VILLAGE OF ELMWOOD
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
January 20, 2021 – 7:00 PM
REGULAR BOARD MEETING MINUTES
Meeting Held at Elmwood Village Hall
The Village Board of Trustees met in regular session on Wednesday, January 20, 2021. Chairperson Miki Bruns called the meeting to order at 7:00pm. Bruns stated that a current copy of the Nebraska Open Meetings Act was posted. Roll Call was answered by Becky Kicak, Pat Wray, Jared Blunt, Renee Holland & Miki Bruns.
Minutes: Holland made a motion, seconded by Kicak to approve January 6, 2021 Minutes. RCV: Yes: All. Approved 5-0.
Blunt made a motion, seconded by Wray to approve the Claims/Payroll for January 20, 2021. RCV: Yes: All. Approved 5-0
Claims: Bauer Underground $40,705.80, Black Hills Energy $609.83, Elmwood Cultural Arts $150.00, IRS $1,018.22, Intuit QuickBooks $8.75, Mary’s Tax Service $80.00, Meeske Ace Hardware $73.98, NE Public Health Environment Lab $15.00, NE Dept. of Revenue $1503.72, NMPP $360.73, Randy Voss $85.75, U.S. Post Office $105.00, Verizon Wireless $53.94, Village of Elmwood (Petty Cash refund) $15.90, Payroll $4,444.94
New Business
Discussion/Action 6th Payment to Bauer Underground
Board looked over the itemized bill and there were no questions regarding the payment.
Discussion/Action Park Bike Pump – Nicole Hoffman
Nicole was present to brief the board on the water fountain and bike pump for the Village Park that St. Paul United Methodist Church “Wellness Committee” has been raising funds for. The Wellness Committee is hoping to raise the remainder of the funds to purchase the bike pump so that the Village can have the bike pump and water fountain installed around springtime. Wray made a motion that the Wellness Committee will purchase both the water fountain & bike pump and the Village will handle the install of both items at the park, second by Holland. RCV: Yes: All. Approved 5-0
Discussion/Action Main street building update
Bruns shared with the board the plans that St. Paul United Methodist Church is planning on buying the 4 lots that house the vacant/barricaded buildings on Main Street. The church will meet again next month to get the final approval. The church plans to demo the buildings and fill with dirt to sell the lots. This will be a volunteer basis by members of the church, and they are roughly projecting on spring/summer to get this project rolling. Bruns will stay up to date on the project.
Unfinished Business
NONE
Reports/Boards, Commissions, and Committees
Library: Motion made by Kicak to approve the Minutes and January 4, 2020 Payables, Second by Holland. RCV: Yes: All. Motion approved 5-0
Park: Jeff removed the Christmas decoration from the Gazebo and will get those to the appropriate owner.
Streets: Jeff removed the Christmas lights off the poles on Main Street with the generous lending of a lift from RUTALKN and the help of Carl Althouse running the lift for Jeff.
Water: Jeff will take his Grade 4 Water Operator test on February 1, 2021 in Lincoln. Ed let the board know about the chlorine issue with the water plant and that the chlorine scale is going bad and recommended switching over to liquid chlorine instead of the tablets. The cost of the liquid chlorine pump is about the cost of replacing the scale for the chlorine tablets. Switching to liquid chlorine in the long run will save the town money because it is more affordable and will be easier to monitor the levels. Kicak made a motion to approve up to $600 to purchase the pump and switch to liquid chlorine, second by Blunt. RCV: YES: All. Approved 5-0
Sewer: Jeff said the generator maintenance has not been serviced yet because they are waiting on parts to get in.
Planning/Zoning: Wray made a motion, second by Kicak to approve 11/16/2020 minutes. Next meeting is scheduled for February 18, 2021 @ 7:00pm
Public Comment:
James Nelson – Business Consultant
Attended the meeting to ask how involved the village is in regards to the Community development thread on Facebook. Bruns said the town is not part of the planning for incoming businesses. That is solely on the business owner that is looking to purchase or build. The only involvement of the Village is receiving the permits and approving them if they are building.
Chad Peterson- Business owner in town
He stated that the business owners of the vacant buildings on Main Street should have been held to higher standards and charged for the buildings being condemned. Chad also commented that instead of pouring all this money into improving the park that we as a community should investigate other ongoing issues like the houses that are vacant or run down within the village.
Linda Blunt – Resident of Elmwood
Linda wanted to clarify who the food bank should contact for building maintenance at the old village office. Bruns told Linda to contact Jeff for any maintenance issues that need to be taken care of and Jeff is to report to the board of trustees for any repairs that cost over $100. Correspondence:
Future Agenda Items:
Tif Account
Executive Session – Personnel expectations
Kicak made a motion to open Executive Session at 7:47 to protect employee reputation, second by Holland. RCV: YES: ALL. Approved 5-0
Kicak made a motion to close Executive Session at 8:16 to protect employee reputation, second by Holland. RCV: YES: ALL. Approved 5-0
Meeting adjourned at 8:16 pm.