July 6, 2021 at 7:00 PM - 1st Council Regular Meeting

1. Mayor Bergman calls meeting to order, with the "Pledge of Allegiance" and the "Open Meeting Statement" as required by NE State Statutes 84-1407 through 84-1414; Mayor Bergman also states that the City Council may vote to go into Closed Session on any agenda item as allowed by NE State Statute 84-1410. 

2. Submittal of Request for Future Agenda Items

3. Reserve time to Speak on an Agenda Item

4. Discuss - Approve / Deny Consent Agenda Items:
(1) June 21, 2021 Council minutes; 
(2) June 28, 2021 zoning permits; 
(3) July 6, 2021 disbursements; 
(4) Two (2) Special Designated Liquor (SDL) applications regarding: 1) Tall Tree Tasting - Denise Pahl (#122009) Beatrice, NE on Saturday, August 21, 2021 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. for a Birthday Party at the St. Paul Civic Center (423 Howard Avenue; 2) Howard County Medical Center Foundation (#47-0737522) on Saturday, September 25, 2021 from 5:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. for Dueling Pianos at the St. Peter & Paul Parish Hall (713 Elm Street.  Identification will be checked, along with wristbands being utilized for underage drinking and all Directed Health Measures (DHM) are to be followed if necessary.  Chief of Police Daniel Howard approved both SDL's; and (5) St. Paul Rescue Squad's 2021 Rate Change Request regarding EMT runs; the St. Paul Rescue Squad kept the current rates.

5. The Howard County Communication dispatcher wage has not been updated since the 2018-2019 budget, therefore, Howard County Commissioner Kathy Hirschman, Mayor Joel Bergman, Chief of Police Daniel Howard and City Clerk Connie Jo Beck met on Tuesday, June 29, 2021 to review and update the new dispatcher wage. 
Discuss the 2021-2022 Howard County Communication dispatcher wage of $3,122.42; this is formula based regarding the 2004 Interlocal Agreement for the Operation, Maintenance and Participation in the Howard County Communications Center (possible action).

6. Discuss - Approve / Deny accepting the American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds in the amount of $412,912; half (1/2) of the funds will be automatically deposited into the City's bank account possibly July 2021.  
a. Approve / Deny opening an ARP interest bearing account to transfer the funds; this will keep the bookkeeping cleaner.
b. Approve / Deny a special meeting date to discuss the utilization of the ARP funds. 

7. Discuss - Approve / Deny paying off Civic Center Loan #50354 balance of $11,765.23 from the Sales Tax fund.
a. Discuss - Approve / Deny paying additional principal on Civic Center Loan #50353 in future years; currently the Sales Tax fund is absorbing $64,087 annually for this loan.  On August 1, 2022 per the loan agreement, a new variable interest rate will be set according to the 3.25% below Homestead Bank base rate.

8. Discuss - Approve / Deny COR Managed Service (Doug Cramer) request to update the City's wireless equipment in the Council Chamber and City Office, along with moving the City employee emails from a physical server to Office 365 Cloud; the reasoning is for cyber security.  The cost to move 17 employee emails from the physical server to Office 365 Cloud would be an add cost of $100 per month to the current agreement.  COR Managed Services is also trying to get everyone off the office exchange server, due to security issues.  There would be a one (1) time fee of $1,000 to update the wireless equipment; and a one (1) time labor fee of $1,400 to move the employee's email to Office 365 Cloud.  The effective date would be October 1, 2021.

9. Discuss - Approve / Deny the St. Paul Police Department purchasing firearms, weapon mounted lights and gun holsters from Jack's Uniforms & Equipment, South Sioux City, NE; Jack's Uniform will give the St. Paul Police Department a credit of $900 for four (4) weapons (see attached invoice). 

10. Discuss - Approve / Deny the St. Paul Police Department purchasing two (2) computers for the Police Department.  The front computer in the Police Department is dated and operates slowly; this would be replaced with a new and larger capacity computer ($2,940) to download dash camera, body camera videos, and photos.  The second new computer ($1,768) would be utilized by Police Officers Costello and Rawlings; the front office used computer would be utilized by Sergeant Greenwalt.

11. Discuss - Approve / Deny setting a date regarding a 2021-2022 Budget workshop.

12. Utility Superintendent Helzer updates

13. City of St. Paul Police updates:

14. City Council member updates

15. Mayor Bergman updates:
a. A certified letter has been sent to Todd & Michelle Padrnos (2nd Phase) regarding a nuisance hearing on Monday, July 19, 2021 Council meeting at 7:00 p.m.
b. Sales Tax revenue;
c. The South Central Economic Development District (SCEDD) released the five (5) year Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) for a 30-day public review.  The five (5) year CEDS is a compilation of regional analysis and strategic planning that will guide the work of the District over the next five (5) years; and
d. Governor Ricketts announced the state proclamation (declaring an emergency) associated the response and recovery to COVID-19 ended Wednesday, June 30, 2021.  The City Council has no authority to hold meetings subject to the Open Meeting Act by virtual conferencing as provided in Section 84-1411(7).  

16. Public Comment Period - restricted to items on the agenda

17. Public Announcements

18. Closed Session: Pending Litigation; Strategy Session with respect to real estate purchase; and prevent needless injury to the reputation of an individual

19. Mayor Bergman adjourns City Council meeting

20. Informational Items:

21. This agenda, including supporting documentation, is available for public viewing during normal business hours at the City Office, 704 6th Street, St. Paul, Nebraska.