Council Summaries - Sept. 2 and 16, 2025

Budget Hearing Sept. 2

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, Oct. 7

Summary for Crete City Council regular meeting - Tuesday, Sept. 16
View this Meeting Agenda and attachments.

Council members Kyle Frans and Anthony Fitzgerald were absent.

The council approved the Consent Agenda items:

• Minutes of the following meetings: City Council budget hearing and meeting Sept. 2, Public Works Committee Sept. 2, Finance Committee Sept. 2, Legislative/Community Development Committee Sept. 2
• Treasurer’s Report
• Payment of claims against the City 

The Council voted 4-0 to approve the Application for the Crete Carrier Room Grant from Abby Rogers with the Girl Scout Troop 20770. City Administrator Tom Ourada said this is the mini grant than enables free use of the room. Ashley Newmyer, Legislative/Community Development Committee chair, said the troop is going to do a project with Parks and Recreation.

The Council voted 4-0 to approve the Application for the Crete Carrier Room Grant for the Guatemalan Consulate. Ourada said the consulate is shutting down their Omaha office for the day and holding operations in Crete to meet with Guatemalan nationals.

Mayor Dave Bauer read the 2025 Welcoming Week Proclamation. Welcoming Week is Sept. 12-21. Bauer reminded everyone about the Celebrate Crete event in City Park on Wednesday, Sept. 17 from 5-8 p.m.

The Council held a Public Hearing to hear testimony for or against the amendment to the PWR & DWD Rental Properties LLC Liquor License. Bauer said this is an extension of the establishment’s liquor license to accommodate new spaces after renovations are complete.

The Council voted 4-0 to recommend to the Liquor Control Commission the amendment to the PWR & DWD Rental Properties LLC Liquor License. 

The Council voted 4-0 (Papik abstained, Mayor Bauer voted) to waive three readings and adopt Ordinance 2254 - amending Food Truck regulations. Ourada said some changes give finite terms for occupying in commercial and residential zones; provide a fining mechanism and allows 60 continuous days with 14 days offsite in commercial zones with 1 day allowed in residential zones; changes follow what has been proven in other communities. Mayor Bauer said the council did not want to start seeing food trucks pop up as permanent businesses as most local businesses establish roots and make an investment in the community with permanent structures. Newmyer said there was discussion on where is a good place to start on these guidelines and this is modeled after other cities in the state.

The Council voted 4-0 to approve Resolution 2025-16: A resolution setting the amount of property tax request for fiscal year 2025-2026. Ourada said this is a procedural step in sending the budget to the state.

The Council voted 4-0 to waive three readings and adopt Ordinance 2259 - adopting the budget statement as the annual appropriation bill.

The Council voted 4-0 to approve the Application for Special Event Permit SE25-09 for Crete's Great Pumpkin Festival. This is a similar request to last year’s event.

The Council voted 4-0 to approve the Application for Prohibited Animal Exception PA-03 for the Pumpkin Festival Petting Zoo. This will allow animals in the event that are normally prohibited by city code.

The Council voted 4-0 to approve authorizing the Crete Police Department to apply for the Highway Safety Step Grant application. Chief Gary Young said this grant allows the department to do a number of events and programs while incorporating a traffic safety message; the application requests $140,000. Council member Dan Papik said he appreciates the work the department does on this as they set an example for the programs that can be done.

The Council voted 4-0 (Papik abstained, Mayor Bauer voted) to approve the claims from Crete Ace Hardware in the amount of $3,077.56.

The Council voted 4-0 (Strehle abstained, Mayor Bauer voted) to approve the Pumpkin Festival right-of-way painting downtown. Dale Strehle said this request is from Russ Sears to paint the pumpkins on the four sidewalk corners at 12th and Main Ave.

The Council voted 4-0 to waive three readings Ordinance 2257 Setting Salaries and Wages for FY25-26. Ourada explained this sets wages for this year; salaries are increased 2% which includes 1% cost-of-living and 1% for an additional retirement contribution; some employees are eligible for an additional raise from the third year of market rate study raises.

The Council voted 4-0 to waive three readings and adopt Ordinance 2258 - amending Ordinance 2250 increasing camping days at Tuxedo Park to 10 days. Ourada explained this was a correction on this item when it was originally passed in July.

The Council voted 4-0 to approve amending the Master Fee Schedule. This is a clarification on the disconnect fees for regular hours and after hours.

The Council voted 4-0 to approve Resolution 2025-20 - Highway 33 (from Crete to Dorchester) Havlat Memorial Highway. Mayor Bauer said this was requested by individuals in Dorchester for the city to join a recommendation in naming the portion of the highway and will be forwarded to the state.

The Council voted 4-0 to approve the 2025-2026 FOP agreement. Ourada said the negotiations with the Fraternal Order of Police union went well, as in not everyone got what they wanted but walked away happy with the results.

The Council voted 4-0 to approve the Cline Williams Engagement Agreement for Legal Services. Mayor Bauer explained this agreement will cover the city’s attorney services while City Attorney Anna Burge is on scheduled leave.

The Council voted 4-0 to approve authorizing the City of Crete to apply for the Innovative Finance and Asset Concession Grant Program. City Clerk Nancy Tellez explained this grant can help the community pursue research in one identified project.

The Council voted 4-0 to approve advertising for Bids for City of Crete Municipal Airport farm land. Ourada said the city does this every five years; there are several tracks with multiple parcels.

The Council voted 4-0 to approve Resolution 2025-21 prohibiting parking on the south side of  11th Street between Forest and Boswell Ave. 

The Council voted 4-0 to approve the Crete, NE Zoning Proposal from Marvin Planning Consultants. Ourada said the city has been trying to get a zoning project going for a while and this firm has the capabilities.

The Council voted 4-0 to approve Resolution 2025-22 4-way stop at the intersection of West 13th Street and Tuxedo Park Road. Strehle said the lines of sight with a new storage building at this intersection make this necessary for safety concerns.

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 council for the grant application approval. Lt. Dawn Jonas had a panel meeting with highway safety officials from across the country - people had heard of what we do in Crete. He credited Jonas for all the work she does on this; we are already used as an example within the state and NDOT. She does the work that makes us successful in this area and to secure the grants.
• Liz Cody, Parks and Recreation Director: 
  • North Ward Park is undergoing renovations with help from the Street Department - playground area with new mulch; neighbors have commented and been appreciative;
  • Kickin’ It Martial Arts registration opens soon with Gold Star ATA;
  • held a successful event with a local Girl Scout group and they will join at a later date for a park cleanup event;
  • LARM grant was awarded for safety equipment;
• Tom Crisman: 
  • have seen movement on railroad crossing - repaired sidewalk crossing;
  • question about the use of the former Schwann’s building on Highway 103 South;
• Tom Ourada, City Administrator:
  • Jenn Lampila and Emerson Aschoff pulled off the auction, with other city help;
  • spent the day with site-visit group from Washington and Boston for a survey of the highway and pedestrian interaction on the highway and Iris Ave and cross-streets; learned a lot about the traffic flow;
  • lighted sign on the brick barrier next to City Hall will be installed tomorrow;
  • Lincoln paper covered a story from News21 out of Arizona State - with coverage of Crete;
  • kart racing event this weekend, the Brian Carnes memorial race, will honor another young man from Eagle - big event for the park and the community; Mayor Bauer said he was invited out last year and many people don’t realize what all goes on out there and it is one of the best-kept secrets.

Meeting adjourned.

 

Summary for Crete City Council regular meeting - Tuesday, Sept. 2
View this Meeting Agenda, Budget Hearing agenda and attachments.

Council member Dale Strehle was absent.

City Council Budget Hearing:

Public Hearing for testimony in support of and/or opposition to the proposed budget and property tax request for fiscal year 2025-2026.

• City Administrator Tom Ourada explained items in the prepared 2025-2026 budget sheets: operating budget is down 10% and property valuations went up 17%; fundamentally the levy lowered by 7 instead of 11 due to valuations and the operating budget; the city’s tax request is $1,604,890,000; interlocal agreements on insurance and dispatch, etc. are not included in the lid limit; this budget anticipates capital outlay and while some of those projects may happen, others will not, however the council will vote on all those projects as they come up for approval; the city’s levy rate with bonds is 0.303863 (4 cents lower than last year); property valuations: 2024 - $450,968476 and 2025 - $528,163,016;
• Mayor Dave Bauer thanked Tom and Finance Director Wendy Thomas for all the work on their budgets as well as department heads who were asked to lower their budgets; the council has gone through this budget line by line and we take this work seriously.

The council approved the Consent Agenda items:

• Minutes of the following meetings: City Council Aug. 19, Public Works Committee Aug. 19, Legislative/Community Development Committee Aug. 19, Parks and Recreation Committee Aug. 19, Personnel Committee Aug. 19., City Council Special Meeting/Work Session, Aug. 27
• Treasurer’s Report
• Payment of claims against the City 
• Mayor's appointment of Thomas Reeves to the Historic Preservation Commission

The Council voted 5-0 to table, pending further discussion, Ordinance 2254 amending food truck regulations.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve Resolution 2025-17 Amending Resolution 2025-12, setting proposition language for November 4, 2025 election - local option municipal sale and use tax and economic development. Ourada said there was a change in the order of the two ballot issues; 1) asks voters if they want economic development; and 2) asks if voters if they want a sales tax for economic development.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve Resolution 2025-18 Signing of the Municipal Annual Certification of Program Compliance 2025. Ourada explained this is an annual requirement to keep the state road funds the city receives annually.

The Council voted 5-0 to waive three readings and adopt Ordinance 2256 Amending Board of Adjustment. Ourada explained a new legislative act gives cities of the first and second class and villages the ability to have council members serve as the Board of Adjustment; other reasons include non-elected officials on a Board of Adjustment could overturn laws passed by a council, who are elected officials. It is also difficult to get members to serve on the board and find those without special interests.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve Resolution 2025-19 removing the appointed board of adjustment.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the Application for Special Event Permit SE25-07 for the Halloween Festival from TJ Sokol on Oct. 11. Xochitl Boughtin, a Sokol volunteer, said they have added several activities for kids during the day and others at night for adults; they had about 350 people last year and are hoping for 500 this year. Mayor Bauer said Chief Gary Young said everything went well last year and Bauer commended Sokol organizers for the work they are doing on this event.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the Application for Special Event Permit SE25-08 for the Homecoming Parade from the Crete High School on Sept. 19. Mayor Bauer commended the school for changing their location last year; they had wanted the parade on Main Street during Smithfield shift change and the city and police department were not in favor of that. They are applying for the route they used last year which used the streets around the intermediate, middle, and high schools. Chief Young said it worked well last year and was a safe event for kids.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve amending the Master Fee Schedule. Kyle Frans, Finance Committee chair person, said there are a couple minor changes to library rates for copying and faxing and the 3D printing hourly rate.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the Department of Public Works Utility account write-offs in the amount of $18,115.34. Ourada explained these are accounts that are at least 5 years old and deemed uncollectible on advice of the city attorney and auditor. Mayor Bauer noted the city does not easily write off these accounts. There is a lengthy process on how the city tries to collect on past due accounts.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve forwarding Roger Braden's claim to the League Association of Risk Management (LARM). Mayor Bauer said the city’s procedure is to first turn the claim into the insurance carrier for their opinion.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve forwarding Jose Tapia's claim to the League Association of Risk Management (LARM).

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:
  • he gave a tremendous thanks for the fire department today for their help in a death investigation;
  • school is in session and Officer Noah Zach is our new School Resource Officer; he has some different ideas and thoughts on how to jump right in; Mayor Bauer said when Zach was  interviewed he really stressed he wanted to work in that area eventually.
• Liz Cody, Parks and Recreation Director: 
  • staff is mowing to keep up with the rain;
  • Parks and Rec has a Doane University student intern, Angelo Franco, who will complete about 40 hours for the semester;
  • community groups have reached out on how to work with Parks and Recreation;
  • flag football registrations are up from last year;
  • we are getting estimates for tree removal with a tree grant and the city received Tree City USA honors;
• Trenton Griffin, Building Inspector shared the permit log for August shows a couple new houses approved in Burlington Estates;
• Jody Fiehtner, Human Resources Coordinator, introduced Doug Harms as the new Street Operator; he is originally from Crete and has lived out of state.
• Council members Ashley Newmyer and Dan Papik thanked those who worked on the budget.
• Council member Anthony Fitzgerald had some park and pool questions answered.
• Tom Ourada, City Administrator:
  • attended NDOT infrastructure meetings last week and this week with Federal Highway; with our Connected Communities grant there is a lot of the work we would do in-house and NDOT said they could do it for the city; $300k planning grant for elevated walkway to connect north and south sides of town over Walnut Creek, the railroad, and highway;
  •  we’re talking about updating the speaker system for the council chambers;
  • the city’s partner on another grant will be here Monday-Wednesday; we worked with them in Washington D.C. to help with the planning grant on an elevated walkway, two roundabouts, and a pedestrian underpass by the schools; usually people getting these projects get the program money too, which in the city’s case could be $15 million;
  • we’re partnering with Doane University engineering students again for early design on some projects such as the electric substation and traffic routes;
  • we’re working on zoning with the Planning Commission, however we’re looking for a new consultant to replace someone who left;
  • the city auction is Saturday, Sept. 6; 
• Mayor Dave Bauer talked about a recent JEO housing study meeting with about 15 community members; they gathered information and will put some things together for ideas. We talked about how to grow Crete and the current housing situation. A lot of it comes down to money in terms of affordability and financing. Information will come back to the council.

Meeting adjourned.