Council Summaries - March 4 and 18, 2025

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 on Tuesday, April 1

Summary for Crete City Council regular meeting - Tuesday, March 18
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 March 4, Finance Committee March 4, Personnel Committee March 4
• Treasurer’s Report
• Payment of claims against the City 

Police Recognition. Chief Gary Young explained that actions taken during a shooting in a Crete neighborhood on June 28, 2024 were noteworthy and the department wanted to recognize officers and other first responders involved.

The Council voted 5-0 to Adjourn City Council to a meeting of the Community Development Agency (CDA). 

The Council voted 5-0 to approve Resolution# 2025-01CDA authorization of transfer of ownership to D7-5, LLC. 

The Council voted 5-0 to Adjourn the CDA to the City Council meeting.

The Council held a Public Hearing on the 1 & 6-Year Street Improvement Plan. 

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the 1 & 6 Year Plan. 

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the Application for Special Event Permit SE25-01 from the Crete Fire Department for the Crete Fire Ribfest. Fire Chief Tod Allen and event coordinator Xochitl Boughtin both spoke on this first year event at the Public Works Committee meeting prior. They propose street closures on Linden from 14th to 15th and on 14th Street from Linden to Main; local businesses have been supportive. Allen said this will be an experiment for the first year and the station will participate with fire rig demos and other activities. Boughtin said they have ribs donated and people volunteering to cook, as well as plans for crowds and safety.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the Application for Special Event Permit SE25-02 from Bruce Cerny and Xochitl Boughtin with TJ Sokol for a Midwest Fest. Boughtin said this was an event Sokol has tried in the past and is looking to try at a different time of year. They have family and kids events for the day time and additional evening activities. They requested a street closure for Norman Ave between 12th and 13th streets.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the Crete Municipal Airport Hanger (T-hangar) Lease Agreement.

• City Attorney Anna Burge outlined changes for T-hangar leases and the following end-unit hangar leases in both the Public Works Committee meeting and to the full council. City Administrator Tom Ourada said there was good input from Council member Anthony Fitzgerald, who is active in airport activities as an aircraft owner. Changes include expectations on updated payment schedules, insurance requirements, and renter responsibilities, types of aircraft and airworthiness, and regulations on materials kept in hangars.
• Public Works chair Dale Strehle said they had a lot of discussion on this and currently the city does not have a lease agreement.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the Crete Municipal Airport End Unit Lease Agreement. Strehle said the committee recommended this lease agreement, subject to an insurance review.

The Council voted 5-0 to table this item to the next meeting: Crete Municipal Airport Rules and Regulations.

The Council voted 4-0 (Papik abstained) to approve the claims from Crete Ace Hardware in the amount of $1,324.59.

The Council voted 5-0 to authorize the city to submit the 2025 Nebraska Affordable Housing Trust Fund (NAHTF) Pre-Application. Ourada said the city did not get a recent workforce housing grant, however this grant is $750,000 with a match and he proposed applying for the 20 percent match from the city’s LB840 economic development program. This project would build six, single family houses and contract with SENDD (Southeast Nebraska Development District) for administration of the grant and as the general contractor.

The Council Consider the 4-year lease quote for the street sweeper. Ourada explained this is a lease-purchase agreement for about $225,000; a 4-year agreement will allow the purchase of the needed street sweeper and save a considerable amount of interest on the total cost.

Petition - Communication - Citizen Concern:

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, Police Chief:
  • thanked the mayor and council for including the department honors presented this evening; we thought it was important to recognize our folks; the frames and awards came from from the FOP (Fraternal Order of Police Lodge) and donations.
  • today was the first day of training classes for the new records management system and tomorrow at 7 a.m., during a forecasted blizzard, we plan to switch to Saline County Communications; Mike Kalkwarf and Emerson Aschoff, with the city, have been great to work with on this and get us ready;
• Tom Crisman, Council member Ward 2, said, as a council , they are proud of the police department’s service.
• Tod Allen, Fire Chief:
  • said they are ready for the communications change, as Saline County was the backup before;
  • it’s been a busy spring with dry weather and grass fires; the new grass rig is working well on these calls;
• Jessica Wilkinson, Library Director:
  • she went to Library Advocacy Day in Lincoln, which is library staff meeting with legislators and telling them how important our libraries are;
  •  February report: uptick in circulation for this month compared to last year; item checkouts saved patrons over $40,000; 3,366 visitors and 967 Libby (audio/digital) checkouts; 61 people used meeting rooms; 25 programs; Imagination Day activities; added video games to the collection; library inventories to see what is missing; book clubs, story times until April, and Art Lab events; the first round of Crete Reads voting is almost over;
  • upcoming events: Puppy Palooza with the Beatrice Humane Society, dog care information, therapy dogs, etc; Seeds and Sprouts program in April, flower arrangement program for seniors;
• Trent Griffin, Building Inspector:
  •  final occupancy permits from last year’s construction starts are done;
  • ongoing activities include normal inspections, nuisance property work with properties, buildings, and other structures;
  • Mayor Bauer said he received a call from an individual who worked with the previous inspector, Brad Bailey, on a regular basis, and she is extremely happy with Trent’s work;
• Liz Cody, Parks and Recreation Director:
  • we’ve opened hiring for summer pool and parks positions; interviews started this week for pool and coaching programs;
  • youth soccer has started and micro soccer registration is over; flyers will soon be out for T-ball, Micro T-ball, and Swim Team;
  • we are working with park user groups to get things up and running for spring activities, updates to park bathrooms and other facilities;
  • open campgrounds on April 1
• Dale Strehle, Council member - Ward 2, said of local police, fire and rescue, and Saline County, that we are fortunate and thankful for who we have as support in the community. 
• Tom Ourada, City Administrator:
  • the city will extend two conditional offers to potential police officers, one is already a certified officer;
  • about 41 percent through the budget, it is doing okay with some ups and downs;
  • we had a meeting with Crete Area Medical Center on paramedic response and are continuing discussions.
  • we have no refunds on sales tax so far this month;
  • municipal equalization is going down $33,000 from this year to next year;
  • we are meeting with seniors who use the Wanek Community Center; there are some different visions on how various groups use the building; we have a good plan going forward and after we are done, the center will be more functional and more attractive;
  • Nancy Tellez is at clerk school all week;

Meeting adjourned.

Summary for Crete City Council regular meeting - Tuesday, March 4
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 Feb. 18, Public Safety Committee Feb. 18, Legislative/Community Development Committee Feb. 18
• Treasurer’s Report
• Payment of claims against the City 
• Accept Paul Heath' s resignation from the Downtown Advisory Committee 
• Mayor's appointment of Sherri Heath to the Downtown Advisory Committee

The Council voted 5-0 to accept the City Audit Report. 

• City Administrator Tom Ourada commented the city is generally in a good position with a couple of revenue issues being addressed through rate studies.
• Kyle Frans, Finance Committee chair, said Marcy Luth, from AMGL, has great points on how to better streamline some city accounting processes with a couple of fixes to do in the coming year.
• Anthony Fitzgerald, Council member,  asked if staff has the tools necessary to accomplish recommendation items. Staff does utilize software programs to achieve necessary accounting tasks moving forward.
• Tom Crisman, Council member, asked about three noted payments or transfers that were not made. Ourada said those items were corrected when they become aware of them through the audit process.

The Council voted 5-0 to accept the KENO Audit Report.

• Ourada said this report was unremarkable; KENO does not bring in what it did when it was first implemented. Those funds supplement the general fund and it is a worthwhile activity for the concessions that run it.
• Frans mentioned the city’s KENO operator does a good job of staying in compliance.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the revised Olsson Consultant Agreement with the City of Crete for the Airport Improvement Program Project No. 024-03141. Ourada said the council has approved an Olsson agreement to be city airport engineer for three years; this amendment is for new hangar construction and the FAA has agreed to provide $50,000 to heat the new space.

The Council voted 4-1 (Crisman voting no) to waive three readings and adopt Ordinance 2236 amending building code to allow specific lockable pool covers without fencing.

• Ourada said Brent Cole is looking to put in a pool and brought this to the city’s attention; the item was taken to the Planning Commission. It was pointed out that the pool and spa code changed to allow specific locking covers in lieu of fencing. Other municipalities have gone this way and the commission voted to recommend this change. City Attorney Anna Burge was at the Planning Commission meeting and weighed in on the city’s liability.
• Brent Cole, 1905 Blossom Place, said the international pool and spa code is what Crete’s is now and new covers on the market have an inside track system where when closed, you cannot get into the water at all. This code amendment says it has to be a specific cover, with certain features. This is not a shortcut to save money; I could put a fence and a cover that meets the current code and it would be cheaper that this newer cover.
• Mayor Dave Bauer said if the city allows this, it’s on you, the homeowner, but also on the city because we allowed it; from an insurability standpoint, I don’t think how the homeowner insures for liability is something the city has to worry about. The flexibility is important and I do view this as a safer option.
• Fitzgerald said there is a personal property owner’s liability, whether it’s fencing, window/door sensors, or a locking cover. This change allows for more personal responsibility and choice by residents.
• Crisman, voicing against the amendment, asked what a kid’s life is worth, and that a code is only as good as what you do with it.
• Dale Strehle, Council member, said he has an above ground pool with stairs and a locking gate and has done everything by code to not let an accident happen.

The Council voted 5-0 to waive three readings and adopt Ordinance 2237 amending subdivision applicability removing the ten-acre limit. Ourada explained the possibility of staying with a 10-acre limit would subvert the council’s ability to plan land use in the city’s two-mile extraterritorial jurisdiction.

The Council voted 5-0 to waive three readings and adopt Ordinance 2238 Vacating the north 34 feet of 21st Street west of Oak Ave. Ourada explained this area is being paved and an adjacent owner has the property and the city has a road going nowhere. There is no reasonable opportunity for the city to need this road location and this vacation would make proposed high-density housing and paving request possible. The city reserves title and utility easement on the vacated portion.

The Council voted 5-0 to waive three readings and adopt Ordinance 2239 Sale of vacated street portion of 21st Street west of Oak Ave.

The Council voted 5-0 to waive three readings and adopt Ordinance 2240 Amending Salaries and Wages. Ourada said this item primarily changed the pool and parks summer staff to reflect current minimum wage for this year.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve Resolution No. 2025-02 Authorizing the Mayor to sign the Statistic Display Loan Agreement with the National Museum of the United States Air Force. Mayor Bauer said this is an agreement to have the plane on continued display at the airport.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve Resolution 2025-3  Adopting and approving the execution of an agency agreement with Nebraska Department of Transportation, Division of Aeronautics for Project No. 3-31-0022-017/18-2025.

The Council voted 5-0 to table the following items: 

•  Crete Municipal Airport Hanger Lease Agreement. 
•  Crete Municipal Airport End Unit Lease Agreement.
•  Crete Municipal Airport Rules and Regulations.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the Master Fee Schedule amendments. Ourada said pool pass fee changes may offset some labor/wage increases for the upcoming season and he let Parks and Recreation Director Liz Cody run with this. They also adjusted door-to-door sales permit fees: standard fee from $25 to $100 and annual from $350 to $500, which were based on peer reviews.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve amendment to Employee Personnel Manual. This amendment makes a distinction that time bank time does not count toward time worked and comp time does count as time worked.

Petition - Communication - Citizen Concern:

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, Police Chief:
  • we are a couple weeks out from our March 19 communications switch-over from Southeast Nebraska Communications in Beatrice to Saline County Communications; they will have officer training and the Saline County Attorney was invited to join to see the frontend process; Seward County will also join;
  • Staff were at the Welcoming City Celebration on Feb. 28; excited to hear Crete was the first in Nebraska and smallest in the nation to achieve the Welcoming certification;
• Anthony Fitzgerald, Council member, Ward 1:
  • a street sweeper lease-purchase agreement was discussed in the Public Works Committee meeting prior: Ourada explained we will do an economic analysis on it;
  • Our Town Crete is coming up; Mayer Bauer said 11/10 may be coming the week of March 17 to record advertisements and programs; the city has no say in that, they come to us with the designation;
• Tom Ourada, City Administrator:
  • Downtown Improvement Board met and there will be some growing pains in getting the process set up and members acclimated;
  • Planning Commission chair Dave Jurena, City Attorney Anna Burge, and Building Inspector Trent Griffin will go to the zoning conference in Kearney this week;
  • audit comments - the city is in good financial shape; legislature changes will be interesting this year and ideas being floated are removing taxes on utilities (Crete’s would be $100,000 a year loss); or municipal equalization (Crete’s is currently about $800,000); we are still doing things in an economical way; sales tax is behind a bit, but no measurable refunds were requested;
  • Dr. Sarah Brown will submit a grant she requested for senior activities/promotions, she appreciated all the information provided by the city;
  •  the new hangar grant project is $1.4M of federal money for the airport project;

Meeting adjourned.