Council Summaries - May 4, May 6, and May 18, 2021

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.

Summary for Crete City Council meeting - Tuesday, May 18
View this Meeting Agenda and attachments

The council approved the Consent Agenda items:

• Minutes of the following meetings: Parks and Recreation Committee May 4, Personnel Committee May 4, Public Safety Committee May 4, Public Works Committee May 4, City Council May 4, Special City Council May 6
• Treasurer’s Report
• Claims against the City
• Contracts and Renewals: 5-year rental and service contract with Max I. Walker for providing, cleaning, and replacing uniforms, shop towels, and mats for the Wastewater Department.
• Mayor’s Appointments: Jim Johnson to the Housing Authority, term June 2021 to June 2026

The Council approved Bauer Underground, of Lincoln, as the contractor for the 2021 gap paving project with a bid of $875,039 and a start date of July 1, as recommended by the Public Works Committee and in a letter from JEO Consulting Group, who has worked with this firm on a recent, similar project.

• City Administrator Tom Ourada said he normally recommends rejecting bids over the engineers estimate but given the economy, the low bid was acceptable. He pointed out that the PW Committee reviewed the bids and concurred. The high bid was from Stephens and Smith Construction at $1,097,059 and the second highest was from M.E. Collins Contracting Co. at $953,360. This project includes paving on 24th, 20th, 19th, and 18th streets, and Norman Ave.

The Council tabled action to the next meeting relating to library policies and waiving the fee for a library card for nonresidents who work in Crete. The Finance Committee was unable to meet on this prior to the council meeting.

The Council held a Public Hearing on the annexation of the West Crete Addition.

• Ourada explained the background on this issue, stating the city has considered this annexation a number of times in the past. He also noted that City Attorney Kyle Manley’s research shows this section may, in fact, already be in the city limits, as records show it was annexed in the 1880s and they have no information that annexation was ever released. 
• He went on to explain that the NDEE contacted him reporting that one property is out of compliance for a wastewater violation and the state was going to relax its standard for sewer and water well separation, but the city would also have to relax its standards. Tom talked with Building Inspector Brad Bailey, Mayor Bauer, and a couple of council people who were not interested in relaxing the city’s standards; that left this property with no recourse unless the city would annex and extend sewer service to it; he noted that at least one more property is in a similar situation, plus others may be in the future and there is no way the property out of compliance can fix the issue on property they own.
• He also pointed out that this is a hearing on annexation that will include one reading of the ordinance to vote on and the annexation will be on the next two council agendas over the next four weeks as well for two additional votes until either reaffirming the 1880’s action or voting to approve the annexation, having the same effect.
• Several property owners in the affected area expressed concerns:
  • Theresa Vernon, 1407 Idaho, asked about a possible federal funding situation and how that money would be applied to any costs assessed to property owners.
  • Dave Jurena, 1550 West 14th Street, said his biggest question was why and what the benefit was to the owners? He was against the annexation.
  • Janet Bartek, 1355 Wyoming, had concerns about city water service. She also said 3/4 of people in this are are disabled or retired, so paying for potential improvements was a concern.
  • Bill Vernon, 1455 Wyoming, asked if anyone’s current water wells and septic systems are functioning, will they have the option to refuse city connection if annexed?
  • Don Vernon 1660 West 14th, said he just had a septic system done three years ago, and the crew he hired contacted the city about any issues with distances between water and septic systems.
  • Mayra Mendez Lopez, 1309 Wyoming, wanted to know what the benefit was to the owners.
• In response:
  • Mayor Dave Bauer said the council has’t decided all the issues yet as far as if city connection to water and sewer will be required. 
  • Ourada explained there would be two processes at work here: 1) annexation and 2) creation of water and sewer improvement districts. Property owners can’t protest out an annexation and the city has to create improvement districts for water and sewer, which is when some details would be clarified. He said Crete is eligible for federal ARPA funds (American Rescue Plan Act), however, how much of it could go towards this project is unclear given other projects the city also has coming up. ARPA funds have to be spent by 2024. Current estimates for water and sewer improvements are about $450,000; $150,000 would get the water and sewer to the subdivision and satisfy the sewer requirement for the first property currently out of compliance. Ourada was asked if taxes would go up and responded that yes they would, on average, property taxes would go up about $305 a year for each owner. Obviously some would be higher and some lower depending on property values.
  • Mayor Bauer said it may be to the benefit of owners to connect to the proposed city services during this part of the project when this federal money may be available to offset initial costs. It will not be available down the road if owners wish to connect later.
  • In response to questions about livestock currently on some properties, Ourada said the area is currently zoned residential, so certain animals have not been allowed for decades at the very least and it doesn’t matter if they are in city limits or not as zoning extends two miles out in our extraterritorial jurisdiction. He said this issue may be addressed with zoning once the project goes through and something like a new zone referencing both residential and agriculture could be taken up by the Planning Commission; then the council is the body to vote that issue up or down once proposed, but these are not concerns of the current annexation process.
  •  In response to city water issues, the city’s water improvement project is not finished and completion will improve any current issues faced in certain areas. West Crete properties could keep wells depending on the council’s decision, but if wells go bad, they can’t be replaced because the area is still under the zoning jurisdiction of the city and new or replacement wells would not be allowed.
  • Ourada said the city is compelled to act in this case as West Crete is already in the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction; the state is saying either annex the area or relax water and sewer distance standards to let owners do something the city doesn’t want them to do; so the city isn’t benefiting, but is doing this so it doesn’t have to bend standards it doesn’t want to bend.
  • As this ordinance still has two more readings over the next four weeks of the process, the council will look at how they put this together to minimize the impact to owners and how to best use federal money to offset costs. They will have those discussions with everybody involved.

The Council approved the first of three readings of Ordinance 2126: An ordinance to annex West Crete Addition.

The Council waived three readings and enacted Ordinance 2127: An ordinance relating to wages and salaries. This related to several changes not made with the last action on wages and salaries, notably matching the cemetery sexton wage with the street department wage.

Officer reports:

• Police Chief Steve Hensel - updated the Council on nuisance properties.
• Tom Ourada
  • The new Deputy Clerk is Kelsey Sisouvong, who moves over from the Utilities Office; he noted we interviewed a number of people, including a number of people from Indeed,  and the two best candidates were internal. He noted that this didn’t come as a surprise as the City has very good employees throughout that can match up with anyone.
  • Channel 8 from Lincoln was here to talk about water quality, in response to comments made on a community chat page on Facebook. They requested an on camera interview which wasn’t Tom’s preference but in the interest of getting out accurate information Tom did the interview explaining the city is being proactive with water treatment plant construction and improvements and the water improvement project. He said some properties have galvanized pipes, which creates additional problems. He also confirmed the city tests water and sends samples to the state every week. He also pointed out that the City will be contracting to finish the project later in the fall or spring.
  • The Utilities Office renovation is nearly done. Tom thanked Brad, for his knowledge and work on the project in addition to the Electric Department crew. This expanded the office and gave some isolation and protection for the staff to make it safer and a lot more functional.
  • ARPA 2021 - Eligible activities for these funds include: water, wastewater, broadband, COVID-19 job relief and other payroll expenses. The city may get around $1,000,000 and it must be spent by 2024.
  • Downtown - We are trying to get the red concrete replaced along curbs. We should have the rest of the bids in this week or next.
  • Zoning - Tom will be talking with Kyle Manley about creative zoning, in part in dealing with West Crete. He believes this has been done elsewhere such as Lincoln, and we have opportunities to not only do this in West Crete, but also perhaps in the flood plain and other areas that would make them more functional and add value to the community.
  • SENDD - Downtown Revitalization applications were reviewed by the Nebraska State Historic Preservation Office and others, and no issues were found.
  • “Our Town Crete” news special by Channel 10/11 in Lincoln is proposed to start August 16 through the 22nd.
  • The City Employee Recognition Dinner is on June 17 and the elected officials may have to bartend if they are willing. It was noted they have done this in the past.
• Mayor Dave Bauer welcomed Kelsey as new Deputy Clerk. He also said the Utilities Office renovation looks great. Regarding the city’s work on nuisance properties, he said departments working together has been going well and people may not realize how many letters have gone out where people have voluntary complied to correct nuisance property issues. He thanked all departments involved for their continued efforts.

Meeting adjourned. 

Summary for Crete City Council Special meeting - Thursday, May 6
View this Meeting Agenda and attachments

The Council recommended to the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission on approving Artisan Mark LLC's application for a catering endorsement to its existing retail liquor license.

The Council waived three readings and enacted Ordinance 2125: An ordinance amending Ordinance Nos. 2113 and 2116 to adjust the wages and salaries of non-bargaining unit employees.

• This item was discussed at the regular meeting on May 4 and approved to move forward by drafting this ordinance for council action.

Summary for Crete City Council meeting - Tuesday, May 4
View this Meeting Agenda and attachments

The council approved the Consent Agenda items:

• Minutes of the following meetings: Parks and Recreation Committee April 20, Public Works Committee April 20, City Council April 20
• Treasurer’s Report
• Claims against the City

The Council held a Public Hearing to receive public input on the preliminary engineering report related to the construction of a new lift station, water well, and related water and sewer lines. 

• City Administrator Tom Ourada explained this hearing provides notice on the possibility of using USDA funds for grant and loans on this project.

The Council approved Saline Medical Plaza's application for a special exception permit for a business center identification sign at 830 East 1st Street. 

•  Ourada said this application has been reviewed by the Building Inspector, City Attorney, and himself as all signs of this type are permitted by special exception application and to be approved by the council.

The Council tabled authorization of the Police Department’s request to submit a grant application for eCitation equipment. 

The Council authorized the Police Department to submit a grant application for bulletproof vests. 

• This request was reviewed and recommended by the Public Safety Committee. Police Chief Steve Hensel said this would pay for 50 percent of the cost of two new vests sized for specific officers.

The Council voted to enter into an agreement with Idemia Identity & Security in the amount of $9,375 for mobile fingerprint equipment and services. 

•  Hensel explained the Saline County Sheriff’s Office has this system at the jail, which connects to a national print database; in the field, Crete officers do not have this luxury, but the purchase of digital print identification systems for use in the field would help in quick and accurate print identifications.

The Council authorized the Recreation Coordinator to submit grant applications for tennis programming activities. 

• Ourada said Recreation Coordinator Dan Dunaway was approached by an individual to start a city tennis program at the request it not have a fee charged for participants; Ourada then asked him to look into grants to try to help offset costs, of which he found two. Parks and Recreation Committee chair Kyle Frans said the committee recommended this as a great way to introduce a new program into the recreation department.

The Council approved Andres Viana's request for campground use in Tuxedo Park until October 31, 2021. 

• A letter was submitted and forwarded to the council from this individual and was recommended by the Parks and Recreation Committee.
• Council Member Travis Sears suggested that at some point the council should discuss how many of these they approve relating to available camping spaces at Tuxedo Park.

The Council approved the racing events scheduled for 2021 at the Tuxedo Park Raceway on recommendation from the Parks and Recreation Committee.

• Ourada said this is the third or fourth year for Tuxedo Park Raceway and manager Nick Dice has a good plan in place. Tom also pointed out that with the flooding in 2019 and the rain and pandemic the last year, Nick hasn’t had great luck with his venue. The Council wished him better luck this year.

The Council approved 4H Horse Club practices at the Tuxedo Park rodeo arena in preparation for the Saline County Fair on recommendation from the Parks and Recreation Committee.

• Ourada explained this request requires council approval because it is a recurring event lasting more that eight hours and involves livestock in city limits.

The Council authorized the Library Director to submit a grant application for the Nebraska Library Commission Internship Program. 

• Library Director Joy Stevenson explained the Nebraska Library Commission offers a $1,000 grant to temporarily hire college or high school students. The library would like to start offering programs on Saturdays including bilingual story time and programs in the maker space. The Library Advisory Board was supportive of this plan.

The Council considered amending the library policies to waive the fee for a library card for individuals who work in Crete. The Council referred this to the Finance Committee for further discussion on eliminating all library card fees.

• Stevenson said this could have a profound effect on teachers, both in Crete Public Schools and Doane University; the previous policy said teachers could get books for classrooms but not for themselves. This would be a gesture of goodwill and appropriate for the library's collection. Several council members and Mayor Bauer suggested consideration of eliminating all library card fees.

The Council approved adjusting the wage and salary scale to add a new wage scale for Street Foreman and to increase the wages for Street Operator.

• Ourada explained that when the city opened a Water Operator position, a number of Street Operators applied for it. He said the city does a good job with comparability on jobs externally, but they may have missed the mark with jobs internally. Creating a wage scale for a Street Foreman position and adjusting wages for the street operator position solves this issue as the work tasks are comparable between water and street positions. Water personnel have some certification levels that exceed that of street positions so they will stay slightly higher. He talked with the Mayor and Human Resources Coordinator Wendy Thomas, then took it to the Personnel Committee.
• Sears said the committee recommended the addition of Street Foreman and changes to the Street Operator wages as appropriate.

The Council passed Resolution 2021-05: A resolution removing parking from the east side of Iris Avenue between Arthur Drive and Fairchild Drive.

• Mayor Bauer said this issue comes up when Doane University has baseball, softball, cross country, and other events along the Iris Ave border of campus; as multiple visitors park on the east side of Iris with the driveways and trees, it is difficult for property owners to back out of driveways and it’s ordinarily a busy street. He said people in the area did request it and were in favor of it. 
• Public Works Committee chair Dale Strehle said they recommended approval with the change to no parking on Iris Ave from Arthur Drive and Fairchild Drive, effective immediately. The original resolution stated from 4th to 13th streets along Iris.

The Council voted to terminate the Continuity of Operations Plan.

• Ourada explained the council passed this plan in March 2020 in response to the pandemic allowing the Mayor and City Administrator to make certain decisions and make recommendations to the council to keep the city running, including such things as splitting departments and limiting contact. Although the pandemic is still a concern, the crisis portion has diminished and the council could implement this again if needed. Tom believes this action tells city employees that we are heading to normalcy. The recent mask policy decisions for city employees and visitors are separate policies which follow CDC guidance, as well as contact guidance on vaccinated vs non-vaccinated people in indoor and outdoor situations.

Petition - Communication - Citizen Concern:

• Victor Alarcon spoke as a small business owner with a store at 13th and Main. He thanked the Mayor, Council, and City for all the help to downtown renovations, stating this is a big project and will help extend the life of all buildings. Mayor Bauer responded with appreciation that businesses are utilizing the Downtown Revitalization programs.

Officer reports:

• Chief Steve Hensel reported on city inspections of dilapidated buildings and working with Building Inspector Brad Bailey; they have written one inspection warrant for a judge and will start doing more of that, working in tandem in a way they have not done before to address building safety and condition issues.
  • Brad Bailey added that inspecting dilapidated properties is a new process and the building they started with was dangerous in terms of safety and condition; they have a list of other properties to look at moving forward.
• Joy Stevenson - 
  • The library is opening more with additional furniture out for use. They are not quarantining books anymore and opened up the teen room with limited capacity; 
  • Summer Reading Program - ‘Tails and Tales’ theme with in-person programs and entertainment; events are limited to 50 people because in case of rain, programs will be moved inside to the Community Room; an adult summer program will use a Bingo game; 
  • Reading with Friends will be held twice a week in July for a story time-type program this year;
  • Grand Opening is being planned after the summer;
  • Crete Reads! Book is “News of the World” by Paulette Jiles; staff hopes to show the movie and will have speakers for upcoming programs related to the community-wide read.
  • A committee was formed to plan an Oct. 7 fundraiser with quilt auction - ‘Conversation with Mark and Andy’ with Tom King as Andrew Carnegie and a Mark Twain impersonator;
  • A concrete pad for the new pavilion in Library Park will be poured next week.
• Ryan Hinz, Council member, Ward II - The DTR committee met and started a preliminary review of applications.
• Kyle Frans, Council Member, Ward III - The Parks and Recreation Committee will meet at Tuxedo Park to review a new bathroom location and will also to look at a comprehensive plan for the parks.
• Dale Strehle, Council Member, Ward II - The cleanup of the Plouzek property has been good to see and thank you to city personnel who helped with those tasks.
• Tom Ourada - 
  • Sales tax - traditionally February is a low month, but this was higher than the same month last year; sales tax is still doing fairly well and the finances are stable;
  • Nancy Tellez, Community Assistance Director is now on the Blue River Arts Council, replacing Judi Meyer for the City;
  • Tuxedo Park Bridge is open and we are already fielding questions about why it wasn’t done the way the West 13th Bridge was with a bridge approach; it could have been done the same way, but the city would have had to pay an additional $2M; this bridge was not originally supposed to be replaced, but it was fast-tracked; the West 13th Street Bridge took about 10 years total, from initial proposals to completion;
  • Library air handling units - a silencer project on the air units is complete to reduce the noise to the neighbors; Bailey said you can tell the difference in the amount of noise and they have not had any recent complaints;
  • Downtown Revitalization - this is the city’s second DTR award; the committee met and reviewed applications; Tom also talked with Liz Cody from SENDD about a third round of DTR, but decided the city will focus on completing this round this year and focus on round three next year; SHPO (State Historic Preservation Office) had not seen the applications yet and they may pass their review by the next meeting with committee updates to follow;
  • Open staff positions currently listed - Deputy City Clerk, Street Operator, Seasonal Cemetery Laborer, Police Investigative Sgt, Police Officer;
  • Two properties cleaned up - one was a decades long accumulation; another more recent; thank you to those who helped clean these properties up;
  • Census info - a GIS technician is helpful to have on staff through this process.
    • City Clerk/Treasurer Jerry Wilcox explained the census data was about six months late and there are statutory requirements for governing bodies to set their districts; they are pushing to get GIS people on board to handle data files so they can be processed for others to handle normally; we’re in good shape with that;
  •  West Crete Annexation letters will be sent out this week to affected property owners.
• Mayor Dave Bauer said the new Tuxedo Park Bridge creates an opportunity to show off this park again and get back to it being a well-used area for a number of recreation activities; the city is very thankful to have two bridges in that area that are brand new.

Meeting adjourned.