PUBLIC HEARING



LYONS CITY COUNCIL MEETING

March 8, 2018

A regular meeting of the Mayor and Council of the City of Lyons was called to order by Mayor Fuston at 5:31 P.M., March 8, 2018, at the Lyons City Hall. Present were Council members Housh Sr, Brink, and Wheaton. Steinmeyer was absent. Also in attendance were Attorney Smith, Chief Buck, City Clerk Ritter, and Utility Superintendent Daberkow.

Visitors at the meeting were Jessica Crimmins of Lyons Mirror Sun, Mike Heavrin, Officer Terry Poland, Pat Nelson and Dave Nelson of Nelson Construction, Brian Depew of Center for Rural Affairs, Josue Mendez, James Bensinger, Bill Hedges, Emilee Pease, Shawn Vetick, Dave and Beverly Armstrong, Carol Carr, Richard Henninger, Lori Wheaton, and Brenda Wheaton.

The meeting was called to order upon motion by Wheaton, second by Housh Sr. All council members present voted yes on roll call.

Mayor Fuston publicly stated to all in attendance that a current copy of the Nebraska Open Meetings Act was available for review and indicated the location of such copy posted in the room where the meeting was being held. Advance notice of said regular meeting was given to the Mayor and all members of the Council, and a copy of their receipt of such notice and the agenda is filed in the City Clerk’s office. Availability of the agenda was communicated by posting notices in three public places and in the notice to the Mayor and Council. All proceedings hereafter shown were taken while the convened meeting was open to the attendance of the public.

Moved by Wheaton, seconded by Brink to approve the following consent agenda:

1. Dispense with reading of minutes of meetings held on February 6.

2. Claims as presented.

3. Treasurer report.

4. Clerk Report of Mayoral Action of February 6 meeting: Resolution No. 2018-1: One & Six Year Plan was signed.

All council members present voted YEA.

CLAIMS: CNA AUTOMOTIVE suppl 4,850.40, CENTER POINT LARGE PRINT books 258.84, FRICKENSTEIN PUMPING serv 70.00, LYONS MIRROR-SUN publ 248.89, POWERPLAN maint 1,400.98, QUALITY PRINTING suppl 56.96, T SQUARE SUPPLY suppl 32.00, UNITEDHEALTHCARE ins 12,372.41, VERIZON serv 127.41, AMERICAN BROADBAND serv 444.20, BURT COUNTY SHERIFF fee 20.00, C & J AUTO maint 3,080.00, DANIEL A SMITH fee 1,000.00, GALLS suppl 449.99, KB'S MINI MART gas 1,254.37, LAURA ROGERS serv 973.00, MIDWEST SERVICE & SALES maint 789.90, NE DEPT OF HHS pool license 40.00, OFFICE NET copier 3,731.00, OLSSON ASSOCIATES fee 792.00, SAVEMORE MKT suppl 54.81, STEINY'S GENERAL suppl 335.50, ALLY police car 757.22, WESTERN AREA POWER ADMIN elec 5,792.55, EXLINE maint 301.67, FIRST NORTHEAST BANK OF NEBR water bond p&i 32,881.25, JENSEN PLUMBING & HEATING serv 75.00, LINCOLN FINANCIAL ins 430.08, NPGA nat gas 78,833.46, NPPD elec 41,738.89, OHIO NATIONAL LIFE retirement plan 1,071.07, UTILITY SAFETY & DESIGN maint 928.60, WESCO suppl 163.71, IAMU dues 353.00, BOMGAARS suppl 4.49, BURT COUNTY PUBLIC POWER elec 2,259.00, CENTURYLINK serv 48.82, CITY OF LYONS petty cash 11.31, CITY OF LYONS util 7,354.58, DHHS training 178.00, MATHESON TRI-GAS suppl 185.45, NEBRASKA PUBLIC HEALTH testing 18.00, PENDER IMPLEMENT parts 27.75, US BANK/CORP PAYMENT SYSTEMS lodging 153.72, WASTE CONNECTIONS serv 6,108.45, NEBR DEPT OF REVENUE sales tax 12,151.26, TOTALFUNDS BY HASLER lease 19.99, WILBURN DYER exp reimb 31.66, CITY OF LYONS total payroll 30,586.67, EFTPS payroll tax 8,294.88, NEBR DEPT OF REVENUE payroll tax 1,139.06.

James Bensinger thanked the Council for having the City Code on the City’s website. First, he had questions from City Code Section 2-205 through 2-208 on regulation of the Housing Authority. Questions were answered. Then he stated he has lived here for three and a half years and wasn’t told about a flat rate system (budget plan) for the power bill. A utility customer can request to be added to the budget plan in June if they have no outstanding utility bills and have lived at the same residence for at least one year. Bensinger’s complaint was that customers on a budget plan pay the same amount each month, while customers not on budget and don’t pay by the 25th have penalties charged to their account. He requested to have three or four extra days before penalties were charged since he is on social security disability and receives his check on the fourth Wednesday of the month. He requested to have his penalty waived until the 30th of the month. The Mayor stated no because if we did that for you then we would need to do it for everyone else. Bensinger had other complaints he wanted to discuss such as Section 6-331: Misdemeanors; Excessive Noise and Section 5-302: Vehicle; Muffler. These topics were not listed on the agenda and was advised to contact the police department.

Lori Wheaton presented a listing of 84 signatures on a petition to save a building downtown (named “Do NOT tear down the Stillman Building located at 257 Main St, Lyons, NE; Would you be willing to donate…money or an in kind donation of labor/other?”) These citizens are interested in the future of Lyons downtown buildings. They are in the process of setting up a donation account at First Northeast Bank under “Save the Historic Downtown Lyons” along with filing for a 501C3 organization soon. Then hopefully this organization will be accepted under the umbrella of the Lyons Community Foundation to accept tax-exempt donations. The Mayor thanked them for their efforts.

Brian Depew spoke on behalf of Josue Mendez. Mr Depew helped Mr Mendez with the bid proposal presented at the meeting to repair the roof of the Stillman Building at 257 Main St, to relocate his current business in Fremont, JRM Construction LLC, into the building in exchange for ownership of the property. Mendez requested the City to pay $10,000 for materials and dumpster fees while he will put in $15,000 for labor to repair the roof. Depending on weather and start date, he could complete the roofing project by May 30th. He would enter into a contract with the City of Lyons for a timeline on the roof repairs and terms for transfer of ownership. The Mayor stated this was a win-win situation: a partnership with the City, repairing the roof, a new business and family in Lyons, and the property back on the tax roll. The Council President asked who would have oversight of the roof repair so it’s completed correctly due to neighboring buildings on two sides. The building would be repaired to code with oversight by Ron Daberkow. Dan Smith drew up the contract. Motion by Wheaton, seconded by Housh Sr to accept proposal as set forth in contract with cost to City not to exceed $10,000; and deeding the building/property according to contract. All council members present voted yes.

Motion by Brink, seconded by Housh Sr to accept the recommendation of the DTR Advisory Committee to hire the planning firm of Hanna:Keelan Associates, P. C. to complete the Downtown Revitalization Study for CDBG grant 17-PP-006. YEA: Wheaton, Housh Sr, and Brink. NAY: None. Absent: Steinmeyer.

Chief Buck presented the police report. Officer Terry Poland spoke of what a School Resource Officer (SRO) is and their responsibilities/duties. Oakland School is looking into a SRO and Mr Hansen of Lyons Decatur School District has some interest, yet it would need to be discussed and voted on by the school board. The cost for a SRO could be split between four entities--the two schools and the two cities, with an agreement. Mr Heavrin will be researching grants for a SRO position if needed.

Mike Heavrin presented the Library Report. Form 486 of the 2018-2019 E-Rate process was submitted. The Library’s internet speed will increase to 100x100 Mbps at $200 per month for five years. With the increase in internet speed, a new router will be purchased. Grants Report: The City will receive up to $30,000.00 in a Downtown Revitalization (DTR) Planning grant. The Advisory Committee was appointed and recommended Hanna:Keelan as the Planning Firm for the council to approve. Next, a contract will be signed by the City and planning firm. Jan Merrill of NENEDD will be working with the approved planning firm on a timeline of events so the City can apply for the implementation grant due in September.

Lyons Spring Clean-Up is scheduled for April 21, 2018, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. behind the Recycling Center. The four-person utility crew are all qualified now to work on and operate the City gas system. The two people terminated last year need to be included on the gas system list for five years at $10 each for liability reasons. On March 1st in Lincoln, NPGA Board members voted to ask for a service and overall gas pricing comparison from NMPP and KPGA by the end of March. Then a special meeting will be scheduled in early April to vote on whether to move to KPGA or stay with NPGA.

City Clerk Ritter reported on the General, Utility, and Debt Service Income Statements for the month ending February 28, 2018. The General side had a month to date net gain of $56,561 and a year to date net loss of $62,571. The Utility side had a month to date net loss of $6,862 and a year to date gain of $81,464. Debt Service had a month to date net gain of $6,590 and a year to date net loss of $67,509. Budget reports for the fifth month on the General, Utility, and Debt Service side were as follows: General Receipts were 23.89%. General Expenses were 27.86%. Utility Receipts were 44.23%. Utility Expenses were 37.15%. For Debt Service Fund, the budget will be adjusted by 1,760,000 for receipts and disbursements due to the refunding/refinancing of the Pool Bond. Five month benchmark was 41.6% of total fiscal year budget.

Motion by Brink, seconded by Housh Sr to approve the Request for Records Form with the fees of twenty-five cents (.25) per black/white page and seventy-five cents (.75) per colored page, and additional wording above the requester’s signature line that the City Office has up to five business days to provide the information as per State Statute Section 84-712 through 84-712.09. All council members present voted yes on roll call.

Discussion was held on possible guidelines/policy for walkers in the Lyons Community Center especially during the winter months. The salt to melt the ice and snow is tracked into the building causing white spots on the new floors where people walk. Since this is a public building, restricting access is not desirable. The guideline for walkers in the Community Center will be to have them bring a clean, dry pair of shoes to change into before walking when the weather is snowy and icy. Discussion was held on purchasing more rugs for the front lobby of the Community Center due to the tracking of salt, snow and ice. Allen Steinmeyer is looking into the cost of rugs. Discussion was held on the cleanup of the Community Center after the February 24, 2018 event in which snow fell the morning of the event causing a lot of wet salty spots in the center. After some discussion, the council decided to return the deposit money.

Motion by Wheaton, seconded by Housh Sr to approve a special designated Liquor License to Buzzsaw Inc for Courtney Beacom’s wedding event on June 16, 2018 at the Lyons Community Center. All council members present voted yes on roll call.

Council member Brink moved to enter into Executive Session, seconded by Housh Sr at 7:31 p.m. to discuss personnel. All council members present voted yes on roll call. The meeting returned to Regular session at 7:37 p.m. Motion by Brink, second by Wheaton to approve a 3% increase to Wil Dyer effective the first full pay period after his anniversary date. All council members present voted yes on roll call.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:38 p.m., upon motion by Wheaton, seconded by Brink. All council members present voted yes on roll.

Andrew Fuston, Mayor

Mary Lou Ritter, CMC

City Clerk

I, the undersigned, hereby certify that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of proceedings had and done by the Mayor and Council; that all of the subjects included in the foregoing proceedings were contained in the agenda for the meeting kept continually current and available for public inspection at the office of the Clerk; that such subjects were contained in said agenda for at least twenty-four hours prior to said meeting; that at least one copy of all reproducible material discussed at the meeting was available for examination and copying by members of the public; that the said minutes were in written form and available for public inspection within ten working days and prior to the next convened meeting of said body; that all news media requesting notification of the time and place of said meeting and subjects to be covered at said meeting.

Mary Lou Ritter, CMC

City Clerk

(SEAL)

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