NOTICE OF MEETING
NOTICE
IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Otoe County Board of Equalization will convene at 8:05
a.m. and the Otoe County Board of Commissioners will meet in regular session at
8:30 a.m. on October 14, 2008, in the
Agenda for the Board of Equalization – October 14,
2008
8:05 a.m. – Open meeting; Roll call;
Accept agenda; Approve minutes from previous meeting
Therese Trombino,
8:10 a.m. – Set levies for the
political subdivisions of
8:15 a.m. - Public hearing:
imposed
for failure to file a personal property tax return with the
Tax Year 2008
Agenda for the regular meeting of the Otoe
8:30 a.m. -- Open Meeting; call roll;
accept agenda; accept minutes from
previous meeting; audit and sign payroll claims and regular
claims
8:45 a.m. – Rick Sedersten, Courthouse
Custodian: Discussion and/or action RE: Quotes for tuck pointing
and/or other repairs to the exterior of the Courthouse
9:00 a.m. – Glen Steffensmeier, Highway Supt: Discussion
and/or action regarding road and bridge matters
a) Update
of FEMA report; Discussion and/or action to appoint a representative who will
be authorized to sign FEMA documents
b) Discussion
and/or action to approve Annual Road Report for FY08
c) Discussion
and/or action to approve Inventory Statements from Road Dept
d) Discussion
and/or action to vacate a portion of
e) Discussion
and/or action RE: Proposed Interlocal Agreement for
the Paving of Walnut
Street outside the corporate limits of
f)
Discussion and/or action RE: Rehiring Lynn Denniston with the Otoe County Rd Dept
g) Miscellaneous
10:00 a.m. – Discussion and/or action
to approve an application being made by Jeff Porter to be the
Manager of
Arbor Links Golf Course
10:15 a.m. – Pat Haverty,
Executive Director for RCEDC: Quarterly report
10:30 a.m. – Roy Schneider,
Administrator for Duff Nursing Home: Discussion and/or action RE: Electrical
needs
to meet the State fire code
Other business matters to address when
time allows:
Jackie Smith,
Tax refund(s)
Discussion and/or action RE: Invitation
to comment on historic properties affected by
Proposed
Presentation of plaque to Emergency
Management Director, Gregg Goebel
Miscellaneous
Correspondence and other matters that may come before the Board
.
Janene Bennett
Otoe
The
Individuals requiring physical or sensory accommodations,
including interpreter service, Braille, large print or recorded materials,
please contact Janene Bennett,
October 14, 2008
The Otoe County Board of Commissioners convened in regular session at
8:30 a.m. on October 14, 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
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 Schroder 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 aye were Commissioners Haverty,
Kreifels, and Schroder, aye. Nay – none. 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 aye were Commissioners Kreifels, Schroder,
and Haverty, aye. Nay – none. 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 further discussion, Chairman Haverty called for a vote by roll call. Voting aye were
Commissioners Schroder, Haverty,
and Kreifels. Nay – none. Motion carried.
Miscellaneous correspondence was read.
A letter was received from the Jail Standards Division of the Nebraska
Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice notifying the
Lower Platte South Natural Resources District approved its Long Range
Implementation Plan for fiscal years 2009 through 2013. A copy may be obtained
by requesting a CD or downloading it from their website.
Environmental Resources Management sent an invitation to comment on
historic properties that may be impacted by a proposed
Rick Sedersten, Courthouse Custodian, said there has been leakage on the
inside basement walls of the Courthouse due to cracks in the foundation and
open window wells. He obtained two proposals from contractors who would block
the old windows on the north and south sides of the courthouse and seal the
cracks; then fill and compact the window wells with dirt. The window wells are
approximately 4 feet deep and 20 feet long. They tend to collect leaves and
other debris; there are no railings surrounding part of the area, creating a
security issue and safety hazard. National Seal Coat & Striping Inc,
Glen Steffensmeier, County Highway Superintendent, Rich Kuenning and Wally Pohlman, Road
Foremen, came before the Board to discuss road and bridge matters.
Regarding the FEMA report, Steffensmeier said the field agent wants to
wrap things up in a couple of weeks. He showed Board members a color coded map
indicating damaged bridges across the County. He said repairs or replacements
costing over $60,000 are categorized as a “project” and require engineering.
There are a total of seven damaged bridges – two will definitely be replaced
and two will be rebuilt. It has not yet been determined whether the other three
will be replaced or rebuilt. The two bridges that are going to replaced are
located on Road 20 between L & M and on
Highway Supt Steffensmeier presented a copy of the annual Year End Road
Report that is required to be sent to the Nebraska Board of Public Roads Classifications
and Standards for approval. This report
includes a complete listing of the year’s expenditures and revenues, projected
projects and costs, and a detailed inventory of the County’s equipment,
machinery and materials on hand. It gives a breakdown of money spent on each
vehicle and piece of machinery. In addition, the County must certify that all
the road and bridge projects have met state standards and all revenues have
been spent in accordance with the State Board’s rules and regulations. Commissioner Schroder
made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Kreifels to approve said report and
authorize Chairman Haverty to sign the required
documents. There being no further
discussion, Chairman Haverty called for a vote.
Voting aye were Commissioners Schroder; Haverty, and Kreifels. Nay – none. Motion carried.
As required by statute, inventory statements shall be completed at the
end of every fiscal year and submitted to the
Following standard procedures for vacating a road, Steffensmeier
submitted a report to the
There was some discussion regarding a proposed Interlocal
Agreement between the County and the City of
Steffensmeier said he would like to hire an assistant to help with his
duties, such as conducting sign and bridge inspections, lining up workers to
repair bridges, and keeping up with paperwork. He has over 100 bridges to
inspect by December. Lynn Denniston, former bridge
foreman, would be a good prospect since he has worked on bridges for many years
and helped with bridge inspections in the past. Commissioner Kreifels was
concerned about the amount of paperwork being required by NDOR and FEMA. Denniston has proven experience in good record keeping.
Commissioner Haverty said Steffensmeier has talked to
him several times about hiring an assistant and each time he was asked to write
a proposal listing a job description for this position, but has never received
one. Commissioner Haverty made a motion, seconded by
Commissioner Kreifels to take no action at this time. There being no further
discussion, Chairman Haverty called for a vote.
Voting aye were Commissioners Schroder, Haverty and Kreifels. Nay – none. Motion carried. In the
meantime, Steffensmeier was instructed to write a job description for an
assistant, including who he would supervise. Commissioner Schroder
also suggested including a probationary period and stipulating that this
employee would intend to stay at least 5 years if hired.
The
Jackie Smith,
Ms. Smith noted there were three individuals entitled to tax refunds due
to previously approved tax list corrections made by the Assessor. Commissioner Schroder made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Kreifels
to approve the following tax refunds: $124.38 to L & H Properties; $465.12
to Bobbie Lee; $1043.86 to Ardys Brugman.
There being no further discussion, Chairman Haverty
called for a vote. Voting aye were Commissioners Schroder,
Haverty and Kreifels. Nay – none. Motion carried.
Pat Haverty, Executive Director of River
Country Economic and Development Corp, (RCEDC) came before the Board to give a
quarterly report for the quarter ending September 2008. The second Annual
Southeast Nebraska Regional Economic Development Summit was held on August 12th
at the Peru State College campus. Eighty-six people attended including service
providers, economic development professionals, elected officials and interested
citizens. He applied for a BECA (Building Entrepreneurial Communities Act)
grant this past quarter. Several communities partnered together as a region for
this grant including
Roy Schneider, Administrator of Duff Nursing Home, returned before the
Board to review two quotes he obtained for installation of electrical outlets
in the nursing home. In August, he reported to the Board that the State Fire
Marshal made a determination that relocatable power
taps are not permitted in residential areas of health care facilities.
Therefore, new outlets need to be installed in the residents’ rooms in order to
meet the fire code. The quote submitted by Moore Electric/Refrigeration,
Neil Stedman, who was in the audience, said he mailed a letter to each
Commissioner asking them to study the matter of wind energy before adopting
zoning regulations regarding wind generators. He has researched websites and
attended a few informational meetings where he has heard negative aspects to
the wind towers. With the push on “going green” the news media and wind energy
companies only tell the positive aspects. However, there are some issues to be
concerned about, such as public health and noise. He felt construction of the
wind towers would bring a halt to further development in that area and urged
the Board to use caution before defining zoning regulations for wind towers.
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 Schroder made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Kreifels
to adjourn the meeting, until the next one, which will be on October 28,
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 14th day of October 2008.
Janene Bennett
Otoe