NOTICE OF MEETING
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the
Regular meeting of the Otoe County Commissioners of
AGENDA
OF THE NEXT MEETING
JANUARY 27, 2009
8:30 a.m. Open Regular Meeting,
Call roll, 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, regular claims and other claims
8:45 a.m. Public Hearing:
Vacation Plat of Lot 1 Gress-Allen Subdivision
located in SE ¼ NE ¼
7-7-14 as
requested by Paul and Linda Allen
Public Hearing: J &
K Estates Subd located in N ½ SE ¼ 22-9-11as
requested by
and Bonnie Sisco
9:00 a.m. Pat Haverty,
Executive Director RCEDC: Quarterly Report
9:15 a.m. Open Proposals for the
operation of keno-type lottery in
9:30 a.m.
Jim Myers: Discussion and/or action RE: Annual Weed Report
10:00 a.m. Discussion and/or action RE: Road
and bridge matters
a)
Discussion and/or
action RE: Contracts & Resolutions involving Bridges 23520;
013715; 00330 and FEMA Projects #2 and Project #3
b)
Discussion and/or
action RE: Removal of
c)
Discussion and/or
action RE: Underground fuel tank at Nebraska City Shop
d)
Discussion and/or
action RE: Estimate for repairs to Excavator (May go into
Executive session)
Other Business to address as time allows:
Therese Trombino, Co Assessor: Discussion and/or
action RE: Contract renewal with Ron Elliott to provide appraisal services
Discussion and/or action RE: Appointment of Public
Defender
Discussion and/or action RE: Household Hazardous Waste
Collection Grant administered by
Nemaha NRD and
Discussion and/or action RE:
Decision to seek RFP for Property/Casualty/Liability Insurance
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 27, 2009
The Otoe County Board of Commissioners convened in regular session at
8:30 a.m. on January 27, 2009 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. 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 the Acting Chairman of the Board,
Steve Lade. Answering present at roll call were Commissioner Nelsen,
Commissioner Lade, Commissioner Crook, Commissioner Kreifels and Commissioner
Freshman. Absent - none.
Acting Chairman Lade 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 Kreifels made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Nelsen to
accept the agenda as posted. There being no further comments, a vote was taken.
Voting aye were Commissioners Nelsen, Lade, Crook, Kreifels and Freshman. Nay – none. Motion carried.
Commissioner Kreifels made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Crook to
accept the minutes from the previous meeting as mailed to them as each member
was furnished with a copy of same. There being no further comments, a vote was
taken. Voting aye were Commissioners Lade, Crook, Kreifels, Freshman
and Nelsen. Nay – none. Motion carried.
The meeting was turned over to the
Commissioner Kreifels made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Freshman
to appoint Commissioner Lade as Vice Chairman of the Board for year 2009. There
being no further discussion, Chairman Nelsen called for a vote by roll call.
Voting aye were Commissioners Kreifels, Freshman,
Nelsen and Crook. Commissioner Lade abstained. Nay – none. Motion carried.
Chairman Nelsen suggested that the Chairman not serve as the principle
representative on any of the miscellaneous Boards; all Commissioners agreed.
Commissioner Kreifels made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Freshman
to make the following board appointments for year 2009:
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
SENCA (Southeast Nebraska Community Action): When SENCA reorganized its
board membership, they requested one representative
from a three county region for a two year term. Currently, a Cass County
Commissioner is serving in that capacity until 2010, so there is no need for an
appointment to the SENCA board at this time.
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 Lade made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Kreifels to
appoint the Nebraska City News Press as the legal newspaper for
Commissioner Kreifels made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Crook to
appoint the following banks as depositories for Otoe County in 2009: 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.
All five Commissioners reviewed the claims prior to today’s meeting.
Commissioner Crook made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Lade to audit and
sign payroll claims only and to lay aside the regular claims until the Highway
Supt was available for questioning. 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.
A public hearing was scheduled to hear support or objections to the
vacation of Lot 1 Gress-Allen Subdivision located in
the SE ¼ NE ¼ 7-7-14 as requested by Paul and Linda Allen. Zoning
Administrator, Dave Schmitz, explained that the Allens
decided to withdraw the vacation plat at the Planning Commission meeting. In
accordance with current zoning regulations, they were told that if they would
ever want to reverse the vacated plat, the minimum lot size would be 20 acres
rather than 2 acres. So they felt the tax savings was not worth it.
A public hearing was held for the purpose of hearing support or
objections to the approval of a plat for J & K Estates located in N ½ SE ¼
22-9-11 as requested by Eugene and Bonnie Sisco.
Schmitz said their son plans to purchase
Schmitz announced that he wants to organize a workshop in March to
discuss possible regulations for establishing wind farms in
With the resignation of Tim Nelsen as Public Defender, the
Pat Haverty, Executive Director for RCEDC
(River County Economic Development District), came before the Board to present
a quarterly report of its activities and progress. A BECA (Building
Entrepreneurial Communities Act) grant was received in November and is being
used to create a regional website and for the enhancement and operation of the
Inventors, Investors & Entrepreneurs Club. RCEDC continues to recruit a workforce,
but with today’s economy, there are now more people than jobs. With the closure
of the Alcan plant, he has been working with the Syracuse Economic Development
Corporation to assist them in recruiting a new employer for the facility. During
the past quarter, Haverty attended a trade show in
Nemaha NRD informed the Board of Commissioners that a grant application
to DEQ to conduct Household Hazardous Waste collections in Johnson, Nemaha,
Otoe, Pawnee and Richardson was reduced from $22,071.50 to $15,000.00. By eliminating a paper shredding service and
some other expenses, the project cost is now estimated at $16,914.00.
Therefore, the NRD is asking each county if they would be willing to cover
expenses exceeding the grant amount. These additional expenses would be charged
on a “per capita” basis. So the maximum amount for
The County Clerk reported that she received only one RFP to operate a
keno-type lottery within the boundaries of Otoe County; that being submitted by
Advanced Gaming Technologies of Bellevue, NE. Kevin Turner, who has been
working with the owners of Table Creek Clubhouse to get the issue of
establishing keno in Otoe County on the ballot, was present to answer
questions. Chairman Nelsen gave a copy of the proposal to the
Chairman Nelsen called for 10 minute recess to allow some time for Mr. Hassett to arrive and to allow others to look at the booklets.
At 9:30 a.m. Chairman called the meeting to order and noted that all
members were present. Mr. Hassett still had not
arrived. Chairman Nelsen asked the Clerk to place the matter on the February 10th
agenda when formal action will be taken to accept or not accept the proposal. Mr.
Turner said he and Mr. Hassett will return then to
work out the details if the proposal is accepted.
As the County’s contracted weed superintendent, Jim Myers presented the
Board with the Annual Noxious Weed Report for 2008 that must be approved and
submitted to the Nebraska Department of Agriculture. Noting that one of the
goals listed was education, Commissioner Crook asked how this goal was accomplished.
Myers said he has placed brochures on the proper control of noxious weeds in
coffee shops, the Courthouse, the FSA Office, Extension Office and any other
public place upon request. Commissioner Kreifels made a motion, seconded by
Commissioner Lade to approve the 2008 Noxious Weed Report as presented by Weed
Supt Jim Myers. 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.
There was a brief discussion whether to advertise and take bids for
liability and property insurance. The
At 9:40 a.m. Commissioner Kreifels made a motion, seconded by
Commissioner Lade to go into executive session to discuss general assistance
cases with the GA Administrator, Marv Pesek. Voting aye were Commissioners Kreifels, Freshman, Nelsen, Lade and Crook. Nay – none. Motion
carried. In addition, the
At 9:50 a.m. Commissioner Freshman made a motion, seconded by
Commissioner Kreifels to go back into regular session. Voting aye were
Commissioners Freshman, Nelsen, Lade, Crook and Kreifels. Nay – none. Motion
carried. No action was taken while in executive session.
Ted Leefers, who owns property in North
Russell Precinct, said there are several bridges in the area that are closed or
in poor condition making it difficult or inconvenient to access his property.
He asked the Board to rock a portion of
Steffensmeier presented paperwork for five bridges that were discussed
at the previous meeting. Since then, County Attorney Partsch
has reviewed and approved the contracts and resolutions as to form.
Bridge #23520 is located 1 mile west and 1 mile north of Otoe. Estimated
project cost is $580,000.00. Commissioner Kreifels made a motion, seconded by
Commissioner Lade to authorize Chairman Nelsen to sign Resolution 2009-2 allowing
the engineer to program and set up this project for federal aid. Steffensmeier
said it would take at least 3 years before the project would be let for bids. 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.
Bridge #013715 is located north of Otoe on
Bridge #00330 is located south of Intersection J-2. Steffensmeier said
this project is eligible for the Soft Match Program. The old bridge was removed
and replaced with a temporary tube, but he would like to install a concrete box
culvert this summer. The first step is to get the project engineered. He
presented an engineering agreement drawn up by Mainelli
Wagner who offered to provide engineering services for a lump sum of $6,800. Commissioner
Lade made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Freshman to authorize Chairman
Nelsen to sign the engineering agreement with Mainelli
Wagner accepting the terms as written. 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.
FEMA Project #2 is located on Road 2 between Roads K and L. Steffensmeier said FEMA will pay 75% of the
total cost (estimated at $100,000) to construct a single span deck steel girder
bridge; the State will pay 12 ½ % and the County will pay 12 ½ %. It has
already been approved by FEMA, so the County just needs to sign and send in an
engineering agreement to proceed. FEMA Project #3 is located on Road 20 between
Roads L and M. The old bridge will be replaced with a triple barrel concrete
box culvert - estimated cost is $100,000 to $150,000; As with the other FEMA
project, the County will be held liable for 12 ½ % of the total cost.
Commissioner Lade made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Crook to authorize
Chairman Nelsen to sign engineering agreements with Mainelli
Wagner to perform engineering services for FEMA Projects #2 and #3. There being
no further discussion, Chairman Nelsen called for a vote. Voting aye were
Commissioners Freshman, Nelsen, Lade, Crook and Kreifels. Nay – none. Motion
carried. Steffensmeier added that he will be reviewing five other bridge sites
with FEMA and NEMA representatives on Thursday. Commissioners Lade and Nelsen
plan to join the group as well.
Chairman Nelsen stated that the County needs someone on board that knows
bridge work; therefore Chairman Nelsen made a motion, seconded by Commissioner
Kreifels to remove Lynn Denniston from “laid off”
status and to reinstate him to active status effective immediately.
Commissioner Lade commented that Denniston was not “laid
off”, but was terminated. He felt there should be a job description written
before bringing Denniston back and questioned whether
the position should then be advertised.
Over a month ago, it was discovered that water is leaking into the underground
fuel tank at the Nebraska City Shop. Steffensmeier said there must be a hole in
the tank or the fuel line has separated from the tank. He gave the Board two
options: Find the cause of the problem and make repairs or consider putting in
a new system above ground.
At 11:15 a.m. Commissioner Lade made a motion, seconded by Commissioner
Freshman to go into executive session to discuss job performance of a certain
employee without causing needless harm to that employee’s reputation. Voting
aye were Commissioners Lade, Crook, Kreifels, Freshman
and Nelsen. Nay – none. Motion carried. The
At 11:39 a.m. Commissioner Kreifels made a motion, seconded by
Commissioner Freshman to go back into regular session. Voting aye were
Commissioners Crook, Kreifels, Freshman, Nelsen and
Lade. Nay – none. Motion carried. No action was taken while in executive
session.
Chairman Nelsen explained that an excavator slid into a creek bank and
hit a tree, causing over $15,000 in damages. The incident occurred in December
and was reviewed by the Safety Committee and an insurance adjustor. The County
has received a settlement from the insurance company in the amount of $12,681
less a $2,500 deductible. Steffensmeier said there were some other items he
would like repaired while the machine was in the shop. After reviewing the
itemized list of repairs, Commissioner Freshman suggested using the insurance
money to fix the essentials caused by the accident; make some other functional
repairs and eliminate replacing decals and paint that would just make the
machine look good. Commissioner Lade felt
that it would be deceiving the public if the insurance money wasn’t spent as
outlined on the adjustor’s list. Commissioner Lade made a motion to proceed
with the repairs as they appeared on the itemized statement. The motion died
for lack of a second. Commissioner Freshman said he would like to talk to the
insurance agent before spending the settlement and made a motion to table any
action until the next meeting. The motion was seconded by Commissioner
Kreifels. 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.
Earlier in the meeting the regular claims were set aside until the Board
had a chance to talk to Supt Steffensmeier. Steffensmeier signed and approved
the claim in question. Therefore, Commissioner Kreifels made a motion, seconded
by Commissioner Crook to sign and approve the regular claims as prepared. There
being no further discussion, Chairman Nelsen called for a vote. Voting aye were
Commissioners Freshman, Nelsen, Lade, Crook and Kreifels. Nay – none. Motion
carried.
Steffensmeier said he had a couple of other items to discuss. He
obtained two quotes for the repair of Bridge #32035 located 1 mile east of
Steffensmeier said the County must submit a 1 & 6 Year Road Plan to
the NDOR by March 1st. Chairman Nelsen suggested that Steffensmeier make an appointment
with each Commissioner to talk about road and bridge problems within his/her
district; then determine which projects should be placed on the 1 Year Plan or on
the 6 Year Plan.
There being no further business to come before the Board at this time,
and since all items on the agenda have been disposed of, Commissioner Freshman made
a motion, seconded by Commissioner Crook to adjourn the meeting, until the next
one, which will be on February 10, 2009.
Voting aye were Commissioners Nelsen, Lade, Crook, Kreifels and Freshman. Nay – none. Motion carried
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 27th day of January 2009.
Janene Bennett
Otoe