NOTICE OF MEETINGS
NOTICE
IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Otoe County Board of Commissioners will convene as the
Board of Equalization at 8:15 a.m. on September 22, 2009. The Otoe
County Board of Commissioners will convene in regular session at 8:30 A.M. on
September 22, 2009. Both meetings will be held in the
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
Larry & Carol Volkmer:
Hearing to appeal penalty imposed for failure to file a Personal Property
Return prior
to May 1, 2009;
Discussion and/or action to correct or waive penalty
Therese Gruber,
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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
8:45 a.m. – Public Hearing to approve
Kissinger Subdivision located in SE ¼ SW ¼ 21-7-9 as requested by
Lloyd P Kissinger; Site
location – near 5th and Q Roads
8:50 a.m. – Tammy Timms, Five Rivers RC &
D Coordinator: Give annual report
9:00 a.m. –
1) Discussion
and/or action RE: Resolutions to install stop signs at the intersections of
M-60,
M-62
and L-50
2) Discussion
and/or action to perform fracture critical bridge inspections
3) Discussion
and/or action RE: Large snow truck and sander
4) Miscellaneous
Other business matters to
address when time allows:
Jackie Smith, Co
Discussion and/or action to enter into an
interlocal agreement with
charge person
(highway superintendent) to perform services regarding federally funded
transportation
projects in
Discussion and/or action to cancel the
following checks that were returned for overpayment:
#09090061 paid to Nebraska City Medical
Clinic in the amount of $158.10; #09090039 paid to Grips Self
Storage in the amount of $60.00;
#08050347 paid to Midwest Machine Inc in the amount of $296.68;
#08060030 to Douglas County Sheriff in
the amount of $11.07
Miscellaneous Correspondence and other
matters that may come before the Board
Janene Bennett
The
Individuals requiring physical or sensory
accommodations, including interpreter service, Braille, large print or recorded
materials, please contact Janene Bennett,
September 22, 2009
The Otoe County Board of Commissioners convened in regular session at
8:30 a.m. on September 22, 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. Advance notice of this meeting was published in the Nebraska City News
Press and Syracuse Journal Democrat, announced on KNCY Radio Station and posted
in public areas. 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
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 Lade 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 Lade made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Crook 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 Freshman made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Crook 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 Kreifels made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Lade 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.
Other business matters were addressed at this time.
Jackie Smith,
The
Chairman Nelsen said that he talked with a Commissioner in
Miscellaneous correspondence was read: Board members received an
invitation from the staff at Duff’s Nursing Home requesting their presence at a
25th Anniversary celebration on October 2, 2009. A letter was
received from the Nebraska City Community Foundation thanking the Board for use
of the courthouse lawn during the family street dance held in August.
At 8:45 a.m. Chairman Nelsen opened a public hearing to hear support or
objections for the approval of Kissinger Subdivision located in the SE ¼ SW ¼
S21-T7-R9 as requested by Lloyd P Kissinger. Representing Mr. Kissinger, Dave Schmitz
said Mr. Kissinger will be moving a house on the 3 acre tract. The property has
a new well which passed the perk test and it has been approved by the Planning
Commission. There being no other comments, Chairman Nelsen closed the public
hearing. Commissioner Lade made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Kreifels to
authorize the Chairman to sign the plat map for Kissinger Subdivision located
on
There was a brief recess from 8:46 a.m. to 8:50 a.m.
Tammy Timms, who is the Five Rivers RC & D
Coordinator, came before the Board to give an update of its most recent
activities and future goals. Recently, the Southeast Nebraska Grassland
Association (SENGA) hosted Pasture Walks to promote the power of “green” in
land stewardship. At the 2008 Nebraska State RC&D Conference, Doc Gigstad of Otoe County won the Spirit of Nebraska Award, a
well deserved recognition for his leadership roles in making
Highway Superintendent,
Stop Signs: Chairman Nelsen introduced three separate
resolutions for stop sign placements. Attached to each resolution was an
engineering report of the site conditions with a recommendation for sign
placement. Commissioner Crook made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Kreifels
to adopt Resolution 2009-57 to place a stop sign at the intersection of M and S
60th Roads with the North/South traffic as through traffic and the
East/West traffic as the stopped traffic. 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
Crook made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Freshman to adopt Resolution
2009-58 to place a stop sign at the intersection of M and S 62nd
Roads with the North/South traffic as the through traffic and the East/West
traffic as the stopped traffic. 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.
Commissioner Lade made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Kreifels to adopt
Resolution 2009-59 to place a stop sign at the intersection of L and S 50th
Roads with the North/South traffic as the through traffic and the East/West
traffic as the stopped the traffic. There being no further discussion, Chairman
Nelsen called for a vote. Voting aye were Commissioners Kreifels, Freshman, Nelsen, Lade and Crook. Nay – none. Motion
carried.
Bridge Inspections: Supt Steffensmeier said the fracture
critical bridge inspections need to be completed by December 31st. He
said the State conducted the inspections statewide two years ago without any
cost to the counties. This year, the State has again offered to provide the
inspections, but will charge the counties 20% of the cost. Steffensmeier said
he is certified to do the inspections as well, so the Board needs to decide
whether to contract with the State or have him do the inspections. When asked what the cost would be,
Steffensmeier said the NDOR has not set a price, but he estimated an average of
$500 per bridge; 50 inspections could be as much as $25,000. Commissioner Lade
asked Steffensmeier if he would have time to conduct the inspections. He said
if a road worker were allowed to help him, he felt he could inspect the bridges
and enter the data into a statewide system at the rate of 10-12 per day. In
addition to the fracture critical bridges, there would be another 100 bridges
due for inspections this year. Commissioner Freshman thought the County should
save the money and have Steffensmeier perform the inspections with the aid of
one of the road workers as long as they thought they could get it done before
the end of the year. Commissioner Crook said she was hesitant to approve having
the State doing it when the cost was uncertain. Commissioner Nelsen said he
would like to make a phone call to Engineer Mark Mainelli
before making a decision. Therefore, he called for a 15 minute recess.
The meeting was resumed at 9:27 a.m. with all members being duly noted
as present.
Chairman Nelsen reported that he talked with Mainelli
who recommended that the County conduct its own bridge inspections and that he
would be available if Steffensmeier needed assistance or a second opinion.
Commissioner Freshman made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Kreifels to keep
the bridge inspections in house with Supt Steffensmeier and an assistant doing
the work. 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.
Snow Removal: There was some discussion regarding
equipment and trucks that would be used for snow removal. Supervisor Denniston said he checked into the cost for spraying
chemicals and/or salt water to melt and remove snow and ice rather than
applying salt and sand. To purchase a 325 gallon tank to place in the box of a
pickup would cost approximately $5800; however, they would need one in two or
three pickups for a total cost of $11,000 to $17,000. As an alternative, the
County could purchase a larger truck that would accommodate an 1800 gallon tank
which costs about $13,000. They could save time and gas with one big truck by
not having to refill so often. He found
a used truck with 300,000 miles on it for $44,000. Denniston
said the truck could also be used to haul rock and rip/rap. Some of the cost
could be offset by selling the 1988 Mack dump truck being driven by Bebout. To buy an 11 foot plow for the big truck would cost
an additional $9200, but it would do a better job than running four pickups
with blades. Commissioner Freshman did not think purchasing the used truck for
$44,000 was a good deal and said he would rather look at purchasing a new 1 ton
truck next budget year. All Commissioners agreed they did not want to pursue
the chemical option for removing snow and ice from the roadways, but continue
using sand, salt and blades/plows. Chairman Nelsen thought it would be cheaper
to buy two 1-ton 4WD pickups with plows than to buy one big dump truck and plow.
He asked Denniston to make a list of the current
trucks being used and what it costs to get them ready for snow removal; a list
of vehicles that can be sold or traded in; and an estimated cost for purchasing
a new truck(s).
Miscellaneous Discussion:
*Steffensmeier said he received a note form Speece/Lewis
Engineering who said they cannot complete the NEPA document for Bridge
#C006622210 until the required information is received from Fish and Wildlife,
the Historical Society and NE Games & Parks. This bridge is located south
of
*For the past several years, Keep Nebraska Beautiful has financed the
purchase of used oil from the counties in an effort to preserve the
environment. Steffensmeier said they will
now pick up used antifreeze, which is more detrimental to the environment than
oil and asked if the County would want to participate. Commissioner Lade
thought it would be a good service if a grant was available to finance it.
*Commissioner Freshman will contact Joe Miller to add the new fuel
system on the County’s insurance policy.
*Commissioner Lade said the rock trucks are getting old and breaking
down; one has been out of commission for over four weeks and the rock haulers
are falling behind. He asked the other
Board members for permission to get estimates on the cost of having a
contractor haul rock.
*Commissioner Lade said the dirt work has been completed in preparation
for constructing the new Douglas Shop; the contractor plans to begin
construction later today.
*Supt Steffensmeier provided each Board Member with a map that indicates
tonnage limits for bridges across the County.
*Commissioner Nelsen reported that he met with Engineer Mark Mainelli and several constituents who own land adjacent to
the old drainage district near Talmage. They decided
the best and cheapest solution for diverting water was to clean out the
ditches, install drainage tubes and build up the roadway to force water into
the Little Nemaha River. The cost was estimated at about $60,000 in comparison
to a new bridge with a price tag of over $400,000. Some people expressed
concerns that the County was going to be doing work on private property.
Chairman Nelsen explained that he was told that when a Drainage District becomes
defunct, the property reverts back to the County. Therefore, the property is no
longer considered private, but actually belongs to the County.
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 10:12 a.m. The next regular meeting will be held on
October 13, 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 22nd
day of September 2009.
Janene Bennett