Council Summaries - July 5 and 18, 2023

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, Aug. 1

Summary for Crete City Council regular meeting - Tuesday, July 18
View this Meeting Agenda and attachments

Dale Strehle and Tom Crisman, Council Members for Ward II, were absent.

The council approved the Consent Agenda items:

• Minutes of the following meetings: City Council July 5, Public Works Committee June 6 and June 20, Finance Committee July 5, Legislative and Economic Development Committee July 5, Personnel Committee July 5, Public Safety Committee July 5, Parks and Recreation Committee July 11,
• Treasurer’s Report
• Payment of claims against the City 
  • Approve Cline Williams invoices totaling $22,599.00

The Council voted 4-0 to approve the Mayor’s Appointment of Anna Burge as City Attorney.

The Council voted 4-0 to approve the Change Request-COR #006 in the amount of $9,014 from Kingery Construction CO. for the Crete Isis Theatre Phase I. City Administrator Tom Ourada said Blue River Arts Council Director Shaylene Smith explained at the prior Public Works Committee meeting that several change orders were out of sequence and they do have the cash on hand for this change.

The Council voted 4-0 to approve Resolution NO. 2023-14 A resolution of the City of Crete, Nebraska setting the notice period to terminate participation in the League Association of Risk Management and the contribution credits corresponding to such termination notice.

• Ourada explained last year the council talked about going out for bids on insurance coverage and provided that notice; the Finance Committee discussed this and made a recommendation.
• Kyle Frans, Finance Committee Chair, said rates did go up a bit, however, going out for bids would still not yield the savings found in the insurance pool program from LARM. The committee approved a 180-day notice with a five percent discount for three years.

The Council heard about the Mayor's Proclamation Celebrating September 8th-17th as Welcoming Week. 

• Marilyn Schacht, Community Assistance Director, talked about Welcoming Week, which Crete organizations will include in the Back to School Community Picnic hosted at Doane University on Tuesday, Aug. 1. She invited Mayor Dave Bauer to read the Welcoming Week proclamation at the picnic where groups will hand out school supplies, have food and music, as well as booths to connect long time and new residents to resources in the community about civic engagement, economic development, and access to government services, etc.
• Anthony Fitzgerald, Council Member - Ward I, asked if it was possible to include information on the city’s Comprehensive Plan; Ourada said he will ask Chris Shires from Confluence about having a table with details.

The Council voted 4-0 (3 Council members and Mayor Dave Bauer) to approve payment of claims to Crete Ace Hardware in the amount of $2,062.86. Note: Council member Dan Papik intends to abstain from voting on this item due to his business conflict. With only three other council members present at this meeting, a quorum is not present to vote on this item for passage or denial. The Mayor may cast a vote as a member of the council to move the item forward.

The Council voted 4-0 to table conversation on a sports complex project.

• Mayor Bauer said there was a lot of good information presented in the prior Parks and Recreation Committee meeting.
• Ashley Newmyer, Council Member - Ward I, said the committee would like to table consideration of this project given the absence of two council members this evening. They would like to continue moving forward with this sports complex planning, but with a full council for discussion.

The Council voted 4-0 to approve the Contractor's Application No. 2 for Payment from Constructors, Inc. in the amount of $324,729.53

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, Chief of Police:
  • Back to School Picnic is Aug. 1 and the police department also includes their National Night Out initiative in this programming; a lot of people have worked very hard on this and it has grown; it’s a great event and a lot of fun; 
  • police and fire departments met with the Doane University Student Affairs department on issues including fire alarms, students moving back to campus this fall, campus construction and traffic flow; they met some new Doane staff members for a better understanding of what each of us does;
  • the department is working with Nestle Purina on their critical incident planning; Officer Dawn Jonas and the Saline County Sheriff’s department met with each shift; we are working with them to standardize their protocol;
  • we are also working with Savannah Anderson, Human Resources Coordinator at City Hall, on critical incident and similar policies for the city.
• Liz Cody, Parks and Recreation Director: 
  • thanked the council for their hard work as the Park and Recreation committee has met; I started the season drinking out of a fire hose and now starting to see the forest for the trees; I’m starting to recognize people in our recreation program and recall people who are regulars;
  • July is the highest month for drownings and I am communicating that to our pool staff and talking about how we can be proactive; we have an upcoming pool inservice activity;
  • we are looking through parks and taking inventories, as well as assisting with preparations for county fair events.
• Savannah Anderson, Human Resources Coordinator introduced Carlos Mayo, who works on the city’s Street Department, and is now a member of Crete Volunteer Fire and Rescue.
• Tod Allen, Fire Chief: 
  • said Carlos is eager to get going and already training with the department;
  • encouraged support of the department’s annual BBQ at 5 p.m. on Saturday (July 22) at the county fair; the raffle drawing starts at 6 p.m.
• Tom Ourada, City Administrator:
  • council authorized us to renegotiate an insurance settlement for replacement of traffic control equipment and new City Attorney Anna Burge got us 95 percent in that settlement that was only proposing 85 percent;
  • sports complex - Park and Recreation Committee did vote to move forward on the planning and would like the entire council to have the discussion, which is why it was tabled tonight with two council members absent;
  • Mayor Bauer and I met with NDOT (Nebraska Department of Transportation) - were asked by Nestle to talk about the truck traffic and signage, although there was not a lot of traction; NDOT also wants to do a highway project and route truck traffic through Crete; they will make accommodations that will be addressed at an open house at a later date;
  • the city had bids for a transformer for about $900,000, and a power distribution center for over $1 Million; we are now in conversation with the Economic Development Administration for eligible grants; this was originally a $3.5M project with $1.5M to bury lines; the EDA said they can fund 80% of the total project if we bury the lines; this can now can be a $5M project that the city will pay 20% of costs; we can’t approve the current bids now because it would make them ineligible for this grant funding.
• Mayor Dave Bauer:
  • I would encourage everyone to attend the Back to School Picnic on Aug. 1 as it’s a great event and shows support of our community;
  • the volunteer fire department does a great job for our community and supporting them at their BBQ on Saturday at the fair is our way of helping out;
  • city employees will have a float in the county fair parade on Saturday afternoon; there will be a lot going on and our city departments will be helping out.

Meeting adjourned.

Summary for Crete City Council regular meeting - Wednesday, July 5 (committee and council meetings were moved back one day in observance of the July 4 holiday)
View this Meeting Agenda and attachments

Ashley Newmyer, Council Member - Ward I, was absent.

The council approved the Consent Agenda items:

• Minutes of the following meetings: City Council June 20, Public Safety Committee June 20, Legislative and Economic Development Committee June 20, Finance Committee June 20
• Treasurer’s Report
• Payment of claims against the City 
• Approve the Mayor's appointment of Jodeen Schwisow to the Crete Housing Authority for a term of June 1, 2028. 
• Approve Cline Williams invoices totaling $45,205.68
• Approve Isis Theatre Renovation Change orders #007 & #008 in the amounts of $5,146 & $7,503 respectfully.

The Council held a Public Hearing for Retail Liquor License from PWR & DWD Rental Properties, LLC DBA Old Main Bar & Grill 1103 Main Avenue, Crete, NE.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the application for a Retail Liquor License from PWR & DWD Rental Properties, LLC DBA Old Main Bar & Grill 1103 Main Avenue, Crete, NE.  Dale Strehle made the motion to approve the application with the knowledge that the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission is the final entity to grant the license.

The Council held Public Hearing to hear testimony in favor of, in opposition to and to answer questions in relation to a proposed zoning change from C-1 to R-3 from Dittmer & Dittmer, LLC.  a parcel of land being a portion of land located in the North 1/2, of the northeast 1/4 section 26, T8N, R4E of the 6th P.M., Crete, Saline County, Nebraska.

The Council voted 5-0 to waive three readings and enact Ordinance #2173 To Amend The Zoning Ordinance from Dittmer & Dittmer, L.L.C. 

• City Administrator Tom Ourada said Dittmer did a subdivision and there is a piece of property that overlaps between the C-1 (Central Commercial) and R-3 (Residential, Multi-family) zones; this is necessary to have contiguous zoning on property for development and did go through the Planning Commission.

The Council held a Public Hearing to hear testimony in favor of, in opposition to and to answer questions in relation to a proposed zoning change from C-2 to R-3 from Crete Lumber & Farm Supply for Parcels 760009570, 76012991, 7601148366, all in blocks 21 and 168, Original Town, City of Crete, Saline County, Nebraska.

• Ourada explained that originally this tract of properties was R-3 and changed to C-2 at owner Ron Dittmer’s request. A new housing development requires the change back to R-3 and was forwarded by the Planning Commission.

The Council voted 5-0 to waive three readings and enact Ordinance #2174 To Amend The Zoning Ordinance from Crete Lumber & Farm Supply.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the Application for a Permit to Occupy City of Crete Right-of-Way from Allo Communications at PON: CRE-01-01. Ourada explained that anytime there are multiple rights-of-way requests, by ordinance it requires permission from the city council. This was also heard and approved by the Public Works Committee.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the Application for a Permit to Occupy City of Crete Right-of-Way from Allo Communications at PON: CRE-01-03. 

The Council voted 5-0 to waive three readings and enact Ordinance NO. 2175 Relating to Wages and Salaries; To Amend Ordinance NO. 2157 To Adjust The Wages And Salaries Of City Officers and Non-Bargaining Unit Employees Of The City of Crete.

• Ourada said there are changes to two different positions for the Airport Manager, which was only referenced by contractual arrangement and to make the hourly Public Works Office Manager a salaried position. It was also approved by the Personnel Committee.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve a recommendation to the City Council on the purchase of BodyWorn Cameras and Rocket Communications Bundle in the amount of $125,000 from the Police Department.

• Police Chief Gary Young explained that these are much more that cameras and act as an information source used in many different ways; they help protect the city as well as all involved.
• Ourada said the down payment or upfront costs will be funded from reserve funds that were earmarked for the police department. It will be capital outlay money for years 2-5.
• Dan Papik, Chair of the Public Safety Committee, said a great discussion was held and they recommended approval of the purchase.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the Application and Certificate for Payment from General Excavating in the amount of $97,286.44 for all the work through 6/24/2023. Ourada explained this is the onsite inspection of the contracting engineer for the triple box culvert on 22nd Street.

The Council voted 5-0 to send a letter to negotiate on Claim: 96A139963, the revised ACV settlement offer of $5,992.37 from Dairyland Insurance.

• Ourada said this revision was based on a conversation with the city’s insurance carrier; a council vote prior indicated the city did not want to settle this claim for anything less than 100 percent replacement of the traffic signal damaged in this vehicle accident. The Finance Committee has granted latitude on anything from 100 to 85 percent of replacement value
• Kyle Frans, Committee Chair, said they decided to appeal the ACV settlement offer of $5,992.37 from Dairyland Insurance; if that is not improved, we will accept this offer.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the Department of Public Works Utility Account Write offs in the amount of $34,290.37.

• Ourada explained the Finance Committee discussed these accounts that are determined uncollectible by the collection agency and attorney who was handling this issue at the time.
• Frans said the committee discussed the statute of limitations of five years and that there are no current customers on the list and recommended approval.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the request from George A. Leavitt and Barbara J. Leavitt for the Administrative Subdivision of "Clover Ridge Addition" being a portion of the Northwest 1/4 of section 25 T8N R4E of the 6th P.M., Saline County, Nebraska. Strehle, Chair of the Public Works Committee, said they felt it did meet the necessary requirements and recommended approval.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve an award of LB840 funding for 1228 Main Avenue in the amount of $7,275.00 

• Ourada said this application was reviewed by city staff and the city attorney in regards to the city’s LB840 plan requirements and recommended by the Legislative and Economic Development 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, Chief of Police:
  • the radio changeover is progressing; most radios were updated to operate with the new system; the police department radios were reprogrammed; testing will begin; Rod Kuss from the Electric Department assisted with locating and collecting radios.
  • Fourth of July report - it was a reasonable weekend with only a couple of arrests; it seemed to go well and the fireworks show on June 30 was well-received;
• Liz Cody, Parks and Recreation Director: 
  • rain interrupted several events; at the pool there were about 150 visitors a day; swimming lessons and water aerobics classes are moving along with infant and toddler swimming lessons coming up this month;
  • Crete Public Schools thanked the city for helping them host their first-ever family swim night; maybe too much of a success as the pool reached capacity (200) soon after it started; based on that turnout, Mayor’s Day on July 9 will have staggered entry times and both 1 and 3 p.m. to allow more families to enjoy the pool with free admission;
  • about 300 cars were counted around the pool for the start of the championship swim meet hosted on July 1; the event was rained out before noon so the swim team was unable to have a full day of concessions; Mayor’s Day will have concessions donated to the swim team thanks to Jerry Wilcox and Wendy Thomas for figuring out through the Finance Department on how to make that work;
  • the last softball tournament was rained out at Tuxedo Park; and some soccer games were also asked to stop due to lightening in the area;
  • the Garbage Company added Friday and Monday pickups to Tuxedo Park, which has helped a lot; there are some other facilities issues we are looking to repair at the park;
  • a local Eagle Scout has asked to work on a parks project
  • I have been taking an inventory of parks facilities and equipment; the Parks and Recreation Committee will be meeting soon;
• Savannah Anderson, Human Resources Coordinator, introduced the new Water Operator, Elier Comendador, who started on June 28;
• Dan Papik, Council Member - Ward I, asked about progress on a potential feasibility study on the fire station.
• Tom Ourada, City Administrator:
  • the substation transformer and power delivery center bids opened last week; the council will see them before the next meeting after the engineer reviews them and makes sure they are responsive and responsible bids; there are some very large numbers to discuss;
  • most lead times were 84-105 weeks out; one low bid wanted to be able to deliver three months early;
  • the lift station on 22nd street has a walk-though in late June with some small items addressed; the one-year warranty will start on that;
  • the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee will meet in the next week or two; the Planning Commission will participate with a new chairperson, Dave Jurena, who is relatively new to the commission, but has a lot of questions and ideas;
  • we met with Schemmer and Associates on the fire station improvement and how to proceed with the USDA on funding options; a proposal will go to the mayor this week and start with the Public Works Committee, which does infrastructure;
  • ALLO would like to have a groundbreaking on July 31, 9:30 a.m. at City Hall; Tom will coordinate more on that event;
  • Diann Nettifee, the Utilities Office Manager, a 30-year city employee, had her last day today (July 5); she will be the new Saline County Clerk; Telisha Carnes is being promoted to Office Manager;
  • we have some sign layouts I’ve talked to the mayor about and they will be brought to the Public Works Committee; they will help show what City Hall has and how to get here; I would also like to revisit the bathroom project for City Park; we had looked at a modular bathroom for under $100,000, which is inexpensive for that type of project;
  • Anna Burge, new city attorney, is here, and working with Cline Williams attorneys who have filled in.
• Mayor Dave Bauer:
  • he spoke with Tom Ourada and he had a couple of calls about extending fireworks use on July 4 for another night due to the rain, but the rain slowed down and he observed a lot of fireworks during that time;
  • he thanked everyone who was involved in any way with the Fourth of July; it’s a time to celebrate and it sounds like it went over very well; 
  • he welcomed the new employees, Anna and Elier, and Telisha’s opportunity for promotion; it’s always nice to get good people and I think the city is a good place to work and we are happy to have you;
  • with Jack Oelschlager’s departure from the council, we have an opening for the Seward-Saline Waste Compact representative, a group that meets quarterly in Milford on the waste management in the area; I’m looking for a city council member to fill that role.

Meeting adjourned.