Lancaster County
Board of Commissioners
Board of Commissioners
lancaster.ne.gov
STAFF MEETING
Lancaster County Board Of Commissioners
County-City Building
Fourth Floor Conference Room
Thursday, November 13, 1997
8:30 a.m.
AGENDA ITEM
1 APPROVAL OF STAFF MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 4, 1997
2 ADDITIONS TO AGENDA
3 8:30am COUNTY VETERANS' SERVICES QUARTERLY REPORT
Gary Chalupa, County Veterans Services Officer
4 9:00am LB 1114 COMPLIANCE
Dave Kroeker, Budget & Fiscal Officer
5 9:30am EXECUTIVE SESSION-PERSONNEL MATTER
6 10:00am DIRECTOR EVALUATION AND REPORT
George Hanigan, Community Mental Health Center Executive
Director
7 ACTION ITEMS
8 CONSENT ITEMS
9 ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER REPORT
a. Date for Move of County Board Offices to New
Building (December 22-23, 1997)
b. County Board Meeting with Karen Chinn (December 16,
1997, at 11:00 a.m.)
10 PENDING
a. Establishment of Special Improvement District in
Princeton
b. South Street Campus
11 DISCUSSION OF BOARD MEMBER MEETINGS
a. Nursing Facility Intergovernmental Transfer Meeting
Steinman, Tussing
b. Joint Budget Committee - Campbell, Steinman
c. Chamber Infrastructure Committee - Hudkins
d. Advisory Defense Council - Svoboda
12 SCHEDULE OF BOARD MEMBER MEETINGS
a. Public Building Commission - Thursday,
November 13, 1997, at 12:00 p.m., at the County-City
Building, Fourth Floor Conference Room - Campbell,
Hudkins
b. Master Plan Steering Committee - Thursday,
November 13, 1997, at 1:15 p.m., at the County-City
Building, Fourth Floor Conference Room - Hudkins
c. Parks & Recreation Advisory Board - Thursday,
November 13, 1997, at 4:00 p.m., at the County-City
Building, Commissioners Hearing Room - Tussing
d. Visitors Promotion Committee - Monday,
November 17, 1997, at 8:00 a.m., at the Chamber of
Commerce - Svoboda
e. GA Monitoring Committee - Tuesday, November
18, 1997, at 8:00 a.m., at the County-City Building,
Personnel Conference Room - Campbell, Tussing
13 INVITATIONS TO BOARD MEMBERS
a. Lincoln-Lancaster County Housing Trust Fund
Meeting - Wednesday, November 19, 1997, at 5:30
p.m., at the City of Lincoln Urban Development
Offices Conference Room
b. United Way/CHAD 1997 Community Campaign Finale
Friday, November 21, 1997 at 11:45 a.m., at
the Cornhusker Hotel
c. Honor Farm Family Recognition Lunch - Tuesday,
November 25, 1997, at 12:00 p.m., at the
Cornhusker Hotel
d. Cedars' 50th Anniversary - Sunday, December 7,
1997, from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m., at 6420 Winding
Ridge Circle
14 CORRESPONDENCE TO THE COUNTY BOARD
15 CORRESPONDENCE FROM THE COUNTY BOARD
16 AGENDA ITEMS FOR COUNTY BOARD MEETING OF NOVEMBER 18, 1997
17 EMERGENCY ITEMS AND OTHER BUSINESS
MINUTES
Lancaster County Board Of Commissioners
County-City Building
Fourth Floor Conference Room
Thursday, November 13, 1997
8:30 a.m.
Commissioners Present: Linda Steinman, Chair
Kathy Campbell, Vice-Chair
Darlene Tussing
Steve Svoboda
Larry Hudkins
Others Present: Kerry Eagan, Chief Administrative Officer
Ann Taylor, County Clerk's Office
AGENDA ITEM
1 APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING OF
NOVEMBER 4, 1997
MOTION: Campbell moved and Tussing seconded approval. On call Campbell,
Tussing, Svoboda and Steinman voted aye. Hudkins was absent.
Motion carried.
2 ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA
a. District Court Computers
b. Wyuka General Assistance Burial Fees
c. Executive Session - Potential Litigation
d. Board Member Meeting Reports Continued from the November 4th
Meeting
Railroad Transportation Safety District - Steinman, Svoboda and
Tussing
Ecological Advisory Committee - Tussing
Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development - Steinman
MOTION: Campbell moved and Tussing seconded approval of the additions to
the agenda. On call Campbell, Tussing, Svoboda and Steinman voted
aye. Hudkins was absent. Motion carried.
3 COUNTY VETERANS' SERVICES QUARTERLY REPORT -
Gary Chalupa, County Veterans Services Officer
Gary Chalupa, County Veterans Services Officer, asked if the
Board had any questions regarding the County Veterans' Services
Quarterly Report (Commissioners Information Packet).
Brief discussion took place regarding the homeless population in
Lincoln, as reported in the Lincoln Journal-Star newspaper, with
Chalupa reporting that approximately 60-70% of the homeless are
veterans. He also stated that it is difficult for the County
Veterans Services Office to provide assistance to homeless
veterans, due to the residency requirements of the County
Veterans Aid (CVA) and Nebraska Veterans Aid (NVA) Funds. He
stated that General Assistance and the Disabled American Veterans
(DAV) Veterans Assistance Fund may be assistance options.
Hudkins arrived.
Chalupa briefly reviewed his goals and objectives for the
upcoming year (Exhibit A), noting the following headings for the
columns shown in 2a:
Column 2 County Veterans Aid (CVA) Budget
Column 3 Actual Expenditures
Column 4 Nebraska Veterans Aid (NVA) Financial Assistance
Column 5 Total Assistance
Chalupa noted that it is the policy of the Veterans Services'
Office to apply for NVA funds, when applicable, and to assist
veterans in seeking permanent solutions for on-going needs.
4 LB 1114 COMPLIANCE
Dave Kroeker, Budget & Fiscal Officer
Dave Kroeker, Budget & Fiscal Officer, briefly reviewed a handout
detailing the LB 1114 Allocation based on the 1997-98 tax rate of
the various political subdivisions in Lancaster County; the
amount of rural taxes collected by the subdivisions under
LB 1114; Lancaster County property tax rates and the 1997-2007
Capital Improvement Program for the Railroad Transportation
Safety District (Exhibit B).
Kroeker suggested that interlocal agreements may be a solution
for fire districts that are over the levy amount. He noted that
interlocal agreements would allow the fire districts to tap into
the extra nickel of the levy set aside for that purpose.
Campbell asked if the fire districts support the Mutual Aid
through their budgets.
Hudkins stated that he believed the participating fire districts
pay the expenses of their Mutual Aid representatives.
Kroeker reported that the Malcolm, Raymond and Southeast Fire
Districts will need to adjust their levies to comply with
LB 1114.
Hudkins noted that the Malcolm Fire District must respond to
rescue calls at Pawnee, Branched Oak and Conestoga Lakes and the
Raymond Fire District answers calls at Branched Oak Lake as well.
He stated that those fire districts occasionally receive federal
funds because Pawnee and Branched Oak Lakes are Corp of Engineer
lakes. He asked if that would qualify as an interlocal
agreement.
Eagan agreed to research the issue.
Kroeker distributed copies of a report titled LB 1114:
Upcoming Levy Limits and Discussion of Government
Restructuring that was presented by George Kilpatrick,
Nebraska Legislature Revenue Committee Legal Counsel, at the
Nebraska Association of County Officials (NACO)Convention
(Exhibit C).
Kroeker reported that levy requests must be made to the Board no
later than September 30th of each year, with final levies
to be set by the County no later than October 31. He noted that
the report suggests that the Board and representatives of the
subdivisions meet prior to that to determine the allocation.
Campbell stated that the Board needs to determine the County's
priorities and fund those accordingly and that full funding of
those miscellaneous subdivisions is not required, even if the
ability to do so exists.
Kroeker suggested that the Agricultural Society, Railroad
Transportation Safety District and Library discuss their budgets
with the Board, separate from the Fire Districts. The Board
concurred, and requested that Don Thomas, County Engineer, and
Roger Figard, City Engineer, both be present for the RTSD budget
discussion.
In response to a question from Hudkins, Kroeker stated that the
City of Lincoln may be able to levy for RTSD projects located
within their jurisdiction.
The Board requested that current information on pension plans,
insurance, pay and fringe benefits for the fire districts be
provided to the Board.
The Board also requested that Kroeker contact Jack Mills,
Nebraska Association of County Officials (NACO), and George
Kilpatrick, Nebraska Legislature Revenue Committee Legal Counsel,
and ask for recommendations on a resource person who could advise
the Board on how fire districts should be funded.
5 EXECUTIVE SESSION - PERSONNEL MATTER
MOTION: Campbell moved and Tussing seconded to enter Executive Session
for the purpose of a personnel matter at 9:37 a.m. On call
Campbell, Hudkins, Svoboda, Tussing and Steinman voted aye.
Motion carried.
MOTION: Tussing moved and Hudkins seconded to exit Executive Session
at 10:17 a.m. On call Tussing, Hudkins, Svoboda, Campbell and
Steinman voted aye. Motion carried.
6 DIRECTOR EVALUATION AND REPORT
George Hanigan, Community Mental Health Center Executive Director
George Hanigan, Community Mental Health Center Executive Director,
requested that his evaluation take place in Executive Session.
MOTION: Tussing moved and Svoboda seconded to enter Executive Session
for the purpose of a director evaluation at 10:17 a.m. On call
Tussing, Svoboda, Hudkins, Campbell and Steinman voted aye.
Motion carried.
MOTION: Campbell moved and Tussing seconded to exit Executive Session
at 10:47 a.m. On call Campbell, Tussing, Svoboda, Hudkins and
Steinman voted aye. Motion carried.
7 ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER REPORT
e. Date for Move of County Board Offices to New Building
(December 22-23, 1997)
Board consensus to approve the proposed moving dates.
f. County Board Meeting with Karen Chinn
(December 16, 1997, at 11 a.m.)
Board consensus to hold the meeting in the County Commissioners' Office.
8 PENDING
a. Establishment of Special Improvement District in Princeton
b. South Street Campus
9 DISCUSSION OF BOARD MEMBER MEETINGS
a. Nursing Facility Intergovernmental Transfer Meeting
Steinman, Tussing
Larry Van Hunnik, Lancaster Manor Administrator, reported on the
Nursing Facility Intergovernmental Transfer Meeting and presented
the Board a draft of testimony in response to the State's
Intergovernmental Transfer Proposal for presentation at a public
hearing scheduled for November 20, 1997 (Exhibit D).
Campbell requested the following language changes to the draft:
Substitute the phrase "recognizes the" for the phrase "in
favor of" in Paragraph 2
Substitute the phrase "is willing to participate" for the
phrase "in favor of participating" in Paragraph 3
Strike the word "legitimate" in Paragraph 3
Substitute the word "philosophical" for "ethical" in
Paragraph 3
Van Hunnik suggested that the Board include the fact that the
County was not reimbursed for approximately $7,000 of the
$268,000 Central Office expense, which put the County over the
limit, and that the amount of non-reimbursable expense may
increase this year.
The Board concurred with Van Hunnik's suggestion.
The Board requested that Van Hunnik, Duane Austria, Deputy County
Attorney, and Dave Kroeker, Budget & Fiscal Officer, attend the
November 20th public hearing and that Van Hunnik provide
testimony on the Board's behalf.
MOTION: Campbell moved and Tussing seconded to refer the draft of testimony
to the County Attorney's office for review and to authorize Larry
Van Hunnik, Lancaster Manor Administrator, to represent Lancaster
County in providing testimony at the public hearing scheduled for
November 20, 1997. On call Campbell, Tussing, Svoboda, Hudkins and
Steinman voted aye. Motion carried.
Kit Boesch, Human Services Administrator, appeared and gave a
brief report on the City of Lincoln/Lancaster County Housing
Trust Fund meeting held on November 4th.
Boesch reported that approximately $24,000,000 in housing funds
will be allocated to nine regions within Nebraska over the next
six years, and that Lancaster County has been designated as one
of those nine regions. Boesch noted that 50% of the overall
figure must be used towards providing home ownership.
Boesch reported that a plan for distribution of the first year's
allocation of approximately $350,000 - $400,000 must be presented
to the State Department of Economic Development by January 14,
1998.
Boesch recommended that the priority plan include criteria for
determining which entities are qualified to carry out the
proposals.
In response to a question from Steinman, Boesch stated that the
Nebraska Investment Finance Authority (NIFA) will be providing
match funds, although she was unsure of the amount.
Board consensus to recommend that rural communities be provided
an equal opportunity to access the housing funds.
ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA
a. District Court Computers
Eagan reported that the Supreme Court Administrator had
authorized word processing for the District Court Reporters on
the State's AS400 System. He noted that cabling and terminal
costs would be the responsibility of the County. Eagan
recommended that the cabling be included in the bids for the Old
Federal Building and that the County explore the option of
leasing terminals for the District Court Reporters.
Eagan also reported that four of the District Court Judges had
expressed interest in having their courtroom benches wired for
computer access.
MOTION: Hudkins moved and Tussing seconded approval of the request for the
cabling in the Old Federal Building and to continue to explore the
issue of computer terminals for the District Court Reporters. On
call Hudkins, Tussing, Svoboda, Campbell and Steinman voted aye.
Motion carried.
b. Wyuka General Assistance Burial Fees
Campbell reported that Wyuka Cemetery had requested reimbursement
of burial expenses at the new County Burial Plan rate,
retroactive to July 1, 1997. She stated that although the final
burial rates were not approved until October 7, 1997, that
portion of the rates had already been negotiated.
MOTION: Campbell moved and Hudkins seconded to authorize Kerry Eagan, Chief
Administrative Officer, to finalize a rate with Wyuka Cemetery
retroactive to July 1, 1997. On call Campbell, Hudkins, Svoboda,
Tussing and Steinman voted aye. Motion carried.
c. Executive Session - Potential Litigation
(NOTE: Executive Session did not take place due to time constraints.)
d. Board Member Meeting Reports Continued from the
November 4th Meeting
Railroad Transportation Safety District (RTSD)
Steinman, Svoboda and Tussing
Tussing reported that concern regarding the cost overrun on the
"X" Street corridor was discussed. She also noted that the
University of Nebraska and the Union Pacific Railroad both want
an abandonment between 9th and 19th Streets and
may make some funds available for that purpose.
Campbell requested that Roger Figard, City Engineer, also provide
an update of RTSD projects at the meeting to be scheduled for
discussion of LB 1114.
Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development
Steinman
Steinman reported that the website for job opportunities in the
community, the State Unemployment Trust Fund and a Technological
Instrument Testing Center were discussed.
Steinman left and Campbell assumed direction of the meeting.
Ecological Advisory Committee - Tussing
Tussing reported that the Wilderness Study Group had requested
input from the Board on expectations with regards to the study.
Campbell requested that the Wilderness Study Group make
recommendations with regards to buffering Wilderness Park from
development and whether to restrict uses inside the park.
Tussing also noted discussion on the expansion of Wilderness
Park, as noted in the Comprehensive Plan, with a suggestion that
letters be sent to adjacent landowners regarding conservation
easements.
b. Joint Budget Committee - Campbell, Steinman
Report was postponed due to time constraints.
c. Chamber Infrastructure Committee - Hudkins
Hudkins reported that the Chamber Infrastructure Committee would
like the Antelope Valley Major Improvement Study to move forward,
with the suggestion that the Agricultural Society Events Center
be located back on the fairgrounds.
Hudkins also reported that the Agricultural Society had reported
the possibility of a new site between Waverly and Lincoln for the
Events Center.
d. Advisory Defense Council - Svoboda
No report was given.
10 SCHEDULE OF BOARD MEMBER MEETINGS
a. Public Building Commission - Thursday, November
13, 1997 at 12 p.m., in the County-City Building,
Fourth Floor Conference Room - Campbell, Hudkins
b. Master Plan Steering Committee - Thursday,
November 13, 1997, at 1:15 p.m., in the County-City
Building, Fourth Floor Conference Room - Hudkins
c. Parks & Recreation Advisory Board - Thursday,
November 13, 1997, at 4 p.m., in the County-City
Building, Commissioners Hearing Room- Tussing
d. Visitors Promotion Committee - Monday, November
17, 1997, at 8 a.m., at the Chamber of Commerce -
Svoboda
e. General Assistance Monitoring Committee - Tuesday,
November 18, 1997, at 8 a.m., in the County-City
Building, Personnel Conference Room - Campbell,
Tussing
11 INVITATIONS TO BOARD MEMBERS
a. Lincoln-Lancaster County Housing Trust Fund
Meeting - Wednesday, November 19, 1997, at 5:30
p.m., at the City of Lincoln Urban Development
Offices Conference Room
b. United Way/CHAD 1997 Community Campaign Finale -
Friday, November 21, 1997 at 11:45 a.m., at the
Cornhusker Hotel
c. Honor Farm Family Recognition Lunch - Tuesday,
November 25, 1997, at 12 p.m., at the Cornhusker
Hotel
d. Cedars' 50th Anniversary - Sunday,
December 7, 1997, from 6:30 to 9 p.m., at 6420
Winding Ridge Circle
12 CORRESPONDENCE TO THE COUNTY BOARD
13 CORRESPONDENCE FROM THE COUNTY BOARD
14 AGENDA ITEMS FOR COUNTY BOARD MEETING OF NOVEMBER 18, 1997
15 EMERGENCY ITEMS AND OTHER BUSINESS
16 ADJOURNMENT
By direction of the Vice-Chair, the meeting was adjourned.
______________________
Kandra Hahn
Lancaster County Clerk