NOTICE OF MEETINGS

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 8:25 a.m. on December 22, 2009. The Otoe County Board of Commissioners will convene in regular session at 8:30 A.M. on December 22, 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

 

 8:25 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)

    Jackie Smith, County Treasurer: Discussion and/or action RE: Application for Exemption from MV taxes  

************************************************************************************************************************

                                                            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

 8:35 a.m. – Marv Pesek, VA Officer: Discussion and/or action RE: Vacancy of secretarial position

 8:45 a.m. – Jacki Schmitz: Discussion and/or action to approve grant application for juvenile services

 8:50 a.m. – Discussion and/or action to make a recommendation to the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission

                          to approve a Manager Application for Jerry W Wurtele dba Jerry Wurtele Distributors

 9:00 a.m. – Lynn Denniston, Lead Supervisor: Road and Bridge matters:

1)      Discussion and/or action RE: Request for installation of stop signs at intersection C-28

2)      Discussion and/or action to appoint crew supervisor for Nebraska City Road Shop

3)      Miscellaneous

     

Other business matters to address when time allows:

       

         Discussion and/or action RE: Offer received to purchase former Dept of Labor building located at

            905 3rd Corso in Nebraska City

         Discussion and/or action RE: Request to donate historical bridge to Cancer Survivor Park

         Discussion and/or action RE: County policy for placing 911 address signs at non-residential sites

         Miscellaneous Correspondence and other matters that may come before the Board

 

After the regular meeting, the Commissioners will have a round table discussion with SENDD and others regarding the heating/cooling system at the courthouse and the possibility of applying for federal stimulus funds. After the meeting, the Commissioners will be hosting a luncheon for employees. 

 

 

 

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.   

 

 

December 22, 2009

 

The Otoe County Board of Commissioners convened in regular session at 8:30 a.m. on December 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 at least three public places. 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 Lade made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Kreifels 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.

 

Marv Pesek, Veterans Service Officer, announced that his current secretary will be retiring effective January 15, 2010. He said he does not intend to hire anyone immediately. He would like to research various software packages that provide an automated filing system. He believes such a system will reduce the amount of time needed for clerical labor, so the position may become part-time only. He estimated the cost for new software and hardware to be $2500 to $3000; however, this cost would be offset by not paying a secretary during this interim period.  He has not met with the Veterans Committee to discuss his plans for automation, but he will be making the same recommendation to them.  In the meantime, he plans to install an answering machine to take messages when he cannot be in the office.

 

Jacki Schmitz, who is contracted with the County to write grant applications for juvenile services, came before the Board to review an application for a grant that would finance the proposed CARE program in Otoe County. Ms. Schmitz explained that Judge O’Neill, who handles juvenile cases, initiated this concept in Sarpy County. The CARE (Children and Risk Education) Program is designed to provide intensive supervision for juveniles by means of an electronic monitoring device. The program is set up in four levels. First, each juvenile is fitted with a device in accordance with the judge’s disposition. Basically, they are grounded to their homes, work, church and school; all other activities must be pre-approved. They will be contacted at least once a day by someone from the Sheriff’s office. After passing Level One, they will progress to Levels Two, Three and Four. Each level will provide them with more free time for outings and fewer contacts from the Sheriff’s Office. The estimated cost for sponsoring this program is $6 to $6.75 per day compared to $170 a day for safekeeping of a juvenile in a detention center. Otoe County Attorney Partsch said he averages about 12 juvenile cases per year. Ms. Schmitz said this grant does not require matching funds; however, she allowed 402 hours of overtime per year in her grant application. The grant would cover a 5 year program with the first 2 years being funded entirely by grant money. Grant funding would gradually decrease for the next 3 years, giving the County time to track the program and determine whether it is a feasible option. Sheriff Gress said he was not sure how much time it will take for his staff to make the required contacts. Attorney Partsh said the program should reduce the amount of time the deputies spend transporting juveniles back and forth to detention centers; thus offsetting the additional time spent for monitoring. Ms. Schmitz said the grant deadline is January 8, 2010; however, if the County decides not to participate in the program, the grant could be declined. Commissioner Lade made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Freshman to authorize the Chairman to sign the grant application on behalf of the County. 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.

 

The County Clerk received a copy of an application being made by Jerry W Wurtele Jr to be the manager for Wurtele Distributors Inc. Since the business maintains a liquor license under the County’s jurisdiction, the Liquor Control Commission has requested that the County Board make a recommendation to approve or deny Wurtele’s application. Mr. Wurtele, who was present at the meeting, said the application was necessary to change the manager’s name on the liquor license since the business is changing ownership from Jerry Wurtele Sr to Jerry Wurtele Jr. There being no objections, Commissioner Freshman made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Kreifels to make a recommendation to the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission to approve Jerry W Wurtele Jr’s application to be named as the Manager of Wurtele Distributors Inc, located at 6142 Hwy 75, Nebraska City, NE. 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 said she received a note from the State’s Building Division offering the County first chance to purchase the former Department of Labor building located at 905 3rd Corso in Nebraska City. Ms. Crook said she initially contacted the State about the building when she was trying to determine if the County needed additional offsite storage space. Since then, the Board has decided to utilize the road shop for storage and not purchase any more buildings. Commissioner Kreifels made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Crook to send a note to the State’s Building Division declining their offer to purchase the former Department of Labor building. 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 received word from the Nebraska Historic Bridge Division that there are no stipulations to prevent the County from donating the historical bridge stored at the Lorton Shop to the Cancer Survivor Park as requested by Margaret Spires since the project is being financed by state funding.

 

Commissioner Lade questioned if the County had a policy for installing 911 address signs at non residential sites. Supervisor Denniston said although the current adopted 911 Addressing Policy does not address the placement of signs at non-residential sites it has been past practice to install signs at these sites when requested by a landowner or when a building permit is issued suggesting that a sign is needed. The cost has been assessed to the landowner at $15 per sign. Chairman Nelsen asked Denniston to get a more firm price of what it costs to install a sign, including materials, labor and vehicle expenses. After the information is compiled, the Board will determine who should pay the cost; then amend the current 911 policy to document the procedure.

 

Commissioner Lade said Engineer Mark Mainelli was still evaluating the intersection at C-28 to determine whether the placement of stop signs is necessary for traffic control. If the determination is positive, a resolution will be prepared for a later meeting setting forth instructions where the signs should be placed.

 

Chairman Nelsen announced that Wally Pohlman has requested to be relieved of his supervisory duties in the Road Department and be allowed to become a motor grader operator until he retires. Chairman Nelsen recommended appointing Chad Watkins as his replacement with a 6 month probationary period. Commissioner Crook made motion, seconded by Commissioner Freshman to appoint Chad Watkins as the Crew Supervisor of the men working out of the Nebraska City Shop to become effective January 1, 2010. At that time, Watkins’ pay will increase to the Supervisor’s rate and Pohlman will receive the hourly rate of an operator. 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 Freshman noted that he was approached by Dan Patton from the Nebraska City Utilities to partner with them in a grant application to purchase right-of-way clearing equipment through an NDEQ Waste Reduction and Recycling Incentive Program. The County participated last year when the Utilities purchased a wood chipper that both entities could share; however, the grant requires reapplication every year. Chairman Nelsen will sign a letter and forward it to the N C Utilities to include in their grant application packet.

 

At 9:20 a.m. Chairman Nelsen called for a short recess. He announced that the full board will discuss plans and procedures regarding ice and snow removal in the event the anticipated snow storm occurs as predicted. At 10:30 a.m. Commissioner Freshman and Commissioner Nelsen will meet with a SENDD representative and a boiler consultant to discuss grants available for installing an energy efficient heating and cooling system in the courthouse and jail facility.

 

At 9:30 a.m. the meeting resumed with all members being duly noted as present.

 

It was noted that former Otoe County Commissioner, Arlen Ross, passed away on December 16, 2009. He was elected to office in 1994 and served one term.

 

Chairman Nelsen called in Gregg Goebel, Emergency Management Director, to give Board Members an updated weather report. He said the National Weather Service is forecasting freezing rain to begin at 6:00 a.m. Wednesday morning. Adding rain to the snow and ice already on the ground could cause flooding. The next storm should hit on Thursday with an accumulation of 6 to 24 inches of snow and winds from 35-40 mph. Supervisor Denniston has contacted several private contractors to be on call for snow removal if it becomes too much for the road crew to handle. Denniston was given authority to call in help as he deems necessary. All three supervisors were instructed to keep a county truck at their residence since they will be on call throughout the week; the blade operators will be allowed to take their machines home as well.

 

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 9:38 am. The next regular meeting will be held on January 12, 2010.

 

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 December 2009.

 

 

 

Janene Bennett

Otoe County Clerk