Council Summaries - Sept. 7 and Sept. 21, 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, Sept. 21
View this Meeting Agenda and attachments

Council members Dan Papik and Ryan Hinz were absent. The council approved the Consent Agenda items:

• Minutes of the following meetings: City Council Sept. 7, Legislative and Economic Development Committee Sept. 7, Finance Committee Sept. 7, Personnel Committee Sept. 7, Public Works Committee Sept. 7
• Treasurer’s Report
• Claims against the City
• Approve the Mayor's appointment of Tom King to the Library Advisory Board for the term ending July 1, 2025. 
• Approve the liquor manager application for the VFW.

The Council heard a presentation by Lori Shaal on Crete's recertification as an Economic Development Certified Community. 

• DED Business Relations representative and Nebraska Diplomats Executive Director, Lori Shaal read a statement on Crete’s recertification and celebrating five years in the program. She said Crete made housing a top priority and encouraged new investment opportunities in the downtown area to create places for business and visitors to the community. Crete is one of 40 cities or villages with this Economic Development certification and she is proud to honor the leaders in the community and continue to be a partner in Crete’s ongoing development.

The Council approved the special event permit request from the Crete Chamber of Commerce for a kids pet parade on October 2, 2021 from 9:30 am to 11:00 am.

• Jack Cochnar, Chamber Executive Director, said the event will build on fond memories the community holds from Blue River Festival kids and pet parades and will use the event as another way to get people involved; the event starts at 10 a.m. at 10th and Main.

The Council approved the special event permit request from the Crete Chamber of Commerce for the Great Pumpkin Festival on October 3, 2021 from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm.

The Council approved sidewalk painting for the Great Pumpkin Festival.

The Council approved the Right-of-Way Permit request from Black Hills Energy for gas main relocation in north Crete.

• City Administrator Tom Ourada clarified anytime somebody has a project in the right of way they have to seek a permit and this larger project permit requires council approval; this relocation is in conjunction with the gap paving projects on the north side of town.

The Council awarded the railway boring project for the West Crete water and sewer extension to Horizontal Boring & Tunneling for the amount of $244,120.

• Ourada explained the engineer’s estimate was considerably lower, however Burlington requires boring the entire way, a distance of 200 feet, which increased the cost.

The Council awarded the West Crete 13th Street water and sewer project to Van Kirk Bros. Contracting for the amount of $229,641.

• Ourada explained this will extend water and sewer past the railroad tracks; the engineer’s estimate was lower, however pipe prices are higher. Van Kirk has completed a number of city projects as the low bidder and this was $100,000 lower than other bids received.

The Council awarded the Linden Ave and 12th Street Asphalt Overlay Project to Constructors, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $115,000.

• Ourada explained this was a project the council wanted to embark on sparked by the Linden Ave portion (13th to 14th Street); the 12th Street portion will go from Linden to Hawthorne Ave.; Ivy from 12th to 13th was added. As approved this can be completed this year.

The Council adopted Resolution 2021-11: A resolution authorizing the Mayor to sign the Municipal Annual Certification of Program Compliance. This is an annual requirement by Nebraska Department of Transportation for funds the city receives through state and federal programs.

The Council entered into an agreement with Mid-State Engineering & Testing to conduct a Geotechnical Engineering Study for a new lift station at 22nd and Ivy. This pertains to oil sampling and testing for the lift station project; there is currently a bridge to be replaced with a triple box culvert at 22nd and Ivy.

The Council enacted Ordinance 2139: An ordinance relating to the duties and responsibilities of the Director of Public Works.

• Ourada said this was discussed and recommended by the Public Works Committee and defines and redefines the duties of this position. Other municipalities generally have a Public Works Director that oversees water, sewer, and street departments, and sometimes parks; they generally do not oversee electric; this description does that, reflecting projects and maintenance, not programs. 
• Mayor Dave Bauer said this was the direction the city wants to go in for this position.

The Council authorized the Library Director to apply for a $1,000 internship grant through the Nebraska Library Commission. This would be the same grant the library received last year and would continue bi-lingual story time programming.

The Council adopted Resolution 2021-12: A resolution relating to traffic issues around Crete Elementary School.

• Ourada reiterated remarks that this issue of traffic around Crete Elementary School goes back decades and this is a comprehensive resolution that addresses a great number of things with some measures not used in the past, including tubular barriers to aid with one way turns and no parking areas. If approved, crews will start painting and one-calls for installation. This resolution includes:
  • one-way on 10th Street, westbound, from Ivy to Juniper Ave.;
  • one-way on Juniper, southbound, from 10th to 9th Streets (continuation of a one-way section on Juniper);
  • regulate the southbound Kingwood traffic to right turn only at the 9th Street intersection;
  • no parking on the east side of Linden Ave in the area around the bus loop entrance and exit;
• Mayor Bauer said the police department did a wonderful job looking at this and the city hopes this will be a good solution and the public will abide by these changes to improve traffic flow.

The Council authorized the Community Assistance Director to apply for a training grant from Region V Systems to become a certified trainer for the Bridges Out of Poverty program. Ourada said Nancy Tellez mentioned the grant and he encouraged her to move forward and ask for council approval to apply, per city procedure; this went to the Legislative and Economic Development Committee, which recommended approval.

The Council approved new ambulance specifications with a cost estimate of $240,000 and setting a bid date of Thursday, Oct. 21, 11 a.m.

• The Public Safety Committee recommended this item and heard from Crete Volunteer Fire and Rescue Assistant Chief James Yost. The department typically replaces an ambulance every four years based on use and is behind on rotating ambulances due to the pandemic. These reflect the same specs as the newest ambulance except the change back to a diesel motor to continue evaluating gas vs diesel. Funds are from the department’s Equipment 2 budget line. Yost explained the oldest and newest ambulances are primarily used on 911 calls, while the middle is used for transfers.

The Council approved Change Order #1 from Heiman in the amount of $2,705 for the new fire tanker. Ourada said this was an all inclusive change order with both additions and deductions and was recommended by the Public Safety Committee.

The Council will consider approving application for a parade on 13th Street from Fuhrer Field House to Doane Drive on September 30, 2021, at 6:00 PM.

• Ourada said Doane University staff worked with Police Chief Steve Hensel for some time and created a workable plan.
• Doane is bringing back a Homecoming parade open to the public, but the event will stay on campus, going around the football field. They requested to close East 13th Street from the field house to Doane Drive for about 45 minutes on Thursday, Sept. 30, starting at 6 p.m.

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 thanked council members who were able to attend the grand opening last week and complimented Mayor Bauer for the kind words about the library and its role in the community. She also reminded those present about the library’s Oct. 7 event, “A Conversation with Mark and Andy” as a fundraiser with appetizers, cash bar and quilt auction. Fund raised will go towards to outdoor musical instruments in Library Park. Andrew Carnegie will be played by Tom King and Mark Twain by Chicago actor Warren Brown. Ourada noted that Fairfield Inn and Suites agreed to put up Brown and his family for free during their stay.
• Jerry Wilcox, City Clerk-Treasurer, updated all on the League of Municipalities conference is this week; he will join Tom Ourada, Wendy Thomas, Kelsey Sisouvong, and Kyle Manley in attendance.
• Tom Ourada, City Administrator:
  • a refund on sales taxes, almost $7,700, was requested back to the state; city sales tax returns are still strong with 5% more this month than this month last year;
  • U.S. Census results are a debacle; census numbers say Crete increased to 7,100; but census data blocks have Crete Ward I dropping 700-800 people; he asked Jerry Wilcox and Emerson Aschoff, GIS Technician, to look into it; Tom said Crete is easily missing 600 in Ward I, due to an error in counting Doane University during the pandemic year. There is a method to fix it by submitting an account correction request starting in January 2022. The city is putting the information together to correct this as it shows an out of balance with city wards; the other two wards had healthy growth.
  • meetings are scheduled with the Saline County Fair Board and Izaak Walton league with the mayor and myself about Tuxedo Park;
  • building permits are attached to meeting materials; local building construction, even with this economy, is healthy; Brad Bailey, Building Inspector, noted he has not seen a slow down at all, just some fluctuations due to prices changes.
  • the city is continuing aggressive work with nuisance properties from code enforcement, the police department, public works, building inspector, and the city attorney, are all very active, and the nuisance board is meeting regularly on property issues.
• Mayor Dave Bauer commented on the library dedication and grand opening, saying it was a great event as far as attendance and was done professionally. He heard and received a lot of compliments to pass on to the library. The city has a lot of things good going on and the library’s definitely one of them. Tom mentioned the library and Sampson Construction are up for an award from AGC.

Meeting adjourned.

Summary for Crete City Council regular meeting - Tuesday, Sept. 7
View this Meeting Agenda and attachments

The council approved the Consent Agenda items:

• Minutes of the following meetings: City Council Aug. 17, City Council Special Meeting Aug. 24 and Aug. 31, City Council Public Hearing Aug. 31, Legislative and Economic Development Committee Aug. 17, Finance Committee Aug. 17
• Treasurer’s Report
• Claims against the City

The Council approved the Library's request to have liquor, using a licensed caterer, in the Community Room for its "A conversation with Mark and Andy" Event on October 7, 2021.

• Joy Stevenson, Library Director explained the event is a library fundraiser with catered food, a performance by Andrew Carnegie and Mark Twain impersonators, and quilt auction; tickets are $50 per person; Kyle Manley, City Attorney, recommended going with a caterer for the cash bar who will apply for the SDL (special designated license).

The Council entered into a contract with Kingery Construction in the amount of $285,039 for interior demolition of the Isis Theatre.

• Tom Ourada, City Administrator, explained this issue went to the Finance Committee prior to the council meeting; the city received an addendum to the contract with Kingery stating these costs and the demolition phase that will be completed first, however, Kyle Manley had asked for this to be split into two contracts, one for the demolition and another for the construction; the city also asked for and received a check from the Blue River Arts Council for the above costs, to include this demo phase. The committee was concerned about the city’s liability for the rest of the construction costs stated in this version of the contract, if approved, and asked about the possibility of getting two separate contracts from Kingery this week.
• Shaylene Smith, chair of BRAC, explained the actual demolition cost is only about $20,000 so this amount is above what is needed right now; the city has had a version of this contract for at least a year, and since May with more accurate costs. The Mayor countered that we had to find a way to protect the City and taxpayers and until the contract was amended, we didn’t have that. She said BRAC had to have the total project costs, demo plus construction, in the contract in order to apply for grants for the total project. This is also a design-build process, meaning Kingery will demo some of the interior structure so that the architect can get a better picture of the space and scope to complete the final design. This contract says that Kingery won’t do the final design after the demo if we can’t pay and emails from Kingery staff clarify this statement. The addendum clarifies the current demo phase. She said BRAC has the money to get started and would like to move forward.
•  Mayor Dave Bauer explained the Finance Committee was concerned when Kingery put the total amount of the project in this contract leading to concerns about the city’s liability.
• Council member Jack Oelschlager said he agreed with the mayor that they need to protect the city, but the arts council has done a lot of work to get to this point, so let’s get going if this is the contract that works for us.
• Council member Travis Sears asked Kyle Manley if this explanation was good enough to approve this version of the contract now. Manley said it was with the inclusion of emails from Kingery and the addendum.
• Ourada reminded the Council that there is still the matter of the construction contract to decide. Smith said she was waiting for a purchase agreement or some guidance on what the City wanted to do. Ourada reminded the Finance Committee that he saw three options that he discussed with the committee earlier. 1) To move forward with the construction portion of the contract and oversee the construction with Brad Bailey performing oversight, and the City having change order control, 2) sell the building to BRAC and BRAC could then do all of that, or some hybrid between the City and BRAC. The Finance Committee didn’t weigh in on a path during the meeting. Smith voiced her preference for BRAC to pay earnest money up front and have the City retain ownership of the building through construction for tax purposes. The City took no further action.

The Council approved Change Order #2 with Van Kirk Bros in the amount of $1,660.00 for the 2020 Water System Improvements Project.

The Council issued a Certificate of Substantial Completion to Van Kirk Bros. Contracting for the 2020 Water System Improvements Project.

• Ourada explained with the final change order, the project is done and has been inspected by the engineer.

The Council adopted Resolution 2021-09: A resolution appointing an alternate representative to MEAN and NMPP.

• Mike Kalkwarf will replace Brian Schmidt as the alternate. Kalkwarf used to be the alternate but rules changed to limit the position to someone who lived within city limits; now the rules have changed again to city employees, without other limitations on residence.

The Council waived three readings and enacted Ordinance 2131: An ordinance creating a vacant and neglected property registration.

• Ourada said the Legislative and Economic Development Committee made a recommendation at the last meeting and have looked at it further. Without this ordinance, nuisance property ordinances do not cover aspects that this ordinance does; He noted that Kyle Manley did a good job with this and the Legislative Committee has a done a good job meeting on this numerous times. He also said this is highly needed in terms of how the city attorney, police chief, building inspector, and code enforcement navigate issues related to these types of buildings.
• Council member Ryan Hinz said the city needs something to address these buildings that are vacant/abandoned/neglected before they become condemned, etc. This ordinance has multiple layers to stop the process and address changes in a property’s status if it improves. We are trying to come up with economic programs to address these needs for property owners and help them improve their properties.

The Council authorized an additional 1% Restricted Funds Authority for fiscal year 2021-2022.

• Jerry Wilcox, City Clerk-Treasurer, explained state statute requires the city budget restricted funds specifically - property tax and sales tax funds. There is a lid limit to the amount of restricted funds the city can increase every year; there is a 2.5% allowable growth within the city - if growth is more than 2.5%, the city can increase the restricted funds by that amount; this increases the restricted funds authority carried into the next year.

The Council will consider approving the proposed annual budget for fiscal year 2021-2022 and authorizing its submission to the appropriate county and state entities.

• Wilcox said this information includes actual budget numbers from 2019-2020, estimates for the current year 2020-2021, and budgeted numbers for 2021-2022. 
• Operating budget:  2020-2021 - $34,383,000; 2021-2022 - $35,779,000;  4% increase.

The Council adopted Resolution 2021-10: A resolution setting the property tax request for fiscal year 2021-2022.

• The city’s property tax request is $1,398,850, down 1% from last budget year (2020 - $1,414,000);
• 2021 levy - 0.425146; 2020 levy - 0.489826; 13% decrease
• 2020 to 2021 - 12% tax valuation increase: $293,778,066 to $329,028,496

The Council waived three readings and enacted Ordinance 2137: An ordinance adopting the approved budget statement as the Annual Appropriation Bill for fiscal year 2021-2022.

The Council amended the Master Fee Schedule to add electric vehicle parking and charging rates.

• Ourada said this was recommended by the Public Works Committee. The new electric vehicle charging station would be 13.5 cents per kWh, which is $1.05 per hour; after 4 hours of charging it will charge $10 per hour as a parking disincentive.

The Council waived three readings and enacted Ordinance 2138: An ordinance setting the wages and salaries of city officers and non-bargaining unit employees.

• Ourada explained this is a 3% increase; he talked with the mayor about where to target this increase and about what other communities were doing in comparison.

The Council approved new firefighters Josh Marcelino, 22, and Andrew AJ Page, 20, and added them to the City's insurance roles.

• Ourada said he wanted to extend employee introductions to new fire department members so the council can see who is responding to emergencies and protecting life and property in the city; Marcelino said he wanted to help his community and Page said he will be the third generation of his family to serve on CVFD.
• Mayor Bauer said it was good to see who these people are and thanked them for what they do for the city.

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, reminded the council and staff about the library’s grand opening event on Sept. 15 at 1:30 p.m.
• Wendy Thomas, Human Resources Coordinator, reported on payroll and the new time keeping system and said the city is working on hiring a new police officer position to fill a vacant position.
• Jack Oelschlager, Council Member Ward III, thanked city employees and committees for their work on putting together the budget.
• Dan Papik, Council Member Ward I, thanked city staff for their work on preparing the budget numbers and also thanked the police and fire departments for what they do for the community.
• Mayor Dave Bauer said he was disappointed in Scott Bartels of Saline County Area Transit and his attempt to “put a scare” into passengers with misinformation that the city was cutting the program. Bauer and the city are working on information and numbers regarding this service to find the best solution for Crete and the residents who utilize this service.

Meeting adjourned.