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 April 10, 2001, in the Commissioner’s Room (202) 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                                            APRIL 10, 2001

                                                               

 

            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 regarding Road & Bridge matters

 

          10:00 a.m. – Rep for Brite Ideas: Discussion and/or action RE: Decorative Lighting of Courthouse

                                                            

          10:15 a.m. – Brian Briese, Consultant: Discussion and/or action RE: Recommendation to award bid                                                      

                                                                         for liability insurance

 

          11:00 a.m. – Discussion and/or action RE: Personnel matters & possible litigation

                                                                            (May go into executive session)

 

          11:30 a.m. – Convene as the Board of Equalization

                               Public Hearing: Permissive Exemption

                               Discussion and/or action RE: Protest petitions         

 

 

 

 

           Other business matters to address when time allows:

                 Jackie Smith, Treasurer: Pledged Securities and tax refund

                 Wayne Cole, Assessor: Tax list corrections

                 Miscellaneous Correspondence and other matters that may come before the Board

 

 

                       

                                                                                                                    Janene Bennett

                                                                                                                        Otoe County Clerk  

 

 

 

 

BOARD MINUTES    ARPIL 10, 2001

 

The Otoe County Board of Commissioners convened in regular session at 8:30 a.m. on April 10, 2001 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, Henry A Stratker.  Answering present at roll call were: Commissioner Stratker, Commissioner Giittinger, and Commissioner Schroder. None absent.

 

Commissioner Schroder made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Giittinger to accept the agenda as posted.  Voting -- Commissioners Stratker, aye; Giittinger, aye; Schroder, aye.  Motion carried.

 

Commissioner Schroder made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Giittinger to accept the minutes from the previous meeting as mailed to them and not have them read.  Voting -- Commissioners Giittinger, aye; Schroder, aye; Stratker, aye.  Motion carried.

 

Commissioner Schroder made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Giittinger to audit and sign payroll claims and regular claims unless otherwise noted.  Voting -- Commissioners Schroder, aye; Stratker, aye; Giittinger, aye.  Motion carried.

 

Bob Fleming, Highway Superintendent, Wally Pohlman and Rich Kuenning, Road Foremen, came before the Board to discuss road and bridge matters.

 

Due to a maintainer operator being absent for medical leave, Supt Fleming asked the Board’s permission to hire LeRoy Hammers (former county employee) as a part-time temporary to operate a road maintainer.  He would be called in to work only when needed.  Commissioner Giittinger made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Schroder to allow Fleming to hire Mr. Hammers on a part-time temporary basis at $11.20 per hour, the same rate of pay he was receiving when he retired.  Voting – Commissioners Stratker, aye; Giittinger, aye; Schroder, aye.  Motion carried.

 

Fleming noted that for the past few years, the road department has been allowed to hire employees’ college-aged children as part-time help for the summer. Commissioner Stratker questioned whether this position should be advertised.  The Board will seek the County Attorney’s advice.

 

Bob Kerns and Harold Johnson came before the Board to request the county’s aid in maintaining a ½ mile portion of Birch Road leading into what is locally known as Old Wyoming Campgrounds.  According to Kerns, representing the Camp Ground Association, the road is open to the public, but the campgrounds are not. There are currently 19 members who use the area on a year-round basis.  They have trailers set up for weekend camping, but none are considered a resident.  Kernes said that a 1953 map labeled this portion of roadway as minimum maintenance.  Johnson said that he had built the road up several years ago and it does have a good solid base. They presented a petition with over 135 signatures on it, asking that the road be rocked and maintained by the County. Fleming said that he found nothing in the County road records indicating when this road was opened; nor is there any record of the road being closed.  Commissioner Giittinger noted that, by definition, a minimum maintenance road should not be rocked, so the road classification would have to be changed to local road status before any rock could be applied.  Commissioner Giittinger and Supt Fleming will meet with the association members to review the matter further before taking any action.

   

David and Sherri Holland are planning to build a home approximately 500 feet east of Intersection K-60.  Presently, there is no road open beyond the intersection.  They appeared before the Board to inquire whether the County would open a road to their building site.  They were given two options. 1) The Hollands could hire someone to build the road up to state standards and have it rocked the first time.  Thereafter, the County would take over the maintenance of the road.  Or, 2), they could build a private driveway north of where the county road would lie, since that is part of their newly purchased property.  However, if the County should ever decide to build a road there, the Hollands would have to give up their private drive as county road right-of-way.  The Hollands will consider the options presented.

 

There was some discussion on what type of rock should be purchased and used on the county roads.  Clean road rock, no less than ¾ “ in diameter, is priced a $7.80 per ton.  Road stone, no less than ¼ “ diameter, may be purchased for $7.40 per ton, while crusher run, containing fine chips, will cost $6.85 per ton. Foreman Pohlman said that he preferred the crusher run because when the crushed rock turned to powder and became wet, it would form a hard crust on the road’s surface. Others felt that the crusher run created too much dust and did not hold up as well. As a result, the roads need to be rocked more often. The Board agreed to direct Fleming to purchase and use the smaller road stone, believing that the county would have better roads and save money in the long run.

   

It has been determined that the County Board should advertise for bids for any services exceeding $10,000 in a given year.  Therefore, sealed bids will be accepted for the service of providing labor, a tractor and fuel to pull a county-owned drag grader and sheep foot roller over county roads. The bids will be opened at the April 24th meeting.

 

There was some discussion regarding plans to rebuild Ivy Road leading to St. Benedict’s Cemetery.  Don and Theresa Kreifels, who are landowners on the north side of the road, say that there is a discrepancy between the State ROW markers and the flags that the County Surveyor has set out.  They claim that the County will be encroaching into their field if they follow the boundary lines of the County Surveyor, Dave Schmitz.  In defense, Schmitz said that he researched the county road book and recalculated his readings to confirm that his survey was accurate. He spoke with Gene Thomsen of the State Dept of Roads, who admits that the state markers could be incorrect. The State has agreed to verify the markers. The Kreifels asked to be on the agenda for the April 24th meeting.  In the meantime, they will hire a private surveyor to resurvey the property and consult with their lawyer.

 

Fleming presented an Engineering Agreement and Program Resolution regarding the replacement of Bridge #53230 just west of Intersection P-60.  Mainelli Wagner & Associates has been hired to perform the engineering services.  Estimated cost is $298,250.  The County’s out-of-pocket cost will be minimal, as the project has been accepted for federal aid and soft match credit.  Commissioner Schroder made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Giittinger to authorize Chairman Stratker to sign Resolution 2001-13 and the Engineering Agreement accepting the terms and conditions for federal aid funding.  Voting – Commissioners Stratker, aye; Giittinger, aye; Schroder, aye.  Motion carried.

 

Doug Damme came before the Board to inquire whether the Board had made a decision on what measures would be taken to alleviate a drainage problem north of Intersection O-38. To properly fix the problem, the old tube should be dug out and lowered. Commissioner Giittinger said that he has tried to contact one of the property owners to get permission to enter onto his property, but has had no response.  It was suggested that if the road were built up to a higher level, the tube would not have to be laid as deep and maybe the back hoe could work from the road without going on private property.  Commissioner Giittinger, Supt Fleming and Mr. Damme will meet at the site to further study the situation.

 

A few years ago, Jody Maybee purchased property in the Minersville area from Don Bassinger.  At that time, he was told that there used to be a county road running from Leonard Bassinger’s house to the Minersville Road. Don Bassinger thought the road had been closed sometime in the 1950’s.  After researching the county road book, Fleming could not find any record of this road ever being closed or abandoned.  Mr. Maybee is now asking the Board’s permission to put up a gate across the area where the road used to be. He said that he would not put a lock on the gate.  He just wants to discourage teenagers, hunters, etc from littering and damaging his property. Don Crunk, who lives northeast of his property line, does not want a gate placed there.  County Attorney, Max Kelch, suggested that the County Board consider holding a public hearing before making a decision. In this way, all interested parties would have a chance to express their concerns.

 

The representative from Brite Ideas cancelled his 10:00 a.m. appointment.

 

Other business matters were addressed at this time.

 

Jackie Smith, County Treasurer, requested the following transactions regarding pledged securities: Release pledged securities with American National Bank, Nebraska City in the aggregate amount of $250,000 and replace them with a single pledging of $383,473.29. Commissioner Schroder made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Giittinger to sign Resolutions 2001-14 approving said transactions.  Voting – Commissioners Giittinger, aye; Schroder, aye; Stratker, aye.  Motion carried.

 

Ms. Smith then presented a tax refund for approval. Commissioner Giittinger made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Schroder to approve a tax refund for Watermeier Farms Inc, in the amount of $636.09 due to a clerical error.  Voting – Commissioner Schroder, aye; Stratker, aye; Giittinger, aye.  Motion carried. A 7800 JD tractor that was being assessed to them should have been assessed to the leasing company.

 

County Assessor, Wayne Cole, presented two tax list corrections for approval; one regarding the “in lieu of taxes” being paid by OPPD, and the second one regarding property that was still being assessed to a landowner after it had been sold to the State for ROW.  Commissioner Giittinger made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Schroder to approve the tax list corrections as presented.  Voting – Commissioners Giittinger, aye; Schroder, aye; Stratker, aye.  Motion carried.

 

Brian Briese, insurance consultant who was hired to write specifications for the County’s liability/property insurance package, came before the Board to give a brief overview of his analysis report.  After making a formal study of the County’s previous policy, he recommended an increase in coverage for various buildings as well as workman’s comp. The only bid submitted was from Miller-Monroe Co., agent for Employers Mutual. Briese stated that Employers Mutual is a very good company that can offer broad coverage and viable products for county government.  Therefore, Mr. Briese recommended that the County award the bid for providing liability/property insurance to Miller-Monroe Co. Commissioner Schroder made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Stratker to award the bid to Miller-Monroe Insurance Co, for the quoted annual premium of $106,473 with an effective policy date of April 17, 2001 and automatic renewal for the next two years.  Voting – Commissioners Stratker, aye; Giittinger, aye; Schroder, aye.  Motion carried.

 

At 11:03 a.m. Commissioner Schroder made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Giittinger to go into executive session to discuss possible litigation with the County Attorney and the County Assessor.  Voting – Commissioners Schroder, aye; Stratker, aye; Giittinger, aye.  Motion carried.

 

At 11:43 a.m. Commissioner Schroder made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Giittinger to go back into regular session.  Voting—Commissioners Stratker, aye; Giittinger, aye; Schroder, aye.  Motion carried. 

 

No action was taken while in executive session.

 

There being no further business to come before the Board at this time, and since all items on the agenda have been disposed of, Henry A Stratker, Chairman of the Board, declared this meeting adjourned, until the next one, which will be on April 24, 2001.

 

At 11:45 a.m. a meeting for the Board of Equalization was called to order by Chairman Henry A. Stratker.  Answering present at roll call were Commissioner Stratker, Commissioner Schroder, and Commissioner Giittinger.

 

A public hearing was held for the purpose of considering approval or disapproval of the application by Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church of Burr, requesting exemption from real estate and/or personal property taxes.  According to the County Assessor, Wayne Cole, the application form was not received in his office by the January 1st deadline, however, they did meet the requirements for exemption.  Within the Property Tax Administration rules, Cole said the Church should be penalized $300 for being three months late in submitting their application form. Russell Moss, David Antholz and Pastor Mary Grundman spoke on behalf of the Church.  They said that there were problems with the form being mailed to the right person. After the form finally reached the minister, it was promptly returned. The group asked that the Board waive the penalty. The Board of Equalization reviewed State Statute 77.202.01 which states that “…the county board of equalization may assess a penalty against the organization…for each calendar month or fraction thereof for which the filing of the application missed the January 1 deadline.” Deeming the Church’s explanation for the untimely filing to be valid, Commissioner Schroder made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Stratker to grant exemption to the Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church and to waive the penalty. Voting – Commissioners Giittinger, aye; Schroder, aye; Stratker, aye.  Motion carried.

 

There being no further business to come before the Board of Equalization, Chairman Stratker declared the meeting adjourned at 12:00 p.m.

 

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 10h day of April 2001.