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 August 14, 2007, 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                                       August 14, 2007

 

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

              meeting, Audit and Sign payroll and regular claims

 

8:45 a.m. – Therese Trombino, Deputy Co Assessor: Discussion and/or action RE: Tax list corrections;  

                        Presentation of Three Year Assessment Plan per PAT Directive 05-04;

                       Request to waiver probationary period for health insurance of full-time employee

 

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

a)      Discussion and/or action RE: Job description for County Highway Supt          

b)      Review applications for County Road Dept employee

c)      Miscellaneous

 

10:00 a.m. – Open Bids: Duff Nursing Home Lease

 

10:15 a.m. – Jim Johnston & John Palmtag, Otoe County Visitors Committee: Discussion and/or action

                           RE: Budget request

 

10:30 a.m. – Marv Pesek, Veterans Service Officer: Discussion and/or action to appoint member to Veterans

                            Service Committee; Discussion – General Assistance Application – will go into exec session

 

10:45 a.m. – Gregg Goebel, EM Director: Discussion and/or action RE: Adoption of Public Health Emergency

                          Response Plan; Procedures to establish quarantine – prevention of communicable diseases

 

11:00 a.m. – Discussion and/or action RE:  An amendment to Arbor Link’s Liquor License that would allow

                        Them to make an addition to the Clubhouse                    

 

11:15 a.m. – Jan Reed, Register of Deeds: Discussion and/or action RE: External back-up for ROD data

 

11:30 a.m. – Public Hearing: Regarding request by Diversified Foods Inc to vacate a portion of Bagel Drive

 

       Other business matters to address when time allows:

           Discussion and/or action RE: Proposal to refurbish the historic mural in the Courthouse

           Discussion and/or action RE: Cancel Check #07070027 in amt of $30.00; claim submitted & paid twice

           Jackie Smith, Co Treasurer: Discussion and/or action RE: Pledged Security(s)

           Discussion and/or action: Appoint representative to Blue Rivers Agency on Aging Governing Board   

           Miscellaneous Correspondence and other matters that may come before the Board

 

After all business matters have been addressed, the Board will hold a budget workshop

 

                                                                                                            Janene Bennett, Otoe County Clerk  

 

The County Board reserves the right to go into executive session when 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.

 

 

 

 

AUGUST 14, 2007

 

The Otoe County Board of Commissioners convened in regular session at 8:30 a.m. on August 14, 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.

 

Therese Trombino, Deputy County Assessor, presented the following tax list corrections for Board approval. 1 and 2) John & Stephanie Schrader – deduct $127.24 - correct error on property record card for tax years 2005 and 2006; 3 and 4) Richard & Janene Heyen – deduct $199.02 - correct error on property record card for tax years 2005 and 2006. Commissioner Haverty made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Thummel to approve the tax list corrections as presented. Voting -- Commissioners Schroder, aye; Thummel, aye; Haverty, aye. Motion carried.

 

Per Directive 05-04 of the Nebraska Property Assessment and Taxation Department, the County Assessor must submit a Three Year Assessment Plan to the County Board every year. Ms. Trombino said there are nearly 14,000 parcels in Otoe County. It is their goal to re-evaluate 3800 parcels every year. Some properties have not had a physical review since 1998. It is necessary to conduct periodic reviews in order to make changes that reflect condition of residences and commercial buildings; then adjust depreciation and market value accordingly. They also have begun building a soil and land use layer in the GIS system that will enable them to verify soil types and land use.

 

On August 1st, the Administrative Assistant in the Assessor’s Office submitted a letter of resignation, so the temporary part-time employee will move into the permanent full-time position. She has been working for the County on a part-time basis since January of this year. Ms. Trombino requested that the 90 day probationary period for a full-time employee be waived with respect to health and life insurance. Commissioner Haverty made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Thummel to waive the health and life insurance probationary period of 90 days since the employee has worked for the County since January. Voting – Commissioners Thummel, aye; Haverty, aye; Schroder, aye. Motion carried. Her insurance benefits will take effect September 1st.

 

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 9:02 a.m. Commissioner Haverty made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Thummel to go into executive session to review applications submitted for the position of a County Road Employee. Voting – Commissioners Haverty, aye; Schroder, aye; Thummel, aye. Motion carried. The County Attorney, Highway Superintendent and the three Road/Bridge Foremen were asked to remain in the meeting room.

 

At 9:50 a.m. Commissioner Thummel made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Haverty to go back into regular session. Voting -- Commissioners Schroder, aye; Thummel, aye; Haverty, aye. Motion carried. No action was taken while in executive session.

 

Steffensmeier said he has scheduled a bid opening at 9:00 a.m. on August 28th regarding the replacement of Bridge C66022030 west of Syracuse. He said the bridge qualifies for the Soft Match Program. The specs include a one foot thick pre-cast 30’x28’ concrete deck set on steel piling. The Average Daily Traffic study warranted guard rails on all four corners. On the same day at 9:30, a.m., bids will be opened for the construction of a new road shop (32x48) in the Village of Otoe.

 

Bridge inspectors that were hired by the NDOR found serious corrosion on a bridge located east of G-48 and ordered that the bridge be closed. This bridge is on the federal aid list for replacement, but it will not be constructed until the County can budget for 15% of the cost. The Syracuse Post Office had to reroute the line of mail delivery, resulting in an additional 6 miles for the carrier to travel. The Postmaster asked that Steffensmeier send him an engineer’s report of the closing so that his carrier can get paid for the 6 additional miles added to his mail route.

 

Steffensmeier said that the large Owners and Repair Manuals are being replaced with Compact Discs. Eventually, each Road Shop will need a computer where manuals can be downloaded in order for the men to have access to repair and maintenance information.

 

County Attorney, Dave Partsch, revised the Highway Superintendent’s job description to define supervisory authority for the Highway Superintendent. He said he added the verbiage used in the Union Contract that gives the Superintendent the authority “to hire, transfer, suspend, lay-off, recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward or discipline other employees, or responsibly direct them or to adjust their grievances, or effectively to recommend such action, if in connection with the foregoing the exercise of such authority is not of a merely routine or clerical nature but requires the use of independent judgment.” Commissioner Haverty made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Thummel to adopt the revised job description for the Highway Superintendent to include the language quoted above.   Voting – Commissioners Thummel, aye; Haverty, aye; Schroder, aye. Motion carried.

 

There was a brief discussion regarding care of minimum maintenance roads and the need to remove obsolete 3 ton bridges and replacing them with culverts.

 

Only one bid was submitted to lease the Duff Memorial Nursing Home. Diane Schneider, President of Friendship Villa Ltd. offered to lease the 60 bed facility for $130 per bed for a total of $7800 per month. Under the current lease, she is paying $120 per bed; however, it will expire December 31, 2007. The new lease will be for a term of 5 years with an option to renew for another 5 year term. At the time of renewal, a new rate may be established. Commissioner Haverty made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Thummel to accept the proposal as submitted by Friendship Villa Ltd agreeing to a five year lease in the amount of $130 per bed per month with the option to renew for another five years in 2012. Voting – Commissioners Haverty, aye; Schroder, aye; Thummel, aye. Motion carried.

 

John Palmtag, Chairman of the Otoe County Visitors Committee and Jim Johnston, Director of the Nebraska City Tourism & Commerce, came before the Board to review their budget request for 07-08. Mr Palmtag said they increased the budget to $97,000 anticipating that the lodging tax collected will continue or even surpass its current intake. He attributed the increased collections this past fiscal year to the number of construction workers residing in the lodging facilities while working on the power plant. The biggest share of the budget is spent on advertising and promoting tourism in Otoe County. The Committee works with county groups to fund local celebrations such as the Apple Jack Festival, Germanfest, Talmage Days, etc. $15,000 has been budgeted to help pay for a part-time clerical position. Mark Easter, Vice President of the NCTC, wanted to address the Board regarding the missing funds being reported in the local news. He explained that nearly $2900 in cash obtained through fund raisers was stolen from the tourism office. The theft is still under investigation with hopes that the matter will be rectified by the end of the week. NCTC hired an auditor who has made recommendations for improving their money handling practices.

 

Marv Pesek, recommended reappointment of Mike Miller for another 5 year term to the Veterans Service Committee. He has represented the Nebraska City area for the past 10 years and is willing to serve again. Commissioner Haverty made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Thummel to reappoint Mike Miller to serve another five year term on the Otoe County Veterans Service Committee.  Voting -- Commissioners Schroder, aye; Thummel, aye; Haverty, aye. Motion carried

 

At 10:42 am. Commissioner Haverty made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Thummel to go into executive session to discuss a general assistance application with General Assistance Administrator, Marv Pesek. Voting – Commissioners Thummel, aye; Haverty, aye; Schroder, aye. Motion carried.

 

At 10:52 a.m. Commissioner Thummel made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Haverty to go back into regular session - Voting – Commissioners Haverty, aye; Schroder, aye; Thummel, aye. Motion carried. No action was taken while in executive session.

 

Gregg Goebel, Emergency Management Director, who was scheduled to appear to discuss the adoption of a Public Health Emergency Response Plan, left word that he has been summoned to a rescue call. He said he would continue to work with the County Attorney in reviewing it for legal content and bring it to the Board at a later date.

 

Brandon Burns, Manager of Arbor Links Golf Course, came before the Board to explain why there is a need to amend their existing liquor license. Since they are planning to construct an addition to the Clubhouse, the description of the premises where alcohol is sold and consumed will need to be changed on the license. The golf course is located within the jurisdiction of the County, so the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission requires a recommendation from the County Board to approve the addition. Commissioner Haverty made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Thummel to approve the addition to the Clubhouse and to make a recommendation to the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission to proceed with Arbor Link’s request to amend their current liquor license to include the new addition. Voting -- Commissioners Schroder, aye; Thummel, aye; Haverty, aye. Motion carried.

 

Jan Reed, Register of Deeds, wanted to update Board members of the progress being made on restoring her data into the computer system. When the server overheated last month, she lost data from her deeds program between the dates of March 15th and July 17th, 2007. She and her employees have been working overtime to re-enter the data; they have completed entries through June 4th. She asked the Board to increase her budget by $400 to allow for the overtime being paid. To prevent a loss of data in the future, she plans to start backing up records to a CD on a daily basis; then make a duplicate set of CDs that will be stored offsite. Commissioner Haverty agreed this was a good idea and said he will talk to all the office holders who rely on the network server to make sure they are utilizing some type of backup that is stored offsite.

 

Other business matters were addressed at this time.

 

Proposal to refurbish the historical mural in the Courthouse: When renovation began in the Courthouse over two years ago, the master plan included a recommendation to refurbish the mural that was painted by Frank J Zimmerer in 1952. The paint film of the mural is shrinking and pulling apart, creating a network of cracks. In addition, the surface has been marred with scuff marks and chips. The Gerald R Ford Conservation Center of The Nebraska State Historical Society submitted a treatment proposal to clean the surface and fill in the cracks with special paint; then apply a protective coating. The proposal estimated the cost to be between $10,550.00 and $14,050.00, most of which is labor. The County Clerk noted that the Nelson Family Foundation and Kimmel Foundation have already donated over $12,500 that is to be applied toward this project. Commissioner Haverty made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Thummel to move forward with the restoration of the historic mural and to authorize Chairman Schroder to sign the proposal from the Gerald Ford Conservation Center, accepting its terms as stated above. Voting – Commissioners Thummel, aye; Haverty, aye; Schroder, aye. Motion carried.

 

Check cancellation: Commissioner Haverty made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Thummel to cancel check #07070027 in the amount of $30.00 made payable to the Sheriff’s Civil Division, Murrietta CA due to double payment. Voting – Commissioners Haverty, aye; Schroder, aye; Thummel, aye. Motion carried.

 

Board representative: In July, Larry Ossowski, Director of Blue Rivers Area on Aging, noted that John Hodges’ term expired as the Otoe County representative serving on its Board. However, he said Mr. Hodges was willing to continue serving if reappointed. Commissioner Haverty made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Thummel to reappoint John Hodges to serve another 3 year term on the Blue Rivers Area Agency on Aging Governing Board as a representative for Otoe County. Voting -- Commissioners Schroder, aye; Thummel, aye; Haverty, aye. Motion carried.

 

Pledged Security: Mary Lou Rivett, Deputy Treasurer requested the deposit of a pledged security with Otoe County Bank, Nebraska City, in the amount of $200,000. Commissioner Haverty made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Thummel to adopt Resolution 2007-18 approving said transaction. Voting – Commissioners Thummel, aye; Haverty, aye; Schroder, aye. Motion carried.

 

At 11:30 a.m. a public hearing was held for the purpose of hearing support or objection to the vacation of a portion of county public roadway designated as 19th Street, otherwise referred to as “Bagel Drive”. Dave Partsch, County Attorney, said Diversified Foods and Seasonings Inc has purchased the former “Arnie’s Bagelicious”. Since the operation will be USDA certified, it will need secured access. Therefore, Diversified Foods has requested that this portion of roadway be vacated so they can build a chain link fence around the property. As required by statute, Glen Steffensmeier, Highway Supt, conducted a study for vacation of the designated portion of the roadway and submitted a written report determining that this portion of roadway should be vacated and conveyed to Diversified Foods and Seasonings Inc. Commissioner Haverty made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Thummel to agree with the Highway Superintendent’s recommendation to vacate the southern portion of 19th Street commonly referred to as “Bagel Drive” and to convey approx 1.295 acres to Diversified Foods and Seasonings Inc . Voting – Commissioners Haverty, aye; Schroder, aye; Thummel, aye. Motion carried. Mr. Partsch said he will draw up a resolution to officially vacate that portion of roadway and specify that the vacated property shall be conveyed to Diversified Foods.

 

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 28, 2007. Voting – Commissioners Schroder, aye; Thummel, aye; Haverty, aye. Motion carried.

 

Board members met with the County Clerk for a brief budget workshop.

 

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 August 2007.

 

 

Janene Bennett

Otoe County Clerk