Council Summaries - Oct. 1 and 15, 2024

Special Meetings, Oct. 8 and 9

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, Nov. 5 

 

Summary for Crete City Council regular meeting - Tuesday, Oct. 15
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 Budget Hearing Oct. 8, City Council Special Meeting Oct. 8
• Treasurer’s Report
• Payment of claims against the City 

Presented Certificate of Appreciation for Lentell Family.

• Chief Gary Young shared events of the June 28 neighborhood shooting where there were victims in the house at 1225 Crestline; at the scene, the neighbors from the adjoining backyard, John and Connie Lentell, asked if they could be of assistance. We asked to use their house as a safe extraction location and officers moved victims to their house and first responders treated them there. The Lentells comforted children left in their care and took in a lot of unexpected visitors. Without the Lentells first responders could not have had a safe triage area.
• Mayor Dave Bauer said knowing the Lentell’s for as long as he has and knowing the kind of people they are, he was not surprised they helped in this way. On behalf of the city, he offered appreciation for their selfless service to the victims and responders during the incident.]
• The Lentells said all the responding agencies, local and from the area, did an amazing job working together to help.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the Crete Carrier Room Grant Application for a meeting of the Nebraska Commission on Latino Americans. 

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the Crete Carrier Community Room Grant Application for an Author Talk on Nov. 16, 2024 at 7:00 p.m. 

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the serving of catered alcohol with a Special Designated Liquor License at the Community Room for an Author Talk on Nov. 16, 2024 at 7:00pm.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve altering the November schedule of Crete Public Library - adding the Saturday after Thanksgiving as a day the library is regularly closed. City Administrator Tom Ourada said the Library Advisory Board met on this and recommended the change.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the Fire Protection Contract 2024-2025 fiscal year. Ourada said this is a regular agreement the city enters into with Saline County; Crete is part of two outside fire districts - Highland and Saline County.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the Saline County Area Transit invoice for fiscal years 2024 and 2025.  Council member Dale Strehle said the Finance Committee discussed the possibility of future grants the SCAT board may not be aware of.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve Resolution 2024-22 to ratify all votes of Tom Ourada, Crete LARM representative identified in the minutes of the Annual Members Meeting of the League Association of Risk Management on Oct. 2, 2024, including the election of nominees to the LARM Board of Directors. 

The Council voted 5-0 to waive three readings and adopt Ordinance 2217 Establishing animal regulations making it unlawful to kill cats and dogs.

• City Attorney Anna Burge said an incident was brought to the attention of the City Administrator in which some cats in the community were being poisoned. She researched other communities on this and many have this ordinance, which prohibits someone from injuring, maiming, or destroying dogs and cats by poisoning or other means; this does not apply to the police department which has the authority to put an animal down because of an immediate risk to the public.
• Questions: in self defense- those situations would be more of a judicial matter; hitting an animal with a car - an accident and also at the city’s judicial discretion;
• Ourada said this doesn’t alleviate responsibility of pet owners to abide by leash laws and have their pets under their control, etc.

The Council held a Public Hearing to hear testimony in favor of and/or against a Business Improvement District.

• Ourada said state statute allows municipalities to create business improvement districts and this was petitioned in by a majority of property owners in a two block area of Crete’s downtown. This went to the Public Works Committee and the last council meeting to establish the hearing and allow for public input.
• Fitzgerald said this is primarily for snow removal and weed control to start.
• Ourada said the district would have a board, appointed by the mayor, which can vote to expand or shrink the district depending on need.

The Council voted 5-0 to waive three readings and adopt Ordinance 2218 Establishing the Business Improvement District Committee. Main Ave from 11th Street to 13th Street.

The Council voted 5-0 to waive three readings and adopt Ordinance 2219 to Establish the Main Ave Business Improvement District.

The Council voted 4-0 (Papik abstained) to approve the Ace Hardware claims in the amount of $1,247.22.

The Council entered Executive session discussing ALS and transport contract negotiations with CAMC.

The Council held a discussion on a personnel matter.

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:
  • Sgt. Lincoln Morehouse is wrapping up an investigation which lead to a suspect in central Nebraska; while hosting a training at our department, another agency had an investigation on the same suspect; the suspect was arrested and made a confession; a search warrant was issued for devices; the suspect was on file from other states for similar crimes; city investment in the sergeant’s resources and skills made a difference in this case;
• Jessica Wilkinson, Library Director
  • Sept report was offered for the end of the fiscal year with programming numbers, materials, etc.; yearly circulation: $574,733 saved by patrons by having materials in the library going in and out; computer usage - 1,300; 58,721 visits; drive-thru usage - 928; added 2,908 materials to collection; 6,600 visits to programs; 169 hours of volunteering;
  • Friends of Library week - photos highlighting their contributions
  • musical instruments are being installed in Library Park;
  • proposed adding a half an hour in the morning (8:30 a.m.) for drive-through staffing before the library opens at 9;
• Savannah Anderson, HR coordinator, introduced Brett Ladely, new Street Operator, who offered his thanks for the opportunity.
• Tom Ourada, City Administrator:
  • Joel Bramhall, Crete Public Schools CCLC, invited the council to the K-12 event on Oct. 24;
  • nuisance property hearings to schedule for this month;
  • $5,000 sales tax refund request from the state;
  • Water Superintendent Jesse Yager sent lead and copper survey results in today - 100% compliance from utility customers; after original surveys were sent, non responses got another survey, and any leftover non responses had face to face visits from city staff;
  • getting ready for winter - new street supervisor, and new operator;

Meeting adjourned.

 

Summary for Crete City Council special meeting - Tuesday, Oct. 9
View this Meeting Agenda and attachments.

Mayor Dave Bauer said this is a sensitive topic and the goal is Crete Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department and Crete Area Medical Center will give information and ask questions. The council will take the information to come to a decision.

The Council held a Public Hearing on the ALS and BLS services contract.

James Yost, CVFD Assistant Fire Chief shared a presentation of data:

• prior to 2009 CFVD was licensed as BLS (basic life support) for 911 and transfers; we  now handle both 911 and transfers under one ALS (advanced life support) license; in the past, in 2009 CAMC began to employ paramedics utilized for ALS services; in 2013 the ALS intercept vehicle started responding to scenes; in 2019 CVFD transitioned to ALS level service and utilized CVFD paramedics;
• CVFD has 43 members (39 full members and 4 associate members; of the 43: 6 are paramedics and 1 in training, 26 are EMTs with 4 in training, 11 firefighters (all members are required to become EMTs within 2 years after probation period)
• members attend two mandatory trainings a month, one business meeting; optional work nights where they go through trucks, equipment; officers have additional meetings; tasks include washing apparatus, preparing for trainings, public education, EMS standbys, meetings with service and sales reps, supplies, pre-billing and chart reviews;
• 2023 - 911 calls, transfers, standbys: 442 medical related calls, of those, CVFD had a member paramedic on 379 calls; 2024 - so far same percentage;
• bypass calls in 2023 - 38, 29 by CVFD personnel, 8 by CAMC, 1 critical with both services; 2024 - 26 bypass, 18 by CVFD, 7 by CAMC, 1 both;
• tax funding - CVFD gets $100,000 from the city budget, $25,000 from Saline County, Highland Rural Fire District (Lancaster County) agreement includes a $200,000 bond every five years for the apparatus replacement fund; EMS reimbursement; budget estimate - $400,000
• apparatus costs have gone up, ambulances now are about $400,000;
• $96,000 ALS with CAMC, ALS and BLS with CVFD $76,000; members are paid $10 per call;
• Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance have different allowances for transfer cost reimbursements; Medicare and Medicaid are primary payers for our services; rates are set by city ordinance and billing company says we are on the higher end of departments; paramedic services provided by CAMC are paid out of the reimbursement recovered by the City of Crete; actual cost paid out is unable to be added the patient bill; of bills - we get what we get; only the actual transporting service is allowed to bill for service;
• recovery costs for ALS emergent services, ALS non-emergent services;
• EMT scope of training: there are additional skills they can use in Nebraska, like intranasal Narcan, starting IVs, monitor established IV on transport, airway placement, intramuscular epinephrine, nebulizer Albuterol, intramuscular glucose;
• CVFD averages a member paramedic on 85% of calls, EMTs are highly trained with additional skills, and we plan to continue staffing for inter-facility transfers;
• 911 calls: we don’t know how many required a paramedic; transports - doctor makes call for ALS and paramedic services;
• reimbursement for 911 and inter-facility transfers is not keeping up with current costs;
• most departments like us don’t do transfers, but we rely heavily on them for funding;
• Wilber has used a paramedic 16 times in the last month - Wilber 911 ALS use has picked up;

Stephanie Boldt, President of CAMC:

• What does the city want from us in an agreement? We want to make sure you’re making an educated decision and CVFD does cover a lot for 911 and BLS, and they rely on us heavily for ALS;
• if the agreement ends, CAMC would put out call to CVFD and others for transfers and the call goes to who gets there first;
• fire dept does well with 911 calls and data shows they can cover; if city decided they don’t want the 911 response from CAMC, we could look at a transport only model or look at a pay per transport; our current reimbursement is $23 an hour, for an average 1.2 hours; we would look at changing that;
• CAMC can’t just be on call for free; we have to look at compensation for our staff;
• CAMC came to the city with a new agreement first because of rate of calls and size;
• the contract needs to be updated as there are things that have changed in 10 years for everything, and our paramedic still gets $23 and hour to go to Lincoln;
• Saline County purchased the initial vehicle and we have asked them to purchase a new vehicle and larger equipment required; looking at $400,000 for 4 paramedics salary and benefits; only reimbursed about $20,000; we can use those paramedics in the ER, but can’t count on them if they are called out for ALS services.

Mayor Bauer said there was a lot of information exchanged and things to think about; the council needs to take this information and relay any needed questions to Tom and myself and share the answers.

 

Summary for Crete City Council special meeting - Tuesday, Oct. 8
View the Meeting Agenda and Budget Hearing and attachments.

The council approved the Consent Agenda items:

• Minutes of the following meetings: City Council Oct. 1, Finance Committee Oct. 1, Parks and Recreation Committee Oct. 1, Personnel Committee Oct. 1, Public Safety Committee Oct. 1, Public Works Committee Oct. 1
• Treasurer’s Report
• Payment of claims against the City 

The Council held a Public Hearing for testimony in support of and/or opposition to the proposed budget and property tax request for fiscal year 2024-2025. City Administrator Tom Ourada explained there are statutory requirements the city has to do that we did not fulfill in September. Nothing has changed with the budget, however, the council voted on everything all at once and items must be voted on separately.

The Council voted 6-0 to authorize an additional 1% of restricted funds authority for fiscal year 2024-2025. 

The Council voted 6-0 to readopt Resolution 2024-21: A Resolution setting the amount of property tax request for fiscal year 2024-2025.

The Council voted 6-0 to waive three readings and enact Ordinance 2216 : An ordinance adopting the 2024-2025 budget statement as the Annual Appropriation Bill and appropriating all budgeted sums contained therein. 

The Council voted 6-0 to authorize the Crete CDBG #20-DTR-002 Request for Contract Amendment.

Meeting adjourned.

 

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

The council approved the Consent Agenda items:

• Minutes of the following meetings: City Council Sept. 17, Finance Committee Sept. 17, Personnel Committee Sept. 17, Public Works Committee Sept. 17
• Treasurer’s Report
• Payment of claims against the City 

The Council voted 6-0 to approve the Application for Special Event Permit SE24-12 from the Crete Booster Club for a bonfire and celebration on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 5:00-9:30 p.m.

The Council voted 6-0 to approve the Application for Special Event Permit SE24-13 for a Homecoming Parade from the Crete High School Student Council on Friday, Oct. 11, 2:30-3:00 p.m. in the area around the high school, middle school, and intermediate school.

The Council voted 6-0 to approve the Special Event Permit SE24-14 for the Doane Homecoming Bonfire on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 8:00-11:00 p.m.

The Council voted 6-0 to approve the Agreement between the City of Crete and the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge #74. City Administrator Tom Ourada said this item was a culmination of work in the last year between the city and the FOP; this is a one-year contract with two changes: 1) 5% across the board increase for officers and sergeants; 2) removal of holidays counting as time worked.

The Council voted 6-0 to approve the Juricek Administrative Subdivision. Ourada said this turns 3 lots into 2 and meets all city code requirements

The Council voted 6-0 to waive three readings and adopt Ordinance 2215 Amending Salaries and Wages in Ordinance 2214. This is a change to the captain’s position which should have been included previously.

The Council voted 6-0 to approve Resolution 2024-20, establishing a time and place for the public hearing on a business improvement district as Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 6 p.m. Ourada said this represents work the mayor started years ago as an advocate for downtown businesses and Tom Sorensen, who has a Main Street office. Sorensen went door-to-door and secured cooperation from property owners in the district described. This item sets the hearing to advise property owners that an ordinance creating the district and assessing costs would be pending, 

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:
  • K9 Hunk and Officer Audrey Arbuckle passed drug recertification and Nebraska State Patrol personnel were impressed with the quality of handling and skills;
  • pumpkin festival is coming up and the department will be there with representatives from the Saline County Sheriff, State Patrol, and Nebraska Department of Highway Safety with interactive things for kids to do;
  • trick-or-treat event is Oct. 31 at the high school;
  • October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and through the efforts of Code Enforcement Officer Kylie Nicewonger, the department joined the Pink Patch Project, which originally started in southern California; supporters can purchase pink patches, officers will wear them and we want to advertise a good cause; our department’s charity is the Pink Bandana Project which supports women under 40 who have breast cancer;
• Jessica Wilkinson, Library Director:
  • recent and continuing programming includes - 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten, Bluey party Oct. 26; toddler story time and preschool story time; Art Lab with over 50 kids; Terra-cotta pumpkin craft; family movie night Oct 19; book swap Oct. 24; author visit on Nov. 16; 1011 news on Nov. 14;
  • Nebraska Library Association Conference on Oct. 10;
• Liz Cody, Parks and Recreation Director: 
  • Blue River Raceway has been proactive in helping in the park;
  • Nebraska Parks and Recreation Association Conference had information on trail grants, other resources;
  • submitted survey of parks to Nebraska Game and Parks;
  • Kickin’ It Martial Arts program is last of the year;
  • invited to Tree City USA program;
• Anthony Fitzgerald, Council Member, Ward 1: Will White was done as Airport Manager end of Sept; Ourada said the city has a couple leads for FBO at the airport.
• Dale Strehle, Council Member, Ward 2 - said the amount of work that went into the Celebrate Crete event on Sept. 18 was great and he was amazed at the amount of people who showed up; he and his family enjoyed themselves.
• Tom Ourada, City Administrator:
  • chief probation officer for our 10-county area stopped in and is looking for partnerships; thinking about an office in Crete; they talked about opportunities and introduced them to Marilyn Schacht in the Community Assistance Office;
  • Celebrate Crete was a success and Marilyn did a tremendous job; we had a lot of staff involved; the city bought 500 t-shirts which were gone 2/3 of the way through the evening; there was almost no food left at the end; food vendors donated about 50-100 meals and we paid for the rest out of economic development funds; people thought it should be an annual event;
  • Thursday - Friday - League conference and Crete is presenting along with Columbus;
  • sales tax is down; last month had notice of a $12,000 refund and this month an $8,100 refund; we’ve budgeted conservatively and will have to stick to the budget without an excess to play with.
• Mayor Dave Bauer thanked everyone who participated in the Celebrate Crete event.

Meeting adjourned.