OSMOND - The Osmond City Council held its monthly meeting on Monday, May 13. It began with a public hearing regarding the Conditional Use Permit for a Viaero mono-pole.
Clerk Brittney Timmerman explained there was no opposition received at the city office by the deadline and that the Planning Commission recommended approving the permit. After a brief discussion, the council voted to adopt Resolution 2024-4, granting a Conditional Use Permit to Industrial Tower West, LLC for constructing a 100-ft. mono-pole antenna support structure.
Eckstrom, Maintenance Crew Thanked
Clerk Timmerman informed coun- cil that the city had received a quote from JEO on updating its Wellhead Protection Plan, with the update options ranging from around $7,000 to $14,000. She stated that, thanks to maintenance worker Caleb Eckstrom reaching out to the Nebraska Rural Water Association, the city is able to have the updates done for free, since it pays yearly dues, saving the city from spending that money. After a brief discussion, council thanked Eckstrom for looking into having NeRWA assist Osmond with the updates.
Maintenance employee Eckstrom shared information on a locator tool that they learned about at a class they attended a month ago. He stated that the locator could be used to locate water and sewer lines in the commu- nity and be more beneficial than the current metal detector being used on certain projects.
The quote provided included the locator which has mapping features, along with GPS, a case and a geode.
Treasurer Timmerman asked if council was in favor for it to be budgeted in the next fiscal year budget before being purchased. After a brief discussion, the council approved purchase of the locator and equipment for $8,487.
Thanking the maintenance crew for all their hard work on painting and cleaning up the pool for the season was Councilman Neil Wattier. Wattier went on to explain that a new chlorine pump has been ordered and it has been quoted to be around $810. This was a requirement due to the city's current one not meeting state standards.
Wattier provided information on a new vacuum for the pool as well, since the current one isn't function ing well. The price range on a new automatic self-propelled vacuum can range from $1,700 to $2,500. Wattier also provided a quote on a shade shel ter that he has hoped to install to the west of the pool house, which came in around $7,541 for the shelter and concrete work. He hopes that people would utilize the picnic tables under the shelter to sit and eat there.
Council approved the purchase of the shade shelter and concrete using KENO funds. Council also approved the purchase of a new pool vacuum not to exceed $2,500.
Parks, Welcome Signs Discussed Repairs at Memorial Park, Poolside Park and the city welcome sign were discussed. It was decided that the swing seats at Poolside Park would be replaced, while the bench swing at Memorial Park will be brought up to American Legion Post 326 about repainting it. Maintenance workers will remove the dead trees/shrubs by the west welcome sign and wait for further instructions on what to plant as replacements.
Quotes were provided to council on the four park picnic tables that the Osmond Park Board had mentioned purchasing during last year's budget ing discussion. Treasurer Timmerman stated that Marv Kumm with the park board had submitted and received a grant from the Pierce County Visitors Bureau with $1,000 going towards new picnic tables and another $250 going to new mini excavators for the sandbox at the park. Council approved the purchase of two wheelchair accessible tables and two regular picnic tables.
Councilman Doug Schmit brought before the rest of council the idea of concreting Logan Street between Highway 20 and First Street, with Northeast Nebraska Tire and Trailer paying for two-thirds of the project and the City paying the other third. After some discussion of what the project would entail, it was then asked what the City's third of the project would CITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES VARIETY OF ISSUES cost. Schmit stated with the new concrete product they are wanting to use, it would be between $25,000 and $35,000. Treasurer Timmerman reminded council it would have to be let for bids if it’s $30,000 or more. This item is postponed until next month’s meeting so a more accurate quote can be received.
Cleanup Day Update Given Maintenance employee Wattier provided the Great American Cleanup Day update stating all the parking lines were painted except a few where a vehicle was parked. Curbs were painted as well as the helicopter landing pad.
No branches were picked up because of insurance liability reasons, so Wattier went around and collected any that were set out on the curb due to the advertisement in the paper.
It was then asked if that’s something council was wanting to continue and require the maintenance workers to pick up later or just discontinue and only do when a natural disaster happens. It was decided that branches and sticks will only be picked up after a bad storm happens.
City Website Update Proposed Clerk Timmerman provided a proposal to the council on updating the City’s website. She stated there are a few issues with the current one and had looked into updating and adding a few features to allow the agendas and minutes to be posted on it.
Best Point Web Designs quoted the website design for $3,950, with half to be paid at the beginning of the project and the other half paid upon completion. She stated the updates would increase the monthly hosting fee from $27.50 to $50.00. The council approved the proposal.
Alumni Weekend Issues Discussed The welcome banner was next on the agenda for discussion due to the alumni committee inquiring about displaying it for the upcoming alumni reunion on June 22. It was decided the Mayor and maintenance employees will handle this item.
Next, a Plan B for the Summerfest Chrome N Smoke Truck Show was discussed in case of rain. After some discussion, the council approved closing State Street from the alley by Lind-Gubbels to 4th Street from around 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The alumni committee had inquired about closing State Street and 3rd Street intersection for a street dance both Friday, June 21, and Saturday, June 22. Council approved closing that intersection from Friday, June 21, in the afternoon until early morning Sunday, June 23, for the alumni street dances. Council also approved the application for a Special Designated License as requested by 3rd Street Bar & Grill for the alumni banquet on June 22, and the application for a Special Designated License as requested by Main Street Alley LLC, 3rd Street Bar & Grill and Thomsen’s Corner for street dances on June 21 and June 22.
Insurance Required on Buildings It was discovered during Osmond’s FEMA closeout process that three of the City buildings now are required to have a Non-NFIP (National Floodplain Insurance Policy), and in addition, the old city office must have regular insurance coverage on the building.
Quotes were provided and after a brief discussion the council approved the quotes for the Non-NFIP coverage for the old city office, police office and wellhouse at the ballpark.
Council will allow Treasurer Timmerman and Insurance Agent Lisa Schmit to work on the insurance coverage for the structure at the old city office.
Fraud Test, Purchase Concerns Made
In reviewing city claims for the month, a few of the council members questioned a claim to Cindy Hoffman for reimbursements for office supplies in the amount of $1,000.00. Timmerman informed all of council that the “claim” submitted by Hoffman was a Fraud Test.
She explained after recent fraud/ theft issues with villages and municipalities, she contacted the City auditor in hopes to come up with a way to help train council on what to look for when approving claims that may be fraudulent. With the auditor’s approval, Timmerman will now once every quarter submit Fraud Test claims to help Council understand what to look for and ask questions about.
Treasurer Timmerman then shared information on a recent email string from other municipalities about issues with some their checks being “washed.” She explained that a check that gets lost or stolen in the mail is duplicated to look similar to the municipality’s check with their account information, and the municipalities are now having to stop payments and close accounts because of this.
Timmerman informed council of possible solutions to avoid these issues within the municipality, but wanted to get their input to help safeguard Osmond’s accounts. A few suggestions were mentioned and will be put into action in the coming weeks.
Timmerman expressed concerns about recent tool purchases being made in the past year. She stated that it seems as though the same tool sets that were purchased a few years ago were being purchased again and asked council to talk to the maintenance employees about being more cautious on losing or misplacing tools.
Other Items on Agenda
Resident Mike Enevoldsen addressed council about potholes along the gutters at the intersection of Logan and 6th Street. He asked if there’s any way to get these fixed. Maintenance worker Bert Wattier explained the city just received the first load of patch mix in and, weather pending, they’ve been able to patch a few spots here and there. They will continue as the weather cooperates to get the issue taken care of.
Up next to be discussed was dilapidated properties. Mayor Dennis Kuhl asked council for approval to move forward on condemning three properties in city limits. After discussion was had, council members voted to move forward with the health board starting the process to determine if these properties should be condemned.
Councilman Wattier informed everyone that the proposed pool opening date will be May 26th and the advertisement will run in the paper. He stated that the admission fees and pool hours will remain the same as last year.
An update on the community sign project was given. Councilman Schmit stated the project is at a halt as they have not been able to find a location for the old “Welcome to Osmond” sign. Suggestions were made and Schmit will report back another month with an update.
Discussion on the city cemetery was held regarding reclaiming open cemetery plots within block six. Clerk Timmerman mentioned someone had inquired about purchasing several in a row for their family and after reviewing all necessary documents, this block was the area they had thought would work. After discussion, the council approved moving forward with reclaiming the plots.
With updates being made to the City’s current Hazard Mitigation Plan and the first draft being available for council to review at the July council meeting, it was asked that the meeting time be moved up to allow for ample time to review and not be rushed. Council agreed that the meeting time for the July 8 meeting would be moved from 7:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Police Chief Tyler Wells presented a report on recent activity within the city, including two child welfare checks, one report of injured deer in a yard, one question on dilapidated property, one report of underage driver and one dog bite, to name a few. Chief Wells also informed council that the new portable radio purchased by the county will be in and he will be attending training on them this week in Pierce.
In other business, the council: — approved a request fromAmanda Schieffer to sell fireworks at the east edge of the Mini Mart lot adjacent to Highway 20 from June 24 through July 5.
— after a brief discussion on the City Clerk position still being open, approved the clerk ad being run in the Rocket newspaper.
— approved the application for a Special Designated License as requested by Pierce Legion for a wedding reception on June 8.
— reviewed the following building permits: Aschoff Construction, new house; John Kavanaugh, fence; William and Linda Swallow, garden shed, and Dale and Verona Howard (Mike and Rebecca Hamilton), front porch; Clerk Timmerman informed council one resident had a building permit denied due to exceeding the maximum building coverage in a residential zone.
— heard Mayor Kuhl state city sales tax for February 2024 was a total of $14,933.86 (of that amount $2,354.60 is from motor vehicle tax).
— heard one correspondence as reported by Clerk Timmerman was from Confluence congratulating the DTR Steering Committee and the City on being an award recipient for the 2024 NE APA Planning excellence award.
— went into closed session to discuss personnel matters.
— increased Police Chief Well’s salary $3,000 effective June 1, 2024, paycheck.
