Council Minutes - July 7 and 21, 2026

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.

• Questions about agendas or meeting minutes should be directed to the City Clerk.
• Meeting minutes are published in The Crete News (local newspaper)
• Each regular city council meeting agenda also contains the minutes of recent council, committee, and board meetings

The next Crete City Council regular meeting will be on Tuesday, Aug. 4.

Condensed Minutes for Crete City Council regular meeting - Tuesday, July 21:

View this Meeting Agenda and attachments, entire copy of minutes available at the office of the City Clerk.

Mayor Bauer called the meeting of the City Council to order at 6:00 p.m.  Answering roll call were the following Council Members: Crisman, Frans, Strehle, and Fitzgerald Absent: Newmyer and Papik

The following actions were taken at the meeting:

Approved the Consent Agenda items: Unanimous

• Meeting Minutes: July 7 City Council, July 7 Public Works Committee, July 7 Finance Committee, July 7 Legislative Development Committee, July 7 Parks & Recreation Meeting, July 7 Public Safety Committee 
• Treasurer’s Report 
• Claims against the City $580,593.07

Adopted Resolution 2026-17 LARM 2026-27 Renewal Proposal with the 180 day and 3 year commitment; 5% discount. Unanimous 

Approved the claims from Crete Ace Hardware in the amount of $5,236.26. Unanimous 

Approved the Application for Special Event Permit from Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Unanimous 

Approved the second reading of Ordinance 2279 regulate bicycle, E-bikes, minibikes and other motorized recreational transportation and create penalties for violation of these sections. Unanimous (City Attorney Anna Burge explained the Ordinance and resident concerns were expressed related to this topic) 

Approved the CDBG DTR Project reimbursement payment request 5 Crete24DTR001 for Majo Jewelry. Unanimous 

Approved the Payment Request Packet 4 Crete 24DTR001. Unanimous 

Approved the Payment Request 4 Crete 24PWI004. Unanimous 

Approved the LB840 Application from Becerritas. Unanimous 

Approved to authorize the City of Crete to apply for the FY2027 State Aid Grant Program. Unanimous 

Approved the Invoice from IES Commercial Inc in the amount of $20,746.00 for the Crete Airport Beacon. Unanimous 

Approved naming of new street to be Yellowwood Ave. Unanimous 

Approved the Change Order No. 1 from JEO Consulting Group, Inc. for Next Level Concrete, LLC for the 2024 Crete Street and Alley Improvements. Unanimous 

Approved the Community Policing Development Micro Grant for software for investigation of child exploitation. Unanimous 

Petitions Communications Resident Concerns 

• Travis Coe who lives at 1605 Code Ave addressed the City Council and stated that he had sent emails to multiple people in regards to street work being done by Code Ave. He wanted to know what is going on since there are temporary no parking signs and it would be nice for someone to get back to him. City Administrator Tom Ourada stated that he spoke to the Street Supervisor and he was going to make contact with Coe. 

Officers’ Reports 

• Police Captain Jon Pucket explained that they have been doing the nuisance process differently with Code Enforcement Officer Hermes Trujillo. These changes will help to expedite the process. Council member Anthony Fitzgerald thanked Captain Pucket and City Attorney Anna Burge and City Administrator Tom Ourada for making these changes to the nuisance process. Mayor Dave Bauer stated that the goal is to get all these properties cleaned up and with these changes the City is making strides towards that goal. Bauer added that people may not realize that when City Attorney Anna Burge sends people a nuisance property letter they are willing cooperate and work with the City to clean up their properties. 
• Library Director Jessica Wilkinson provided Mayor Bauer and the City Council a handout with information on how much the library has saved  people in Crete with resources in the library such as checking out books and DVDs. Wilkinson stated that the savings have been about $972,000 for the 2024-2025 year and that doesn’t account for using the meeting rooms and programs are not calculated into that. Wilkinson added that the summer reading program is going well and their original reading goal was 3,000 books and children have already read over 11,000 books. They are thinking that by the end of the program that number will be closer to 15,000 books. 
• Parks and Recreation Director, Liz Cody reported that following a successful county fair, the city will resume campground fee collection and enforcement in Tuxedo Park on Wednesday, July 22nd.  The pool will be celebrating shark week the week of July 27th for our final week of the season, and Flag football program enrollment opens on July 27th. 
• Building Inspector Trent Griffin provided and explained the June 2026 Permit Log. 
• Council member Anthony Fitzgerald asked City Administrator Tom Ourada if there was a tentative start date on the airport hangar project. Ourada explained that on July 20th, 2026 there was a pre-construction meeting for the construction of the 2-Bay Box Hangar and Approach at the Crete Municipal Airport. Ourada explained that the contractor has to provide concrete pavement specifications for the FAA to review and approve. Ourada further stated that once the notice to proceed is granted the project will start and it will most likely be sometime in August. 
• Council member Tom Crisman asked if there have been any updates on the Main Ave railroad crossing and Ourada stated that there have not been any updates. Crisman also mentioned that there are weeds growing around the light poles in the downtown area. Mayor Dave Bauer explained that there is a Downtown Business District and the areas where those weeds are growing are not in the district. The goal would be to expand the district and that way all of downtown would have snow removal and weed control. Ourada stated that by city ordinance property owners are responsible for removing weeds. 
• City Administrator Tom Ourada stated the following:
  • The decibel meter located in the conference room is to help monitor noise levels. There was council discussion on placing a couple of the decibel meters in different areas of town with surveillance cameras to help police officers identify people who are driving with an excessively loud exhaust. 
  • The next Nuisance Board Hearings will be on Wednesday, July 29th, 2026 at 4:00 p.m. and there are at least 5 properties. 
  • There was a meeting today with the planning consultant on zoning. Ourada stated that the first draft is over 300 pages of zoning and there are many pictures and definitions of terms. Once that is ready it will go to the Planning Commission and then Council Committee and then to the City Council for ratification. 
  • Ourada has been working with Finance Director Wendy Thomas on a budget timeline. The first part of August will be meeting with the different departments to talk about their needs. Then there will be conversations with the elected officials while keeping in mind the Municipal Equalization Fund issues that we have to deal with. We will get the assessed value for the community around the third week in August. 
  • Had a preliminary meeting with the planners on south Crete Sports Complex area. Ourada stated that there are 5-year short term plans and 25-year long term plans. Ourada stated that the planning work is completely covered by a Brownsfield grant. 
• Mayor Dave Bauer thanked all the departments that helped with the county fair and thanked the Police Department and City Attorney Anna Burge for their work with the nuisance properties. Bauer stated that has been a goal of his to clean up the city. 

The meeting adjourned at 6:55 p.m.

Condensed Minutes for Crete City Council regular meeting - Tuesday, July 7:

View this Meeting Agenda and attachments, entire copy of minutes available at the office of the City Clerk.

Mayor Bauer called the meeting of the City Council to order at 6:00 p.m.  Answering roll call were the following Council Members: Frans, Newmyer, Strehle, Papik and Fitzgerald Absent: Crisman

The following actions were taken at the meeting:

Approved the Consent Agenda items: Unanimous

• Meeting Minutes: June 16 City Council , June 16 Public Works Committee, June 16 Finance Committee, June 16 Legislative Development Committee, June 16 Parks & Recreation Meeting
• Treasurer’s Report 
• Claims against the City $1,639,600.35
• Mayor’s appointments: Jennifer Robison to the Planning Commission, Adam Bauer to the Business Improvement District Board, Jim Crouse and Amanda Lopez to the Library Advisory Board, Ken Marvin, Manuel Dimas, and Liz Umana to the Economic Development Advisory Committee 

Held Public Hearing to hear testimony in favor of and in opposition to and to answer questions in relation to the following proposed Zoning Change Request. Parcel ID: 760144138 I1 to C2. Unanimous

Approved the proposed Zoning Change Request. Parcel ID: 760144138 I1 to C2. Unanimous 

Held Public Hearing to hear testimony in favor of and in opposition to and to answer questions in relation to the following proposed Zoning Change Request A Tract of Land Being Part of Outlot "A", Dittmer Estates Addition Located In The Northeast Quarter Of Section 26, Township 8 North, Range 4 East Of The 6th P.M., City of Crete, Saline County, Nebraska, C1 to R3. Unanimous 

Approved the proposed Zoning Change Request A Tract of Land Being Part of Outlot "A", Dittmer Estates Addition Located In The Northeast Quarter Of Section 26, Township 8 North, Range 4 East Of The 6th P.M., City of Crete, Saline County, Nebraska, C1 to R3. Unanimous 

Held Public Hearing to hear testimony in favor of and in opposition to and answer questions in relation to amending the Future Land Use Map. Unanimous 

Approved amending the Future Land Use Map. Unanimous 

Approved the Public Works utility account write- off. Unanimous 

Approved Public Works unclaimed property. Unanimous 

Approved declaring surplus bricks for sale on surplus website and for a cost of $0.25. Unanimous 

Approved the Updated Scope and Fee Crete Park Concept Services. Unanimous 

Enacted Ordinance 2278 renumbering codes created in Ordinance 2277. Unanimous 

Approved the first reading for Ordinance 2279 regulate bicycle, E-bikes, minibikes and other motorized recreational transportation and create penalties for violation of these sections. Unanimous 

Approved the Southeast Nebraska Development District FY27 Membership. Unanimous 

Adopted Resolution 2026-16 authorizing mayor to sign Crete Area Medical Center MOU. Unanimous 

Approved the Memorandum of Understanding Between The City of Crete and Crete Area Medical Center to the commitment to provide health care services to all patients regardless of financial ability. Unanimous 

Officers’ Reports 

• Chief of Police Gary Young stated the following: 
  • Noah Zach was awarded the Nebraska American Legion Law Enforcement Officer of the Year and he is a excellent representative of the City of Crete. 
  • Zach has been helping with the car seat initiative and in June there were 9 car seats given out and 14 car seat checks with Sixpence and McKinney-Vento. There will be another car seat event in September. 
  • Young provided a summary of the event that took place at Tuxedo Park with an individual that had a camper made from an armored car and was threating to kill an officer. Young thanked the collaboration of assistance with this event of the Nebraska SWAT, State Patrol, Saline County Sheriffs Office, Lancaster County, and the Crete Volunteer Fire Department. 
• Parks and Recreation Director Liz Cody stated the following:
  • Staff are performing daily checks (M-F) on campground areas. 
  • Working park and facility maintenance issues 
  • Additional signage is being posted for dumping, parking, etc. 
  • Thanked the Council for the Ordinance on the e-bikes and mini bikes. 
  • Mayor’s Day at the Wildwood Pool will be Sunday July 12 - free admission during open hours. End of season pooch party on Aug. 2nd 3-4pm. 
  • We thank Coach Martin for her 4 years as head swim coach and are seeking a new swim coach for next season.
  • Adult Co-Ed Softball registration until July 24th.
  • IRA UCF Grant coordinator visits Crete on Wed. July 8th to review sites for upcoming grant funded tree work.  
• City Administrator Tom Ourada stated the following:
  • The warning stickers for the Ordinance on cryptocurrency are in and will be distributed to the businesses in town that have crypto ATM or Bitcoin ATM. Dr. Sarah Brown and possibly Crete News will be going as well. 
  • The City of Crete did not get the BUILD grant which an application had been submitted or an overpass. 
  • The City has submitted multiple other grants including the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Grant. 
  • Working with Nebraska Department of Transportation Infrastructure HUB on the Reconnecting Community grant that the City of Crete was awarded for a planning grant for a pedestrian bridge. 
  • Ourada and Mayor Bauer received a letter from Dr. Tom King who is the President of the Library Advisory Board and Chair of the Historic Preservation Commission. He is resigning from that board and commission since he is moving out of Crete. 
  • The City of Crete is working on the recertification for the Economic Development Community certification. The city does that every five years.
  • Keno has been strong the last couple months. 
  • Sales tax is steady. Year to date the City has refunded about $24,000 as part of the State’s incentive program. 
  • We are about 3.86% below what we were last year but 2% ahead of budget and we are stable. 
  • We are working on the new street dedication. 11th street is going through and then there will be a street in front of Blue River Meats dedicated by the various owners. Ourada stated to the Council that they can ponder a street name that starts with the letter x or y. It would be tree name to keep it consistent. Ourada stated that some name options would be presented to the council to vote on. 
  • A new Human Resources Director has been hired, and she will be starting on August 3rd, 2026. 
  • Council member Anthony Fitzgerald asked about the next nuisance hearing on Wednesday, July 29th, 2026 and if there will be meetings on a more regular basis. Ourada stated that has been addressed and hearings will be held if there are enough nuisances. 
• Mayor Dave Bauer stated that the Crete Fireworks show was great. Bauer added that it has been great to see all the departments helping each other and working together. 

The meeting adjourned at 6:46 p.m.