May 4, 2021 at 6:00 PM - Crete City Council Regular Meeting

Discussion:  City Administrator Tom Ourada reported on the projects that are being planned for the construction of the water and wastewater facilities. A new well on the west side of the City and a loop on the west side to improve water service are part of the plan. Completing the remediation project on the north side of the City and a lift station at the 22nd Street bridge project.

Discussion:  City Administrator Tom Ourada explained that the sign permit has been reviewed and approved by the Building Inspector. 

Discussion:  Police Chief Hensel said that this grant application would not be necessary.
 

Discussion:  Police Chief Steve Hensel reported that bulletproof vests are specifically fitted to the individual and cannot be used by another person. The grant would cover 50% of 2 new vests.
 

Discussion:  Police Chief Steve Hensel explained how mobile fingerprinting equipment worked and how it saves time and positively identifies individuals before transporting them to other facilities.
 

Discussion:  City Administrator reported that a private provider wanted to help the City provide a tennis program for youth at no charge. Recreation Coordinator Dan Dunaway found 2 grants that could be used to cover these costs.
 

Discussion:  Library Director Joy Stevenson reported that the internship program has been good to the library, providing needed part time help for weekends. The Library Advisory Board recommends authorization.

Discussion:  Library Director Joy Stevenson requested that the City Council adopt an amendment to the Library Policies to eliminate the fees for a library card for a nonresident that works within the City. The Library Advisory Board recommends approval of the amendment.

Discussion:  City Administrator Tom Ourada explained that all the street operators applied for the water operator position due to the higher wages paid for the water operator. The City had done comparability with other municipalities but has not compared internally. These changes will create the comparability between the departments that have similar job requirements.

Discussion:  Mayor Bauer reported that no parking on the east side of Iris Avenue between Fourth and Thirteenth Streets has been mentioned to him a few times, especially with Doane’s upcoming tournaments. When there are home sports games and people park in between driveways, it’s hard for the homeowners to use their driveways on such a heavy traffic road. Council member Travis Sears suggested that from Fairchild Avenue north there are few driveways and that the no parking would be good between Arthur Drive and Fairchild Drive.

Discussion:  City Administrator Tom Ourada suggested that the Continuity of Operations Plan required during the height of the Covid 19 pandemic should be terminated at this time. It worked very well for the situation and could be reinstated if needed.

Discussion:  Main Avenue business owner Victor Alarcon addressed the City Council and thanked them for the opportunity to apply for the DTR funds. He appreciates the efforts to make the downtown area more appealing.

Discussion:  Police Chief Steve Hensel -
     - City inspections of dilapidated buildings are going well working with Building Inspector Brad Bailey to address building safety and condition issues.
Building Inspector Brad Bailey -
     - Inspecting the dilapidated properties is a new process and they have a list of other properties to look at moving forward.
Joy Stevenson - 
     - The library is opening more with additional furniture out for use. They are not quarantining books anymore and opened up the teen room with limited capacity. 
     - Summer Reading Program, "Tails and Tales" theme with in-person programs and entertainment; events are limited to 50 people because in case of rain, programs will be moved inside to the Community Room and an adult summer program will use a Bingo game. 
     - Reading with Friends will be held twice a week in July for a story time-type program this year.
     - Grand Opening is being planned after the summer;
     - Crete Reads! Book is "News of the World" by Paulette Jiles, staff hopes to show the movie and will have speakers for upcoming programs related to the community-wide read.
      - A committee was formed to plan an Oct. 7 fundraiser with quilt auction and a "Conversation with Mark and Andy" with Andrew Carnegie and a Mark Twain impersonators.
     - A concrete pad for the new pavilion in Library Park will be poured next week.
Council member Ryan Hinz -
     -The DTR committee met and started a preliminary review of applications.
Council member Kyle Frans -
     - The Parks and Recreation Committee will meet at Tuxedo Park to review a new bathroom location and will also to look at a comprehensive plan for the parks.
Council member Dale Strehle -
     - The cleanup of the Plouzek property has been good to see and thank you to city personnel who helped with those tasks.
City Administrator Tom Ourada - 
     - Sales tax - traditionally February is a low month, but this was higher than the same month last year; sales tax is still doing fairly well and the finances are stable.
     - Nancy Tellez, Community Assistance Director is now on the Blue River Arts Council, replacing Judi Meyer for the City.
     - Tuxedo Park Bridge is open. 
     - Library air handling units silencer project is complete and has reduced the noise to the neighbors. 
     - Downtown Revitalization second award is under way. The committee met and reviewed applications. SHPO (State Historic Preservation Office) has not seen the applications yet and they may pass their review by the next meeting with committee updates to follow.
     - Open staff positions currently listed - Deputy City Clerk, Street Operator, Seasonal Cemetery Laborer, Police Investigative Sgt,  and Police Officer.
     - Two properties cleaned up - one was a decades long accumulation; another more recent; thank you to those who helped clean these properties up;
     - Census info - a GIS technician is helpful to have on staff through this process. City Clerk/Treasurer Jerry Wilcox explained the census data was about six months late and there are statutory requirements for governing bodies to set their districts. The Secretary of State is pushing to get GIS people on board at all subdivision that need to set boundaries to handle the data files to set the boundaries in time.
     - West Crete Annexation letters will be sent out this week to affected property owners.
Mayor Dave Bauer - 
     - The new Tuxedo Park Bridge creates an opportunity to show off this park again and get back to it being a well-used area for a number of recreation activities. The city is very thankful to have two bridges in that area that are brand new.

Discussion:  The meeting adjourned at 6:50 PM.