NOTICE OF MEETINGS

August 11, 2009

Otoe County Courthouse

Nebraska City NE  68410

 

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Otoe County Board of Commissioners will convene as the Board of Equalization at 8:15 a.m. on August 11, 2009. The Otoe County Board of Commissioners will convene in regular session at 8:30 A.M. on August 11, 2009. Both meetings will be held in the County Courtroom (108) of the Otoe County Courthouse at Nebraska City. An Agenda for such meetings is kept continuously current, and is available for public inspection at the office of the County Clerk at the Courthouse; however, the agenda may be modified at such meetings to include items of an emergency nature only.

 

AGENDA FOR THE BOARD OF EQUALIZATION MEETING

8:15 a.m. – Open meeting, Roll Call, Open Meetings Act Posted, Accept Agenda, Accept Minutes from

                   previous meeting

       Therese Gruber, County Assessor: Discussion and/or action RE: Tax List Correction(s)

                    Permissive Exemption Report

 

                   

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                                                            AGENDA OF THE REGULAR MEETING

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

                     Previous meeting, Audit and Sign payroll claims; Audit and sign regular claims

 

 8:40 a.m. -- August Safety Committee Report

 

 8:45 a.m. – Glen Steffensmeier, Hwy Supt and Lynn Denniston, Lead Supervisor: Road and Bridge matters

1)      Discussion and/or action RE: Relocation of rural water line on M Rd (RWD #1, Lancaster Co)

2)      Discussion and/or action RE: Demolition of old Douglas Road Shop

3)      Discussion and/or action RE: Roof repair at Syracuse Road Shop

 

 

Other business matters to address when time allows:

     

      Jackie Smith, Co Treasurer: Discussion and/or action RE: Tax Refunds; Discussion and/or action RE:

            Distress Warrant Report – Warrants issued 11-1-08

      Discussion and/or action to appoint an Otoe County representative to serve on the Blue Rivers Area

         Agency on Aging Governing Board

      Miscellaneous Correspondence and other matters that may come before the Board

                                                                                                                       

 

Janene Bennett

                                                                                                                        Otoe County Clerk

 

 

 

 

August 11, 2009

 

The Otoe County Board of Commissioners convened in regular session at 8:30 a.m. on August 11, 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 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 Kreifels made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Crook 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 Crook made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Freshman 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.  

 

Commissioner Lade made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Freshman 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 Lade made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Crook to approve payment of the regular claims. 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 all claims except those claims submitted by the Public Defender’s Office to which he abstained. Nay – none. Motion carried.

 

Chairman Nelsen noted that John Hodges served on the Blue Rivers Area Agency on Aging Governing Board for the past several years. With his recent death, a vacancy has been created and the Board needs to appoint someone to fill his term. Commissioner Kreifels questioned when the Governing Board met and said she would be interested if the meeting day fit her schedule. Unable to answer the question, Chairman Nelsen tabled the matter for today, allowing time to get a schedule of the meeting dates

 

Commissioner Lade reported that the Otoe County Safety Committee met on July 8, 2009. They reviewed information from Joe Miller regarding the construction of storm shelters at the Nebraska City and Syracuse Road Shops. Since his idea was not what they had in mind, they will check into other options and obtain monetary proposals. The Committee is still gathering information and proposals for offering First Aid, CPR and AED Training to county employees.

 

By statute, the County Treasurer must make an itemized report to the County Board showing the amount of uncollected personal property taxes that are still unsatisfied even though the taxpayer was served a distress warrant several months/years ago. Otoe County Treasurer, Jackie Smith, County Treasurer, said the total amount of unpaid taxes is $33,096.15. She said in many cases, the Sheriff is unable to locate the property because it has been moved or the property may have been trashed and of no value to sell. Some of these people have been issued a distress warrant several times on the same property.

 

Commissioner Lade made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Kreifels to issue a tax refund to Alice Jorgensen in the aggregate amount of $203.20 for tax years 2006 and 2007 on Parcel #002008000. 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.

 

In the absence of Hwy Supt, Glen Steffensmeier who is on vacation, Jon Brinkman and Lynn Denniston were available for discussion of road and bridge matters.

 

1) Relocation of a rural water line on M Rd: The road crew has been rebuilding M Road from County Road 6 to the Lancaster County Line. They have encountered a shallow rural water line which is located on private property. The Rural Water District furnished an estimate of $9,150 to move the water line which includes all possible costs; however, Commissioner Lade was told the actual cost would probably be less. County Attorney, Dave Partsch, said it would be the landowner’s responsibility to pay the cost of relocating the line if is not located in county right of way. Commissioner Lade said the landowner has already donated dirt for this project and felt he should not have to pay the relocation cost. Denniston said the only other option would be to haul in more dirt from ¾ to 1 mile away to cover the water line; then re-slope the road which would add another week’s work to the project. He recommended moving the water line because he thought it would be cheaper in the long run. Commissioner Crook cautioned that the County needs to be consistent in treating all landowners alike. Denniston said there was a similar situation a few years ago and the County paid for the relocation of the water line. Chairman Nelsen noted that since this area is located in Commissioner Lade’s District, he should make the final decision.

 

2) Demolition of old Douglas Road Shop: Commissioner Lade said Kuhl Trenching and Excavating submitted the low bid of $12,670.08 for demolishing the building. This bid was opened at a previous meeting, but did not include removal of asbestos materials. Kuhl obtained a quote from Bockmann Inc, Lincoln to remove the asbestos at a cost of $4,990 making the total cost of demolition $17,660.08. Commissioner Lade said the County would be responsible for supplying water and electricity during the process. Commissioner Lade made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Crook to accept the proposal from Kuhl Trenching and Excavating in the total amount of $17,660.08 to demolish the old Douglas Shop. 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.

 

3) Roof repair at Syracuse Road Shop: Commissioner Freshman reported that the roof on the Syracuse Shop was repaired 2-3 years ago. The roof is leaking again, but the company that did the work is now out of business. Freshman asked Midwest Custom Coatings to examine the roof. The roofer said he could try to patch the leaks, but would not guarantee the work. He recommended using polyurethane foam roofing and estimated the cost to be about $15,000. Commissioner Freshman said the work probably should be done before winter. Jan Reed said that when she inspected the building for safety last winter, water had dripped down the side of the building and ice covered the electrical box; maybe they should consider adding an overhang or gutters to keep water away from the building. Chairman Nelsen asked Commissioner Freshman to obtain at least one more proposal and to look closer at the overhang issue.

 

Supervisor Denniston gave a brief report of the pending FEMA 2007 and 2008 projects. There are nine 2007 projects left; one will soon be completed by a private contractor; five more will be let for bids this week and the county crew will do the work on the other three projects. Denniston said there are about 20 small projects left from the 2008 disaster that won’t require too much time to complete. The County Clerk reported that the County received over $279,000 from FEMA last week as reimbursement for projects completed. Commissioner Lade said he has received many positive compliments on the roadwork being done in his District. Commissioner Crook reminded the Foremen to get the roads used as school bus routes into shape since school will start next week.

 

There being no further business to come before the Board at this time, and since all items on the agenda have been disposed of, Chairman Nelsen declared this meeting adjourned at 9:06 a.m. The next regular meeting will be held on August 28, 2009.  

 

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 11th day of August 2009.

 

 

 

 

Janene Bennett

Otoe County Clerk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The County Board reserves the right to go into executive session when and if they deem it necessary.

Individuals requiring physical or sensory accommodations, including interpreter service, Braille, large print or recorded materials, please contact Janene Bennett, County Clerk, Otoe County Courthouse, P O Box 249, Nebraska City, NE 68410, (402) 873-9505), no later than 12:00 noon the day before the meeting.