highway 103 South; this property is unusable for many other purposes but could fit a 10-acre solar project. The project bid opening and evaluation is in September.

The Council approved enacting Ordinance 2136: An ordinance vacating Linden Avenue from 19th to 20th streets and retain title to said property.

• Ourada explained this action involves a North Ward Park expansion. He approached adjacent property owners, Blaine and Brandon Spanjer, who agreed to sell a quarter of a block at 20th and Linden Ave (southeast corner) to the city for $1. The street between can be vacated to make the park contiguous for another quarter block; plans include green space and utilizing a small wooded area for a picnic area. He also said the city started installing cameras for security adding that when we invest in infrastructure in parks, we invest in security cameras to protect it and  people’s well being and Northward Park is no less important than other parks we’re developing.

The Council approved the Legislative and Economic Development Committee's recommendations for Downtown Revitalization program awards.

• Ourada said this is first round of awards that have reviews completed by the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and City Attorney Kyle Manley has done a terrific job putting these together. Twelve projects were approved for a total of $214,000 in grant funds.

The Council rescinded a commitment of $175,000 to SENDD in matching funds for a Rural Workforce Housing program. Ourada explained that due to recent developments, the city will not be going forward with this program and aims to use that money in a different way locally.

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, shared a photo of one youth patron receiving her prize, a new bike, for participating in the Summer Reading Program; two bikes were donated by Public Health Solutions and bike helmets came from the police department.
• Tod Allen, Fire Chief, reported on traveling with four other department members to South Dakota for a pre-paint inspection on the new 3,000 gallon tanker, scheduled for delivery in September.
• Wendy Thomas, Human Resources Coordinator, introduced Police Officer Lincoln Morehouse as the department’s new Investigative Sergeant and congratulated him on that position.
  • Ourada said he takes the job of appointing authority very seriously and it was difficult going through the exceptional internal applicants for this position. He said speaking for himself and he knew the Mayor and Chief agreed, he was thankful that only two current officers decided to try for the investigative sergeant position as it was a difficult decision and would have been even more so had other officers applied.  
  • Mayor Dave Bauer said he’s talked to several businesses Morehouse has been involved with as a police officer and from those comments he thinks Morehouse is going to do an excellent job in this position and he’s very excited for him.
• Ryan Hinz, Council member Ward II, commended Joy and the library staff on the Summer Reading Program. He also thanked the Street Department for recent maintenance work.
• Jerry Wilcox, City Clerk-Treasurer, shared information about the annual League meeting coming up in Lincoln.
• Tom Ourada, City Administrator:
  • reported that annual budget work is ongoing and will be to the finance committee and council soon;
  • asphalt overlay plans are being discussed for Linden from 13th to 14th streets and possible other areas in town to put together a cost-efficient project;
  • the city is waiting for the final infrastructure bill to be passed and is looking at a water well project, remediation project and distribution mains as well as roadway reconstruction, with roadway reconstruction being the emphasis. Previously we were planning on using USDA zero interest loan funding and some forgivable loan for the water project, but the infrastructure route is a better alternative, possibly saving us well over $1 Million;
  • he is as excited as the Park and Recreation Committee about the potential for  Tuxedo Park; if we do it right, it will be unrecognizable a year from now. What groups like the Diamonds, Legion, Tuxedo Raceway, and the Fair Board are doing is great. We have the opportunity to make what they do better; When these groups are active, all rooms at the hotels are booked!
  • we are working with the legislative committee and mayor on a vacant property ordinance to dovetail what we are doing with nuisance property notices and cleanup. This would give us another powerful way to deal with absentee owners and distressed properties;
  • DTR is moving forward with the recent first-round grant awards; we are altering the process so hopefully the second round moves much faster. The economic development committee has been working with us on this and supports proposed changes moving forward
  • We are continuing to work on issues with the Main Street railroad crossing, but there is not a lot of cooperation from Burlington on this.
• Mayor Dave Bauer shared a letter from Jim and Sharon Crouse about how they donated toward the new library picnic shelter for the use and enjoyment of the community and library events. The Mayor said it’s a very nice addition to the park and the city greatly thanks them for their donation.

Meeting adjourned.