Village of Republican City

The regular monthly meeting of the Board of Trustees was held on January 7, 2019, at 5:30 p.m. at the Fire Station with Trustees Eddy, Einspahr, Hammond, Orcutt and Valentine present. Clerk Waldo, Utility Supervisor Whetstine and Michael Mcconnell were also present. Posted notices in three public places within the village. Notice of meeting and agenda was given to Trustees in advance. As required by law Chairman Eddy, pointed out the copy of the Opens Meeting Act posted on the wall for public viewing and called the meeting to order. Proceedings shown were taken while convened meeting was open to the public.

Motion by Hammond, seconded by Einspahr, to approve the minutes of the last meeting as published Voting Aye: Eddy, Einspahr, Hammond, Orcutt and Valentine. There were no votes against the motion. Motion carried.

Discussion was held regarding pager bill from Platte Valley Communications. Clarification was made that in the past, the Village has paid for pagers, they were not split with the RCRFD. Clerk will discuss with RCRFD if they would like to pay the $2321.70 to reduce the debt from insurance premiums. Reminder was given regarding any purchases over $300.00 by RCVFD need to be approved by the Village Board before the purchase is made. Motion by Hammond, seconded by Einspahr to pay the following bills:

GENERAL: State of NE, $601.62; Verizon, $107.96; IRS, $111.16; USPS, $6.70; Bower Transmission, $650.07; One Call Concepts, $3.42; Black Hills Energy, $221.31; Lake Automotive, $27.25; Doug Walker, $117.00; TVPPD, $334.37; M. Waldo, $484.98; Platte Valley Comm., $2321.70; Harlan County Journal, $106.04; EMS Billing Svc., $277.18; S&W Auto Parts, $59.94; Presto X, $55.62; Island, $39.50; Trustworthy Hardware, $19.88; Sandry Fire Supply, $4485.86; One Call Concepts, $2.25; South Central Sanitation, $141.00; Black Hills Energy, $363.14.

STREET: Lake Automotive, $27.25; CHS Agri Svc, $319.01; TVPPD, $1371.51; Bladen Sand & Gravel, $891.21; Island, $39.50.

WATER: SPD, $213.00; Black Hills Energy, $61.08; Lake Automotive, $27.25; TVPPD, $168.90; USPS, $52.50; NE Public Health Env Lab, $181.00; Island, $39.50; SPD, $191.00; SPD, $191.00; Black Hills Energy, $74.03.

WASTEWATER: UHC, $2409.81; IRS, $871.86; Lake Automotive, $27.25; NDEQ, $150.00; USPS, $52.50; K. Whetstine, $3179.98; Island, $39.50.

Voting Aye: Eddy, Einspahr, Hammond, Orcutt and Valentine. There were no votes against the motion. Motion carried.

RECEIPTS: Sale of Real Estate, $2650.00; TVPPD, $3790.12; State of NE, $5376.89; Harlan County Treasurer, $824.01; Ambulance Billing Income, $760.00; Tobacco License, $10.00; Utility Billing, $10,575.25; Int Inc- CD, $752.04; Int Inc- ckg, $143.47.

Treasurer’s report was read and approved. Clerk will be contacting Payport to look into accepting credit/debit card and e-check payments via the village website. Credit/Debit card numbers will not be taken in the office and payment would need to be made via the website. A notice will be sent to residents once the Village is ready to accept payments.

Discussion was held regarding purchasing Christmas decorations for the Village. It would cost approximately $500.00 per pole to run electricity plus the cost of the decorations. Water rates were just increased and there is still $3500.00 to be raised for the playground project. Will revisit the topic once the playground project is completed.

Discussion was held regarding dirt being taken from the old dump. Initially intended to be used by those within the Village limits only. People outside of the village have been hauling dirt without permission. Ordinance will be prepared for February meeting to charge $10.00/yard for anyone not in the village limits. Dirt will be free for those using it within the village limits.

Updated playground drawing was presented with color change. Playground will be red, blue and yellow instead of the pastel colors initially presented. Shelter, benches and picnic tables will be bright blue. Playground, shelter, benches and tables will be delivered at the end March/ beginning of April.

Ordinance 307 was introduced by Trustee Eddy. Ordinance 307 reads AN ORDINANCE TO REVISE ALL THE ORDINANCES OF THE VILLAGE OF REPUBLICAN CITY, NEBRASKA BY ADOPTING THE 2018 EDITION OF THE NEBRASKA BASIC CODE OF ORDINANCES, TO REPEAL PRIOR ORDINANCES; TO REQUIRE FILINGS; AND TO PROVIDE AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Motion by Hammond, seconded by Einspahr to suspend the rule requiring three separate readings of the ordinance. . Voting Aye: Eddy, Einspahr, Hammond, Orcutt and Valentine. There were no votes against the motion. Motion carried. Motion by Hammond, seconded by Einspahr to adopt Ordinance 307. Voting Aye: Eddy, Einspahr, Hammond, Orcutt and Valentine. There were no votes against the motion. Motion carried.

Michael McConnell was present to discuss the RCVFD. New ambulance is needing a def filter. It has been cleared out once. Advised to check with Ford dealer to discuss clearing out versus purchasing new. Fire department would like to paint the fire hall and take down chalk board to make room for a tv. Clarification was made that the ambulance was purchased by and is owned by the Village of Republican City. There are no plans to transfer ownership of the ambulance to the RCVFD. Income from ambulance billing goes into the Village’s General fund. The funds are not transferred to the RCVFD. The RCVFD is given a budget each year that exceeds the revenue brought in from ambulance billing. Receipts have been turned in to the County Board of Supervisors to receive $5000.00 reimbursement for bunker gear. Old pagers were presented to show damage sustained on newer radios by users. Going forward, the RCVFD application will include information that the user is responsible for any damage other than normal wear and tear.

Additional speed bumps on each street have been requested to deter people from speeding up between bumps. Residents are stopping on speed bumps and then accelerating quickly to tear out the speed bumps. Village Attorney can take to court with a picture of the occurrence. It was also discussed that there is not a street through the theater parking lot and the playground area. Signs have been posted and residents are still driving through the area.

Nuisance issue at 240 Truman Ave. was discussed. The majority of the previous issues were remedied. There is currently a trailer full of trash that is parked in the driveway again as well as a tipped over garbage can with cans spilling out. Will discuss with Village Attorney regarding requirement of how often garbage must be removed from property if the resident has elected to not have garbage service through South Central Sanitation and have nuisance letter sent.

Motion by Hammond, seconded by Orcutt to adjourn at 6:40 p.m.

The next regular scheduled village board meeting will be held Monday, February 4, 2019 at 5:30 p.m. at the Fire Hall. Meeting is open to the public and the public is encouraged to attend.

Melissa Waldo, Clerk

Village of Republican City