Mayor Roger Foster, council member Chuck Vyhnalek and two, newly elected officials took the oath of office at Tuesday’s regular council meeting while two longtime officials were recognized for their service to the City of Crete.

Foster won his bid for a third term in November, while Vyhnalek ran unopposed in Ward 3. New council members are Brian Carnes, who was unopposed in Ward 1, and Ryan Hinz, who won the Ward 2 council seat. Ward 1 council member Dave Bauer was elected Council President during the regular meeting.

Recognized for their dedication and service to the citizens of Crete were outgoing council members Judy Henning from Ward 2 and Travis Sears from Ward 1.

Henning served the council first as a Ward 2 representative starting in 1981. She was a two-term mayor from 1998-2006 and was appointed to fill a council vacancy in 2013. She was chairperson of the Legislative/Community Development Committee and sat on the Parks and Recreation and Public Works committees.

Sears did not seek reelection after serving two terms since 2010 in addition to a term from 2003-2006. He was the current council president and chairperson of the Finance Committee as well as sitting on the Public Safety and Public Works committees.

Registration runs through Friday, Dec. 21 for Crete Recreation Youth Basketball program focusing on fundamentals of the game for boys and girls in grades 3-6.

The program is held on four Sunday afternoons in January at Crete Intermediate School and will introduce new fundamentals each week with 3 vs. 3 games.

Registration forms and coaching applications are available at the Recreation office at City Hall or on RecDesk.

Winter weather and city services

City of Crete personnel are tasked with services in preparation for, during, and after winter weather events.

Non-emergency numbers

• Police Department (24 hours) - 402.826.4311
• Public Works Department - 402.826.4312
  • Calls after regular business hours will be directed to an answering service and relayed to on-call personnel

Sign up for emergency alerts

• Residents can receive emergency alerts for Crete and the surrounding area by subscribing to Blue Rivers Basin Community Alert System (Gage, Jefferson, and Saline Counties). Sign up here.

Electrical and street issues

• To report power outages, problems with electrical service, street issues (including fallen branches on streets) and other concerns, please call Public Works, 402.826.4312
• Snow is removed according to the city’s approved snow plan, which takes into account emergency snow routes, arterial streets, weather forecast, and current conditions.
• The Street Department uses a salt brine pretreatment on priority streets if conditions allow before a forecasted winter weather event. Rainfall during this process can wash away the brine or make it ineffective. Salting/sanding streets remains part of the department’s practice during winter weather.

Sidewalk snow removal

• Business occupants are responsible for snow removal on sidewalks in the business district within 5 hours after accumulation ends and by 8:30 a.m. if snow falls overnight.
• In residential areas, residents are responsible for clearing sidewalks within 24 hours after accumulation ends.
• City Code, Chapter 8, Article 2 

Emergency Snow Routes (map above or view pdf)

• After a significant snow event, three or more inches of accumulation, the city may declare a Snow Emergency, during which time parking along marked Emergency Snow Routes is prohibited and vehicles in violation will be towed.
• The city has marked Emergency Snow Routes on arterial streets including: Highway 33/103, Hawthorne, Boswell, Iris, and Main Avenues;  East 1st, East 4th, East 5th, East 9th, East 14th, East 15th, and East 29th Streets; others include Betten Rd., the entire downtown area and streets around Crete Elementary school. City Code, Chapter 5, Article 2

Garbage and recycling collection

• If severe weather conditions warrant a stoppage or delay in garbage or recycling collection, the city will make efforts to notify customers through social media and the city website.

The City of Crete has equipment and a weather protocol in place for use of a salt brine system to combat icy streets in priority areas this winter.

The process could be used as soon as this week.

Use of the salt brine process by the Street Department will depend on several weather elements, such as rain. While the brine will be applied before an anticipated freezing event, rainfall at an inopportune time in the process can wash away the brine or dilute it to where it becomes ineffective.

Salting or sanding of streets in other areas of the city will remain a Street Department practice in response to freezing conditions, as well as determining the best and most effective times to do snow removal depending on weather forecasts as the winter weather season nears.

The brine storage and distribution equipment was purchased at a cost of about $35,000, which included equipment for use with one of the Street Department’s current dump trucks.

View the Public Works Directory.

You can receive emergency alerts for Crete and the surrounding area by subscribing to Blue Rivers Basin Community Alert System (Gage, Jefferson, and Saline Counties). Link to set up Alert Sense free of charge: 

Sign up for alerts

The Alert System allows Gage, Jefferson, and Saline Counties to send emergency alerts and community notifications that affect you. Once you sign up, you will receive notifications.

Public Safety Alerts: Receive emergency alerts from public safety authorities notifying you of situations which may threaten you or those you care about. Public safety alerts may include, but not limited to: crime, active shooter, hazardous materials, wildfire, floods, need for immediate evacuation, etc.

Community Notifications: You can also choose to receive notifications of events that, while not life-threatening, may still impact your daily life and commute, such as road closures, snow emergencies, etc.

Severe Weather Alerts: You can choose to receive possible advanced warning of severe weather when you or one of your other selected locations is in the direct path of the storm. The system receives messages from the National Weather Service, automatically interprets the geographic area affected, and delivers targeted alerts immediately to app users. You can tailor your alert settings by location, selecting the severity level for which you want to receive notifications.

City of Crete Public Works employees built two oversized, wooden easels which pair with concrete frames to hold recognition bricks next to the tank in City Park as the start of a monument to honor local veterans.

Order forms are available to purchase recognition bricks for $75 each. Each veteran’s name, dates and branch of service, and war or conflict in which he or she served can be displayed on three lines of text available on each brick. Forms are available at the Utility Office at City Hall or at the link below and must be returned with payment to the Utility Office. Please call with questions or concerns, 402.826.4312.

The subject of each brick must be a current or past reserve or active duty member of the U.S. Armed Forces: Air Force, Army, Navy, Coast Guard, or Marine Corps, including the Army National Guard and Air National Guard. He or she should have a connection or association to Crete: relative of a community member, live or once lived in Crete, were stationed at the Crete armory or were employed in Crete.

Please refer to the order form for more information. Eligibility guidelines may change to remove certain restrictions. 

View/download order form

The City Park veterans area has room to expand with more brick frames, made by local contractor Jason Maly, to honor more veterans in the future. The tank is also surrounded by stamped concrete, a project completed in the spring.

The M4 Sherman tank in the northwest corner of City Park, south of the Post Office, was originally placed in July 1960 by members of the Nebraska National Guard. The tank was last repainted in 2016 to reflect its accurate service numbers and insignia.  About 50,000 M4’s were produced during WWII and Crete’s is a model M4A3E8 produced in 1944. Many tanks of this configuration also served throughout the Korean Conflict.

View more Parks and Recreation information.

An abbreviated design and construction timeline for the new Crete Public Library and community building has been updated as of Oct. 16, 2018. (This timeline is subject to change.)

(May - June 2018: Engineering plans and specifications)

(July 2018: Construction bidding)

(August 2018: Pre-construction staking, permits, mobilization)

September - October 2018: Site finish grading

October - November 2018: Utilities and power installation

October - December 2018: Footings and foundations

November 2018 - January 2019: West retaining wall

December 2018 - February 2019: Structural steel construction

January - May 2019: Roofing

February - October 2019: Interior construction

December 2019: Finish construction

December 20, 2019: Estimated completion date

December 21-31, 2019: Estimated closure of old library

January 2, 2020: Estimated opening of new library facilities

Spring 2020: Off-site hard and soft-scape installation

Click on the links below to download forms

• Building Permit Form
• Plumbing Permit Form
• Mechanical Permit Form
• Fence Permit Form
• Sign Permit
• Curb Cuts
• Demolition Permit
• Well Permit
• Right-of-way Permit
• Septic System Permit
• House Moving Permit
• Mobile Home Placement Permit
• Plumbing License Renewal Form for 2019
• Application For Variance
• Flood Plain Development Permit

City of Crete
Departments of Public Works
Utilities and Payments

City Hall - 243 E. 13th Street
(Public Works Utility Office main entrance on south side)
P.O. Box 86
Crete, NE 68333
Phone: 402.826.4312
Public Works Directory

Public Works Office - Bills and Payments:

• A service deposit is required on all addresses; transferable if the resident moves to a new address within City service;
• All utility billing statements are mailed the last business day of the month;
• Bills are due by 5:00 p.m. on the 15th of each month;
• Bills paid by the 15th receive a 10% discount; accounts paid after the due date are subject to forfeiture of this discount;
• Accounts not paid by the due date receive a courtesy notice; a disconnect date is noted on the original bill and the courtesy notice;
• Payments can be made in person (drive-thru available) at the Public Works Office at City Hall, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; night drop, mailed or online;
• Personal checks, money orders or cash are accepted; debit/credit cards accepted with 2.5% convenience fee.
• Pay utility bills 24/7 through the online bill payment option. Make a payment online
  • Cards, checking or savings account can be used (with routing and account numbers)
  • Information required: name on the utility account, address, and the utility account number 
  • Email address is requested in order to receive a receipt
  • Account will still be credited on the day the payment is made. 
• If you have any other questions, visit the Public Works Office at City Hall.

Electrical Service: The City of Crete Departments of Public Works Electric System retails electricity within the corporate limits. 

• View Current Electric Rates

Water and Sewer Service: 

• View Current Water Rates
• Residential Sewer Rate: Monthly customer fee $29.70, plus $2.63 per 1,000 gallons average monthly water consumption for the lowest three months of water usage of the five winter months of November, December, January February and March (Calculated each April) or $37.51 average sewer fee for customers without usage history. 
• Commercial Sewer Rates: Contact the Public Works Office at 402-826-4312.

Garbage Collection and Recycling: The City of Crete solid waste service is provided by The Garbage Company. A recycling tote is included free of charge.

• Residential Rates: 
  • Small Tote (65 gallon)    $17.89
  • Large Tote (95 gallon)    $18.18
  • 2 (95 gal.) Totes             $22.98
  • Seasonal Yard Waste     $12.00
• Commercial Rates: Contact The Garbage Company directly at 1-800-322-4272 for service and rates.

Please see the Public Works sections at left for more information on these City services.

Outside Services:

• Spectrum Cable - 1-800-248-8823
• Black Hills Energy (natural gas company) - 1-888-890-5554
• Windstream (local telephone service) - 1-800-347-1991; Repair Service - 611
• Other television and phone services available, check local directory