Council Summaries - Nov. 1 and Nov. 15, 2022

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 next Crete City Council regular meeting will be Tuesday, Dec. 6.

Summary for Crete City Council regular meeting - Tuesday, Nov. 15
View this Meeting Agenda and attachments

Council members Ryan Hinz and Travis Sears were absent.

The council approved the Consent Agenda items:

• Minutes of the following meetings: City Council Nov. 1, Finance Committee Nov. 1, Legislative and Economic Development Committee Nov. 1, Public Safety Committee Nov. 1, Public Works Committee Nov. 1
• Treasurer’s Report
• Payment of claims against the City 

The Council tabled the following item to the next council meeting in December: approval of the payment of claims against the City to Crete Ace Hardware in the amount of $835.63.

• City Administrator Tom Ourada first explained that this claim is regularly pulled out of the consent agenda because it is a claim for city purchases made from a business owned by Council Member Dan Papik and he should abstain from voting on it. This way, he can vote on the above consent agenda, which includes other city payment claims, while abstaining from the vote on this claim individually.
• Only four council members were present at this meeting, meaning with one abstention, three votes would not make a majority.

The Council voted 4-0 to approve right-of-way permits for Windstream Nebraska for fiber placement. Ourada said these are more design plans that address the ongoing Windstream fiber project in Crete.

The Council voted 4-0 to issue a special event permit for Crete Cares' food distribution event on December 10, 2022 and authorizing the closure of Linden Ave from 9th Street to 10th Street.

•  This request was made of the city and referred to Acting Police Chief Gary Young who met with the event’s coordinator, Brent Braunberger, to work out details. The Public Works Committee also met on this earlier in the evening. Committee Chair Dale Strehle said this is a very busy pickup event for December Crete Cares holiday meal boxes and they recommended this traffic plan to assist.

The Council voted 4-0 to install a stop sign at the intersection of Highway 103 and West 1st Street.

• Ourada explained this is the entrance to Belohlavy Estates with new streets, West 1st Street connected to Belohlavy Drive. This is critical as it’s a stop sign between a city-owned street and a state highway. This new section on 1st Street also aligns with the city’s current 1st Street.

The Council voted 4-0 to adopt Resolution 2022-12: A resolution authorizing the Mayor to sign the NDOT Year-End Certification of City Street Superintendent form. 

• Ourada explained this is an annual requirement and generally automatic; many municipalities have a Class A Street Superintendent on staff and he is the city’s acting Street Superintendent with a Class A license. The City has obligations for One & Six Year Improvement Plans, SARs accounting, etc., to submit to the State DOT, in turn we get a highway allocation of nearly ¾ million dollars which funds our street operations for the entire year.

The Council voted 4-0 to authorize the Police Department to apply for NDOT Highway Safety grants for the "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" campaign and for an in-car camera system. 

• Young explained first about the camera grant in that the department found out this week the camera system they originally applied for will no longer be manufactured. This  agenda item includes their new grant application for a camera system that will work with existing systems. The want to ensure any new technology integrates with current systems and are working with vendors and Southeast Communications 911 Center in Beatrice. This item was also heard and recommended by the Public Safety Committee.

The Council voted 4-0 to approve two bids from Hawk's Plumbing & Heating to replace (1) the Hangar #2 shop heater and (2) the airport office heating and air conditioning.

• Ourada explained this item is on the council agenda now that the airport is under the city’s jurisdiction; there are expense claims that will come to the city council. The Airport Advisory Board did approve these expenses.

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.

• Joy Stevensen, Library Director:
  • the library hosted three author visits in about three weeks, including two New York Times bestselling authors;
  • staff will host an activity at the Breakfast with Santa community event on Saturday, Dec. 3;
  •  the library will host a Grinch event on Saturday, Dec. 17
• Gary Young, Acting Police Chief:
  • we have big events coming up after Thanksgiving with the start of donations to Operation Under the Tree; Officer Dawn Jonas has helped grow this into a county-wide event and also uses donations year-round; they will start the donation drive the two days after Thanksgiving at Walmart (Friday and Saturday, Nov. 25-26). This is a big undertaking and all officers volunteer their time; it’s a community effort with many other groups involved.
  • K9 Hunk had is first deployment and first drug find; we worked with the sheriff’s office; both Officer Audrey Arbuckle and Hunk did a an excellent job; 
  • we are getting the electronics side of the K9 vehicle ready to go; Mike Kalkwarf is working on this for us.
• Kyle Frans, Council Member - Ward 3, thanked the fire department, police, and city for their participation in the Halloween trunk or treat; his kids attended and kids were still talking about it in the weeks afterward.
• Tom Ourada, City Administrator:
  • a pre-construction conference will be held on the box culvert at 22nd and Ivy with a project start on Nov. 30;
  • gap paving project design plans are nearly done;
  • he will be at power pool meetings in Kearney on Wednesday and Thursday;
  • Police Captain interviews will be conducted on Friday for three internal and two external candidates; we again have high-quality internal candidates for this position;
  • Historic Preservation Commission request for members went up today online, as well as an announcement of current vacancies on boards and commissions;
  • current city employment opening include- Street Operator, Water Operator, Janitor, Recreation Coordinator, Bookkeeper. Wendy is working to fill those vacancies.

Meeting adjourned.

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

Council member Kyle Frans was absent.

The council approved the Consent Agenda items:

• Minutes of the following meetings: City Council Oct. 18, Public Works Committee Oct. 4 and Oct. 18, Finance Committee Oct. 18, Public Safety Committee Oct. 18
• Treasurer’s Report
• Payment of claims against the City 
• Approve the Mayor's appointment of Kyle Manley to the Blue River Arts Council Board as the City's representative.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve alcohol for Blue River Arts Council's Artist Reception at the Library Gallery Wall on November 4, 2022.

• BRAC Board President Shaylene Smith explained that with small events like this for an artist reception it doesn’t make sense to have catered alcohol and asked that the arts council be allowed to serve alcohol for about an hour for about 20 people. There will be no alcohol sales, just wine and snacks as this is their first foray into doing an artist reception for the library’s gallery wall.
• City Attorney Kyle Manley explained the city asks other people to request council approval to have alcohol at an event in a city facility, whether they are selling or not; this type of request has been made for past library events.
• City Administrator Tom Ourada said this can be done by the council on a case by case basis.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the Library to apply for a Library Internship Grant through the Nebraska Library Commission. 

• Library Director Joy Stevenson explained this is the third year the library would like to apply for this $1,000 grant for a student intern from the Education program at Doane University to help with planning and attending Summer Reading Program activities.

The Council voted 5-0 to enter into a contract with the Saline County Rural Fire Protection District for 2022-2023.

• This item was discussed at the Public Safety Committee by Fire Chief Tod Allen. There is an additional $10,000 available as funding. Included in the explanation to the Council and public, Ourada added that Chief Allen was presented with badge No. 1 by Lincoln Fire and Rescue the previous evening.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the proposal of Brandt Excavating for demolition of the six Hazard Mitigation Program properties.

• Ourada said this is a continuation of what was acted upon at the previous meeting with approval of the asbestos inspection contract on six flood plain properties being purchased by the city.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the proposals from Environmental Services Inc. for asbestos abatement on two of the Hazard Mitigation Program properties.

• Ourada explained two properties tested positive for asbestos and these are the abatement agreements.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve a right-of-way permit for Windstream Nebraska at Arizona Avenue, West 12th Street, Heather Drive, and Briar Avenue for fiber placement.

The Council voted 4-0 (with one abstention) to approve the payment of claims against the City to Ace Hardware in the amount of $1,026.05.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the updated water tap fees from the Public Works Committee.

• Ourada said the Public Works Director did an analysis and updates of the fees in this and the following agenda item. Public Works Committee chair Dale Strehle said information indicated these fees had not been reviewed in recent memory.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the updated equipment rental rates from the Public Works Committee.

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.

• Gary Young, Acting Police Chief:
  •  today (Tuesday) was Chief Steve Hensel’s last day; it was a bit emotional, but good to see him on the way to enjoying his retirement;
  • Young thanked everyone for support of the community trunk or treat with city vehicles present from multiple departments; over 700 kids participated; he appreciates the city’s involvement in helping increase this event beyond what was done previously at the PD;
• Tod Allen, Fire Chief, gave an update on firefighter Brad Elder, who was severely injured during the Lancaster County wildfires on Oct. 23: he had skin grafts this week and can’t have visitors for a few days; where the incident happened was in defense of a structure and Crete firefighters saved the house as well as another structure; a second Crete firefighter, who also suffered burns pulling Brad out of flames, is also doing well. They did lose 50 feet of hose.
• Jack Oelschlager, Council Member Ward III, thanked all the firefighters who were out there on Oct. 23 and the hours they put in to fight the wildfires.
• Tom Ourada, City Administrator:
  • 'Gary Young will assume the duties of Acting Police Chief later today (Tuesday); Tom also met with Chief Hensel today for the last time;
  •  the Comprehensive Plan process is moving forward with a Steering Committee meeting at 5:30 Wednesday;
  • he received an email contact on post-Census corrections; an intern from Cornell University is working on one for Detroit and wanted to know how the city handled the process; they had similar undercounts from college campuses;
  • he heard back from Doane University President Roger Hughes and Director of Facilities Operations and Construction Projects Brian Flesner; they are agreeable in allowing a long term lease on Doane property for the new electric substation;
  • he met with the new Nestle plant manager, Dan Neil, letting him know of the city’s annexation plan on North Boswell, including property with their warehouse; he seems like he’ll be engaged in the community;
  • Crete Housing and Development Corp. has sold one of the new townhouses; it is using workforce development grant funds, the city’s LB840 funds, and a local developer;
  • Brian Stork gave notice today as Public Works Director; he was doing well with us and we hate to see him go;
  • the Street Department will be advertising one position; there were two staff changes recently;
  • he will be at NMPP energy committee meetings in Lincoln in the morning, Wednesday and Thursday this week;
  • a schedule heads up: July 4, 2023 is a regular council meeting night; City Clerk Jerry Wilcox sends the meeting notices in an annual batch for publication -  the council will need to address this.
• Mayor Dave Bauer thanked Crete Volunteer Fire Department members and surrounding departments, as well as farmers and others who helped during the wildfires. “You really understand what small towns are about when you see things like that.”
  • He also commended Fire Chief Tod Allen, on receiving badge No. 1 as a member of Lincoln Fire and Rescue, indicating he has the most seniority of all members of that department. “That is a big thing for Tod and it’s a great tie to Crete.”

Meeting adjourned.