Council Summaries - Aug. 6 and 20, 2024

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, Sept. 3. 

Summary for Crete City Council regular meeting - Tuesday, Aug. 20
View this Meeting Agenda and attachments.

The council approved the Consent Agenda items:

• Minutes of the following meetings: City Council Aug. 6, Finance Committee Aug. 6, Personnel Committee Aug. 6, Public Works Committee Aug. 6
• Treasurer’s Report
• Payment of claims against the City 

Jaden Acevedo was sworn in as a new Police Officer by City Clerk Nancy Tellez.

• Mayor Dave Bauer welcomed him to the city and police department and said Officer Acevedo is entering into a great department and will learn a lot from the rest of the officers.

The Council held a Public Hearing on Special Assessments.

• City Administrator Tom Ourada explained the process. The council sits as the Board of Equalization and provides property owners a chance to speak. Property owners with assessments can pay it all at once or the amount could go on their property taxes over 15 years; the city can take care of setting up payments with the county. The city is paying for the intersections and alleys in gap paving projects.
• City Attorney Anna Burge said by state law, the city can pave two consecutive blocks of street without requesting permission or asking if owners want paving and this system is used by a lot of communities.
• Dave Behrens, 135 East 18th, had general questions about the gap paving projects around his property as well as comments on how the contractors handled work on his and neighboring properties. He said they took dirt away and left dirt piles that cannot be mowed, and rocks in other areas.
• Gerald Vlasin, 2225 Main, commented on certain sidewalks in the project that don’t connect to others; and why city improvements are shoved onto property owners;
• Mayor Bauer explained that gap paving projects are improvements on gravel roads and an assessment to property owners because it improves their property; this type of first-time paving is assessed. We have heard that the city doesn’t care about the north part of town, but we’ve worked on the park, gap paving, and cleaning up properties, and we care about making in looking better. 
• Marco Flores, spoke on behalf of 2124 Main Ave - Betel Worship Center, and questions about signs and other items that were replaced by the contractor on the church’s property.
• Rose Kleinweber, 335 East 22nd, said they are being assessed for gap paving on a street they don’t even use; she said the contractor tore up the yard and took out a tree she said didn’t need to be taken out. 
• Ourada said her property fronts one block of the new paved street;
• Leon Barkdoll, 1744 Oak, said he didn’t get a copy of the assessment and had questions about broken trees, areas that are not able to be mowed, and broken sidewalks, all issues he said were left by the contractor.
• Mayor Bauer said the city can look into those issues.
• Maria Adame Ortiz, 246 West 17th, had questions about paying the assessments

The Council voted 6-0 to approve the Special Assessments in Street Improvements Project Nos. 2022-1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 and 9.

The Council held a Public Hearing on an Application for the Community Development Block Grant Program for elimination of substandard and blighted conditions within the designated downtown area. Ourada said this is the city’s third DTR application (downtown revitalization funding); following two which were very successful; the process starts with a public hearing and application. This includes the same downtown area as previous applications and generally follows the downtown historic district.

The Council voted 6-0 to approve the Application for the Community Development Block Grant Program for elimination of substandard and blighted conditions within the designated downtown area.

The Council voted 6-0 to move the following hearing to the Sept. 3 City Council meeting: Public Hearing on an Application for the Community Development Block Grant Program for road construction and reconstruction - Deferring until September 3rd, 2024 City Council Meeting.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve (Papik abstained) the payment of claims to Crete Ace Hardware in the amount of $4,392.70.

The Council voted 6-0 to approve the funding request for 2023-2024 from Saline County Aging Services.

• Mayor Dave Bauer said this organization gives a good presentation to the council but was unable to this year; they provide good programs to area seniors, and last year helped restart the 'meals on wheels' program in Crete.
• Kyle Frans, Finance Committee chair, said it’s a great presentation every year and they use every cent of their funding for local programming.

The Council voted 6-0 to approve the Stehlik Administrative Subdivision. Ourada said this was a straight forward subdivision and meets all criteria, as well as passed reviews by city staff.

The Council voted 6-0 to waive three readings and adopt Ordinance 2212 amending plumbing code.

• Dale Strehle, chair of the Public Works Committee said this was discussed in the committee meeting prior and vetted by Building Inspector Brad Bailey and City Attorney Anna Burge. 
• Bailey told the committee that while the city uses the Lincoln amendments to the plumbing code, which have changed, however affects are minimal and have more do to with commercial properties.
• Burge said other changes not included in Crete’s adoption had to do with examinations for plumbers and a board, which Crete doesn’t utilize.

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:
  • Officer Jaden Acevedo is a great kid and we’re happy to get him back from the academy after his Friday graduation; he started Saturday night;
  • we had a couple successful deployments with our K9 to arrest two felons and Hunk performed flawlessly; these were significant arrests;
  • we participated in the Doane Community Welcome for first year students on Aug. 12; we also worked with their peer advisors and did training to help with drug recognition, dating violence, stalking, sexual assault response; we talked with incoming first-year students; 
  • we’ll be working more on ‘coffee with a cop’ type events, so students don’t fear coming forward if they have problems.
• Jessica Wilkinson, Library Director:
  • report packet was given to council and mayor;
  • the library made over $1,000 on the summer book sale and got rid of books;
  • the Summer Reading program and 319 kids registered and 172 turned in reading logs (130 last year);
  • 39 adult book reviews for first year of this summer program for adults;
  • overnight teen night at library from 7am-7pm; we played video games, board games, told scary stories, played laser tag, and had meals and snacks;
  • food truck Thursdays was hit and miss this summer, with some weeks doing well;
• Savannah Anderson, Human Resources Coordinator, introduced new employees Parker Zulauf, Electric Lineman and Trevor Nickel, Parks Facilities and Groundskeeper;
• Tom Ourada, City Administrator:
  • Finance Director Wendy Thomas and I are working on the budget in preparation for the work session on Saturday (Aug. 24);
  • city tax valuation grew by $6M, which didn’t contribute to substantial lid restrictions;
  • this week Mike Kalkwarf and I have MEAN (Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska) meetings - Wednesday and Thursday;
  • North Boswell paving started; this is a county project and the city put out alternate routes on our website and social media; it’s an 80-day timeframe with the dump only closed one Tuesday for intersection work; Dale had a good suggestion for County Rd D maintenance with it being used as an alternate route;
• Mayor Dave Bauer commented on railroad crossings, specifically Main Ave, earlier in the meeting saying the city wants to help and are doing everything in our power to let Burlington Northern now it’s a major issue. We have worked our butts off and are calling them regularly and they are telling us now we are in line for replacement of the Main Ave crossing. We are getting close and it upsets me that the public thinks we are doing nothing. There is only so much we can do when it’s the railroad’s property. We all live in this town and we take pride in our town and we are on it.

Meeting adjourned.

Summary for Crete City Council regular meeting - Tuesday, Aug. 6
View this Meeting Agenda and attachments.

The council approved the Consent Agenda items:

• Minutes of the following meetings: City Council July 16, Finance Committee July 16, Legislative and Economic Development Committee July 16, Parks and Recreation Committee July 16, Public Works Committee July 16
• Treasurer’s Report
• Payment of claims against the City
• Building Permit list

The Council voted 6-0 to approve Resolution No. 2024-12 Establishing a time and place for hearing to levy assessments - Sept. 3, 6 p.m. at City Hall.

• City Attorney Anna Burge explained by city code, this property was placed on the city’s vacant property registry in April and a fine of $1,000 was due at that time and has not been paid. This property has been given multiple opportunities to remain in good standing and off the vacant property registry; the city has given options for construction, etc. and no permits have been pulled; it is not listed for sale or rent and not zoned for residency. Moving forward includes setting this hearing to levy assessments for this fine.

The Council voted 6-0 to approve Resolution 2024-13 Signing of the Municipal Annual Certification of Program Compliance 2024. City Administrator Tom Ourada explained this is required annually for funding from the Nebraska Department of Transportation and includes verification the city spends the money according to the regulations agreed to and maintains a certified street superintendent.

The Council voted 6-0 to approve the Application for Special Event Permit SE24-06 for a TJ Sokol's Halloween Party Fundraiser on the evening of Oct. 12.

• Bruce Cerny and Xochitl Boughtin spoke on behalf of T.J. Sokol Hall that food and drinks are included in this fundraiser for the haunted house activities located at T.J. Sokol Hall.
• Mayor Dave Bauer said the Public Works Committee had questions on if the neighboring property owners had been contracted; the sponsors said they would be.

The Council voted 6-0 to approve the Application for Special Event Permit SE24-07 Chamber BBQ at the Crete Municipal Airport Hangar. Ourada said this permit application and the following, similar agenda item go to the council for approval and later reviewed by the Airport Advisory Board.

The Council voted 6-0 to approve the Application for Special Event Permit SE24-08 AO Alumni Homecoming at the Crete Municipal Airport Hangar.

The Council voted 6-0 to waive three readings and adopt the 2024 GOVP Bond Ordinance 2211.

• Scott Keene, representing Piper Sandler, explained the city issued bond anticipation notes (BANs) in 2021 for $995,000 for the triple box culvert project, which is now completed. His firm will now help the city take out bond notes for about $980k with a 15-year term to end in December of 2039. The current average interest rate is 4.27%, but they are more conservative at 4.42%; the average payment will be about $90,000 per year. This ordinance outlines the parameters on maximum amount, timeline and other terms. They will be selling the bonds on Aug. 15 and deliver to the city on Sept. 5.

The Council voted 6-0 to approve Resolution 2024-14 LARM Renewal Coverage Proposal for 2024-2025 Pool Year. Ourada said in the past the city has elected to go with the 3-year renewal for a 5% discount and that was the recommendation from the Finance Committee for the 3-year commitment

The Council set a date and time for the Budget Work Session for Saturday, Aug. 24, 9 a.m. at City Hall.

The Council voted 6-0 to approve the Isis Theatre Phase Two Substantial Completion. Shaylene Smith, Blue River Arts Council Executive Director, said they need the city to sign off so the foundations that are waiting for this can pay grant funds.

The Council voted 6-0 to approve Change Order 003 from Kingery Construction Co. in the amount of $1,850.00.

The Council voted 6-0 to approve the Change Order 010 from Kingery Construction Co. in the amount of $3,343.00 for the Crete Isis.

The Council voted 6-0 to approve the Public Works Committee's recommendation to remove the 15th street improvement project from the 2025 1 and 6-year plan.  Ourada explained this was discussed at the committee level in July. They can look at other funding ways that will not affect the project.

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:
  • Jaden Acevedo graduates form the Nebraska Law Enforcement Training Academy this month and will go right into field training with our officers.;
  • Sgt. Matt Jonas is doing a fantastic job;
• Jessica Wilkinson, Library Director:
  • the annual summer reading program ended with a pool party on Friday, Aug. 2;
  • upcoming family origami event on Aug. 24;
  • we are organizing the next Crete Reads book and associated events;
• Liz Cody, Parks and Recreation Director: 
  • the pool will be open until Sunday, Aug. 11 and end with the Pooch Pool Party that day from 3-4 p.m.; Nestle Purina reached out to help;
  • new groundskeeper, Trevor Nickel, started Monday, Aug. 5, he is from Crete originally;
  • we are looking at tree damage from last week’s storm;
• Wendy Thomas introduced new electric lineman George Schlotterbeck. He said he is passionate about line work and after lineman school was an intern at OPD, then did fiber work before living in Randolph, NE where he was head lineman and electrical superintendent. He is looking for a smaller town to lay down roots and become part of community and likes the guys on Crete’s department; there’s a lot of experience here.
• Mayor Dave Bauer: spoke about his experiences in the aftermath of the July 31 storm. First he expressed his thanks to all city employees who played a part in cleaning up the city and getting things back in shape. After it hit he was walking around the community and stopping at properties with trees in yards and on the houses. In talking to people, many were upset about the damage but had people they didn’t even know who stopped to help. 
  • He felt really good about the community after his walk but the bubble burst the next morning when he heard about comments on social media about people losing power during the storm and blaming the city while some were out no more than a half hour; people complained the street department put limbs on yards while trying to clear streets; they asked why the city doesn’t pick all the limbs up.
  • City employees got called out at night and they would have rather been at their own homes cleaning up. I am so grateful for the employees we have and we live in a great community. I felt we did a good job. Lincoln had people out of power for 24 hours and thousands in Omaha are still out of power. Crete was cleaned up well and quickly; our employees get called out on evenings, weekends, and holidays and everybody played their part.
• Council member Tom Crisman appreciated how rapidly crews got out and how well they cleaned up.
• Council member Kyle Frans said city employees did a great job and he also congratulated volunteers for the opening of the Isis Theatre.
• Council member Dale Strehle said he sees the Facebook comments as well and his frustrated by the lack of understanding of how the city responds to situations.
• Council members Ashley Newmyer and Anthony Fitzgerald echoed the fantastic job of city employees after the storm.
• Council member Dan Papik said is was good the Transfer Station was open extra hours and efforts were made to let people know; all the employees did an outstanding job.
• Tom Ourada, City Administrator:
  • thanked the mayor and council for their compliments and said he would pass those along; all the departments worked very well together; he thought they would be out overnight but the latest was the electric crew who were out until 2 a.m.;
  • Community Assistance Director Marilyn Schacht was appointed by the governor to the Nebraska Commission on Latino-Americans;
  • the budget is coming together well; we have people without a lot of budget experience, but we’re working through the numbers;
  • electrical outages - one storm outage affected the entire county with Nebraska Public Power; several other outages from the storm; one of our large substation transformers dropped out and the electric crew transferred the load to another, but it happened again to the other transformer; we theorized it was the control system which is a very difficult solution to work through; our relay system was worked on a year ago and we will look at work that was done then; solving this issue is important to our community and our industries.

Meeting adjourned.