Council Summaries - July 1 and 15, 2025

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, Aug. 5

Summary for Crete City Council regular meeting - Tuesday, July 15
View this Meeting Agenda and attachments.

Council member Dan Papik was absent.

The council approved the Consent Agenda items:

• Minutes of the following meetings: City Council July 1, Public Works Committee July 1, Parks and Recreation Committee July 1, Finance Committee July 1, Personnel Committee July 1
• Treasurer’s Report
• Payment of claims against the City 
• Approve Cyrus Wampole as a new volunteer member of the Fire Department 

The Council voted 5-0 to authorize the Crete Police Department to apply for the Vested Interest in K-9s-K9 Vest grant. Chief Gary Young said this is a ballistic vest from a grant that requires no matching funds; it’s used for high-threat situations when K9 Hunk is sent in by himself.

The Council voted 5-0 to authorize the Crete Police Department to apply for the CALEA Agency Support Program Grant. Young said this grant, to be announced in November, defrays costs of national accreditation; if awarded, the remainder of costs will be included in the next budget year. This is a significant professional step forward helping with liability concerns we are looking to cover.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the JEO agreement for the Crete Water Treatment Plant Piping repair. City Administrator Tom Ourada said this is to modify some of the piping and metering at the wastewater plant. The original engineering was done in a way that makes it difficult to get accurate meter readings.

The Council held a Public Hearing on the City of Crete Economic Development Plan. Ourada explained this is the most current version allowed by state statute that the council can consider putting on the ballot for renewal. The plan was originally written in 2010; the first major project was the pool renovation for a $1.4M bond. The plan has changed in that it can’t be used for infrastructure and is now limited to assisting, aiding, and attracting business, housing, daycare, etc. Several projects have been challenged in court and have been successfully defended by the city.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the City of Crete Economic Development Plan. Ourada said the city has promoted LB840 projects this year and once the council votes to put this on the ballot the city can only educate, but not spend money to campaign for voter approval. Individuals can say they support this, but not using an official position with the city. City Attorney Anna Burge clarified that the next council meeting, when the council decides to include on the ballot or not, will be the cutoff on campaigning.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the Saline County Aging Services request for financial support. This request is the same from last year to this year. Mayor Dave Bauer said they are bringing programs to Crete and people are going to their offices in Wilber for services.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the claims from Crete Ace Hardware in the amount of $1,632.02.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve amending the Master Fee Schedule. Changes include building permit items not previously included on the fee schedule

The Council voted 5-0 to approve Resolution 2025-10 authorizing the Mayor to enter into an agreement with NDOT. Ourada said Saline County received four license plate reading cameras which alert for stolen vehicle plates, wanted persons, and missing persons; they are be connected to a system that will alert if an entered plate is recorded. Chief Young asked for one camera for Crete; this is not a ticketing camera which are not legal in Nebraska. Young said it was agreed with the sheriff’s office to put one on 33/103 and the other three will be in the county: in Friend on Highway 6, north of Wilber, and by DeWitt).

The Council voted 5-0 to approve Resolution 2025-11 authorizing the Mayor to enter into an agreement with SE Solar. Ourada said this is with SE Solar and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as a guarantee that if SE Solar does not abide by their responsibilities, the USDA will step in on the project.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the LARM 2025-26 Renewal Proposal.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve Novak Auction Service agreement for City surplus auction. Ourada said the Finance Committee heard this agreement, which proposes an in-person auction at Tuxedo Park in August; Crete Public Schools will join with auction items.

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.

• Liz Cody, Parks and Recreation Director: 
  • we had help from other city departments to get ready for county fair setup in Tuxedo Park;
  • donated picnic tables went to Waggin’ Tail Dog Park;
  • signup is closing this week for Coed Softball; last round of swim lesson registration is opening, and signup for flag football is coming up; 
  • we are wrapping up maintenance issues at the pool;
  • we have asked Jindra Irrigation for a bid to extend sprinklers to the new area in City Park;
• Jessica Wilkinson, Library Director:
  • reading with dogs - Healing Heart Therapy Dogs will work with students who need extra reading time;
  • Bluey Night at the library with character and stories; kids can bring stuffed animals that will stay in the library for a sleep over and kids will pick them up in the morning;
  • UNL Bee Lab program on Wednesday;
  • ‘Shark Week’ movie showing of “JAWS” for 50th anniversary;
  • planning with other departments for ‘Touch A Truck’ program with city departments
  • Teen Night is Aug. 1
• Gary Young, Police Chief:
  • LARM benefits for PD include helping to fulfill some training obligations at little to no cost;
    • met with Saline County Sheriff, City Community Assistance Director Marilyn Schacht, and Nebraska Appleseed regarding immigration and operation questions; we don’t care about status unless you’re a criminal; law enforcement are concerned about our population and their well-being and we also took an oath to uphold the law; we are also part of an immigration task force on human trafficking;
• James Yost, Assistant Fire Chief:
  • introduced Cyrus Wampole as a new member; he and his wife moved from North Carolina in 2023; he is originally from Grand Island and was in the Marine Corps
  • department is at 33 members with 4 associate members who put in 10 hours a month; 2 Doane members have moved on after graduation;
  • BBQ is this weekend at the county fair, Saturday, July 19 with food at 5pm; we will have department membership materials out for the people who come through;
  • Tod Allen and Harrison Gaman were deployed with Urban Search and Rescue to the flooding areas inTexas (Tod is retired from Lincoln Fire and Rescue but stayed on as civilian contractor with a CDL; Harrison is a firefighter on LFR);
  • Ribfest on June 14 - this was going to be a fundraiser for the department; we only had 4 contestants to cook ribs so Harrison smoked 200 pounds of ribs; turnout was bigger than we planned and we ran out of ribs in an hour and a half, then were criticized on Facebook; we wanted to share that members put in a lot of time, more than what was planned, and our members went above and beyond;
  • meeting with Highland Rural Fire District on their support as we are looking at a new ambulance; ambulance orders are 3 years out; our oldest has 80-85k miles and was put back in frontline rotation; we are still running out of space at the station;
• Trenton Griffin, Building Inspector:
  • shared the June permit log - 3 more single family houses with 13 single family houses this year so far ( 3 out of town), 1-multi-family build; it has been a rough summer with many AC unit replacement permits; 
  • nuisance properties - many are for accessory structures, etc.
• Council member Tom Crisman asked about previously proposed annexations. Ourada said several properties did not make sense to annex now; the city has to create an annexation plan to have utility service to the area within a year; costs did not make sense with several properties in addition to potential negotiations with Norris Public Power.
• Council member Anthony Fitzgerald:
  • does the city have phone number for Crete Senior Villas - information is provided when asked;
  • septic repairs at airport - Ourada said the city accepted a low bid which was within the City Administrator's discretion;
  • Ourada said the city’s new comprehensive plan is done and has been accepted (Sept 2024) zoning was supposed to follow;
• Tom Ourada, City Administrator:
  • new electric line truck and street sweeper are in service - thank you for those; 
  • Finance Director Wendy Thomas is going to a grant training; staff will meet on Thursday and will start doing budget instructions;
  • Airport Advisory Board meeting - they talked about hangar rates, two board members have hangar rentals.

Meeting adjourned.

Summary for Crete City Council regular meeting - Tuesday, July 1
View this Meeting Agenda and attachments.

Council member Kyle Frans was absent.

The council approved the Consent Agenda items:

• Minutes of the following meetings: City Council June 17, Finance Committee June 17, Public Safety Committee June 17, Personnel Committee June 17, Legislative/Community Development Committee June 17, Public Works Committee June 17
• Treasurer’s Report
• Payment of claims against the City 

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the City of Crete Economic Development Plan. Ashley Newmyer, chair of the Legislative and Economic Development Committee, said they reviewed the plan updates regarding the budget amounts. She said people have commented to her on positive improvements in the downtown area, showing the funding is doing what it’s intended to do. The committee recommended approval of the plan.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve renewing the Southeast Nebraska Development District (SENDD) membership. City Administrator Tom Ourada said the city has been a member of SENDD for many years and it has provided tremendous benefit to the city with housing, owner-occupied rehabilitation, and grant administration for projects and programs. Newmyer said the committee agreed with the advantages of city membership in SENDD and recommended renewal

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the Windstream Permit Request to Occupy City of Crete Right-of-Way. Ourada said the council’s policy states that if an entity is to work in the right-of-way on more than one property and including a significant area it must go to the council for approval. This request is from city limits and into the airport area.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve amending the master fee schedule. Mayor Dave Bauer said changes included Transfer Station loads and key access fees.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the Burn Pit Policy at the Transfer Station. Ourada said the city was asked to allow out-of-town providers to drop off large loads of branches/trees for the burn pit at the Transfer Station and officials researched policies in the area. Suggestions are to assess a key fee and deposit and mechanism for enforcement. Dale Strehle, chair of the Public Works Committee, said they felt questions about how to enforce this policy change were adequately answered. Council member Dan Papik asked about a difference in fees between services and property owners bringing cut trees from out-of-town versus from projects within Crete city limits. Mayor Bauer and council members discussed the ability to track that information and whether a separate fee is charged to out-of-town tree loads. It was suggested to monitor use through practices already in place, including security cameras.

The Council voted 5-0 to waive three readings and adopt Ordinance 2250 amending consecutive camping days from 7 to 10 days in a 30 day period. Mayor Bauer said different information was posted for camping areas at Tuxedo Park; this item clarifies details for a consistent city policy.

The Council voted 5-0 to approve the esri (Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc.) quotation #Q-549472 and agreement. Ourada said this gives the city more flexibility than current gis software in use. The city will provide notice on the current gWorks contract in September. Strehle said this is about the same cost with fees paid up front for three years. 

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:
  • one officer just got his FAA certification as a drone pilot; we are talking with emergency management on obtaining a drone to use for the police department and the city, particularly with gis projects;
  • nuisance properties - new cases with 8 violations; 17 cases finished this month; 3 cases are pending a hearing with others still open from prior to June;
• Jessica Wilkinson, Library Director:
  • 629 attendance for 33 Summer Reading programs; hard to coordinate with summer school activities - trying to find a good middle ground for participation;
  • Mayor Bauer said he had a family event in the rented community room and guests walked through the library during its open hours and were impressed with the facility and staff;
• Liz Cody, Parks and Recreation Director:
  • collaboration with the library - underwater library with waterproof books, helpful during lessons and family swim time;
  • responding to park complaints about weeding, etc. and working with the Saline County Ag Society on Tuxedo Park prep for the upcoming county fair;
  • parks have been busy with games and tournaments, pool will be busy in July with both morning and evening swim lessons; pool is closed on July 4 and Mayor’s Day with free admission is Sunday, July 13;
  • Questions from Council member Tom Crisman: pool slide was fixed within a week with a motor and work from the Electric Department; camping frequency - less occupants than in years past, mainly less campers who are problematic and we have spent time working with campers treating the areas as housing; snacks sold at the pool counter have prices that range from $0.50 to $2.00;
• Tom Ourada, City Administrator:
  • new street sweeper will be here tomorrow and new electric line truck will be here this month;
  • his counterparts are messaging on troubles with the new budget worksheets which reflect changes from the state; a training workgroup for officials is being discussed; there is some allowance for growth with restriction requests;
  • nuisance property hearing tomorrow;
  • trying to do the drone thing for years, have tasked GIS Technician/IT Assistant Emerson Aschoff with this and she’s excited for this and the ESRI programs as well;
• Mayor Dave Bauer wished everyone a happy and safe Fourth of July.

Meeting adjourned.