Regular Meeting
December 16, 2008
The Mayor and Council
of the City of Fairbury met in regular session in the Council Chambers
located at 612 D Street, Fairbury, Nebraska, on the 16th day of
December, 2008, at 7:30 p.m. Mayor Homer L. Ward called the meeting to
order.
Notice of meeting was
given in advance thereof by publication in the Fairbury Journal News,
Fairbury, Nebraska, the designated method of giving notice, as shown by
affidavit of publication. The Open Meetings Act was posted in the meeting
room as required by law.
Roll call found the
following Council Members present: Doug Brown, Ed Friesen, Ron Byrd, Don
Trimm, Beryl Lueders, Shirley Bender, Brad Kuzelka, and Kelly Davis.
Mayor Ward called for
the submittal of forms to request future agenda items. No forms were
submitted during the meeting. Mayor Ward clarified that this does not
prevent anyone from presenting their opinions to the Council ~ he wants to
hear from the floor at anytime.
Mayor Ward read the
Consent Agenda:
1.
Approval of the minutes of the
regular meeting of December 2, 2008.
2.
Approval of claims.
3.
Approval of the November 2008
Reconciliation Report.
4.
Approval of the appointment of
Dr. Craig Shumard as City Physician.
5.
Approval of the resignation of
Ronald Schwab as Deputy City Attorney.
6.
Approval of the appointment of
Brooks Bryan, Doug Brown, and Eric Voss to the Health Board.
Trimm moved to approve
the Consent Agenda. Motion seconded by Byrd. On roll call, Brown, Friesen,
Byrd, Trimm, Lueders, Bender, Kuzelka, and Davis voted “yes.” Motion
carried.
Sealed bids for selling
the 1966 Model LF2-4229 Snorkel Truck were received in the City Clerk’s
office until 5:00 p.m., December 16, 2008. Mayor Ward opened the following
sealed bids: Dennis Barker ~ $1,022.00 with a 10% bond of $102.20; Gregg
DeFrain ~ $501.00; Wheel-N-Deal Auto Sales ~ $377.77; and S Farms ~ $506.00
with a 10% bond of $55.00. Bender moved to approve the bid from Dennis
Barker in the amount of $1,022.00. Motion seconded by Trimm. On roll call,
Brown, Friesen, Byrd, Trimm, Lueders, Bender, Kuzelka, and Davis voted
“yes.” Motion carried.
Connie Schwartz, VISTA
Community Resource Coordinator gave a presentation to the Council on the
Fairbury Youth Involvement (FYI) Center and requested the City’s financial
support of the organization. Schwartz, Darci Shibley, and Adam Criner, both
Fairbury High School seniors, addressed the Council and provided information
on the Center’s activities. Both Shibley and Criner use to attend the FYI
Center, after they turned 17 years of age, they started volunteering at the
FYI Center. Councilperson Don Trimm wanted to know how many youths the FYI
Center serves. Schwartz said the average is 35-40 through the winter and
usually around 25 the rest of the year. Schwartz says this is a good place
for young people to go; teaching them to give back to the community and also
teaches them leadership skills. Friesen moved to Lay on the Table until the
next Council meeting in January to consider the $2,000.00 contribution.
Motion seconded by Byrd. On roll call, Brown, Friesen, Byrd, Trimm,
Lueders, Bender, Kuzelka, and Davis voted “yes.” Motion carried.
Mayor Ward requested
approval of the following appointments to Standing Committees: Finance &
Keno Committee – Lueders (Chair), Bender, Trimm, and Davis; Personnel
Committee – Friesen (Chair), Brown, Byrd, and Schacht (BOPW); Public
Safety Committee – Bender (Chair), Friesen, Byrd, and Brown; Public
Works Committee – Trimm (Chair), Lueders, Kuzelka, and Davis;
Planning Committee – Brown (Chair), Byrd, Lueders, and Bender. On roll
call, Brown, Friesen, Byrd, Trimm, Lueders, Bender, Kuzelka, and Davis voted
“yes.” Motion carried.
Trimm moved to approve
the placing of no parking signs on the west side of 7th & E
Streets. Motion seconded by Byrd. Citizen Bernie Boerner, who use to live
at 410 7th Street, spoke to the Council. Boerner says you can
not see cars coming from the north when you’re at the stop sign. Boerner
request that two no parking signs be placed on this corner. Councilperson
Kelly Davis doesn’t like the idea of taking away two parking spaces away
from the apartments. Davis suggested maybe a four-way stop would work.
Councilperson Beryl Lueders agrees with this suggestion. Councilperson
Shirley Bender suggested car parking only. Boerner thinks Police Chief
Brooks Bryan should check into this matter. On roll call, Trimm, Byrd,
Brown, and Lueders voted “yes.” Friesen, Bender, Kuzelka, and Davis voted
“no.” To break the tie, Mayor Ward voted “no." Motion failed.
Mayor Ward asked for
approval of the appointment of David Bargen as City Attorney and Mark
Fahleson as Deputy City Attorney. On roll call, Brown, Friesen, Byrd,
Trimm, Lueders, Bender, Kuzelka, and Davis voted “yes.” Motion carried.
Bargen stated that Mr. Fahleson was not able to attend the meeting this
evening; Bargen will administer the Oath of Office to Fahleson in their
office in Lincoln.
Mayor Ward
administered the Oath of Office to City Attorney David Bargen.
Trimm moved to
authorize the Mayor to sign the Notification of Annual Audit with Nebraska
Department of Economic Development. Motion seconded by Davis.
On roll call, Brown, Friesen, Byrd, Trimm,
Lueders, Bender, Kuzelka, and Davis voted “yes.” Motion carried.
Bender moved to
approve the Renewal of Maintenance Agreement between the City of Fairbury
and the Nebraska Department of Roads for January 1 - December 31, 2009.
Motion seconded by Kuzelka. On roll call, Brown, Friesen, Byrd, Trimm,
Lueders, Bender, Kuzelka, and Davis voted “yes.” Motion carried.
Bender moved to
authorize the Mayor to sign the Standardized System of Annual Reporting
forms for the Roads & Streets Financial Report for fiscal year ending
September 30, 2008.
Motion seconded by
Lueders. On roll call, Brown,
Friesen, Byrd, Trimm, Lueders, Bender, Kuzelka, and Davis voted “yes.”
Motion carried.
Bender moved to Lay on
the Table Item #10 under Current Business – Update on pending litigation
until the end of the Council meeting. Motion seconded by Friesen. On roll
call, Brown, Friesen, Byrd, Trimm, Lueders, Bender, Kuzelka, and Davis voted
“yes.” Motion carried.
Bender moved to adopt
Resolution No. 709 authorizing the Street and Alley Department to erect stop
signs on the north and south intersections of 4th & F Street.
Motion seconded by Davis. On roll call, Brown, Friesen, Byrd, Trimm,
Lueders, Bender, and Davis voted “yes.” Kuzelka voted “no.” Motion
carried.
Within the City
Administrator’s report Joseph Parker stated at the first council meeting in
January, Danni Starck will be here before the meeting to take pictures to
update the website. Parker also stated that Cody Barry and Eric Voss will
be leaving for the police academy January 4, 2009 for 14 weeks. Parker also
wants the Board of Health members to get back to him regarding the nuisances
they had discussed at their previous meeting. Parker also mentioned the new
fire truck should be here next week.
Within the Mayor’s
report Mayor Ward stated he and Joseph Parker had a meeting with the
department heads on December 10. Ward felt it was a very beneficial
meeting. They are going to have these meetings monthly.
Councilperson Bender
stated they had approximately $900.00 left from the Community Celebration,
which they have deposited with the Fairbury Civic Foundation; they will
start a new fund for Christmas lights for downtown Fairbury.
Bender moved to Take
from the Table Item #10 under Current Business – Update on pending
litigation. Motion seconded by Byrd. On roll call, Brown, Friesen, Byrd,
Trimm, Lueders, Bender, Kuzelka, and Davis voted “yes.” Motion carried.
In open session,
Lueders moved to enter into closed session for the purpose of protecting the
public interest, the subject matter of the closed session being discussing
pending litigation; designating individuals to remain as Mayor Ward; Council
Members Brown, Friesen, Byrd, Trimm, Lueders, Bender, Kuzelka, and Davis;
City Attorney David Bargen; City Administrator Joseph Parker, and City Clerk
Sharyl Preston. Motion seconded by Bender. On roll call, Brown, Friesen,
Byrd, Trimm, Lueders, Bender, Kuzelka, and Davis voted “yes.” Motion
carried. Mayor Ward confirmed the purpose of the closed session was to
protect the public interest, and the subject matter for the closed session
is pending litigation and announced the time of the start of the closed
session to be 8:08 p.m.
The council came out
of closed session at 8:29 p.m. Trimm moved to enter into open session.
Motion seconded by Byrd. On roll call, Brown, Friesen, Byrd, Trimm,
Lueders, Bender, Kuzelka, and Davis voted “yes.” Motion carried.
Byrd moved to adjourn
the meeting. Motion seconded by Bender. On roll call, Brown, Friesen,
Byrd, Trimm, Lueders, Bender, Kuzelka, and Davis voted “yes.” Motion
carried. Meeting adjourned at 8:31 p.m.
Homer
L. Ward, Mayor
ATTEST:
Sharyl Preston, City Clerk
