Regular Meeting
July 1, 2008
The
Mayor and Council of the City of Fairbury met in regular session in the
Council Chambers located at 612 D Street, Fairbury, Nebraska, on the 1st
day of July, 2008, at 7:30 p.m. Mayor LaVeda L. Fry called the meeting to
order.
Notice of meeting was given in advance thereof by publication in the
Fairbury Journal News, Fairbury, Nebraska, the designated method of giving
notice, as shown by affidavit of publication. The Open Meetings Act was
posted in the meeting room as required by law.
Roll call found the following Council Members present: Doug Brown, Ed
Friesen, Ron Byrd, Don Trimm, Shirley Bender, and Tim Polson. Absent: Nick
Schacht. City Attorney David Bargen and Deputy City Attorney Mark Fahleson
were sworn into office by Mayor LaVeda L. Fry, who administered the Oath of
Office to Bargen and Fahleson.
Mayor Fry called for the submittal of forms to request future agenda items.
No forms were submitted during the meeting.
Mayor Fry read the Consent Agenda:
1.
Approval of the minutes of the regular meeting of June 17, 2008.
2.
Approval of claims.
Bender stated she wants to amend the minutes of June 17, 2008. Bender
stated that when they had discussed the lawyers and if we should approve
them she had asked the Mayor if anyone locally had been asked; to which the
Mayor had replied no.
Mayor Fry stated that when they were looking for a City Attorney, when they
appointed Tobias Tempelmeyer, no one was interested; so she didn’t think
anything had changed in that time. Bender asked Fry “then no one locally
was asked” to which Fry replied “no and no one had volunteered either.”
Trimm made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda with the amendment to the
minutes. Motion seconded by Byrd. On roll call, Brown, Friesen, Byrd,
Trimm, Bender, and Polson voted “yes.” Schacht absent. Motion carried.
Byrd made a motion to approve the resignation of Chad Nelson as Councilman
in Ward IV with regrets. Motion seconded by Trimm. On roll call, Brown,
Friesen, Byrd, Trimm, Bender, and Polson voted “yes.” Schacht absent.
Motion carried.
Dan
Duren with Benefit Management was present to discuss the Investment Policy
Statement for the City of Fairbury Section 457 Employee Plan and the City of
Fairbury Employee Pension Plan. The Retirement Plan Committee, the Board of
Public Works (BOPW) and the Finance Committee have approved this policy.
Duren mentioned that this policy will help clean up some of the pension
administrative issues. Polson made a motion to approve the Investment
Policy Statement. Motion seconded by Friesen. On roll call, Brown,
Friesen, Byrd, Trimm, Bender, and Polson voted “yes.” Schacht absent.
Motion carried.
Discussion was held regarding Option 2 of the Vesting Schedule for the
Pension Plan. The Retirement Plan Committee, the Board of Public Works
(BOPW) and the Finance Committee have approved this policy. Duren stated
the City currently has a five year cliff vesting schedule which is no longer
available in the private sector. Option 2 is the most popular vesting
schedule which you begin vesting 20% after the second year of employment and
adding 20% every year thereafter to be 100% vested after the sixth year.
Bender mentioned that at the Finance Committee they had previously agreed to
wait until next year to bargain with the unions. Bender wanted to let the
public know that at the meeting tonight it was voted on 2 to 1 with herself
voting against the Vesting Schedule change. Polson stated that he had
changed his vote since the BOPW and the Investment Committee had approved
it. Duren mentioned that we didn’t have the procedures in place before;
that we are just trying to clean this up. Trimm made a motion to approve
Option 2 of the Vesting Schedule. Motion seconded by Polson. On roll call,
Brown, Friesen, Byrd, Trimm, and Polson voted “yes.” Bender voted “no.”
Schacht absent. Motion carried.
Philip Lorenzen with D.A. Davidson & Company was present to answer any
questions regarding the bond counsel for the street projects. Lorenzen
mentioned that it is really investment counsel. Lorenzen stated that our
community is healthy in terms of debt relationships. City Administrator Jim
Ferneau stated we have two street projects and also the Industrial Park
where we could use their services. Byrd made a motion to approve the
agreement with D.A. Davidson & Company. Motion seconded by Brown. On roll
call, Brown, Friesen, Byrd, Trimm, Bender, and Polson voted “yes.” Schacht
absent. Motion carried.
Byrd made a motion to approve the 2 (15) minute parking spaces on the east
corner of 504 E Street. Polson wanted to know if the two spaces were side
by side. Julie Lambert with Lambert Vet Supply said they would be the first
two spaces going north on E Street. Motion seconded by Trimm. On roll
call, Brown, Friesen, Byrd, Trimm, Bender, and Polson voted “yes.” Schacht
absent. Motion carried.
Kevin Hergott with the Softball Association was present to discuss the bids
for the Fairbury Softball Complex Restroom Improvements project. Hergott
mentioned this has been an on going project. They had started out with
$30,000.00 from the Keno fund. They had also gotten some from the Games &
Parks totally $54,000.00 all together. They are ready to move forward using
the low bids totaling $67,357.20. They are working with the Games & Parks.
The Fairbury Softball Association would also like to attempt to receive
additional grant funding through the Peter Kiewit Foundation. If they are
successful in the grant application, they will sub out the installation of
the roof. If not, they will be doing the work themselves on the roof and
with volunteer help. Hergott also mentioned that the financing for the
extra money needed for the project has been taken care of; they will get a
loan from the bank. Byrd made a motion to approve the awarding of the bids
for the Fairbury Softball Complex Restroom project. Motion seconded by
Polson to accept all the bids on the right hand side of the revised summary
sheet totaling $67,357.20. Brown and Bender abstained. On roll call,
Friesen, Byrd, Trimm, and Polson voted “yes.” Schacht absent. Motion
carried. The following are the bids that were accepted:
Plumbing Petersen Plumbing $15,988.00
Petersen Plumbing $ 4,172.00 Extra Bathroom Stall
Concrete Jim Hergott Construction $17,375.50
Bricks & Doors Starr Masonry $13,000.00
Jim Hergott Construction $ 2,247.75 Doors
Roof (Material only) Scherbarth Ace $ 1,051.27 Post
Scherbarth Ace $ 1,613.53 Electrical
Daykin Lumber $ 7,914.15 Roof
Electrical Anything Electric $ 3,995.00
TOTAL $67,357.20
Trimm made a motion to
approve the Peter Kiewit Foundation Grant application for the Fairbury
Softball Complex Restroom Facilities. Motion seconded by Friesen. Brown
abstained. On roll call, Friesen, Byrd, Trimm, Bender, and Polson voted
“yes.” Schacht absent. Motion carried.
The City has received a
request to consider selling an empty lot from the adjacent property owner.
This lot was originally purchased by the City in 1999 for $500.00. With a
property that has a value of less than $5,000.00, the Council can sell the
property to a specified individual (without going through a bid process) if
they desire by passing a resolution, posting notice of the terms and
conditions of the sale, then confirming the sale through an ordinance.
Polson thinks to be fair to everyone we should advertise. Brown made a
motion to have the City Attorney David Bargen draw up a resolution for the
next council agenda for sealed bids regarding selling of the city owned
property at 819 A Street. Motion seconded by Byrd. On roll call, Brown,
Friesen, Byrd, Trimm, Bender, and Polson voted “yes.” Schacht absent.
Motion carried.
Bender made a motion to
pay the Southeast Nebraska Development District (SENDD) 2009 Membership Dues
out of LB840. Motion seconded by Trimm. On roll call, Brown, Friesen,
Trimm, Bender, and Polson voted “yes.” Byrd voted “no.” Schacht absent.
Motion carried.
Ferneau mentioned the
County wants our support in regards to applying for a grant for improvements
to the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) which would be 75% grant funded.
The local 25% would include both cash and in-kind contributions. The grant
application has to be turned into the State by July 15, 2008. The
Commissioners may want us to pay a portion if they do the EOC; but this
would come at a later date. The current facility is too small. Byrd made a
motion to give support to the County for Grant Application for Emergency
Operations Center Improvements. Motion seconded by Trimm. On roll call,
Brown, Friesen, Byrd, Trimm, Bender, and Polson voted “yes.” Schacht
absent. Motion carried.
Discussion was held
regarding options of the Jefferson County Economic Development Corporation (JCEDC)
LB840 note. Trimm stated JCEDC wants to meet with a couple representatives
from the Council in private which he doesn’t think would be appropriate.
Bargen stated in general it is not good policy to have “private” meetings
with councilpersons, and could violate the Open Meetings Act if a quorum is
present. Polson stated they should send us their proposals. Brown stated
the note is due July 17, 2008 and wants to know what needs to be done to
proceed. Bargen would like more time to go over the details. This will be
placed on the next council agenda.
Discussion was held
regarding contracting Law Enforcement for the City with the County. Mayor
Fry stated that this was for discussion only ~ that we’ve received some
figures from Nels Sorensen, Sheriff and it warrants looking over. Friesen
mentioned if we currently need to replace two or three police officers, if
we want to contract, we need to look into it, before we hire anyone. This
is an opportunity to comment if it’s a good or a bad idea to contract and
see what direction to go. Trimm had figures from before of the amount of
calls taken by both the Police Department and the Sheriff Department. It
averages that the Police have 3½ times more calls than the Sheriff. From
June 5, 2007 through June 5, 2008 the Police had 1343 calls and the Sheriff
had 426 calls. Polson mentioned this should also be discussed at the
Finance Committee and the Police Committee meetings. Polson says we need
input from everyone including the community. We need to check out
everything – if their would be dollars saved, the service we have now and
the service we would have; then we all need to get together to see if it
would be worth it or not. Byrd said we really need to study this; that the
Police and Sheriff each do different things; we would need to talk to them
to find out what they would do and what they would not do. Bender wanted to
know how long it took to work on the ambulance ~ six to eight months ~ so
this isn’t something that will happen right now – it will take time. Fred
Helmink from Fairbury Public Schools was concerned that they may make a
decision tonight. He mentioned it needs to be a long process to look at
data from organizations and to study every aspect. Polson would like to
talk to other communities that have done this to see how this has worked for
them. Mayor Fry stated that the League of Municipalities has said that
several cities have gone to this and it has worked very well. Citizen Pam
Schroeder says we need to talk to the citizens of the other communities that
have this and get their input also. We need to get input for several weeks
from everyone. Schroeder also mentioned in our own community, we need to
have citizens input and have a citizens committee to come before the Council
~ it shouldn’t just be a Council decision; it should also be the citizens.
Mayor Fry stated that it will be a very long process. Citizen Kent Preston
stated if going to do the contract; what is the length of the contract; we
need to remember the Sheriff is an elected official and the City would be
governed by the three commissioners ~ what would happen if a new sheriff or
new commissioners came in and didn’t want to do this; the City would then
have no control. Need to look at both sides and take the time to consider
the options. Police Chief Brooks Bryan said that in talking with Friesen,
we have to be open minded to possibilities; getting ideas in the way to do
things; looking at everything. He stated the Sheriff contract could work.
Bryan wants to know if we can make a commitment to the new officers that we
will be here in a year and what the budget can stand. Our budget for the
current fiscal year is $683,000.00 which is based on one police chief, five
dedicated officers, and a secretary. Ferneau mentioned we have a lot of
unmet needs in the community. Looking at different ways gives you the
ability to address other issues. Ferneau mentioned the budget in four to
five years we could be in a spot that we were two years ago and will have to
make serious considerations in what we do. The property tax valuations are
going up typically 1% this year and the sales tax is down from last year.
The majority of our costs are based off of payroll. Health insurance could
go up 15% unless we make some changes to the plan which we will try to
accomplish. Salaries go up 3%. When expenses go up more than the money
then you’re going to have problems. We’re not to the point in the next
year, budget wise that we can’t make the day to day cost, but that will
arise again in the future. Bryan said we should be able to survive for one
year with the reduced costs of the two resignations of the senior officers.
We have to work together to come up with some solutions and take it one step
at a time. We need to keep working through this and work together.
Discussion was held
regarding the roof for the Girl Scout Cabin. Ferneau mentioned we received
a bid from C & F Roofing for $6,100.00 to repair the roof. We have received
several complaints about the cabin this year. There is mold in the
building, which we would have to commit to eliminating, in order to make the
building usable again. The mold is a result of the roof leaking. The
building is also in need of rewiring which the utility crews could take care
of. If we want to fix this building, we would have to go out for bids.
Ferneau estimated that it could cost between $20,000.00 to $30,000.00 and
that their is Keno funds to help pay for this. Pam Schroeder mentioned that
while Ferneau is here until September he could write a grant to the State
Historical Society to see if they would have a grant available for something
like this. Brown said we should get input from citizens to see if they want
the structure repaired. Friesen made a motion to advertise for bids and to
set a Public Hearing for August 5, 2008. Motion seconded by Byrd. On roll
call, Brown, Friesen, Byrd, Trimm, Bender, and Polson voted “yes.” Schacht
absent. Motion carried.
Byrd made a motion to
accept the resignation of Douglas Klaumann as Sergeant with the Police
Department with regrets. Motion seconded by Trimm. On roll call, Brown,
Friesen, Byrd, Trimm, Bender, and Polson voted “yes.” Schacht absent.
Motion carried. Bender congratulated Klaumann on the advancement in his
career and he will be missed by the school program.
Trimm made a motion to
approve the filling of the Assistant Street Superintendent position. Brown
stated that Bender’s idea of monitoring the hours for each department was a
good idea; then we could come back and visit this again in a year. Motion
seconded by Polson. On roll call, Brown, Friesen, Byrd, Trimm, Bender, and
Polson voted “yes.” Schacht absent. Motion carried.
Within the City Administrator’s report, Ferneau mentioned the health
insurance renewal will be August 1, 2008. The premiums had a 26% increase
but was bargained down to 15%. We have options to consider, the drug card
and an HRA with the HSA account, to lower the premiums.
Within the Mayor’s report, Fry mentioned that we have three applicants for
the City Administrators position. They will start interviewing next
Wednesday.
Polson mentioned that Fire Chief Voss has delivered 15 gallons of paint to
him for the Girl Scouts to paint the fire hydrants.
Bender made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Motion seconded by Byrd. On
roll call, Brown, Friesen, Byrd, Trimm, Bender, and Polson voted “yes.”
Schacht absent. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 8:55p.m.
LaVeda L. Fry, Mayor
ATTEST: Sharyl Preston, City Clerk
