JULY 24, 2007

The Otoe County Board of Commissioners convened in regular session at 8:30 a.m. on July 24, 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.

Dave Schmitz, Surveyor, presented a plat map for Harness Hills Subdivision located in part of the NW ¼ of the NW ¼ S22-T8-R9. The owners, Creighton and Donna Sturdy, want to build a new home. In order to get financing for its construction, they need to subdivide an approximately 4.92 acre plot from the 40 acre farm. Commissioner Haverty made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Thummel to authorize Chairman Schroder to sign and approve the plat map for Harness Hills Subdivision contingent upon the Treasurer’s certification that the taxes have been paid. Voting -- Commissioners Schroder, aye; Thummel, aye; Haverty, aye. Motion carried.

A public hearing was held regarding approval of the Preliminary Plat for Westfield Estates located in Part of the N ½ of the SW ¼ S10-T8-R13. Bob Lewis, representing Westfield Estates, said the development consists of 10 lots on 53.38 acres. Two of the lots are over 10 acres and the remaining 8 lots are 3 to 4 acres each. They plan to build a private roadway conforming to county standards. Their biggest issue has been with water and a sanitary septic system. Since the Rural Water District would not provide hookups for all 10 lots, they conducted a drill test for water and feel there is sufficient water for the 10 lots. The Preliminary Plat was approved by the Otoe County Planning Commission with two stipulations – 1) they must provide a hydrologist report before filing the Final Plat and 2) the Final Plat must include a note that the sale of any lot will be contingent upon the successful drilling of a functioning well that provides adequate water or the availability of a connection to rural water. Mr. Lewis asked that the second stipulation be revised to state that if “multiple adjoining lots” are sold to a single buyer, he would only be obligated to drill one well. However, their long term goal is to get hooked into the rural water line. Commissioner Haverty made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Thummel to approve the Preliminary Plat for Westfield Estates provided that a hydrologist report is completed before the Final Plat is filed and the Final Plat will include a note that the sale of any lot or multiple adjoining lots to a single buyer will be contingent upon the successful drilling of a functional well that will provide adequate water for the lot(s) purchased. Voting – Commissioners Thummel, aye; Haverty, aye; Schroder, aye. Motion carried.

Glen Steffensmeier, County Highway Superintendent, Wally Pohlman, Rich Kuenning and Lynn Denniston, Road and Bridge Foremen came before the Board to discuss road and bridge matters.

At 9:00 a.m. Commissioner Haverty made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Thummel to go into executive session to discuss personnel issues with the Highway Supt, the Road and Bridge Foremen, a Bridge crew member, the Union Steward, the Union Vice-President and the Deputy County Attorney. Voting – Commissioners Haverty, aye; Schroder, aye; Thummel, aye. Motion carried.

At 10:05 a.m. Commissioner Haverty 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.

Dave Partsch, Deputy County Attorney, drew up an Interlocal Agreement between Otoe County and the Village of Palmyra regarding the replacement of a bridge within the corporate limits of the Village. The bridge is eligible for Federal Aid Funds; however, the Village is requesting that the County act on its behalf to program its construction. The Village is responsible for paying the construction costs not covered by Federal Aid; there will be no county funds expended for this project. Commissioner Haverty made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Thummel to authorize Chairman Schroder to sign a resolution whereby the County agrees to act on behalf of the Village of Palmyra in acquiring Federal Aid for Bridge #M1905B0705 and authorizing the Chairman to sign subsequent documents relating to this matter. Voting – Commissioners Thummel, aye; Haverty, aye; Schroder, aye. Motion carried.

Steffensmeier reported that he has spent several days with FEMA representatives inspecting water damages that were caused by heavy rains earlier this spring. So far, they have estimated a cost over $80,000 to repair or replace culverts, bridges and washouts. If the County’s requests are approved, he will have 18 months to complete the projects after the money is received. He hopes to have a final number by the next meeting.

Bridge #14130 north of Intersection B-40 needs replaced; it is not safe for heavy trucks or machinery to cross. He would like to dismantle the bridge and replace it with a tube that washed out on a minimum maintenance road. He said this project would qualify for the Soft Match Program. If he designates this as a “temporary” fix (defined as 10 years or less), it will remain on the State’s bridge inventory.

Steffensmeier noted that the OPPD Highway should be open for two lane traffic today or tomorrow. However, he found another bad spot east of Road 67. Commissioner Haverty commented that we should take care of it before winter. It is a heavily traveled highway with over 600 construction workers driving back and forth every day in addition to the OPPD employees and area residents.

Steffensmeier announced that one of the truck drivers will be retiring in August. He will be advertising to hire a replacement. Commissioner Haverty felt there should be a job description written for this position. Steffensmeier said he is going to require that the person holds a Commercial Drivers License and plans to use a more detailed application form.

Gregg Goebel, Emergency Management Director, presented the Board with a list of proposed Safety Committee members. In the past, there have been six members, but he now has ten people who have volunteered to serve. State statute requires that there be an equal number of employees and employers represented. He asked that the Board appoint the following people to the Safety Committee: Employer representatives: Glen Steffensmeier, Dale Haverty and Janet Reed – terms to expire 7/1/09, Gregg Goebel and Rick Sedersten – terms to expire 7/1/08; Employee representatives: Fred Phillips and Larry DeFreece – terms to expire 7/1/09, Mike Riege, John Bebout and Chris Schneider – terms to expire 7/1/08. Commissioner Haverty made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Thummel to appoint the above list of people to serve on the Otoe County Safety Committee. Voting – Commissioners Haverty, aye; Schroder, aye; Thummel, aye. Motion carried.

Only one bid was submitted for the purchase of a four acre tract of county owned property located in part of the N ½ of the SE ¼ S18-T8-R14. John Giittinger offered a bid of $500 per acre for a total of $2,000. Commissioner Haverty made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Thummel to accept the bid submitted by John Giittinger for the purchase and conveyance of a 4 acre tract of county owned property located in the N ½ of the SE ¼ S18-T8-R14 in the amount of $2,000. Voting -- Commissioners Schroder, aye; Thummel, aye; Haverty, aye. Motion carried.

Rick Sedersten, Courthouse Custodian, explained that when a keyless entry system was installed in the Courthouse, a magnetic lock and card reader was not included for the north entrance. However, the front doors should be connected to the security system so that the Sheriff’s Office could activate a complete lock down with one switch if a situation would arise requiring such action. To install an exit motion detector, door alarm, card reader and magnetic lock to one of the double doors is $1,996. It would cost an additional $974.69 to install a magnetic lock to the second door. Sedersten said the east door has always been locked; the public only uses the west door. Ron Hurt, a sales rep from Security Equipment Inc, said he could just add an alarm on the east door that would go off if in the event someone opened it. Commissioner Haverty made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Thummel to approve installation of the keyless entry system to the west door of the north entrance for $1,996. Voting – Commissioners Haverty, aye; Schroder, aye; Thummel, aye. Motion carried.

Last Wednesday evening an alarm went off in the Sheriff’s Office, so the dispatcher on duty checked the surveillance camera and identified a probation officer in the basement hallway of the Courthouse. The alarm button was suppressed thinking the alarm was triggered by a motion detector. The next morning, Sedersten was called to the communication room to find that the air conditioner was not working. The alarm that was heard the night before actually came from the communication room as a warning that the temperature had risen above the safe level for climate control. The network server overheated, resulting in costly damages. In order to prevent this from happening again, Mr. Hurt said he could install a dialer system to monitor the heat alarm in the communication/computer room for $234. His company would monitor the alarm for $30 a month. The County would need to provide him with a list of people to contact when or if the alarm went off. Commissioner Haverty made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Thummel to approve the purchase of the dialer for the communication/computer room and to enter into a five year contract with Security Equipment Inc to monitor the alarm at the rate of $30 per month. Voting – Commissioners Thummel, aye; Haverty, aye; Schroder, aye. Motion carried.

Larry Ossowski, Director of the Blue Rivers Area Agency on Aging, came before the Board to give his annual report. Blue Rivers serves 8 counties in Southeast Nebraska. Its mission is to assist older adults who want to remain independent in their homes. During FY06, the agency provided 12,015 handi-bus trips, 826 handyman/housekeeper hours and over 27,000 meals to Otoe County residents. Out of a total budget of $759,200 he made a budget request of $13,700 as Otoe County’s local match requirement.

In an effort to resolve water release issues, Otoe County Attorney Jeff Funke, composed an Interlocal Agreement between the Nemaha Natural Resource District and Otoe County regarding the maintenance of the flood retarding structure located on property owned by Howard Bebout and Bernard Kreifels. He mailed a copy of the agreement to each Commissioner, Mr. Bebout, Mr. Kreifels and Mr. Duane Teten. He also included a copy of the Guidelines for Passing of Reservoir Inflow for Livestock that was published by the Nebraska Dept of Natural Resources. Mr. Teten said he read the documents, but felt there were many open questions. He asked for the definition of a political subdivision. He said the Nebraska Statute states that a political subdivision isn’t required to release any water from a reservoir in which the political subdivision holds the permit. Since Otoe County holds the water storage permit of this dam and Otoe County is defined as a political subdivision of the State of Nebraska, it does not have to release water at all. He hoped that the County would use the good neighbor policy. Teten asked who would be given the duty to release the water. Someone replied “Probably the Highway Superintendent.” Bill Davis, Attorney representing Mr. Bebout and Mr. Kreifels, gave each Board member a letter expressing the landowners’ objection to the proposed Interlocal Agreement due to its failure to address the issue of releasing water from the flood retarding structure. He said that Paragraph #8 of the Easement that was filed in July of 2002, refers to an attached agreement with Otoe County setting forth maintenance requirements, but the attachment is missing. He examined records in the County Clerk’s office and found one page of an agreement that appeared to be a draft copy; however there was no signature page. Therefore, if a fully executed agreement does not exist, the County has no right to be on the property. He suggested that everyone start over in determining rights. Steffensmeier said the NRD has an obligation to inspect and maintain the dam structure. If they find a problem, they notify the County who is expected to fix it. Mr. Bebout said the easement was signed in order to allow the County to replace a bridge with a dam. Mr. Kreifels said the water storage permit should have been made out to the landowners or the Natural Resource Commission should have the say when water is released. Mr. Bebout asked that the original easement be honored. Mr. Davis said there should be some language that says when water needs to be released; the easement is too vague. Mr. Davis agreed to work with the County Attorney and the NRD to write a water release policy.

Pat Haverty, Executive Director for RCEDC, presented a Petition for Vacation of Bagel Drive. As discussed at previous meetings, Diversified Foods and Seasonings Inc has purchased the former Bagelicious property. In order for the company to be USDA certified and within the Homeland Security guidelines for protecting our country’s food supply, the property needs to be fenced in. This would include a portion of Bagel Drive that actually is a county road leading to the plant. The only other building located on this road is a power substation owned by Nebraska City Utilities. Diversified Foods is petitioning to vacate a portion of Bagel Drive beginning at a point north of the power station. Dave Schmitz has surveyed the road and prepared a legal description of that portion that they would like to have vacated. According to State Statute 39-1723, 10 people living within 10 miles of the road must sign a petition requesting the vacation of that portion of roadway. Pat Haverty said the City of Nebraska City will also need to approve the vacation since the property is located within its 2 mile zoning jurisdiction. He asked the Board to set a public hearing date to hear support or objections to the vacation of that portion of roadway; secondly he asked them to direct the Highway Supt to conduct a study of the road’s use. According to statutory requirements, the directives must be made by resolution. The County Clerk was asked to prepare two resolutions – one resolving to set a public hearing date; the second requesting the Highway Supt to conduct a study of road’s use. They will be acted upon later this afternoon.

Steve Zimmers, Extension Educator, gave a quarterly report of his activities. He has been conducting several workshops for 4-H youth this summer, including one on global positioning. He said 4-H enrollment is up from last year, unlike many other counties whose enrollment is declining. Four members have qualified to attend the National 4-H Congress in November. Several members have participated and done very well in meat judging and other contests. He continues to make final preparations for the County Fair which will be held in August.

Due to the appointment of Jeff Funke as a Judge for the Second District of the County Court, Commissioner Haverty made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Thummel to accept Mr. Funke’s resignation with regrets as the Otoe County Attorney. Voting -- Commissioners Schroder, aye; Thummel, aye; Haverty, aye. Motion carried.

In order to fill the vacancy created by Mr. Funke’s resignation, the Board advertised for applications for the position of Otoe County Attorney. David Partsch, who has been serving as the Deputy County Attorney for the past two years was the only applicant to respond. Commissioner Haverty made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Thummel to accept David Partsch’s application and to appoint him to fulfill the term of Otoe County Attorney that will expire in January of 2011. Voting – Commissioners Thummel, aye; Haverty, aye; Schroder, aye. Motion carried.

At 11:52 a.m. Commissioner Schroder made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Haverty to go into executive session to discuss applications for general assistance with Marv Pesek, General Assistance Administrator. Voting – Commissioners Haverty, aye; Schroder, aye; Thummel, aye. Motion carried. Due to HIPPA regulations, personal and medical information cannot be disclosed in public session.

At 12:05 Commissioner Haverty 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.

Chairman Schroder called for a recess from regular session. The County Commissioners will reconvene this afternoon after they adjourn from the Board of Equalization.

At 2:18 p.m. the Otoe County Board of Commissioners reconvened in regular session. Answering present at roll call were Commissioner Schroder, Commissioner Thummel and Commissioner Haverty.

Two resolutions regarding the vacation of a portion of Bagel Drive were presented for approval. Commissioner Haverty made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Thummel to sign and approve Resolution 2007-16 setting the date, time and place to conduct a public hearing to hear support or objections to vacating a portion of Bagel Drive; said hearing shall be held on August 14, 2007, at 11:30 a.m. in the County Courtroom of the Otoe County Courthouse. Voting – Commissioners Thummel, aye; Haverty, aye; Schroder, aye. Motion carried. Commissioner Haverty made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Thummel to sign and approve Resolution 2007-17 instructing the Highway Supt to conduct a study of the uses being made of such public roadway and to submit a written report to the County Board with a recommendation to vacate the roadway or not. Voting – Commissioners Haverty, aye; Schroder, aye; Thummel, aye. Motion carried.

At the previous meeting, a Windstream representative explained the terms of a one year contract to provide services and maintain equipment for the 911 communication system. The cost was $14,918 per year. However, she said she could prepare a five year contract that would save $5,000 to $8,000 in a five year period. The Board tabled the matter and asked her to submit a five year contract for comparison and also asked that she include detailed information regarding guaranteed response time to service calls. She sent a five year contract indicating a savings of over $18,000 in a five year period; however, they could find no provision added in regards to response time. Commissioner Haverty made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Thummel to authorize Chairman Schroder to sign the five year contract with Windstream (since the warranty has expired on the equipment) contingent upon the approval of the County Attorney. Voting -- Commissioners Schroder, aye; Thummel, aye; Haverty, aye. Motion carried. In the meantime, the County Clerk was asked to contact Windstream to get a clarification of response time.

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 August 14, 2007. Voting – Commissioners Thummel, aye; Haverty, aye; Schroder, aye. Motion carried.

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 24^th day of July 2007.

Janene Bennett

Otoe County Clerk