Kearney City Council Meeting - April 25, 2023
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Kearney City Council Meeting - April 25, 2023
The Kearney City Council met on April 25, 2023, at 5:30 p.m. in City Council Chambers. The meeting included the swearing-in of two new police officers, withdrawal of two public hearing items, approval of consent agenda items and ordinances, an informational presentation from Two Rivers Health Department, approval of an open account claim to NPPD, a retirement proclamation for John Grimes, and a closed session to discuss real estate matters.
Consent Calendar
- Approved minutes of the April 11, 2023 regular meeting.
- Approved claims.
- Received Planning Commission recommendations and set May 9, 2023 at 5:30 p.m. for hearings.
- Authorized the Mayor to send letters of no recommendation to the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission for liquor license and manager applications for Cellar Sports Bar and Grill and World Theatre.
- Adopted Resolution No. 2023-57 approving FAA grant agreement for Box Hangar project at Kearney Regional Airport.
- Adopted Resolution No. 2023-58 approving keno-type lottery operation at The Cellar Sports Bar and Grill.
- Adopted Resolution No. 2023-59 approving payment of $2,366,066.67 for WWTP Phase II Improvements.
- Adopted Resolution No. 2023-60 approving final payment of $164,253.40 for Cemetery Paving Phase 2.
- Approved plans and specifications for 2023 Part 1 Improvements (Younes Drive Water/Sewer/Paving) and set bid opening for May 16, 2023.
- Accepted bid for 2023 Part 2 Improvements Mill and Asphalt Overlay awarded to Gary Smith Construction Company, Inc. for $457,235.00 via Resolution No. 2023-61.
- Adopted Resolution No. 2023-62 accepting public improvements for Millennial Estates Fifth Addition.
- Approved lease agreement with Nebraska Department of Transportation for Hangar T-190 at Airport Road via Resolution No. 2023-63.
- Adopted Resolution No. 2023-64 finalizing obligations for 2021 Part 5 Improvements (Talmadge Street Extension) with $0.00 payment.
- Adopted Resolution No. 2023-65 approving final payment of $60,800.00 for Kearney Public Library Roof Replacement.
- Appointed Chelsie Bebensee to the Downtown Improvement Board via Resolution No. 2023-66.
Consent Agenda Ordinances
- Adopted Ordinance No. 8589A correcting the legal description for rezoning from M-1 Limited Industrial to BP Business Park District for property in Patriot Industrial Park.
- Approved Ordinance No. 8627 repealing Ordinance No. 8625 and amending the Salary Ordinance for pay plan adjustments.
Discussion Items
- Oath of Office for Police Officers: Chief Waugh introduced lateral hires Officer Derrick Hosick (from Beatrice PD) and Officer Micah Schroeder (from Gering PD). Both were sworn in by the City Clerk.
- Two Rivers Health Department Presentation: Jeremy Morgan and Dr. Arvin Menon presented on the health district's mission, including a partnership with NYU for localized health data, a learning cohort on legal epidemiology, environmental health services (mold, bed bugs, lead paint, tick/mosquito surveillance), and a new home visitation program (perinatal to age 3) focusing on Dawson and Gosper counties. They also updated on the dental program serving 27 schools.
- Open Account Claim to NPPD: The council approved a claim of $105,975.09 to the Nebraska Public Power District. Mayor Klaus abstained; the rest voted yes.
- Retirement Proclamation for John Grimes: The council read and presented a proclamation honoring John Grimes for 52 years of service in the Water and Sewer Department, highlighting his achievements and dedication.
Key Outcomes
- All consent agenda items (1-16) and consent agenda ordinances (8589A and 8627) were approved unanimously.
- The open account claim to NPPD was approved with one abstention (Mayor Klaus).
- The council entered closed session at 6:02 p.m. to discuss real estate matters, with the option to reconvene in open session.
Meeting Transcript
Well good evening everyone and welcome to our city council meeting for April the 25th. We've got a very special council meeting tonight. So to start it all off, if you would rise, we'll have a moment of silence, followed by the presentation of colors by the Kearney Police Department. So we'll have a moment of silence. Thank you. Presentation of the colors. Okay, would you please join us in the Pledge of Allegiance? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God invisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. In accordance with section eighty-four fourteen twelve of the Nebraska revised statutes, a current copy of the open meetings act is available for review and sponsored in all the council chambers. Mayor Klaus here. Bush Cutter. Here. Okay, and Oral Communications. This time we'll have uh uh Chief Waugh um and police officers uh Hosick and Schroeder uh come up and Chief uh feel make the uh oath of office and all the things that you do with the with the pledges. Very good. Thanks, Mayor, Council, City Manager, City Attorney. Thanks for the opportunity to be here today with all this wonderful vote. I'm gonna I'm gonna look at them so I would take care of my coming back to the outside. Um but this is another wonderful moment for the Carney Police Department for the city of Carney and Buffalo County for that matter, where we're having an opportunity to welcome two new members to our team, two new police officers, two um dedicated um folks that are service to me for many years to come. So with that, I'd like to invite uh Derek Hospital. Come on up, and Michael Schroeder to come on up. I want to talk a little bit about each of them if you guys can stand right over here. So this is a really a unique opportunity for us. We actually hired four police officers off of our last uh hiring round of hiring. Uh two of them are basic recruits. Um is actually um Grant Bush Doctor. You might recognize the name, I might be a proud dad in the room somewhere. Um Michael Reegotype, they'll start on Sunday, they'll be gone until August. So this class will be a total of four new police officers for Carney. But tonight's about these two gentlemen. These two, these two uh flying police officers join us with experience, so they're lateral hires from other agencies in Nebraska, and I want to talk a little bit about each of each one of these folks. And I take notes not to say names wrong in the past. So uh this is Officer Derek Hosick. Uh he's born in Kearney, attended Carney High School, and graduated from Carney High School, I should say. Graduated from UNL with a degree in uh criminal justice, and he started career with Johnson County Sheriff's Office brief about a year and a half, year and eight months or so. Uh and then he went on to the Beatrice Police Department where he served since 2015 before moving here to Carney to come back to be closer to home. He left the actors police department as a sergeant and at a canine hammer. And with a wealth of experience as a SWAT operator, a field training operator, uh he's he had attended multiple leadership um training opportunities and education to be a better member of his department, which will add value to our department, I'm sure. Tactical courses, uh criminal interdiction, working the dog out on the interstate, I'm sure, uh, and other administrative funds. So it's really wonderful when we can have a the caliber of officer from another department interested in coming to the Carney Police Department will add immediate value to our day one, hands down, I guarantee it. Next to Officer Hosick is Officer Micah Schroeder. He's also born in Kearney, went to Gibbon High School, also attended UNK before entering the Nebraska Army National Guard. He's also a lateral hire. Comes up from the Garing Police Department with nearly eight years of experience. Where he gained experience working uniform patrol, field training officer, criminal investigations, you work narcotic, he worked with the wing task force, which is a federally federal federal partner task force uh out in the western part of the state, uh very similar to what we have around here, ours called Trident. Um that's always a uh honor honorable position to have when you're working as a task force officer with the federal with the other FBI or DEA or a combination of both U.S. Marshall Service. So again, that just that just uh shows the experience you have.
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