Council Summaries - Aug. 2 and Aug. 16, 2022

Special Meeting - Budget Work Session, Aug. 23

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.

The Crete City Council regular meeting will be Tuesday, Sept. 6.

Summary for Crete City Council Special meeting - Tuesday, Aug. 23
View this Meeting Agenda and attachments

Council member Ryan Hinz was absent.

The Council held a work session to review department budgets.

• City Administrator Tom Ourada explained the budget is balanced and looks good. Through various meetings the mayor has seen several versions. There will be some funding carryover and some expense continuations, along with a couple of new things including the addition of the police department’s K9 unit and a budget for Nancy Tellez as Community Assistance Director. This is also Brian Stork’s first budget as Public Works Director.
• City Clerk/Treasurer Jerry Wilcox explained parts of the budget as seen in the agenda materials and how the city starts putting the budget together based on municipal sales tax, property tax, and various funds. 
  • the council budget hearing and levy will be published notices in the newspaper;
  • local property valuation increased by 5.5% over last year;
  • general fund: property tax request saw a total increase of 1.28%; 
  • the city is allowed allowed 45 cents on the levy with an additional 5 cents with interlocal agreements; the total levy is 41.7 cents
  • property tax asking totals about $1.450 million
  •  municipal equalization went down between $90,000-$100,000
  • the city records expenses of $603,400 for interlocal agreements (not subject to the levy limit)
• Ourada said the city has a fairly healthy budget and continues to be successful in how we’ve been growing and managing the city; it’s more of a long distance race than a sprint. We’ve been talking about adding another police officer and one way that is financially effective is to have another school resource officer and have get 3/4 paid for through an interlocal agreement.

General Funds

• Wilcox went through different funds in this category:
  • sales tax collection is a little over $2 million:  1/4 goes to LB840, 1/4 to LB357, and the rest to operations;
  • Keno funds yield about $200,000 for community improvement.
  • bond fund - includes property tax and homestead exemption, motor vehicle prorate, transfers to balance the journal, payments for tax exempt bonds, insurance contingency for a large deductible if needed; capital reserve; 
  • Capital outlay is vehicles and equipment, capital improvements - streets, buildings, gap paving, 22nd Street box culvert, park expansion, covered with bond proceeds, highway allocation bonds;
  • Additional funds: Hazard Mitigation fund, LB840 Fund, TIF Fund, CCCFF Fund (Theatre), Housing Fund - with incentive grant money; DTR fund; Health Savings fund - portion city pays on high deductible plans.

Fire Department

• Ourada said this budget was close to being unchanged, but does go up a bit. They are taking a businesslike approach will be more aggressive with the collections in terms of billing issues.
• Wilcox sits in on the department’s annual budget meeting and explained a big issue going forward will be the switch in billing companies and no longer neglecting some collection issues.
• Highland Fire 
  • They will collect $50,000, with $41,000 towards a bond for the purchase of Crete’s newest fire truck and $9,000 for operations.
  • Ourada explained the Equipment 2 line is the budget the city participates in, giving an annual $50,000 as a sinking fund for the purchase of trucks and ambulances.

Police Department

• Lt. Gary Young explained several major items that stick out are the cost of cars, retirement and social security taxes, workers compensation insurance, and the new K9 unit budget. In the general police budget, they have done what we can and kept it as reasonable as they possibly can. Some increases include software agreements for the Investigative Sergeant, which has already paid dividends.
• Ourada reported that it’s astounding how well Investigative Sgt Morehouse and the department is succeeding this new position and what has been accomplished in terms of finding information and efficiently completing investigations.
• Young said the K9 budget was tallied using a scientific stab in the dark and a big item will be the car, totaling about $75,000. For other items, such as supplies and veterinary care, they took general information from agencies around the area and used those numbers, which will be refined as the program continues. Nestle Purina will donate the food and has already contacted the department. 
• Sgt. Chad Menagh reported on the department’s capital outlay budget, which includes outfitting a new patrol car with increased base price, and equipment, including vests, vest carriers, tasers, and equipment. A large building expense will repair water damage from previous roof damage. Under communication items, the telephone expense is fairly large for 911 equipment and routing, a contractual agreement with Southeast 911 Communications Center in Beatrice. PD also carries a portion of the MyGov online program for the code enforcement module.
• Ourada explained the advantages from potential K9 activity can’t be put down tangibly, but they plan on aiding enforcement at the interstate where there may be funds collected. If you can get this kind of money for your results it could yield additional resources. He wanted any additional resources that may result to be prioritized to investigations, the K9 unit, and possibly setting up an additional k9 unit.

Library

• Ourada said this budget portion went up 10.7%, in part for salaries and part utilities, which were both under budgeted last year. He said Library Director Joy Stevenson was worried about her utilities budget the first year of the new building, but that kind of item is a crapshoot and we will know more after a few years of operation to develop trending. Each year has been different, too, in terms of library operations in the new building.
• Stevenson said line items they have more control over, including books and programs, have been lowered slightly.
• Ourada said through comparability studies, some salaries are currently above the array, middle positions should go up, and the director should go up.

Public Works

• Ourada said these budgets are balanced and Brian did a good job for his first budget as director.
• Brian Stork started with the Street Department budget and said it’s in line with what we’ve had for last two years.
• Ourada commented on landfill reserves, which are held for the future closing of the landfill and related to the cost to decommission the area and to acquire new property and open another. This is part of the Seward/Saline Compact, per state law. He said we are at a reserve level where we are comfortable to leave it, but would not want to raid it. It’s an unfunded mandate that we fund ourselves. Additional property has been procured for expansion of the current landfill, which accommodated many yards of contaminated soil waste from the Hastings area. Ourada said it’s currently being operated as an enterprise and the operators are selling off its capacity which has depleted some or the expected lifespan it was projected to run in its current location.
• Stork reported on large Water Department items, including $40,000 for repairs to some pump houses and $55,000 in distribution main meters.
• The Sewer Assets budget includes $39,000 in treatment equipment for UV lights, and replace fuser membranes, which have wear and tear; and $30,000 to replace a vehicle. 
• The Cemetery budget had few changes and they have adjusted predicted revenue for some categories to what has been actual revenue in previous years.
• The Wanek Community Center budget saw a reduction in rental revenue, likely due to Library Community Room rental. Ourada wants to invest in Capital outlay plans for a future remodel, which Ourada said could create a better asset.
• Water revenues are increased based on the water rate study and increases for inflation on parts, equipment, and planned maintenance services.

Parks and Recreation

• The Parks budget has a 1% increase. Some salaries are indicated for increases in comparison with the array. He will have some recommendations for the Personnel Committee soon. The pool budget has  increases in operations and salaries, but as a whole goes down less than 1%. There was a discussion on keeping up with local jobs in regards to pool salaries and maintaining comparability with the array. The Recreation budget stayed flat.

Electric Department

• Ourada said the electric department has the largest single budget and at $12 Million even a 3.9% rate increase look spectacular. The almost 4% rate increase will finish with a positive balance of $146,000 and Tom assumes the council will pass the rate increase. Some salary increases come from looking at the array.
• We typically will put everything in the budget that we may do in a given year, with not all projects completed. This budget includes nearly $5 million in capital outlay. Projects include demo/decommissioning of the fuel farm for $250,000; actual substation funding; city network switching; new subdivision cabling; a new substation transformer and distribution transformers along with Doane’s new dorm transformer. The transformer needed for the new dormitory is normally $30,000 or less, and we are looking at a low bid of $61,000 with a metals adder adjustment when manufactured. We are looking smart metering and would move forward contingent on a grant as the project is expected to be well over $750,000.
• Most items authorized in this budget will be brought back to the council for further approval/purchase approval, etc.

Municipal Airport

• The Airport budget is a pseudo-city budget with an elected, and often appointed board. It is under our levy limits. The Airport Authority creates their budget and they currently have no outstanding bonds.
• Wilcox serves as treasurer and the board did not request any property tax; they have a  balanced budget on hangar rentals and land leases with some farmers.

Meeting adjourned.

Summary for Crete City Council regular meeting - Tuesday, Aug. 16
View this Meeting Agenda and attachments

Council member Dan Papik was absent.

The council approved the Consent Agenda items:

• Minutes of the following meetings: City Council Aug. 2, Finance Committee Aug. 2, Public Safety Committee Aug. 2, Legislative and Economic Development Committee Aug. 2, Public Works Committee July 19,
• Treasurer’s Report
• Payment of claims against the City

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the payment of Claims Against the City to Crete Ace Hardware in the amount of $1,359.53

The Council voted 5-0 to approve Windstream Nebraska's application for a permit to occupy city right-of-way at various locations on East 14th Street for fiber placement.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve Windstream Nebraska's application for a permit to occupy city right-of-way at various locations on West 13th Street for fiber placement.

The Council voted 5-0 to renew of the city's membership with the Southeast Nebraska Development District for fiscal year 2022-2023.

• City Administrator Tom Ourada explained the potential benefits the city has available from this organization for economic development and grant opportunities. Questions have been posed about the value of this membership recently as SENDD has been going through some reorganization. Legislative and Economic Development Committee Chair Ryan Hinz said SENDD does offer specialization in types of grant programs the city uses and the committee recommended extending the membership for another year to see these benefits.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve Crete High School's application for a special event permit for their homecoming parade.

• This is in conjunction with 150Fest downtown on Friday, Sept. 2, which involves Doane University and the Blue River Arts Council. This parade will start at Crete Public Schools Cardinal Welcome Center and proceed north on Main Ave. to 12th Street and east to City Park. Teacher Betsy Kozisek, a representative of CHS Student Council, spoke to the Public Works Committee about this event and the school’s attempt to bring back some Homecoming traditions.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve street closures at 12th and Norman for a Crete, Doane, and BRAC event scheduled for September 2, 2022.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the second reading of Ordinance 2150: An ordinance relating to the annexation of property south of 29th Street and Betten Drive. 

• Ourada explained at the first reading on Aug. 2 that this was requested by Dittmer and Dittmer and because they are requesting the annexation, it eliminates several statutory steps the city would have to go through if the city started the process.

The Council voted 5-0 to table the following item to the next council meeting: approving a water tower lease agreement with NextLink. Ourada recommended negotiating an agreement that more closely reflects energy costs.

The Council voted 5-0 to waive three readings and enact Ordinance 2153: An ordinance regulating the operation of all-terrain vehicles and utility-type vehicles.

• Ourada explained this item has been in the works for over a year from the date of first request and went to the Public Safety Committee. City Attorney Kyle Manley put a lot of work into this. Public Safety Committee chair Jack Oelschlager said this includes a $100 license fee for city inspection and registration of each unit.

The Council voted 5-0 to adopt Resolution 2022-06: A resolution forming a Railway Transportation Safety District with Saline County

• Ourada said the Saline County Board of Commissioners will have a resolution of its own on their agenda. The RTSD is a political subdivision created by the Nebraska Legislature in 1971 to help cities and counties together provide funds for railway safety related projects. Crete, as the only first class city in the county (cities with populations over 5,000) will have representation with three City Council members joining three County Commissioners on this new board.

The Council voted 5-0 to waive three readings and enact Ordinance 2152: An ordinance relating to the membership and organization of boards and commissions.

• Ourada explained this was discussed at the previous meeting as a change to assist the Planning Commission, which has had difficulty meeting with a quorum on occasion. This also aligns the city code to state statute.

Petition - Communication - Citizen Concern: 

Citizen testimony may be limited to 3 minutes per person. Please do not repeat testimony that has already be heard. No action can be taken on matters presented under this title except to answer any questions or to refer the matter for further action.

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:
  • the community back to school picnic was a fantastic success; Doane estimates over 750 attended; over 1,000 hot dogs were donated and they cooked well over 600 to serve; 
  • Officer Audrey Arbuckle is working very hard during K9 training in the Texas heat; her latest activities include tracking and drug detection; it has been intense and difficult, but it’s obvious she was an excellent choice as our first K9 handler;
• Joy Stevenson, Library Director, shared information on a retirement reception for Susan Church on Monday, Sept. 19, from 3-5 p.m. at the library, hosted by the Friends of Crete Public Library;
• Jerry Wilcox reported on information for the League annual meeting in September;
• Jack Oelschlager, Council Member - Ward II, complemented the Crete Volunteer Fire Department on a great job battling a house fire on Saturday in the heat with help from Wilber and Dorchester departments
• Tom Ourada, City Administrator:
  • the police chief ad is still running and there has been local interest as well as interest from other in-state and out-of-state candidates;
  • he will be at MEAN (Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska) meetings on Wednesday and Thursday, while Jerry will be at Legislative meeting;
  • we’ve started the comprehensive planning process with Confluence; they will meet with us and the council and are in constant communication;
  • a council budget work session is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 23 at 5 p.m.;

he asked Saline County Commissioner Phil Hardenburger to come in and talk about city/county radios and networking, Phil has been a great communicator and representative of the City and community’s needs.

• Mayor Dave Bauer
  • he talked with Hardenburger, who shared the county board did approve a housing plan;
  • the community back to school picnic was a very big success with all the people working and involved in it; the kids looked excited to go back to school.

The Council entered executive session to discuss the purchase of real estate for new recreational fields.

Meeting adjourned.

Summary for Crete City Council regular meeting - Tuesday, Aug. 2
View this Meeting Agenda and attachments

Dan Papik, Council Member Ward I, was absent.

The council approved the Consent Agenda items:

• Minutes of the following meetings: City Council July 19, Public Works Committee June 21 and July 5, Finance Committee July 19, Legislative and Economic Development Committee July 19, Parks and Recreation Committee July 19, Public Safety Committee July 19
• Treasurer’s Report
• Payment of claims against the City 
• Mayor Appointments 
  • Appointment of Jim Homan to the Cemetery Board 
  • Reappointment of Fabiola Dimas and Jim Crouse to the Library Board, with terms ending July 1, 2026

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the payment of claims to ACE Hardware in the amount of $211.59.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve Windstream Nebraska's application for a permit to occupy city right-of-way at various locations along East 4th Street for fiber placement.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve Windstream Nebraska's application for a permit to occupy city right-of-way at various locations along Boswell Avenue for fiber placement.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve Application for Payment No. 1 to General Excavating in the amount of $5,545.99 for the East 22nd Street project. Tom explained they haven’t started yet, and this payment was for reimbursing their bid bond cost, which is an allowed expense.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve Application for Payment No. 2 to Stephens & Smith in the amount of $5,820 for sidewalk and concrete work. City Administrator Tom Ourada explained this is a progress payment on the work done so far and does not reflect the demo work currently underway in the downtown area.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve putting pedestrian crossing and stop signs at 20th Street and Main Avenue.

• Ourada explained that enhancements were done and others are planned at North Ward Park that will increase pedestrian traffic at the park. With the new paving on adjacent streets, ADA pedestrian approaches were installed. He talked with the mayor about improving this intersection with marked pedestrian crossings, however, he thought a crossing alone wouldn’t work well with the traffic speed and volume, so adding pedestrian crossings with stop signs would be prudent. The Public Works committee agreed and recommended proceeding to the Council with the crossings and four-way stop.

The Council voted 5-0 to adopt Resolution 2022-05: A resolution to extend the city's insurance coverage with the League Association of Risk Management.

• Travis Sears, Finance Committee chair, said their recommendation is to stick to the city’s current schedule with two years left on the contract with a 180-day notice of renewal. They suggested looking at rebidding when appropriate to see where we are in terms of insurance coverage rates.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the Fire Department enter into an agreement with Collections Professionals Inc.

• There was considerable discussion on this with the Public Safety Committee. Assistant Fire Chief James Yost explained that currently, the fire department does not send people to collections for unpaid EMS (emergency medical services - ambulance services) and in the last two years they estimate about $250,000 in unpaid bills were written off. The department’s current billing company works exclusively with Collections Professionals, Inc., which offers payments plans and communicates well with customers to work out solutions. Yost also explained ambulance billing is how the department funds EMS rescue services. Yost explained the volunteer department is not in this for the money, but there is little funding for EMS compared to fire services and they operate a necessary EMS service in a climate with increased expenses.
• Sears asked for clarification that the collection agency does give annual reports and recommended a review of those after a year to gauge the effectiveness of the service.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve payment to Vyhnalek Insurance in the amount of $4,737 for supplemental insurance. 

• Jack Oelschlager, Public Safety Committee chair, explained this is annual insurance coverage for fire department members who are hurt on a department call and unable to work their primary job.

The Council voted 5-0 to waive three readings and adopt Ordinance 2150: An ordinance relating to the sale and discharge of fireworks.

• Ourada said this change was requested from previous committee meetings and was amended by City Attorney Kyle Manley. A single change was made to the end time for sales and discharge of fireworks on July 3, with a change from Midnight to 11 p.m.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the first reading of Ordinance 2151: An ordinance relating to the annexation of property south of 29th Street and Betten Drive.

• Ourada said this was requested by Dittmer and Dittmer and because they are requesting the annexation, it eliminates several statutory steps the city would have to go through if the city started the process.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the updated library policies for Collections Development and Records Confidentiality. 

• Ourada said these two policies were tabled at the last meeting and have since been reviewed and amended further by the City Attorney to reflect changes in operations and to comply with existing ordinances.

The Council Consider amending City Code Chapter 2, Article 3, Section 2-301 to reflect state statute.

• Ourada explained the change aims to assist the Planning Commission, which has had difficulty meeting with a quorum on occasion. By city ordinance, city employees cannot be a member, while state statute only limits elected officials from serving on boards of this type. The Planning Commission can have an alternate member, but that person would also need to be up to speed on issues and regularly attend. Currently two city employees always attend meetings, Ourada and City Clerk Jerry Wilcox, who also live in city limits; they could serve as an alternate, and not necessarily a permanent member of the commission, if the ordinance were directly in line with state statute and allowed municipal employees to serve on the commission. Ourada noted that while employees could also hold regular commission positions, it’s better that citizens hold the those positions.
• Ryan Hinz, Legislative and Community Development Committee chair, said they recommended changing the ordinance so the commission has the ability to have an alternate member who may be a city employee. He said this could help the commission be more effective.

Petition - Communication - Citizen Concern: 

Citizen testimony may be limited to 3 minutes per person. Please do not repeat testimony that has already be heard. No action can be taken on matters presented under this title except to answer any questions or to refer the matter for further action.

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.

• Steve Hensel, Police Chief, called on Sgt. Jon Pucket, who shared a photo from Officer Arbuckle’s K9 training in Texas with the city’s 11-month-old old Belgian Malinois, named Hunk.
• Brian Stork, Public Works Director reported that replacement media at the water treatment plant is done.
• Nancy Tellez, Community Assistance Director,  invited everyone to the Back to School Picnic, Thursday, Aug. 4, from 5-8:30 p.m., at Doane’s Cassel Outdoor Theatre, stating a lot of help from the community has made it come together again this year.
• Tom Ourada, City Administrator:
  • he and the mayor attended the Saline County Commissioners meeting this morning (Tuesday):
    • an invited group shared information on providing workforce housing with Crete, Friend, Dorchester, DeWitt, and Wilber; the county board voted to take action on the group’s proposal and fees at their next meeting; 
    • County Commissioner Phil Hardenburger asked them to stay for the proposed RTSD (Railway Transportation Safety District) agenda item. They had a number very good questions and Tom presented points outlining the benefits, i.e., there are more crossings in the county than there are in Crete and surrounding towns, as of several years ago, Wilber had more crossings than Crete, so the benefits are available to many more people than Crete residents. After considerable discussion, they passed a motion to move forward to create an RTSD; Tom thought they were very proactive and it will take action on the part of the county attorney and city attorney to move forward with resolutions; he explained representatives would appear before the RTSD board to request improvements for rail crossings, railway safety, and quiet zones studies; Mayor Dave Bauer said they thought they would have more questions and it was the opposite of what they thought would happen; this is good news moving forward;
  • the city’s Comprehensive Plan steering committee will meet Wednesday at 4 p.m.; Tom noted the city budget is on track and he will meet with the mayor and need to schedule a council work session;
  • he is working on comparability with Wendy Thomas, Human Resources Director, which will create some substantial changes; these changes will go to the Personnel Committee and be used as a basis for a salary ordinance moving forward;
  • the library has a job opening that will be sent out through internal email first, then Wendy will do an external recruitment if there are no potential employees who apply for a transfer; Susan Church is retiring mid September and has done a great job in her career with the Library.
• Mayor Dave Bauer called an executive session regarding possible purchase of real estate.

Meeting adjourned.