NOTICE OF MEETING
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the
Otoe County Board of Commissioners will convene as the Board of Equalization at
8:25 a.m. on January 12, 2010. The Otoe County Board of Commissioners will
convene in regular session at 8:30 a.m. on January 12, 2010. Both meetings will
be held in the
AGENDA FOR THE BOARD OF EQUALIZATION MEETING
8:25 a.m. – Open meeting, Roll Call, Open
Meetings Act Posted, Accept Agenda, Accept Minutes from
previous
meeting
Discussion and/or action to
approve/disapprove applications for exemption from motor vehicle taxes
************************************************************************************************************************
AGENDA OF THE
REGULAR MEETING
8:30 a.m.
Open Regular Meeting, Call roll, Open Meetings Act Posted, Accept
agenda, Accept
minutes
from previous meeting
8:30 a.m.
Reorganization Meeting: Elect Chairperson of the Board; Elect Vice
Chairperson of the Board;
Make Board Appointments,
Appoint Legal Newspaper, Designate Bank Depositories
Return to Regular Meeting:
Audit and sign payroll claims; Audit and sign regular claims
8:40 a.m.
8:45 a.m.
Discussion and/or action RE: Preliminary heating/cooling equipment
estimates that will be
used when submitting an Energy Efficiency and Conservation
Block Grant application
8:50 a.m. Arnold Ehlers, NC City Clerk:
Discussion and/or action RE: Request to remove industrial zoning
designation
from a .72 tract located in the NE ¼ NW /14 S7-T8-R14
8:55 a.m. Safety Committee Report including
discussion and/or action 1) to approve adoption of Safety
Manual; 2) to reappoint
Safety Committee Members to serve another term
9:00 a.m. Discussion and/or action RE: Road
and bridge matters
1)
Discussion and/or action on salary for
training of new supervisor in NC shop
2) Discussion and/or action on recent snow
storm activities and costs and FEMA application
3) Discussion and/or action on obtaining bids
for GPS for county vehicles
4) Discussion and/or action on pending road and
bridge projects with Mark Mainelli, P.E.
Other
Business to address as time allows:
Discussion and/or action to appoint members to the
Otoe County Extension Board
Discussion and/or action RE: Transfer of taxes from
the General Fund to the Road Fund
Jackie Smith,
Correspondence and/or
other matters that may come before the Board
Janene
Bennett
Otoe
The
Individuals requiring physical or sensory
accommodations, including interpreter service, Braille, large print or recorded
materials, please contact Janene Bennett,
January 12, 2010
The Otoe County Board of Commissioners convened in regular session at
8:30 a.m. on January 12, 2010 to audit and sign payroll claims and regular
claims and to take care of such other matters as are on the agenda for this
meeting. Advance notice of this meeting was published in the Nebraska City News
Press and Syracuse Journal Democrat, announced on KNCY Radio Station and posted
in at least three public places. This meeting was open to the Public, and the
agenda was kept current, and is on file for public inspection at the office of
the Otoe County Clerk during regular business hours.
The meeting was called to order by Chairman of the Board, Timothy
Nelsen. Answering present at roll call were Commissioner Nelsen, Commissioner
Lade, Commissioner Crook, Commissioner Kreifels and Commissioner Freshman.
Chairman Nelsen informed the public in attendance that a current copy of
the Open Meetings Act is posted on the south wall of the Courtroom. Additional
copies are available upon request. He asked that all attendees turn off their
cell phones or set them to vibrate while present in the meeting room.
Commissioner Lade made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Kreifels to
accept the agenda as posted. There being no further discussion, Chairman Nelsen
called for a vote. Voting aye were Commissioners Nelsen, Lade, Crook, Kreifels
and Freshman. Nay – none. Motion carried.
Commissioner Freshman made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Crook to
accept the minutes from the previous meeting and not have them read as each
member was furnished with a copy of same. There being no further discussion,
Chairman Nelsen called for a vote. Voting aye were Commissioners Lade, Crook,
Kreifels, Freshman and Nelsen. Nay – none. Motion
carried.
The meeting was turned over to the
The Clerk called for nominations from the floor for Vice-Chairman of the
Board for year 2010. Commissioner Freshman nominated Commissioner Lade as Vice
Chairman of the Board for year 2010. Commissioner Nelsen made a motion,
seconded by Commissioner Crook to cease nominations and to cast a unanimous
ballot for Commissioner Steve Lade to be Vice-Chairman of the Board for the
year 2010. Voting aye were Commissioners Kreifels, Freshman,
Nelsen, Lade and Crook. Nay – none. Motion carried.
Commissioner Nelsen made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Lade to make
the following board appointments for year 2010:
SENDD (Southeast Nebraska Development District) and RCEDD (River Country
Economic Development District): Commissioner Lade will serve as
RCEDC (River Country Economic Development Corporation): Commissioner Freshman
will serve as
REGION V: Commissioner Crook will serve as
RC & D (Five Rivers Resource Conservation & Development): Alfred
O Gigstad was appointed as
There being no further discussion, Chairman Nelsen called for a vote by
roll call. Voting aye were Commissioners Freshman, Nelsen, Lade, Crook and
Kreifels. Nay – none. Motion carried.
Commissioner Nelsen made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Kreifels to
appoint the Nebraska City News Press as the legal newspaper for
Commissioner Nelsen made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Lade to
appoint the following banks as depositories for Otoe County in 2010: Farmers
Bank & Trust, Arbor Bank, American National Bank, Commercial State Bank,
and Heartland Community Bank, all of Nebraska City; First National Bank of
Syracuse; Countryside Bank of Unadilla; and Farmers & Merchants Bank of
Palmyra. There being no further discussion, Chairman Nelsen called for a vote.
Voting aye were Commissioners Lade, Crook, Kreifels, Freshman,
and Nelsen. Nay – none. Motion carried.
Commissioner Freshman made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Crook to
audit and sign payroll claims. There being no further discussion, Chairman
Nelsen called for a vote. Voting aye were Commissioners Crook, Kreifels, Freshman, Nelsen and Lade. Nay – none. Motion carried.
Having reviewed the regular claims in advance of this meeting,
Commissioner Crook made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Freshman to approve
payment of the regular claims with the exception of a claim submitted by Deputy
Lacy in the amount of $69.45 which was denied. There being no further
discussion, Chairman Nelsen called for a vote.
Voting aye were Commissioners Kreifels, Freshman,
Lade and Crook; Commissioner Nelsen approved payment of the same claims except
those claims submitted by the Public Defender’s Office to which he abstained.
Nay – none. Motion carried.
Karen Houser, Chairman of the Otoe County Visitors Committee, came
before the Board to recommend that Jeana Stavas be reappointed to serve on the Committee for another
4 year term. Commissioner Nelsen made a motion, seconded by Commissioner
Freshman to reappoint Jeana Stavas
to serve another 4 year term on the Otoe County Visitors Committee; term to
expire in December of 2013. There being no further discussion, Chairman Nelsen
called for a vote. Voting aye were Commissioners Nelsen, Lade, Crook, Kreifels
and Freshman. Nay – none. Motion carried.
A list of names was submitted by Otoe County Extension Educator, Steve Zimmers, nominating the following individuals to serve as
members of the Otoe County Extension Board. They are: Ron Grundman
to represent the 3rd District for a 3 year term; Marsha Biaggi to represent the 2nd District for a 3
year term; Donna Sluka Smith to serve a 1 year term
as the 4-H Council President and Kathy Albers to serve a 1 year term as FCE
President. Commissioner Crook made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Lade to
appoint the individuals listed above as submitted by Mr. Zimmers.
There being no further discussion, Chairman Nelsen called for a vote. Voting
aye were Commissioners Lade, Crook, Kreifels, Freshman
and Nelsen. Nay – none. Motion carried.
Since December of 2008, 35% of the property taxes collected have been
transferred from the General Fund to the Road Fund. The
Chairman Nelsen explained that he would like to apply for an Energy
Efficiency Conservation Block Grant by utilizing SENDD as our grant writer. The
County could receive up to $250,000 that would be used to update the boiler
system in the Courthouse and Jail Facility. According to a mechanical
consultant, the updates would cost approximately $300,000, but the County should
save about 50% on natural gas and 25% on electric bills. Currently, the County
is spending over $5,000 per month for utilities. Commissioner Freshman made a
motion, seconded by Commissioner Crook to direct Chairman Nelsen to proceed
with the Energy Efficiency Conservation grant application. There being no
further discussion, Chairman Nelsen called for a vote. Voting aye were
Commissioners Kreifels, Freshman, Nelsen, Lade and
Crook. Nay – none. Motion carried.
Commissioner Crook announced that 5 Rivers RC & D is seeking another
grant to cover the expenses for conducting a Household Hazardous Waste
Collection Site. They would like
A letter was received from the City Clerk of Nebraska City noting that
he has received a request from Dave Reynolds, representing
Jackie Smith,
Jan Reed reported that the Otoe County Safety Committee met on January
6, 2010. She presented a list, denoting committee members names and the date
their term expires. Commissioner Crook made a motion, seconded by Commissioner
Freshman to reappoint Janet Reed, Rick Sedersten, Nick Shimmel
and John Bebout for another two years which will
extend their term to December of 2011. There being no further discussion,
Chairman Nelsen called for a vote. Voting aye were Commissioners Nelsen, Lade,
Crook, Kreifels and Freshman. Nay – none. Motion
carried.
Upon review of the proposed Safety Manual, Chairman Nelsen noted that
several of the recommended procedures would require changes in the Union
Contract and Personnel Policy; however, those changes cannot be made without
approval of Union Leaders and every elected official. Commissioner Lade said he
has received other comments and suggestions for clarifications. In light of the
recent snow storms, they may want to consider adding procedures to address that
issue as well. Therefore, adoption of the manual was tabled to a later date.
Lead Supervisor Lynn Denniston and Crew
Leaders Jonathan Brinkman and Chad Watkins came before the Board to discuss
road and bridge matters.
1)
At the
last meeting, Chad Watkins was appointed as crew leader of the Nebraska City
Shop to replace Wally Pohlman who requested that he
be relieved of his supervisory duties and transferred to a motor grader
operator position; such change effective January 1, 2010. At that time, the
Clerk was directed to increase Watkins’ pay to supervisory wages and decrease Pohlman’s pay to operator wages. Since then, it has been
brought to the Board’s attention that the situation was handled differently when
this type of exchange occurred in
2)
Snow
Storm activities and FEMA application: Chairman Nelsen opened the session for
public comments. James Cook asked if the budget includes more rock after the thaw
and will it be placed on the roads before grain is moved to market in the
spring. Chairman Nelsen said a letter has been submitted to FEMA requesting
emergency financial assistance, but FEMA has not declared
3)
A few months
ago, Commissioner Nelsen began collecting information regarding the purchase of
GPS devices that could be installed in county vehicles and machines. He said they
are useful in tracking emergency calls as well as targeting the location of all
employees while driving county vehicles or machinery. Commissioner Crook said
she still is not convinced that purchasing a Global Positioning System is a
necessary expense at this time. Commissioner Nelsen said purchase of a GPS is an
eligible expense from the 911 fund; it would not be purchased with tax dollars.
The snow storms demonstrated safety issues with rescue personnel and law
enforcement. Luckily, everyone was found and taken to safety, but a GPS would
have been vey helpful. Commissioner Kreifels said she still had questions regarding
monitoring and monthly fees. Commissioners Lade, Crook and Kreifels agreed they
would like to take more time to review the spec sheets before making a decision
to purchase a GPS; therefore the matter was tabled.
4)
Mark Mainelli said he will be here to meet with FEMA representatives
on Friday. The County will need to prove that expenses incurred December 23rd
through December 29th were beyond those spent in a normal year for
snow removal. He said it is imperative to keep a map of where the drifts are
now so that they can attribute bad roads to them in the spring. The first FEMA
team will assess costs; then a second team will approve it.
He said he received two sets of bids for
debris removal resulting from 2007 and 2008 flooding. He needs to review them before
making a recommendation.
Mainelli provided each Commissioner with a
preliminary map indicating proposed projects for the County’s 1 & 6 Year
Road Plan 2010 through 2016. He told
them they should look at last year’s report and determine which projects have
been completed. Unfinished projects from last year’s 1 Year Plan should be
forwarded to this year’s 1 Year Plan. In addition, they may want to move some
of the projects from last year’s 6 Year Plan to this year’s 1 Year Plan. Mainelli said the 1 Year Plan should list only the projects
that they honestly think they can get done this year; long term projects should
be listed in the 6 Year Plan.
5)
Miscellaneous:
Commissioner Freshman said when the Otoe Shop was constructed three years ago,
no heating system was installed. He obtained two proposals for purchasing and
installing an infrared heater. Bishop Plumbing and Heating submitted a quote of
$3849 while Heatec quoted $2400. Chairman Nelsen said
he considered purchase of a heater as a maintenance expense and advised
Commissioner Freshman to use his discretion to make the purchase.
Chairman Nelsen adjourned from regular session at 9:45 a.m. and called
for a short break. He advised the public that Board members will return to
review and discuss the proposed 1 and 6 Year Road Plan with Mr. Mainelli, but no formal action will be taken. The next
regular meeting will be held on January 26, 2010.
I, Janene Bennett, County Clerk of Otoe County, do hereby certify that
the above minutes were taken by me, and are true and correct to the best of my
knowledge, and I therefore set my hand and affix the county seal this 12th
day of January 2010.
Janene Bennett
Otoe