November 5, 2019 at 7:00 PM - CITY OF SEWARD

Discussion:  Mayor Eickmeier announced that a copy of the Agenda for this meeting is posted on the north wall of the Municipal Building and copies are available on the north wall where a copy of the Open Meetings Act is also posted for public inspection. He also noted that any citizen wishing to address the Council should come to the podium, state their name and address and limit their comments to five minutes. All remarks should be directed to the Mayor/Chairperson, who will then determine who will make any appropriate response. The City of Seward reserves the right to adjust the order of items on this agenda if necessary and may elect to take action on any of the items listed.

Discussion:  Lancaster County Waste took over the refuse hauling route of Von Busch & Sons Refuse, dba Ron's Refuse. The application is good through the end of the 2019 calendar year, at which time a new application will be filed to renew for the 2020 calendar year. They have submitted the required bond.

Discussion:  Fifteen applications were received for the position of Building/Zoning & Code Enforcement Director. Four formal interviews were conducted. Mr. Dworak was selected as the top candidate and Mayor Eickmeier and Planning Commission Chairman Ron Wallman conducted a separate interview.

Discussion:   Bids were publicly opened for this project on 10-18-19. Three bidders presented bids. The low bid was Gehring Construction at $969,093.16, which is 7.8% higher than the estimated cost. Experience with Gehring has been positive and would recommend award of bid for this project.  The intent is to start construction in June 2020.

Discussion:  The project is included in the current budgeted capital projects with the hope to have the work completed over the winter and early spring before summer golf.  The project includes deepening the golf pond and building a stabilized rock edge around the perimeter.

Discussion:  As part of a review by the Golf Course Team (Greg Butcher, Bob Core, Adam Bode, Jake Vasa, Cody Herald, Dan Kahler) it was recommended to review the need for renaming the Golf Course to provide a more contemporary name, a sense of place, and to further distinguish it from the Seward County Club. Numerous names were reviewed and the three final names that were forwarded on to the Parks and Recreation Committee were: Patriot Pines, Eagle Ridge, and Liberty Hills.  The Parks and Recreation Committee liked both Eagle Ridge and Patriot Pines.  The City hopes to finalize a new name (or retain the current one) and then purchase new merchandise, scorecards, and related material for the upcoming 2020 season and update signage along the roadways and online. Sample logos were generated by Sports Express and are attached hereto. Administration would like an indication of which route to go and a formal resolution would be brought forth at the next City Council meeting if a name change is in order.

Discussion:  With the addition of the City Engineer, Administration recommends removing the Building & Zoning Director from the Rail Campus Committee and adding the City Engineer.

Discussion:  Each year, the City must Certify the City's Street Superintendent. Nebraska Department of Transportation requires a resolution authorizing the Mayor to certify the naming of the Street Superintendent.

Discussion:  The City received a notice of retirement/resignation from Civic Center Manager, Randy Sanley, effective December 31, 2019. Administration deems it appropriate to review the job description and propose changes prior to posting the pending vacancy. The Civic Center Commission Chairman and two members of the Commission reviewed the proposed changes and approve.

Discussion:  The City Council approved a single job description for Public Properties Maintenance Worker (former job title of Public Properties Caretaker I & II), at the October 15, 2019 City Council meeting. The pay line is established in this ordinance with Step 1 of the prior Caretaker I and Step 9 of the prior Caretaker II. The steps between were adjusted to equalize distance between each step. If approved, employees in this job description will be placed on the step plan closest to their current wage, but not less than their current wage. The ordinance also corrects approved title changes in the Public Properties Department.

Effective January 1, 2020, the Department of Labor's new law takes effect for exempt employees, increasing the minimum wage an employee can earn and still qualify for exempt status. After review of the City's pay plan, we found three salaried exempt positions that will be out of compliance with the new law: Assistant Library Director, Civic Center Manager, and Golf Shop Manager. City Administration feels these positions qualify for exemption (meet the tests for status).  Proposed: Asst Library Director- increase Step 1; Civic Center Manager- increase Steps 1 and 2.  For both positions, equalize the remaining steps (no change to Step 9). Current employees are at Step 9, so there is no budgetary impact. The recommendation for the Golf Shop Manager is to increase Step 1 to the minimum required amount (which is just slightly above Step 5 on current plan) and add 4 additional steps with the current distance between Steps. The one employee currently at Step 5 will move back to Step 1 (at slightly above current wage). Budget impact is minimal.

Discussion:  Following review and discussion, a motion to accept the City Administrator's report would be in order.