NOTICE OF MEETING
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN
that the Regular meeting of the Otoe County Commissioners of
AGENDA OF THE NEXT MEETING March
13, 2007
meeting, Audit and Sign payroll and regular
claims
9:00 a.m. – Discussion
and/or action RE: Road and Bridge matters
a) Discussion
and/or action RE: Purchase of chains and tires
b) Discussion
and/or action RE:
c) Discussion
and/or action RE: Miscellaneous
10:00 a.m. – Roy
Schneider, Duff Nursing Home Admin: Discussion and/or action RE: Annual License
renewal
10:30 a.m. –Joe Miller:
Discussion and/or action RE: Workers Compensation Claims Experience
10:45 a.m. – Mike Boden, National Insurance Services: Presentation of
Insurance products –
Group Term Life; Long Term Disability; Vision
Care
Other business matters to address when time allows:
Discussion
and/or action RE: Commissioner Deeds – LRC transfers
Andrea Walters, Assessor: Tax
list corrections
Discussion
and/or action RE: Rescind motion for Lawn Care Services; Discussion and/or
action to
Advertise for lawn care
proposals
Discussion and/or action RE:
Membership to National Association of County Officials
Marv Pesek: Discussion and/or
action RE: GA applications/cases
Miscellaneous Correspondence and 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,
MARCH 13, 2007
The Otoe County Board of Commissioners convened in regular session at
8:30 a.m. on March 13, 2007 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 Chairman of the Board Joy W Schroder. Answering present at roll call were Commissioner Schroder, Commissioner Thummel
and Commissioner Haverty.
Commissioner Haverty made a motion, seconded
by Commissioner Thummel to accept the agenda as
posted. Voting -- Commissioners Schroder, aye; Thummel, aye; Haverty, aye.
Motion carried.
Commissioner Haverty made a motion, seconded
by Commissioner Thummel to accept the minutes from
the previous meeting as mailed to them and not have them read. Voting –
Commissioners Thummel, aye; Haverty,
aye; Schroder, aye. Motion carried.
Commissioner Haverty made a motion, seconded
by Commissioner Thummel to audit and sign payroll
claims and regular claims as presented, unless otherwise noted. Voting –
Commissioners Haverty, aye; Schroder,
aye; Thummel, aye. Motion carried.
Chairman Schroder informed the pubic 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 while present in the meeting room.
Other business matters were addressed at this time.
Commissioner Haverty made a motion, seconded
by Commissioner Thummel to rescind the motion made at
the February 27the meeting awarding the job of providing lawn care
services for the courthouse lawn and the lawn at DHHS to Lind Lawn Care and to
advertise for proposals to provide lawn care service at the two locations with
bids to be opened at the March 27th meeting. Voting – Commissioners Thummel, aye; Haverty, aye; Schroder, aye. Motion carried.
Commissioner Haverty made a motion, seconded
by Commissioner Thummel for
The
Glen Steffensmeier, County Highway
Superintendent, and Road and Bridge Foremen Wally Pohlman,
Rich Kuenning and Lynn Denniston
came before the Board to discuss road and bridge matters.
Steffensmeier reported that the County should rebuild and/or
replace its inventory of tire chains. Right now, most vendors are offering
chains and chain parts at a discounted price due to an “end of the season”
promotion. The Board agreed and directed Steffensmeier
to purchase the needed items.
Steffensmeier also said many tires need to be replaced on
the motor graders; he would like to purchase at least ten. He said he is in the
process of soliciting quotes, giving vendors a March 15th deadline
for submitting bids. He said each tire will cost from $525 to $1280 each. Commissioner
Haverty asked whether he had checked into the cost
for recapping the tires. From past experience, Commissioner Haverty
said a reputable company will do a good job and stand behind its work; it will
not recap a tire if it’s too old or if the side walls are badly worn. Haverty suggested taking at least one set of tires to have
them recapped by a reputable company that will back up its work with a
warranty. The Board gave Steffensmeier permission to
purchase the remaining tires from the vendor with the best deal.
Steffensmeier said the roof on the
Pohlman reviewed a route plan being proposed to deliver an enormous generator
to the OPPD Power Station southeast of
Steffensmeier is working with two contractors seeking
proposals on the cost for armor coating and sealing the cracks on the hard
surfaced roads in
Steffensmeier noted that the garage door came off the
road shop building in the
There was some discussion regarding the addition of one or two more employees
to the bridge crew. Foreman Denniston said he had
four crew members at one time which worked out well; now there are only two workers
under him. Denniston
also helps with bridge inspections, installs road signs and measures for 911
addresses. The Board said they will consider his request at budget time.
Steffensmeier said the NDOR is instigating a new sign
project similar to the bridge sign project a year ago. The Department has determined
that a lot of accidents occur on curved roadways, so the NDOR plans to provide
new “curve warning” signs to counties who wish to participate. The County just
needs to assess how many and what type of signs are needed; then install them
after they are received.
Roy Schneider, Duff Nursing Home Administrator, came before the Board to
review a licensing renewal form that must be submitted to the State by March 15th.
He noted that when the remodeling was done to enhance the entrance and office
area, he had to give up a residential room and lost two beds. The license and
rental fee is based on the number of beds, so the number listed on the license
application decreased from 62 beds to 60; however, the “per bed” rate did not
increase. He explained that the County is considered the licensee as the owner
of the building. Commissioner Haverty made a motion,
seconded by Commissioner Thummel to sign and approve
the licensure renewal application for Duff Nursing Home as a state approved skilled
nursing facility. Voting -- Commissioners Schroder,
aye; Thummel, aye; Haverty,
aye. Motion carried.
Jodi York, Chief District Probation Officer; thanked the Board for the newly
remodeled space in the basement area that will be utilized when implementing
the Probationary Day Reporting Program. She said she currently is advertising
for 4 part-time positions. One new full time officer has been operating here
for the past 2 months. Recently, she was told that she would not regain the old
office space in the basement located east of the Driver’s Examiners Room. She
said this would limit her to one office for 6 employees. Commissioner Haverty said the room was not handicapped accessible nor
could it be made accessible due to the cement structure. Ms. York replied that
she could utilize other space to accommodate handicapped clients when needed,
but still would like to have this room as a private office. Rick Sedersten, Courthouse Custodian, said he didn’t know
whether the room would pass fire inspections; it has no radiator for heating or
cooling. He also questioned insurance liability. Sedersten
said the courthouse really needs the room for storage of office machines, such
as the shredder, blue line printer, and laminator since the old storage area
was taken away during the remodeling. He said he could easily install shelves in
this room that would hold cleaning and office supplies. County Treasurer, Jackie
Smith, said the County has already given Probation so much space – 3 offices
and two interrogation rooms upstairs plus another office and utility room
downstairs; there has to be a cut-off somewhere and no more money should be
spent on probation space, at least until it is known whether the program will
grow as predicted. Ms. York said she has already begun working on the program
by contracting with service agencies dealing with substance abuse, counseling,
etc. Officers are waiting for this location to be opened. Ms. York said she
agreed not to use the upstairs area during non-business hours (the program is
to be available from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.). She said she can’t put a desk in
the basement utility room for confidentiality reasons. She made plans assuming
she would be getting the old office space back and now she is being told she
can’t have it. Commissioner Haverty suggested that
she use the north multi-purpose room after hours. She said that would work when
the room is not scheduled for group meetings, but she intends to have several
programs running at once. Commissioner Haverty said
he would like to compromise a solution that will work for the county employees
and probation workers. Ms. York said she could possibly combine a couple of
part-time positions to alleviate some space problems. Commissioner Schroder said the County has already spent a lot of money
and the county officials need storage space. He asked probation to make do with
what they have been given. Commissioners Thummel and Haverty agreed. Ms. York said she will try to make things
work with the space that she has; but will come back if or when she feels she
must.
Joe Miller, the County’s Insurance Agent, briefly reviewed the Road
Department’s Workman’s Compensation history since May of 2005. There were 6 claims
that he feels could have been avoided. Miller said he and Highway Supt Steffensmeier are designing a safety program as part of the
solution to reduce the number of accidents taking place. He said employees must
be made aware of why and how injuries occur and the County needs to create a
safer work place. Workman’s compensation claims adversely affect the County;
not only do these claims drive the cost of the premium up, but the County loses
valuable working hours when an employee is laid up. Steffensmeier
said he plans to set up meetings with the road employees to review and enforce
the use of safety equipment. He also will provide educational films with
instructions for use of machinery in a safe manner as well as helpful tips for
preventing injuries.
Mike Boden introduced himself as a
representative for National Insurance Services. Last year, his company became
the agent for NACO’s life insurance policy that is
provided to each county employee statewide who participates in the NACO Blue
Cross/Blue Shield health insurance plan. Every full-time employee in
Mr. Boden reviewed two other insurance
products that are available through his company. One is a Vision Care Plan that
is being offered to county employees. The NACO health insurance plan only
offers a discounted price on eye exams and prescription eye ware. Under this
Vision Care Plan, the employee is charged a $10 co-pay
for an annual exam and a $25 co-pay for lenses and/or frames. The premium would
be collected through payroll deduction on a voluntary basis. The amount
deducted for the premium qualifies as a tax shelter - a tax savings of up to
30% to each employee.
Another product that he offered was long-term disability insurance. He
distributed information on two plans – one that is voluntary to individual employees
(premium is deducted through payroll); the other option would be a group plan
where the employer provides an additional benefit to its employees and the
premium is paid by employer. The Board asked the
At 11:07 a.m. Commissioner Thummel made a
motion, seconded by Commissioner Haverty to go into
executive session to discuss general assistance cases and/or applications with Marv Pesek, the General
Assistance Administrator. Voting – Commissioners Haverty,
aye; Schroder, aye; Thummel,
aye. Motion carried. In accordance with HIPAA regulations, any protected health
information must not be disclosed in open session.
At 11:26 a.m. Commissioner Schroder made a
motion, seconded by Commissioner Thummel to go into
executive session to go back into regular session. Voting -- Commissioners Schroder, aye; Thummel, aye; Haverty, aye. Motion carried. No action was taken while in
executive session.
Commissioner Haverty made a motion, seconded
by Commissioner Thummel to deny a claim submitted by
Seward County requesting reimbursement for propane purchased for an applicant
who claimed that he lived in Otoe County for six months prior to moving to
Seward County; and to approve an amount not to exceed $500 for county burial of
an infant. Voting – Commissioners Thummel, aye; Haverty, aye; Schroder, aye.
Motion carried.
At 11: 30 a.m. Commissioner Haverty made a
motion, seconded by Commissioner Thummel to go into
executive session to review applications that were submitted for the position
of Otoe County Zoning Administrator. Voting – Commissioners Haverty,
aye; Schroder, aye; Thummel,
aye. Motion carried.
At 11:57 a.m. Commissioner Schroder made a
motion, seconded by Commissioner Thummel to go back
into regular session. Voting -- Commissioners Schroder,
aye; Thummel, aye; Haverty,
aye. Motion carried. No action was taken while in executive session.
Commissioner Haverty made a motion, seconded
by Commission Thummel to direct the
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 Haverty made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Thummel to declare this meeting adjourned, until the next
one, which will be on March 27, 2007.
I, Janene Bennett, County Clerk for 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
my seal this 13th day of March 2007.
Janene Bennett
Otoe