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Council discusses flood, office repairs

OSMOND — Members of the Osmond City Council met Monday, Oct. 12, in the conference room with a number of items on the agenda, including a number of issues relating to flood repairs.

Flood Repairs to Move Forward

Brian McDonald, senior project manager of JEO Consulting Group, Inc., was present at the meeting and reported that the plans and specifications were complete regarding Osmond’s EWP Flood Repairs which would repair damages caused by the March 2019 flood to the two bridges on south State Street.

During his presentation, he talked about the rip-rap work to be done for stabilization of the bridges. He mentioned trees need to be removed from the southeast corner of the south bridge. The opinion of probable cost for the bridge work is $35,000, and all construction must be completed by July 12, 2021.

The NRCS permit will allow the repairs to be made. Following discussion, Council set 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 9, 2020, as the deadline for sealed proposals for the construction work to be received by the city clerk. The council authorized the city clerk to advertise an “Invitation to Bid” for the construction of the “EWP Flood Repair for Osmond, Nebraska.”

Mayor James Bessmer also asked Councilman Doug Schmit to get a quote from A&R Construction on the work that needs to be done to repair the flood damages to the city storm sewer.

In consideration of a plan for repair of the flood damaged streets, Councilman Schmit asked for ideas on how to pay for the work. Following a lengthy discussion about similar work that has been done in the past and on whether or not to look at bonding or a grant, Schmit suggested holding a town hall meeting for input from members of the community before making a decision.

Council agreed and asked Schmit to follow through with getting it set up within the next two weeks, to extend an invitation to Steve Parr of JEO and Brad Slaughter of Piper Sandler & Co., to publish a notice in the local newspaper, as well as to post a notice on Facebook in order to make it known to the community.

Utility Rates to Remain Same

During review of the 2019-20 FY figures to determine if utility rate changes would be necessary, Cindy Hoffman explained the differences of the annual totals for garbage, sewer and water. Councilman Dan Timmerman advised there should be no major upcoming sewer expenses, especially since there is a new sewer pump on hand. Since combined totals showed a gain, the council approved leaving the utility rates (water/sewer/garbage) for the 2020-21 FY the same as the 2019-20 FY rates.

Other Agenda Items

Councilman John Aschoff said he received prices from R&M Lawn Care offering a dry fertilizer with a liquid chemical application for Memorial Park. There was a brief discussion about the advantage of having a local contractor and pricing. Council decided it will be looked at again after the first of the year.

Councilman Aschoff said the city firemen asked him about the possibility of having the tree behind the city office cut down in order to help keep leaves out of the gutters on the fire hall. Dennis Kuhl said the firemen would remove the tree. Aschoff stated the city tractor could be used to load the debris and get it hauled away.

Councilman Aschoff also asked about the status of work being done at the city office. Mayor Bessmer confirmed the roof cannot be repaired. Discussion followed regarding the need to repair the police department building. Bessmer asked Councilman Schmit to see about applying for a Robert B. Daugherty Foundation grant that could possibly be used to construct a new facility.

Cindy Hoffman reported FEMA has agreed to, once again, review all submissions that have not been obligated prior to their doing an official determination memorandum. This review might give the city office the option to not have to take steps in moving forward with an appeal.

In other business, the council:

— heard Mayor Bessmer read a letter from the Fremont Area Community Foundation, Inc. indicating that they had awarded a grant to the City of Osmond for $5,000, which is designated for the park department.

— heard Mayor Bessmer state the city sales tax for July 2020 was $16,884.70.

— went into closed session for personnel issues.

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