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 September 9, 2008, 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 September 9, 2008

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: Other Road and Bridge matters

a) Richard Kuenning: Discussion and/or action to donate sick hours to Ryan Neeman

b) Discussion and/or action RE: Hwy Supt recommendation for all county road employees

To obtain CDL within six months from today

c) Discussion and/or action RE: Application of calcium chloride on county roads

d) Discussion and/or action RE: County Roads 71 and 72 north of OPPD Plant

e) Henry Stratker -Discussion and/or action to fix drainage problem near 365 S 63^rd Rd

f) Miscellaneous

10:00 a.m. -- Discussion/action regarding medical bills for former inmate, Charles Taylor

10:30 a.m. -- Discussion and/or action regarding the elimination of seven employment positions from the

County Roads Department including Rock Haulers and Bridge Crew

11:00 a.m. – Budget Hearing: Discussion and/or action to adopt the proposed budget for FY09 including a

Resolution to increase restricted funds by 1%

11:15 a.m. – Public Hearing: Discussion and/or action to set final property tax request at a different rate

than the previous year

11:20 a.m. – Discussion and/or action RE: Annual Road Report that must be submitted to NDOR at the end of

a fiscal year

Other business matters to address when time allows:

Discussion and/or action to appoint Commissioner Kreifels to serve as a representative/alternate

to various agencies – SENCA, representative; SENDD, RCEDD and RCEDC as alternate,

Miscellaneous Correspondence and other matters that may come before the Board

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.

September 9, 2008

The Otoe County Board of Commissioners convened in regular session at 8:30 a.m. on September 9, 2008 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. Advance notice of this meeting was published in the Nebraska City News Press and Syracuse Journal Democrat, announced on the local radio station KNCY and posted in the County Clerk’s Office and on the County website. 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, Dale Haverty. Answering present at roll call were Commissioner Haverty, Commissioner Kreifels and Commissioner Schroder.

Chairman Haverty 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 Haverty made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Schroder to amend the agenda to add the presentation of an award to Gregg Goebel. County Attorney, Dave Partsch, advised the Board that the agenda could not be modified within 24 hours of the meeting unless such item was an emergency. Commissioner Haverty withdrew the motion.

Commissioner Haverty made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Kreifels to accept the agenda as posted. There being no discussion, Chairman Haverty called for a vote by roll call. Voting -- Commissioners Haverty, aye; Kreifels, aye; Schroder, aye. Motion carried.

Commissioner Schroder made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Kreifels to accept the minutes from the previous meeting as mailed to them as each member was furnished with a copy of same. There being no discussion, Chairman Haverty called for a vote by roll call. Voting – Commissioners Kreifels, aye; Schroder, aye; Haverty, aye. Motion carried.

Commissioner Schroder made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Kreifels to audit and sign payroll claims and regular claims unless otherwise noted. There being no discussion, Chairman Haverty called for a vote by roll call. Voting - Commissioners Schroder, aye; Haverty aye; Kreifels, aye. Motion carried.

There was some discussion regarding the board appointments previously held by Commissioner Zoe Thummel. According to an email received by Commissioner Kreifels, SENCA (Southeast Nebraska Community Action) recently reorganized the construction of its board’s membership. Cass and Otoe County are defined as a district and there shall be only one elected official from the district to serve as a representative on the SENCA board. A Commissioner from Cass has already been appointed to serve in that capacity, so Otoe County does not need to appoint a representative to the SENCA Board at this time. The only vacancies that need to be filled to finish out the year are alternates to SENDD (Southeast Nebraska Development District), RCEDD (River Country Economic Development District) and RCEDC (River Country Economic Development Corporation). Therefore, Commissioner Schroder made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Haverty to appoint Nicki Kreifels to serve as alternate to the SENDD, RCEDC, RCEDD Board of Directors. There being no further discussion Chairman Haverty called for a vote by roll call. Voting – Commissioners Haverty, aye; Kreifels, aye; Schroder, aye. Motion carried.

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

Steffensmeier said that one of the road employees, Ryan Neeman, was injured in a home accident. He is out of vacation, sick and comp time and therefore will not be receiving a full paycheck. Rich Kuenning, Neeman’s foreman, submitted a written statement that he would like to donate some of his accumulated sick time to Neeman. County Attorney Dave Partsch responded that the Union Contract and the County’s Personnel Policy state that earned sick leave is to be used for an employee’s own illness. However, the Personnel Policy further states that an employee can use sick time for the care of an immediate family member. There is no provision that accumulated sick leave can be banked or donated to another employee. Partsch was told that some employees donated sick time to another employee a few years ago. He said at that time, a different policy was in effect. The County should abide by the current policy which doesn’t allow sick time to be transferred from one employee to another even though it is an admirable thing to do. Commissioner Haverty said the County may want to consider changing the policy in the future. Commissioner Kreifels said she knows of other companies that have created a “sick bank”. Employees who have reached their limit of accumulated sick time may roll their excess hours into a bank that can be used by someone who may need them at a later time. Union Representative, Kevin Brown, said they would be willing to negotiate this into their contract sometime. Commissioner Haverty said he didn’t like the “bank” concept because it would create more bookkeeping. Kris Koslosky said SENCA has a sick bank policy; that may be a good source of information if the County wants to consider setting up a “sick bank” or some other type of donation policy.

Steffensmeier said he would like to require all road employees to obtain a CDL (Commercial Drivers License). In this way, employees can be cross trained to drive a truck when people are sick or on vacation. There are only 4 current employees who do not have CDL. Commissioner Haverty said this issue has been discussed at Safety meetings. He knew of one employee who said he would not feel safe driving a truck; if a CDL would become a requirement, the County would lose a good employee. Steffensmeier said other counties have implemented a CDL requirement to help out employees who cannot handle heavy work - driving a truck is an easy job. Commissioner Kreifels asked if any of the four men were willing to get a CDL. Foreman Pohlman said possibly one. Commissioner Schroder noted current policy requires that all new employees must have a CDL when they are hired or obtain one within 6 months of the hire date. He had reservations in making it a requirement for long time current employees. George Forst, Union Representative, posed several concerns. Is the County going to have a process to make sure people can handle driving a truck if they get a CDL? Historically, employees were hired to do a specific job; why is this being brought up now? If blade operators are pulled away to drive rock trucks, then the road work won’t get done. Steffensmeier said his concern was to keep an employee busy when his road work was done. The worker could get in a dump truck to haul a short load or move his own equipment with a lowboy; he would not have to wait for someone else to do it for him. Commissioner Haverty said he understands that Steffensmeier is trying to make the crew more flexible, but did not think it was necessary for the four men to get a CDL at this time. Commissioner Haverty said this could be an issue to look at when negotiating the next Union Contract in 2009.

Foreman Pohlman said for the past several years the County has applied calcium chloride on a portion of N 60^th Road and G Rd in an effort to control dust. In the past, Pat Ramold, who owns and operates Pumpkin Ridge, and Kimmel Orchard have paid part of the cost since dust control is beneficial to their businesses. Pohlman said the chemical also saves on rock application. Pohlman said it would cost $2293.60 for approximately 2000 feet, about $100 more than last year. It has been past practice to apply the chemical before harvest and Applejack weekend. Commissioner Schroder questioned whether gravel would help to control the dust. Commissioner Haverty noted that with hundreds of cars traveling down the road during Applejack weekend, the dust that is created becomes extremely dangerous for public safety. On G Rd, the chemical is applied from the railroad track to the entrance of DeBruce Grain. Steffensmeier said if the chemical tracks onto the highway, it creates a slick condition so he suggested not applying it too close to the highway intersection. The Board agreed that the dust control chemicals should be applied on N 60^th Rd and G Rd before Applejack weekend.

Regarding the vacation of a portion of S 72^nd Rd – As part of the process for vacating a road, Steffensmeier said that he has sent letters to affected landowners and utility companies. He has not received a response from all of the utility companies, but has received a concern from the NRD. He will put this matter back on the agenda to make a recommendation for vacating the road after he completes a report.

When OPPD bought land north of the Power Plant, an easement was given to the County so that farmers would have access to their farm ground. The Roll property, which was divided by Four Mile Creek, has now been sold. Foreman Pohlman said there are discrepancies as to whether a portion of S 71^st road was ever vacated. The County’s Road Book does not show that a road existed, but Pohlman said there used to be houses there many years ago. The County has continued to maintain the road and the tube placed in Four Mile Creek. He said he can remember removing the tube and reinstalling it several times. Currently, there is no tube there because the road crew removed it when it became plugged up. Pohlman said the tube is too small to handle the drainage. John Voelker, who is the new purchaser of the property, said his research indicates that this is a county road and has never been vacated. The parcel he purchased has no other access and the County has an obligation to provide access. Even though the same owner owns property on both sides of the road, they are listed as separate parcels. He can’t guarantee title insurance without access to the property lying west of the creek. Steffensmeier said NDOR maps indicate there is no road there at all. Steffensmeier said the County needs to get the road classified and back on the State records if it indeed is a county road. Pohlman said the area should have a larger tube if it is going to be replaced. Voelker agreed he would pay for part of tube, but also questioned a low water crossing as an alternative. Since the land is flat, there is not a lot of current. John Golden said he was in attendance representing 3 landowners upstream from tube. He has no objections to anyone getting to their property. However, the previous tube that was removed was inadequate for the creek that drains there. For the record, all the landowners are requesting something bigger or better to take care of the drainage problem. The question remains – was the road vacated or not and who is responsible for its maintenance? Commissioner Schroder suggested that Commissioner Kreifels work with the County Attorney to determine ownership and who is liable for the work. They will report back at a public meeting before making decision on a solution.

Henry Stratker came before the Board to report a drainage problem on County Road 63. He said water drains from his field; then crosses the road to his neighbors. He has asked the Road Department to fix the problem many times, but nothing has been done yet. Steffensmeier said the culvert in the driveway is undersized. Utility lines are buried in the ditch, so that prohibits them from digging a deeper ditch. If he puts in a bigger tube, then he will have to raise the road and the driveway at least twelve inches. Stratker said he has excess dirt to do the work and wants permission to fix it. Steffensmeier said Stratker would have to show proof of liability insurance before doing work on county right of way. Stratker showed photos of the area to the Board members. He said he could get the work done in one day. Stratker said he would have a contractor do the work according to county specifications; then the County could inspect the work. Steven Lade asked who is liable after the work is done. He suggested that the County be the one to hire a contractor to do the work; then Stratker could reimburse the County rather than Stratker hiring the contractor to do work on a county road. Commissioner Schroder recommended that Stratker meet with Commissioner Kreifels and Supt Steffensmeier at the site to review the situation; then they could determine the best and quickest solution.

Steffensmeier reminded Board members that a tire recycling collection site is being set up at the Nebraska City Road Shop on September 25th and 26^th. They will collect tires at the Palmyra Shop on September 26^th and 27^th. Foreman Pohlman was asked to have two men available to help with the collection at the Nebraska City Shop between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on both days. Palmyra will man its own site.

Steffensmeier said people driving buses, contractor equipment, and farm machinery are running into trees overhanging into county road right of way. He asked Attorney Partsch if the County has the right to remove the tree branches. Partsh said yes, but he suggested that he notify the landowners first. Commissioner Haverty said they should be careful and try not to destroy a windbreak.

County Attorney Partsh said Charles Taylor, a former inmate, underwent cancer treatment at Bryan LGH while being imprisoned in the County Jail in 2007. He accumulated over $65,000 in medical bills during that time for which the County is liable for payment. Partsch said he has negotiated payment on some of the bills at Medicaid rate; however, there is still a balance remaining of $40,327.00. He is working with DHHS for financial assistance, but they need Mr. Taylor to sign an application. If they are unable to get his signature, Partsh would like the Board’s approval to pay the outstanding bills. He said some providers are willing to wait, but some are not. Commissioner Schroder made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Kreifels to authorize the County Attorney to submit the Taylor medical bills for payment, an amount not to exceed $40,327. Voting – Commissioner Kreifels, aye; Schroder, aye; Haverty, aye. Motion carried.

To begin discussion regarding the elimination of seven employment positions from the County Roads Department, including rock haulers and bridge crew, Commissioner Haverty read a letter that each Commissioner received from the Elected Officials of Otoe County. They asked the County Board to explore all options before making a decision to eliminate county employees. They were concerned that this action would cost the County more money than it would save. With the budget now in compliance, there is no immediate crisis. They offered to work with the Board to discuss long term budgetary issues facing the County. Commissioner Haverty invited further discussion. Commissioner Schroder asked Attorney Partsh to clarify the seven employment positions. Partsch responded by saying the agenda referred to seven positions including rock haulers and bridge crew. The Board cannot eliminate more than seven positions during this meeting. Schroder concluded that the bridge crew consists of one foreman and three Union workers. Therefore, Commissioner Schroder made a motion that Otoe County disband its bridge crew eliminating the four bridge crew positions and terminating employees Matt Watkins, Lou Wurtele, Chris Schneider and Lynn Denniston without prejudice, effective at the end of the work day September 30, 2008. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Haverty. A lengthy discussion ensued. Commissioner Kreifels asked why is there a need to take action today when the budget meets the lid limit and is already in compliance. Commissioner Schroder responded that productivity of the bridge crew is very poor; only 1 bridge was built in 2007 and none are scheduled in 2008. The equipment is poor for safety sake. Denniston replied the crane is a 1980 model. It was completely overhauled three years ago and safe to use at this time. Foreman Denniston said the bridge crew is a maintenance crew; building a bridge is an exception. There are too many bridges in this county that need maintenance for them to have to build bridges too. There are over 300 - 400 bridges in the County with17 that are closed. Denniston said he was told by Steffensmeier that they are not to build any bridges this year due to the new engineering law. Denniston said he talked to Speece/Lewis Engineering to clarify the new state law regarding engineered bridges. They said the county crew can still do repairs without engineering. Steffensmeier has held them off because he told them not to start these jobs. Commissioner Schroder asked Steffensmeier to clarify the bridge law – if a bridge is changed in size, character or weight capacity it must be submitted to the State for engineering. Denniston said he was lead to believe that they couldn’t tear out a headwall. Steffensmeier said there had to be a design to tear out a headwall. Commissioner Kreifels asked for a copy of the State’s letter regarding the engineering requirements since this was first presented at a meeting prior to her taking office. Denniston said they have built a bridge with Mainelli Engineering signing it off upon completion, verifying the bridge was built correctly. Denniston said there are no local contractors capable of doing bridge work. Commissioner Kreifels questioned what happens when a bridge needs repair or if a closed bridge sign needs to be placed in the middle of the night. Will a contractor be called in to do repair work? Commissioner Schroder questioned why the County should pay for 8 hours when only 6 hours of work gets done in a day. He felt they spend too much time traveling from the east end to the west end of the county. A question arose – If the County is concerned about travel time, why not move the bridge crew back to Syracuse where they will be centrally located and not eliminate their jobs? Kris Koslosky questioned, “If the problem is productivity, why was the crew put on hold by their boss?” Kevin Brown, Union President, said contractors will always charge for travel time. George Forst, Union Vice President commented that the letter submitted by the other elected officials indicates they believe this decision to reduce any number is unnecessary and will hurt the County in the long term. The budget is in compliance and it includes keeping the employees in place, so it must not be a budgetary matter now. There is enough money to continue for one more year. Commissioner Schroder said he wants to lay off four employees to save money; however, there still has been no discussion on how much it is going to cost to maintain current bridges. The crew was not meant to build bridges; just maintain them. On the issue of productivity – if you are concerned about losing time when the crew is driving from one end of the County to the other, it seems to be a simple fix if the crew was centrally relocated in Syracuse. In regards to the equipment, the crane was completely refurbished and the backhoes are only 5-10 years old. To disband the entire bridge crew makes no sense. This is not about money, not about productivity – it’s just a vendetta. Mike Koslosky directed a question to Denniston - After the engineering is done, can the crew do the work? Denniston replied they could drive piling or set stringers. Shari Bitz said she does not live here, but is a taxpayer in this county. She said this sounds like a management problem. Why have someone come in from out of town to do the work? Where are the figures to justify cost comparison? Why should a foreman be penalized if he is being told not to do the work? Steffensmeier said he did not shut down the bridge department. They have small projects to work on, but can’t do the big projects. The County was required to select an engineer for four years; the County has to wait for the engineer to do his job first. Also, work gets delayed when we need permits from the Corps of Engineers or Games/Parks. He understood that Denniston would remain a foreman to supervise bridge repairs and perform other duties as assigned to him. Chairman Haverty ended the discussion and called for a roll call vote of Commissioner Schroder’s motion. – Voting - Commissioners Schroder, aye; Haverty, aye; Kreifels, no. Motion carried.

At 11:00 a.m. a budget hearing was opened to hear comments regarding the adoption of the County’s Budget for fiscal year 2008-2009. Commissioner Haverty asked if there were any questions regarding the notice advertised in the news paper. George Forst noted that the budget numbers included wages for all road and bridge employees, including the ones who were laid off. If this is a budgetary matter, why not raise the levy? Ruth Dalton asked, “Why are you laying off these people when the budget is balanced?” Commissioner Haverty said they still have the responsibility to save money. He feels the County will save money by contracting the work out. Ruth – “What if the contractor can’t do a job right away?” Elaine Donahue commented that the math does not add up; the County can’t afford to have contactors do the work. They don’t get tax breaks on fuel like the County does. As a taxpayer, she does not want to have someone come in from another county to do the work who will spend and make money for another county. If RFPs have not been sent out, the County does not have concrete figures for contractors. Commissioner Haverty said the County usually pays 15-20 % for federal aid projects. For budgeting purposes, a dollar amount is put in and then we see how far it goes. When asked if the bridge employees performed other tasks, Rick Hansen replied that in the winter, the bridge crew puts blades on their pickups to remove snow. They also scoop snow outside of the Courthouse and DHHS building. Susan Trail said there are flags all over the roads marking washouts – when is the work going to get done? Shari Bitz asked, “How can you know it’s going to be cheaper to contract out the work if you don’t have numbers? Have you done your homework? The public hearing was closed. Commissioner Schroder made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Kreifels to adopt Resolution 2008-45, approving an additional 1% increase of the 2008-2009 Restricted Funds limit. Voting – Commissioners Haverty, aye; Kreifels, aye; Schroder, aye. Motion carried. Subsequently, Commissioner Kreifels made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Schroder to sign Resolution 2008-46 adopting the 2008-2009 Budget for Otoe County as it was presented and published in the Budget Hearing Notice and Summary. Voting -- Commissioners Kreifels, aye; Schroder, aye; Haverty, aye. Motion carried. All information relating to the budget is on file for public inspection at the Office of the County Clerk during regular business hours.

A second public hearing was held for the purpose of hearing support or opposition to set the property tax request at a different amount than the previous year. According to the County Clerk, the property tax request for FY07-08 was $4,436,127.10 and the levy was set at .356161. For FY08-09, the property tax request is $4,615,981.98 with a valuation of $1,308,149,057 resulting in a tax rate of .352864, which is a little lower than last year’s rate. There being no further discussion, Commissioner Kreifels made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Schroder to adopt Resolution 2008-47 setting the FY08-09 property tax request for Otoe County at $4,615,981.98. Voting -- Commissioners Schroder, aye; Haverty, aye; Kreifels, aye. Motion carried.

Steffensmeier said the annual road report of expenditures for last fiscal year must be submitted by October 31^st to the NDOR. James Cook asked if soft match and FEMA funds are reported here. How much FEMA money was received last year? Steffensmeier explained that soft match is a credit; it is not received in dollars. The NDOR will apply credit to federal aid jobs. This report shows actual revenue and expenditures; it does not show a breakdown of individual project reports. Commissioner Kreifels said she would like to study the report first since she has never seen one before. Since it isn’t due until October, she would like to table the matter. Commissioner Haverty made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Schroder to table action to approve the Annual Road Report for FY08 to a later date. Voting – Commissioners Haverty, aye; Kreifels, aye; Schroder, aye. Motion carried.

Joan Cook posed several questions to Steffensmeier regarding the bridges and roads that are closed and need to be repaired or replaced. Have any of the bridges been engineered? Steffensmeier replied that the ones that closed due to flooding have been surveyed, but the engineers are working with FEMA to determine whether they should be replaced or repaired. Do roads have to be engineered? Reply - No, just built to state standards. Will work on these roads be contracted out? Reply – Depends on need and time. Is it going to be a bidding process? Reply - Depends on dollar amount. How many contractors have you taken out to look at them? Was this advertised? Reply – one contractor. If no other contractors have been contacted, how do they know there is work out there? Have you ever talked to any other contractors besides the one? Reply – Yes, but he has not taken them out to look at the roads or bridges; he will take time later to do that; he must take the FEMA reporter out first. Why is only one contactor being contacted? Reply - Said he talked to Zech and Barrett but was told they were busy. Small jobs are not advertised; contractors are asked to give a bid. Ms. Cook said you cannot give all small jobs to the same contractor. Commissioner Haverty said the County is trying to be fair to all; they will all be contacted when the County is ready to bid out the projects. Ms. Cook asked that someone investigate why contractors have not been contacted and why the roads are not in shape for harvest.

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 declared the meeting adjourned at 11:40 a.m. The next regular meeting will be held on September 23, 2008.

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 9th day of September 2008.

Janene Bennett

Otoe County Clerk