NOTICE OF MEETING

 

Otoe County Courthouse

Nebraska City NE  68410

 

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Regular meeting of the Otoe County Commissioners of Otoe County, Nebraska, will be held at 8:30 A.M. on March 14, 2006, in the County Courtroom (108) of the Otoe County Courthouse at Nebraska City.  The meeting will be open to the public.  An agenda for such meeting is kept continuously current, and is available for public inspection at the office of the County Clerk at the Courthouse, but the agenda may be modified at such meetings to include items of an emergency nature only.

 

                 

                     AGENDA OF THE NEXT MEETING                                        March 14, 2006

                             

 

  8:30 a.m. -- Open Meeting, Call roll, Accept agenda, Accept minutes from previous  

                                meeting, Audit and Sign payroll and regular claims

 

 9:00 a.m. -- Discussion and/or action RE: Road and Bridge matters

1)      Discussion and/or action RE: Fence line boundary for Glen Royal

2)      Miscellaneous

 

10:00 a.m. – Roy Schneider, Administrator for Duff Nursing Home and a representative from Olsson Assoc:

                         Discussion and/or action RE: Architectural proposal by Olsson Associates regarding

                         Renovation of the nursing home

 

10:15 a.m. – Jerry Berggren, Architect: Discussion and/or action RE: Courthouse Renovation Project

                         

 

 

           

            Other business matters to address when time allows:

                      

            Jackie Smith, Treasurer: Discussion and/or action RE: Tax Refund(s)

            Brandi Ellis, Assessor: Discussion and/or action RE: Tax List Corrections

            Discussion and/or action RE: Audit of County’s Financial Statements

            Marv Pesek: Discussion and/or action RE: GA cases/applications (exec session)          

           Miscellaneous Correspondence and other matters that may come before the Board

           

 

                                                                                                                        Janene Bennett

                                                                                                                        Otoe County Clerk                     

 

 

 

March 14, 2006

 

The Otoe County Board of Commissioners convened in regular session at 8:30 a.m. on March 14, 2006 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 Stratker and Commissioner Giittinger. None absent.

 

Commissioner Schroder made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Giittinger to accept the agenda as posted. Voting -- Commissioners Schroder, aye; Stratker, aye; Giittinger, aye. Motion carried.

 

Commissioner Giittinger made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Stratker to accept the minutes from the previous meeting as mailed to them and not have them read. Voting – Commissioners Stratker, aye; Giittinger, aye; Schroder, aye. Motion carried.

 

Commissioner Giittinger made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Schroder to audit and sign payroll claims and regular claims unless otherwise noted. There was some discussion involving claims made payable to the City of Nebraska City for additional inspections of a rural Bed & Breakfast establishment, to Ron Elliott for appraisal work and to Sam’s Club for membership dues. Commissioner Stratker made a motion to discontinue membership to Sam’s Club. The motion died for lack of a second. Chairman Schroder called for a roll call of vote to pay all claims as it was moved and seconded above. Commissioners Giittinger and Schroder voted aye. Commissioner Stratker voted aye to pay all claims except the membership fee to Sam’s Club. Motion carried.

 

Several tax list corrections were presented for approval. 1) Board of Public Works % City of Nebraska City – deduct $971.20 – BOE determined leased property to be exempt for 2005; 2) Board of Public Works % City of Nebraska City – deduct $234.22 – lease terminated prior to January 1, 2005; 3) Alvin & Peggy Guenther – deduct $632.02 – corrections made to reflect greenbelt valuation that was applied for in 2001;  4) Michael Pratt & Stacy Fitch – deduct $354.04 – by decision of Tax Equalization and Review Commission; 5) Nehawka Farmers Co-op – deduct $348.18 – Licensed trailer removed from assessment; 6) Arby’s Roast Beef – deduct $92.40 – amended filing, penalty was applied in error. Commissioner Giittinger made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Stratker to approve the tax list corrections as presented.  Voting – Commissioners Stratker, aye; Giittinger, aye; Schroder, aye. Motion carried.

 

Foremen Wally Pohlman, Rich Kuenning and Lynn Denniston were available to discuss road and bridge matters as well as Mark Mainelli, who is serving as the County Highway Superintendent.

 

Mr. Mainelli received notice that bids were opened and tabulated for Federal Aid Project BRO-7066(35) east of Hwy 75 on S Rd. This project includes the replacement of a bridge on the county line road between Otoe and Nemaha counties. The Board will need to sign a resolution to select a contractor from the tabulation sheet. As soon as the paperwork is in order, construction can begin. This item will be on the agenda for the March 28th meeting.

 

Mainelli reported he will attend a “Plan in Hand” meeting regarding the Washington Street improvement project in the Village of Douglas. He will also check the status of the Kearney Hill Road project which is located on the southeast edge of Nebraska City. Both projects were approved for federal funding several years ago.

 

Mainelli inquired if the County has an adopted policy for applying calcium chloride on roadways for dust control. He noted that some land owners have offered to pay the cost for applying the chemical on a portion of 8th Road, north of Palmyra.  Commissioner Giittinger said the County has allowed the application of the chemical on roadways along commercial property. For the past two years Kimmel Orchard has paid for 100% of the cost, while DeBruce Grain has paid a portion. Commissioner Stratker noted the Board denied an individual’s request a few years ago, so he felt a precedent was set then. Commissioner Schroder suggested putting gravel on the road as a means of dust control.

 

There was a brief discussion concerning the Soft Match Bridge Program. Mainelli gave each board member a copy of the program policies that included a list of eligible expenses, program procedures and guidelines for requesting soft-match funding. 

 

The Nebraska Safety Committee has notified all County Highway Departments that safety funds are available for the purchase of hazard markers that are placed at bridge sites. If the county is interested in obtaining free signs and posts, a map indicating locations of where the signs would be placed and the number of signs needed should be sent to the Lancaster Engineering Department by April 11th. 

 

Foreman Denniston obtained a quote from Big Red Sawmill south of Palmyra to purchase 4x4 wooden posts used to repair bridges. Commissioner Stratker made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Giittinger to purchase 150 posts from Big Red Sawmill for the quoted amount of $2760.00.  Voting – Commissioners Giittinger, aye; Schroder aye; Stratker, aye. Motion carried.       

 

Commissioner Stratker made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Giittinger to approve a tax refund to Arlyn Werner in the amount of $44.26. Voting – Commissioners Schroder, aye; Stratker, aye; Giittinger, aye. Motion carried.

 

In February, County Surveyor David Schmitz inspected a fence line located along the west line of the SE ¼ of the SW ¼ of S34-T9-R9 at the request of Glen Royal. Schmitz found the fence line to be outside of county road right of way and issued a written affidavit to that fact. He further stated that the fence should not interfere with any future road grading or reconstruction. Mr. Royal then requested that the Commissioners sign the affidavit as well.  A copy was given to the County Attorney, Jeff Funke, who determined the affidavit to be an official document duly notarized. He saw no reason for the Commissioners to sign an affidavit that was drawn up and signed by the County Surveyor. Therefore, no action was taken on the matter.

 

Roy Schneider, Administrator of Duff Nursing Home, reported that the architect from Olsson and Associates was unable to attend the meeting today; however, he did send a rough estimate of renovation costs that was broken down as follows: General construction - $47,000; mechanical and electrical updates - $34,240; architectural fees - $27,400; contingency/overhead/profit - $28,434. Commissioner Giittinger said he liked the preliminary plans, but still would like to meet with the architect before approving the project.   

 

Jerry Berggren came before the Board to discuss requests for additional work and the cost for each item. No. 1 - Lightening protection $19,640: As reported at previous meetings, the lightening rods on top of the courthouse were not grounded, so they were removed by the roofers. After numerous attempts he still has not found the right person at Motorola who knows whether their new communication system will include its own grounding system when it is installed. Commissioner Giittinger said Gregg Goebel may be able to answer that question when he returns next week. Berggren said a decision needs to be made no later than the next meeting. No. 2 - Relocate power to drinking fountain, relocate power to restroom door and provide additional wire mold to ROD’s office $1,727. No. 3 – Replace drinking fountain on main floor with handicapped accessible fountain $1,448. 4) – Remodel the District Courtroom to include a uni-sex juror’s restroom, new HVAC, carpet and paint $114,120. No. 5 (as an alternative to No. No. 4 – Paint the District Courtroom for $2,254. Mr. Berggren did not recommend complete remodeling of the District Courtroom at this time, especially if the Board is considering moving the court system to another building in the future. Judge Rehmeier requested to have the room painted only. Commissioner Giittinger made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Stratker to approve the addition of items 2, 3 and 5 to the scope of work for a total change order of $5,429. Voting – Commissioners Stratker, aye; Giittinger, aye; Schroder, aye. Motion carried. 

 

The contract for auditing the County’s financial affairs has expired. A new contract needs to be approved and in place before the end of the fiscal year on June 30th.  In the past, requests for proposals were advertised with a 1 year or 3 year option. Commissioner Giittinger made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Stratker to direct the County Clerk to update the specifications and to advertise for bid the audit of the County’s financial affairs. Voting – Commissioners Giittinger, aye; Stratker, aye; Schroder, aye. Motion carried.      

 

There being no further business to come before the Board at this time, and since all items on the agenda have been disposed of, Joy W Schroder, Chairman of the Board, declared this meeting adjourned, until the next one, which will be on March 28, 2006.

 

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 14th day of March 2006.

 

 

 

Janene Bennett

Otoe County Clerk