REGULAR MEETING Crete City Council Meeting City Hall May 19th, 2026, (Condensed, entire copy available at the office of the City Clerk). Mayor Dave Bauer called the meeting of the City Council to order at 6:00 p.m. Answering roll call were the following Council Members: Crisman, Frans, Newmyer, Strehle, Papik and Fitzgerald The following actions were taken at the meeting: Approved the Consent Agenda items: Unanimous Meeting Minutes May 5th, 2026 City Council Minutes May 5thth, 2026 Finance Committee Minutes May 5th, 2026 Parks and Recreation Committee Minutes May 5th, 2026 Public Safety Committee Minutes Treasurer’s Report Claims against the City $607,732.07 Authorized the City of Crete to apply for the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements Program (CRISI). Unanimous Authorized the City of Crete to apply for the Railroad Crossing Elimination Program (RCE). Unanimous Enacted Ordinance 2276 amending wages and salaries. Unanimous Approved the Special Event Permit Application SE26-04 for Farmer's Limo from 775 Summit Ct to Doane then to Tuxedo Park. Unanimous Approved the Special Event Permit SE26-03 Crete Bulls N Broncs Rodeo. Unanimous Approved the Application for Prohibited Animal Exception SE2026-03 for the Bulls and Broncs Riding. Unanimous Approve the claims from Crete ACE Hardware in the amount of $3,236.78. Crisman: Aye, Newmyer: Aye, Frans: Aye, Strehle: Aye, Fitzgerald: Aye, Abstained: Papik Approved the Crete New Well and Transmission Bid Results and Recommendation to Van Kirk Bros, Contracting in the amount of $1,588,987.50. Unanimous Approved the Employee Benefit Insurance Renewal for 2026-2027 to continue with the two options that we currently have with a higher premium for the national network and employees would be responsible for the increase premium cost and adding two additional health insurance policies through Medica ACO Network with a matching current premiums that employes can elect for their medical insurance. Unanimous City Administrator Tom Ourada provided a report on the cost cutting measures and results to date. Ourada stated that the City of Crete is faced with a $640,000 shortfall in Municipal Equalization Fund for budget 2026-2027 and that’s about a 16% reduction of revenue. Discussed savings through staff reductions and that netted about a $350,000 savings. All have been notified and all the actions have taken place. That leaves us about $290,000 short and if you raise the levy $.05 that will get you fairly close. You can raise it between 3 and 5 and depending if you want to do it all this year or some next year. Raising the levy $.05 would yield $270,000 and that leaves us $20,000. We did talk about not having cost of living raises for any department this year and for the tax side that yields about $20,700 so it comes very close to balancing the budget. If you do the $.05 you will need an additional $.01 or $.02 for 2027-2028 and we need to consider that for any rising costs beyond our control like insurance and other operations. We have some bond levy room that could be helpful in future years. The City of Crete has reviewed the Bid Proposals, Bid Tab with Engineer's Cost Opinion, Casper's Construction Bid Proposal Award Withdrawal Letter and Olsson's Bid Recommendation Letter. We make a motion to accept the withdrawal of Casper's Bid Proposal with the understanding that they will forfeit the 5% Bid Guarantee and award the 2-Bay Box Hangar And Hangar Approach Project AIP 3-31-0022-017/018/019/020 to B-D Construction, Inc. of Columbus, Nebraska upon FAA and NDOT concurrence. In addition, we move to allow the signing and execution of any and all necessary paperwork required to complete the FAA Grant and NDOT Hangar Loan paperwork. Unanimous Approved the execution of the C.O. Upon FAA (I have included the contractor's proposal, but it will need to be revised to include the door costs. The City of Crete moves to approve the C.O. No. 1 that will install a 2-Hr firewall on the existing hangar south of the proposed 2-bay box hangar to be in accordance with NFPA 409 per Nebraska State Fire Marshall Review comments. The approval of the change order is based upon FAA, NDOT, and Engineer's concurrence. Unanimous Adopted Resolution 2026-10 Authorizing the Mayor to sign for the donations made by Georgia Johnson. Unanimous Approved the Right of Way Occupancy Kinetic Permit Request: 715062333 PR #55251. Unanimous Right of Way Occupancy Kinetic Permit Request: 715062334 PR #56409. Unanimous Approved the LB840 Application from Penny's Pet Wash in the amount of $15,209.90. Unanimous Tabled the request to have carry out parking designation Old Main. Unanimous Petitions - Communications - Resident Concerns Francisco Vargas from 425 E 6th St, Crete, NE 68333 addressed the City Council and stated he has complaints about vehicles speeding and having loud exhaust. Mayor Dave Bauer stated that there is a city ordinance to help address this issue. However, police officers cannot always be in all places. Bauer thanked Vargas for addressing the City Council. Council member Tom Crisman asked if there are some Sheriff Deputies that could come to the City of Crete for a few days. Chief of Police Gary Young stated he would speak to the County Sheriff. Chief of Police Gary Young stated the following: The Nebraska SWAT Team was in town and the Crete Police Department has been reaching out to more officers since Crete is a training hub for k-9 training. Crete has a wide variety of facilities to use as training grounds. Thanked the Street Department and officers that helped take pictures after the storm and helped separate the piles of broken trees. There may be FEMA money to help offset some of the costs incurred after the storm. Emergency Manager John Mckee will be coming to assess and help to see if there is funding available. Council member Anthony Fitzgerald asked Chief Young if there are substantial hard costs when other agencies come in to do those trainings. Young stated that for example when the Swat Team came to town they used the old water treatment plant and it only cost us the time that the Captain to go there to unlock and do a safety brief and then going back to lock it. Young’s time was connecting with their Lieutenant as a friendly interaction. Every facility they use is free to use and there are no costs incurred. The Crete Police Department gains great knowledge from the trainings and the interactions. Library Director Jessica Wilkinson stated the following: Summer Reading is currently going on and Youth Services Librarian Maridza Vasquez has taken a different approach to it this year by counting the books children read. The goal that was set is 3,000 books for the summer and children have already read 1,450 books. Partnered with Dr. Frans for battle of the books at Crete Public Library and many students used the facility to do book reports and acting out parts of the stories. The Library Advisory Board has decided to cut library hours starting July 1st to help balance the budget. By Ordinance the director and city administrator must concur, which they did. Parks and Recreation Director Liz Cody stated the following: All of the parks staff is onboarding this week. The summer hires are coming onboard tomorrow May 20th, 2026. All of the pool staff has reported for duty and this is the second year that due to cold weather training is indoors in Beatrice. They are likely to change opening date for the pool due to colder weather. Working with all the coordinated partners that use park facilities. T-Ball and Micro T-Ball will be starting May 20th, 2026 and continuing for three weeks. Building Inspector Trent Griffin provided the April 2026 Permit Log and stated that there permits for three new houses and new fences being put in. Griffin will have an updated count for nuisance properties for the next meeting. City Administrator Tom Ourada stated the following: Crete News new reporter Courtney O’Brien was present for the Council meeting. Editor Amy Hausman stated that she joined the Crete News team last week and had not attended a public meeting before. Hausman will continue covering the Crete City Council meetings. Will be in Kearney Wednesday, May 20th, 2026 and May 21st, 2026 for the Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska (MEAN) Finance Committee and Board of Directors meetings. Ourada is the Board Chairperson. Going to ask the Park and Rec Committee to revisit the Brownfield grant because all of what the City of Crete would like to participate in is 100% covered. Spoke to Mayor Dave Bauer about working on 15th Street. With a recently eligible CDBG grand can do some of it for under $1 Million and will get up to $600,000 of it paid and if we do this right the only assessments will be to the City of Crete for intersections and the rest will be covered. It won’t be for all of it but the part that needs the worst. Another grant calls for public participation for the residence up there. Working on the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant Program and they are pushing the safety action plan with is an 80/20 program. We are looking at that really hard because it will take some money to put up front. They are reauthorizing the SS4A grant program and you need a safety action plan to move forward with that. Those types of grants are around 3 to 4 million dollars. Being a Low and Moderate Income (LMI) community we are finally qualified so we might have to spend $40,000 to get 4 to 14 Million. Ourada will have more on that later. The road grader is promised for this week. There were no electrical problems with the recent storms. The Electric Department went to Fairbury for two days and helped their community along with some other towns. Ourada mentioned that so far at the transfer station there about 140 loads in two days. The transfer station will be open on May 20th, 2026 as well. Ourada stated that they need totrack that to provide the information to get FEMA reimbursement. Doane University had their graduation last weekend and for the past year Ourada worked with several of the Engineering groups. He attended a presentation where students had worked on a pedestrian bridge. Ourada asked their professor Cale Stolle if the presentations can be shared with the City Council and he stated yes and provided it to Ourada. Mayor Dave Bauer thanked all the City employees that helped with the storm. The meeting adjourned at 7:11 p.m. PAYEE, DESCRIPTION, AMOUNT; AKRS EQUIPMENT, OIL FILTER, $26.23; CITY REVENUE FUND, SALES TAX-FUEL, $862.94; EGAN SUPPLY CO, JANITORIAL SUPPLIES, $82.82; KIDWELL, MITEL SECURITY UPDATE, $14.67; PETROLEUM EQUIPMENT INC, ABOVE GROUND FUEL TANK PARTS, $2,513.09; SEWARD COUNTY INDEPENDENT, AIRPORT, $5.91; VERIZON WIRELESS , CELL PHONE, $39.92; NPPD, AIRPORT ELECTRICITY, $902.09; AIRPORT FUNDS, SUBTOTAL, $4,447.67; CITY REVENUE FUND, CONSUMER DEPOSIT APPLIED, $222.46; MARTINEZ ESTEVEN, YERAINY, CONSUMER DEPOSIT REFUND, $130.22; RAFAEL LUCAS, MIGUEL LUIS, CONSUMER DEPOSIT REFUND, $57.32; CONSUMER DEPOSIT FUNDS, SUBTOTAL, $410.00; AMAZON CAPITAL SERVICES, IPAD CASE, $189.77; BESPALEC, JACOB, WASTE OVERPAYMENT, $514.89; BRIDGES, GORDON, REIMBURSE FUEL, $96.89; CAPITAL BUSINESS SYSTEMS INC, SERVICE CONTRACT, $103.86; CDW GOVERNMENT INC, ADO ACROBAT PRO RENEWAL, $3,787.48; CRETE ACE HARDWARE, LAB SUPPLIES/HOLE SAW KITS/CEMENT, $1,081.75; CRETE AUTO SUPPLY INC, VARIABLE VALVE TIMING, $522.22; CULLIGAN OF CRETE, DOWNFLOW REGENERATION SOFTNER, $4,802.14; DUTTON LAINSON COMPANY, SCREW TYPE SEALING RING, $7,003.46; EAKES OFFICE SOLUTIONS, OFFICE SUPPLIES, $1,879.90; EGAN SUPPLY CO, JANITORIAL SUPPLIES, $842.96; ELECTRIC PUMP, SERVICE CALL/LABOR, $994.50; GRAINGER, CIRCULATING PUMP, FLANGE, 1/8HP, $775.87; HEARTLAND NATURAL GAS, UTILITY, $5.39; HUSKER ELECTRIC SUPPLY CO, 1500W M48 METAL HALIDE BALLAST KIT, $718.82; JEO CONSULTING GROUP INC., CRETE GENERAL ENGINEERING, $3,620.00; KANSAS TURNPIKE AUTHORITY, TOLL FEES, $5.52; KIDWELL, MITEL SECURITY UPDATE, $171.15; LINCOLN WINWATER WORKS CO, 74621 1X1 QTR MTR CPLG NL, $307.45; MAX I WALKER UNIFORM & APPAREL, UNIFORMS, $176.09; MUNICIPAL ENERGY AGENCY OF NE, SLEIS & CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE, $250.00; PACE ANALYTICAL SERVICES LLC, ACUTE WET TESTING, $1,173.00; RESCO, FUSE LINK 75 AMP TYPE QA FITALL, $705.20; SEWARD COUNTY INDEPENDENT, HYDRANT FLUSHING, $176.00; SID DILLON FORD, OIL & FILTER 2006 F-250, $132.24; TITAN MACHINERY, LABOR, $7,615.26; UNION BANK & TRUST, FSA & HSA FEES, $44.00; VERIZON WIRELESS, CELL PHONE, $429.30; WESCO RECEIVABLES CORP, BUR KVSW34 CU OKLIP 400-500 4STR-5, $1,290.00; WHEELER WORLD INC, PARTS FOR GENERATOR #7, $243.00; WHITEHEAD OIL CO., 3500 GAL DYED DIESEL, $24,996.90; DEPT OF ENERGY, PURCHASED POWER WAPA, $28,716.00; NE DEPT OF REVENUE, SALES TAX, $43,264.54; NPPD, ELECTRICITY, $8,917.58; PINNACLE BANK , SMARNET 1YR GIS, $643.83; UPS, POSTAGE, $24.56; XPRESS BILL PAY, ONLINE PMT FEE, $1,796.91; CITY PAYROLL FUNDS, WAGES, $118,226.66; UTILITY FUNDS, SUBTOTAL, $266,245.09; 911 CUSTOM, DUTY BELT & ACCESSORIES, $350.00; AED AUTHORITY, CONCIERGE R1YBE 6/1/26 - 6/1/27, $245.00; ALLEN SURVEYING SERVICES LLC, LOT SURVEY-228 E 14TH ST, $550.00; AMAZON CAPITAL SERVICES, BOOKS, $1,669.80; AQUA-CHEM INC, POOL CHEMICALS, $2,796.90; BAUMGARTNER, RYAN, REFUND MICRO T-BALL, $30.00; BEATRICE CONCRETE CO, CONCRETE, $11,240.41; CALCUTT, SAMANTHA, REFUND - UNABLE TO ATTEND, $30.00; CAPITAL BUSINESS SYSTEMS INC, SERVICE CONTRACT, $961.58; CDW GOVERNMENT INC, ADO ACROBAT PRO RENEWAL, $10,539.64; CENGAGE LEARNING INC, BOOKS/MAGAZINES, $331.20; CENTER POINT LARGE PRINT, BOOKS/MAGAZINES, $226.53; CITY REVENUE FUND, CASE OF TOILET PAPER, $94.77; CITY REVENUE FUND, FUEL, $4,759.42; CITY REVENUE FUND, SALES TAX, $57.77; CITY TAX FUND, HARBOR COFFEE HOUSE BUS REG, $78.98; CLINE WILLIAMS LLP, GENERAL BUSINES, $424.00; CREATIVE SITES LLC, LB840 CRETE ROTARY CLUB, $108,353.00; CRETE ACE HARDWARE, POOL ELECTRICAL REPAIR /SUPPLIES, $2,155.03; CRETE AUTO SUPPLY INC, HYDRAULIC HOSES, $259.12; CRETE FOODMART, JANITORIAL SUPPLIES, $6.66; CRETE LUMBER & FARM SUPPLY CO, CONCRETE MIX, $52.72; CRETE VETERINARY CLINIC, DOG-BOARD/RABIES VACCINATION, $204.18; CRETE VOLUNTEER FIREMEN, ACKLIE DONATION TRNSFR TO FIRE DPT, $5,000.00; CRIST TOWING SERVICE, TOWING, $207.00; CRISTINA'S FAMILY RESTAURANT, LB840 CRISTINA'S, $1,552.77; CULLIGAN OF CRETE, WATER COOLER RENTAL, $52.00; EAKES OFFICE SOLUTIONS, OFFICE SUPPLIES, $1,368.67; EGAN SUPPLY CO, JANITORIAL SUPPLIES, $1,015.86; FYR-TEK, FINANCE CHARGE, $3,006.96; G & P DEVELOPMENT LANDFILL, PROPERTY CLEANUP 610 PINE, $75.25; HEARTLAND NATURAL GAS, UTILITY, $79.09; HEATH SPORTS, T-BALL SHIRT, $467.77; HUSKER ELECTRIC SUPPLY CO, 1500W UNIVERSAL BURN METAL HALIDE, $539.91; JEO CONSULTING GROUP INC., 2024 STREET & ALLEY IMPROVEMENTS, $1,236.90; KEN'S USAVE PHARMACY, MEDICAL SUPPLIES, $137.89; KIDWELL, MITEL SECURITY UPDATE, $303.18; LIFE-ASSIST INC, MEDICAL SUPPLIES, $1,002.92; LINCOLN CHAMBER ECONOMIC DEV CORP, DUES 6-1-26 TO 5-31-27, $2,500.00; LINCOLN WINWATER WORKS CO, 6 SXS PVC80 45 ELL, $3,917.34; MACH, BRYSEN, REFUND T-BALL, $30.00; MIDWEST ALARM SERVICES, CONTROL VALVE SIGN & MAIN DRAIN SIGN, $20.00; MIDWEST BREATHING AIR LLC, BREATHING APP, $37.00; NIPPON SANSO MATHESON INC, OXYGEN, $561.85; NPPD, UTILITIES, $10.09; ONE BILLING SOLUTIONS, CRETE AMB SERV, $3,713.99; O'REILLY AUTO PARTS, PATROL CAR REPAIR, -$45.97; PATTERSON, JUSTIN, REFUND T-BALL, $30.00; PAVERS INC, COLD MIX ASPHALT, $779.89; PINNACLE BANK, MENARDS VETERANS WALL, $7,339.56; PRESTO-X, PEST CONTROL SERV-CITY HALL, $174.23; QUADIENT FINANCE USA INC, POSTAGE, $150.00; RENKER, LAURA, SCOOTERS 5/1/26 SCAS PROGRAM, $21.50; SACK LUMBER CO, PRE-CUT STAKES, $40.50; SALINE MEDICAL SPECIALTIES, LB840 SALINE MEDICAL, $3,435.70; SAPP BROS, INC, FUEL, $889.42; SCHOLZ, MATT, REFUND T-BALL, $30.00; SEWARD COUNTY INDEPENDENT, LIBRARY ADVISORY BOARD, $364.76; SID DILLON FORD, OIL & FILTER 2020 F-250, $340.62; SOLHEIM, GATSBY, REFUND MICRO T-BALL, $30.00; SPECTRUM, DIGITAL CABLE BOX-1945 FOREST, $12.28; TRI STATE OIL RECLAIMERS INC, USED OIL PICKED UP, $75.00; UNION BANK & TRUST, FSA & HSA FEES, $68.00; UNION BANK & TRUST CO, NE BAN SRS 2023 ANNUAL FEE, $640.00; VERIZON WIRELESS, MODEMS FOR PATROL CARS, $329.88; VERIZON WIRELESS, CELL PHONE, $632.26; CITY PAYROLL FUNDS, WAGES, $149,038.53; TAX FUNDS, SUBTOTAL, $336,629.31; ALL FUNDS, TOTAL, $607,732.07 CR — May 27, 2026 ZNEZ
