CITY COUNCIL
Meeting Minutes

March 10, 2004

LOUISVILLE, NE



A regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Louisville was held on Wednesday, March 10, 2004, at 7:00 p.m. at the City Hall. Present were Mayor Dave Pankonin, Council Members Clete Petrzilka, Alan Mueller and Steve Sherman. Council Member Joe Smisek was absent. Also present were City Attorney Roger Johnson, City Supervisor Dan Henry and several guests. 

Notice of the regular meeting was given in advance thereof by publication in the Plattsmouth Journal and by posting in three (3) public places as shown by the certificate attached to these minutes. Notice was simultaneously given to all council members. Their acknowledgement of receipt of notice and the agenda is attached to these minutes. All proceedings thereafter were taken while the convened meeting was open to the public. 

Mayor Pankonin called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and asked the Council to review the consent agenda. Petrzilka moves, Sherman seconds to approve the consent agenda. Roll call vote: 3 ayes, 1 absent. Motion carried.

Mueller moves, Sherman seconds to introduce and suspend the three required statutory readings of Ordinance #757; Cemetery Board. Roll call vote: ayes - 3, absent - 1. Motion carried. Petrzilka moves, Sherman seconds to adopt Ordinance #757; Cemetery Board. Roll call vote: ayes - 3, absent - 1. Motion carried.

The next item of business was investment recommendations which were tabled at the last meeting. John Plucknett presented a worksheet of possible recommendations to ladder certain fund’s investments. The idea is to get a better return in the long run on the investments. The worksheet listed the deposits in each fund and the budget in each fund. As far as John is concerned, this is all still just for discussion purposes and to put ideas on the table for the council to consider. Roger stated this doesn’t really need council action, they are more in an advisory capacity, and the treasurer would implement the plan. 

Deb Cunningham was present to ask for council approval of a special designated liquor license for Louisville Daz. However, the JayCees have still not decided exactly where to have the street dance and beer garden, so this item was tabled until the next meeting.

Deb also requested that South Depot Street be closed from the evening of May 27 to the morning of May 31 for carnival people parking. This item was held over from last meeting. The options were discussed such as parking on one side and leaving it open. Since there are no homes on that street, it was decided to close entirely. It was also decided to barricade the bridge to keep the carnival trucks from going over it since it’s a 3 ton bridge. Sherman moves, Petrzilka seconds to close South Depot Street from May 27 – May 31 and to barricade the bridge during that time. Ayes – 3, nays – none. Motion carried. 

Deb also requested that vendor fees be waived for the craft show during Louisville Daz. Deb doesn’t think the JayCees will get vendors willing to pay the additional $25 city fee plus the table fee the JayCees charge. Roger said that vendors are subject to the occupation tax according to the ordinances. Deb asked if there was any way to get a one-day exception and Roger stated that the ordinance doesn’t provide for any exceptions. It was made clear that if a business in town sets up a table, they would not have to pay the vendor fee because they have already paid their occupation tax. This item was passed. 

Deb gave her report at this time and just wanted the council to be aware that the JayCees are sponsoring a Make-A-Wish Foundation Poker Run on July 10, 2004. 

Dan spoke about test well drilling. He had water test results from various locations east of town as well as cost estimates for test well drilling. He explained that the first step is to determine formation in the ground and whether a well in a location is even feasible. The second step would be to case the well and draw a clean sample for testing. Then they would do a 72 hour hydraulic pump test plus extensive water quality tests. The total cost per test well is $14,050. Dan showed the locations of the water tests on a map and gave his opinion of which locations would be prudent to drill. Some were high in nitrates which makes them unusable. Dan felt that the nitrate level gets higher further south. Roger Rylander gave approval from the state for the test wells. Municipal wells have different rules than private wells; they can be closer together than 1000 feet. There were questions regarding where transmission lines would go. Roger talked briefly about easements versus permission letters to do the test drilling. Dan’s recommendation is to do the first test well on the corner of Highway 66 and 144th St. on Jim Group’s property. He feels that will give the best quality of water. Mueller moves, Petrzilka seconds to enter into a contract with Sargent Drilling for steps one and two per the estimate, and continue through step 6 if directed by the city, for a test well on the Group property with an option of running a test well for sample purposes on the Ash Grove property on the SW corner of the same intersection. Roll call vote: ayes – 3, absent – 1. Motion carried. 

The next topic of discussion was trash receptacles for Main Street. The clerk applied for and was awarded a 50/50 grant from the Peter Kiewit Foundation for the purchase of trash receptacle. The clerk stated that the total cost is $4,730, the grant is for $2,365, the JayCees donated $100 and that leaves $2,265. The clerk recommends $1,500 from the city and $765 from BUILD. Mueller moves, Petrzilka seconds to approve $1,500 for the purchase of trash receptacles for Main Street. Roll call vote: ayes – 3, absent – 1. Motion carried. 

Mayor Pankonin and the clerk updated the council on the cemetery map. Diamond Engineering redid the 4 old maps into one new map. It will be divided into colored sections and a directory will be made to correspond with the map. Mayor Pankonin has a recommendation of six names to reform the Cemetery Board on effective date of Ordinance #757. Mueller moves, Petrzilka seconds to approve the appointments of Marion Johnson, Bob Sutton, Tracy Heard, Doug Allen, Lori Pankonin and Les Hlavac to the Cemetery Board on the effective date of Ordinance #757. Roll call vote: ayes - 3, absent - 1. Motion carried.

Mueller moves, Sherman seconds to accept the financial statement with the report to be on file at the clerk’s office. Roll call vote: ayes - 3, absent - 1. Motion carried.

Bob Derby was present to discuss an accessory building that is larger than regulations allow. The setbacks wouldn’t be a problem according to Dan, but the size he wants is the issue. 900 square feet is the maximum building allowed in R-1 zoning district and Bob would like one that’s 1200 square feet. Dan visited with Keith Marvin from JEO and was told that other towns sometimes do 10% of the lot area up to a certain square footage. That would be the recommendation from Dan & Keith. To change the zoning ordinance would require a public hearing at a planning commission meeting and a city council meeting, after recommendation by the planning commission. Petrzilka moves, Sherman seconds to refer this issue to the planning commission. Ayes – 3, nays – none. Motion carried. 

There were no reports from the Sheriff, Fire/Rescue, Library/Senior Center, Cemetery or BUILD. Mayor Pankonin reported for the Care Center stating that there will be a search committee formed to hire a new administrator as the current one has resigned. 

Dan reported for Water/Wastewater/Maintenance. Brett Anderson, from DEQ, inspected the wastewater plant and came up with some recommendations. One of those recommendations involves grease reduction. A proposal was presented from Byo-Gon which consists of injection pumps in the kitchens of the school and the Care Center. Dan is reluctant to not do what Brett wants because of the control he has at the state level. There was a question as to whether the school and the Care Center would consent to the treatment and whether they would be willing to pay for it. The wastewater treatment plant would greatly benefit from these grease inhibitors.

A recommendation of Dan’s would be to purchase a power washer for the sewer plant. This would help with the algae problem in the spring and the fall in the clarifier. Currently, they are using a garden hose and a brush. It also requires two men. A power washer would be a much better option. It could also be used to wash street equipment and in the water department as well. Petrzilka moves, Mueller seconds to approve the purchase of the power washer from Dultmeier, budgeted 50% sewer, 25% street and 25% water. Roll call vote: ayes - 3, absent - 1. Motion carried.

Dan reported that the hydrants will be flushed on Tuesdays during good weather. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme nor reason where and when discolored water appears. The city is doing all they know to do to alleviate the problem. 

There was also a handout in the council packets regarding maintenance projects for this spring and summer that Dan would like to propose. These projects include 2nd Street east and west of Main and 3rd Street east of Main. There seem to be 8-10 repair patches that need to be made as well. Dan was looking for direction from the council as to what they wanted done and in which order they want them done. He also discussed replacing water mains while replacing streets. The maintenance men can do most of the work themselves. Dan stated that the pavement removed could be ground up and stored at the city shop area until needed. The Mayor and Council Members complimented Dan on the way the shop area looks and is maintained. The council decided to work on the minor projects first and save the major repairs until after Memorial Day. Dan verified that the council thought the crack sealant is beneficial to the maintenance of the streets. He also explained that the city needs to put cold patch onto the edges of the streets. These are still all viable projects. There was a discussion regarding hiring part-time help specifically for street repair and if those wages can come out of the sales tax set aside for street repair. 

Mueller moves, Petrzilka seconds to enter executive session to discuss legal issues and personnel at 9:06 p.m. Ayes – 3, nays - none. Motion carried. Mueller moves, Petrzilka seconds to adjourn from executive session and the return to regular session at 9:46 p.m. Ayes – 3, nays – none. Motion carried. 

Mueller moves, Petrzilka seconds to adjourn the meeting at 9:46 p.m. Ayes – 3, nays – none. Motion carried. 

I, the undersigned clerk, hereby certify that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of the proceedings had and done by the Mayor and City Council of Louisville to the best of my knowledge, that the agenda was kept continually current and available for public inspection; and the minutes were in written form and available for public inspection within 10 working days; the minutes are published in summary form, upon request a complete copy is available at City Hall.

Dee Arias
City Clerk 


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