Council Summaries - May 6 and 20, 2025

Special Meeting - May 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, June 3

 

Summary for Crete City Council regular meeting - Tuesday, May 20
View this Meeting Agenda and attachments.

Council member Tom Crisman was absent.

The council approved the Consent Agenda items:

• Minutes of the following meetings: City Council May 6, May 9, Finance Committee May 6, Public Works Committee May 6, Parks Recreation Committee May 6
• Treasurer’s Report, Income/Expense Budget
• Payment of claims against the City 

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the Application for Prohibited Animal Exception PA25-02 for the Saline County Fair. Mayor Dave Bauer explained this is an annual request from the Saline County Fair Board to hold animal exhibitions at the county fair. These animals are not allowed in the city normally and require this exception application.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the Application for Special Event Permit SE25-05 for the 4-H and Open Archery Contest. Mayor Bauer explained this activity is not allowed in the city and requires this special event approval to operate for the Saline County Fair.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve Ordinance 2244 - Electric Rates on its second reading. City Administrator Tom Ourada said the city has had no communications within the last two weeks since the first reading.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the Walnut Creek Sewer Crossing Final Closeout Documents. Ourada said these include the final inspection and punch list created by the engineer, contractor, and the city.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the Contractor's Application for Payment from JEO Consulting Group, Inc. for Judd Bros Construction Co. for the Walnut Creek Sewer Repair in the amount of $180,522.00.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the LB840 Application from Crystal Alarcon for Crystal's Bakery. Ourada said this application is for some exterior work on the building. The owner is planning on a downtown revitalization application for some other work. This item and the following both went to the LB840 Economic Development Advisory Board and the Council’s Legislative and Economic Development Committee.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the LB840 Application from Valerie Cochnar for Uneta Boutique.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve Resolution 2025-06 authorizing Mayor Dave Bauer to execute a Lease/Purchase Agreement with TYMCO, INC for Street Sweeper. Ourada explained this process was previously authorized by the council; this is the agreement.

The Council voted 4-0 (Papik abstained) to approve approving the claims from Crete Ace Hardware in the amount of $2,622.92.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the Application for Special Event Permit SE25-04 Rooted Movement Bounce Party. Anthony Fitzgerald said the Legislative and Economic Development Committee recommended this item with the added information that a portion of 12th Street will be closed as a place for the bounce houses.

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:
  • the newest patrol car has additional equipment installed and the extra patrol car will be cleaned out and sent to the airport;
  • the Code Enforcement Officer is leaving the department and we will use officers to pick up that slack prior to a new employee being hired and trained;
• Jessica Wilkinson, Library Director:
  • presented data from the Nebraska Library Commission’s annual survey; a monetary cost of items used/checked out by patrons, including materials, computers, database use, programs, etc., would have been $1.2M;
  • received a new water fountain with upper fountain, bottle filler, and dog bowl fountain donated by Jim and Sharon Crouse; the Water Department is donating time to install in Library Park;
  • Nestle Purina volunteers will come out and weed flower beds, etc.;
  • 100 signed up so far for the annual Summer Reading Program;
• Liz Cody, Parks and Recreation Director: 
  • public pool is filled as of today and we are working on preseason prep; seasonal staff is training and excited for the season;
  • Two seasonal parks staff have started, one more will join this summer;
  • staff will help out at the Library with Nestle Purina volunteers;
  • she is in touch Water Department Superintendent Jesse Yager on progress of the water main improvements in Tuxedo Park;
• Trent Griffin, Building Inspector:
  • there are about 140 open permits - commercial to residential, mechanical permits, 3 single family homes, Crete Berean Church - new gym and offices, Crete Public Schools athletic facilities expansions; Dominos Pizza;
• Council member Anthony Fitzgerald  asked about addressing food trucks and some concerns with several looking more permanent in nature, with lights and seating, hardwiring into adjacent properties, etc.; City Attorney Anna Burge said there are some issues being addressed by code enforcement; Ourada said some issues point to some users circumventing what other downtown/permanent properties must have to do business.
• Council member Dale Strehle on cooking for the employee lunch on May 7 - he really appreciated all the employee event committee’s hard work; he was blessed to be out helping because the service the city’s employee’s provide is immense.
• Tom Ourada, City Administrator:
  • DTR Open House (Downtown Revitalization) on May 28, 4-6 p.m. in the community room at the library; this would be our third round of DTR to push us over $1 million invested in downtown properties;
  • Mike Kalkwarf and I will be in Kearney Wednesday and Thursday for power pool meetings.

Meeting adjourned.

 

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

 

Summary for Crete City Council regular meeting - Tuesday, May 6
View this Meeting Agenda and attachments.

Council member Ashley Newmyer was absent.

The council approved the Consent Agenda items:

• Minutes of the following meetings: Public Works Committee April 1, April 15, Public Safety Committee April 15, Legislative/Community Development Committee April 15, City Council April 15, Fire Department meetings Jan., Feb., March
• Treasurer’s Report, City Sales Tax Receipts, Keno Report
• Payment of claims against the City 
• Mayor Bauer's appointment of Jaden Hilkemann to the LB840 Advisory Committee
• Interlocal agreement addendum #2 with Zuercher (Central Square) 
• Approve Janina Bakker and Zach Vyhnalek as new volunteer members of the Fire Department.

New Crete Police Officer Lisa Wiedemeyer was sworn in by City Clerk Nancy Tellez and received her badge from Mayor Dave Bauer.

Chief of Police Gary Young also introduced Zach Funk, a non-commissioned conditional officer, who will attend the police academy at the Nebraska Law Enforcement Training Center in Grand Island in early September. He is currently in training activities with the Crete Police Department.

Adjourned the City Council to a meeting of the Community Development Agency (CDA), with Chairperson Dan Papik.

• The CDA voted 5-0 to approve the Certificate of Completion for the Crete Senior Villas Redevelopment Project. This item recognizes the completion of the project.
• The CDA voted 5-0 to approve the Closing Statement for the Crete Senior Villas Redevelopment Project. This item includes closing costs owed to the city for a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) project.
• The CDA voted 5-0 to approve the TIF Note for the Crete Senior Villas Redevelopment Project. City Administrator Tom Ourada said the owner or subsequent owner as to maintain the property and property taxes.

Adjourn the CDA to the City Council meeting. 

• The Council held a Public Hearing for Retail Liquor License from 1750 Station LLC, at 1750 Hawthorne Ave, Crete, NE. The new owner of this property, Behnam Ebrahimi, stated he owns the building and property around the existing business and will reopen the liquor store, which was previously rented and run by a tenant.

The Council held a Public Hearing to hear testimony in favor of and in opposition to and to answer questions in relation to the Zoning Change Request from C3 to C2 on west Highway 33 area. Ourada said this was a recommendation from the city which started as a single property owner asking for rezoning. The city found a number of properties in this area were noncompliant, such as storage units and liquor licenses, and further looked to how they could help the area conform to zoning regulations. The Planning Commission sought input and made a recommendation to the council to change the zoning. They could not find any adverse effects to included properties and the Planning Commission hearing dispelled several concerns by property owners.

The Council held a Public Hearing to hear testimony in favor of and in opposition to and to answer questions in relation to the future land use Zoning Map Amendment from C3 to C2 on west Highway 33 area. This would amend the future land use map in the city’s Comprehensive Plan.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the proposed Zoning Change request from C3 to C2 on west Highway 33 area.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the proposed future land use  Zoning Map Amendment from C3 to C2 on west Highway 33 area.

The Council voted 5-0 to table the Application for Special Event Permit SE25-04 Rooted Movement Bounce Party. Council member Anthony Fitzgerald said the Parks and Recreation Committee talked about having the applicant work with the City Administrator and Parks and Recreation Director to adjust their plans in City Park. Ourada said the significance is they did not receive permission to place bounce houses on park grounds.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the proposed Ordinance 2244 setting municipal electric rates on its first of three readings. John Krajewski, of JK Energy, talked about electric rates: based on analysis, he recommends two, 7% rate increases over the next two years; the first increase for most customers would occur in October 2025 and the second in October 2026; large power rates would raise in January to 2026 and 2027 to coincide with their fiscal years and budgeting processes; proposed overall rate increases of 7% for residential and 5.8% for smaller general service, 6.9% for smaller general service demand (ex. Walmart), and 7.4% for large power (ex. Nestle, Bunge); even with these rate changes, Crete’s rates are reasonably competitive with neighbors; the city provides fund transfers to the general fund unlike some other cities; many entities are facing the same cost increases as well.

The Council voted 4-0 (Papik abstained) to approve approving the claims from Crete Ace Hardware in the amount of $79.86.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve Airport Rules and Regulations. Ourada said officials have been working on this with the Airport Advisory Board and was heard by the Public Works committee, which had some concerns. It’s been modified and further researched for another draft.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the final reading and adopted Ordinance 2242 Sale of 1209 and 1211 Main Ave.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve amending the Master Fee Schedule. Ourada said changes include rates in the building permit fees and inspections section.

The Council voted 5-0 to grant the Special Exception Application from Andrew Hardenburger for Northern Natural Gas.

• Andrew Hardenburger, of Northern Natural Gas, said they have a border station on Iris Ave., and as it has become a high density area they are required to move this station due to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission safety regulations. They are moving it to the north side of Martell Road. 
• The council addressed the eight findings required of the special exception. Northern Natural Gas also stated they were in compliance with requirements for the property.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve Resolution 2025-4 metering of solar generation facility. Ourada said this is required from Nebraska Public Power as an agreement with the city, MEAN (Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska), and Sandhills on requirements for metering the 1.6MW solar generation facility on the southeast edge of Crete.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve Resolution 2025-5 NPPD Agreement.

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:
  • 80 hours of training is required due to Zach Funk’s current, non-certified status and the department is able to do this with the talent we have in-house; lesson plans and materials were already prepared for both him and new officer Lisa Wiedemeyer to complete; Ourada added that Wiedemeyer is already a certified officer, who has been through the police academy and hired from Milford; she will also go through field training in Crete; Young said she is a great find and has some unique skills in investigating sexual assaults and similar cases;
  • April is Distracted Driving and Alcohol Awareness Month - grant funds helped facilitate 220 contacts with individuals throughout the month - 71 citations, 129 warnings, 11 equipment repairs; 12 in custody, including several felonies; grants also helped fund presence at the community Cinco De Mayo celebration because of traffic safety messages communicated by officers;
  • nuisance properties - 68 cases have had about 50% compliance; as we introduce warnings and attorney letters the compliance is more frequent;
• Harrison Gaman, Fire Captain, introduced new Crete Volunteer Fire Department members Zach Vyhnalek and Janina Bakker. Zach will be an associate member as he lives in Wilber and is also a member of Wilber Fire and Rescue; he can respond to EMT needs for CVFD. Janina is rejoining the department as a firefighter/EMT. 
• Jessica Wilkinson, Library Director:
  • Summer Reading registration is in full swing and will end in May; bringing in fun programming such as a magician, origami artist, and others, with a carnival-themed kickoff;
  • inventory tasks include scanning all library items to establish missing materials
• Jody Fiehtner, Human Resources Coordinator, introduced new Power Plant Operator Tyler Schmidt, who joined the city in April; he comes from Nebraska Public Power District.
• Liz Cody, Parks and Recreation Director: 
  • projects, events, or activities were happening in about 8 of 11 parks today and we have good support from other departments in our efforts;
  • t-ball enrollment closed with 95 signed up; 42 kids registered for swim team with a home meet June 14;
  • pool will have fresh paint and bathhouse has a new roof; 28 pool hires and 3 seasonal parks hires;
  • thank you goes out to student volunteers from Doane University and UNL this spring on forestry projects; added street trees to inventory;
  • have had potential donors reach out for park amenities;
• Council member Dale Strehle said he plans on looking into the recycling questions to make sure we are providing the services we say we are in terms of downstream vendors of recycled materials.
• Tom Ourada, City Administrator:
  • potholes were filled on railroad tracks and was accomplished due to the RTSD (Railway Transportation Safety District); Saline County Commissioner and RTSD member Brian Pribyl talked with Burlington who said they would flag for it if the City Street Department would fill the potholes; 
  • tomorrow Dan Papik and Dale Strehle will grill for a city employee picnic lunch at City Hall; Mayor Bauer is also planning on attending and will also contribute;
  • the council agenda reflects what I’ve been working on recently, along with City Attorney Anna Burge;
  • the city has a noise ordinance for vehicles; Huntsville, AL has an ordinance stating it is illegal to have cutoffs and bypasses on an engine; I’d like to look at ways that we can accomplish this - there would be some challenges and there would have to be some education, but we seem to have disproportionately more than our share of loud vehicles as it’s louder than it used to be; it’s likely to make some people happy and others not happy;
• Mayor Dave Bauer elaborated on departments working together and that is really the goal of the city to help everybody out. This town is really amazing in terms of what organizations are willing to do if someone asks for help. This week the Doane football team will be helping out downtown by getting the planters ready for spring. There are good examples of what this town is and there are people willing to step out and do things; sometimes you just have to ask for help.

Meeting adjourned.