MINUTES OF THE DEWITT VILLAGE BOARD REGULAR MEETING AND REORGANIZATION MEETING held Tuesday, December 10, 2024, at 7:00 PM at the Village Office, 209 E. Fillmore Ave, DeWitt, NE. Roll Call: Present: Chairman Fink, Trustees Rahe, Wattjes, Weise and Workman Absent: None Also present: Utility Superintendent – Hunter Oliver, Utility Maintenance – Kyle Meers, Clerk - Moria Holly, Dave Rentschler, Liz Poessnecker, and Emily Pohlmann Chairman Fink announced that a copy of the Open Meetings Act is posted in the meeting room and is accessible to members of the public. Received and placed on file the notices of the meeting. Motions approved by unanimous roll call vote: 1. Consent Agenda; 2. Bockmann Estimate – Asbestos Removal; Regular meeting adjourned at 7:09 P.M., all in favor. 2025 Reorganization started at 7:11 P.M. Roll Call: Present: Chairman Fink, Trustees Rahe, Rentschler, Weise and Workman Absent: None Also Present: Utility Superintendent – Hunter Oliver, Utility Maintenance – Kyle Meers, Clerk – Moria Holly, Liz Poessnecker and Larry Wattjes Chairman Fink announced that a copy of the Open Meetings Act is posted in the meeting room and is accessible to members of the public. Received and placed on file the notices of the meeting. Chairman Pro-Tempore – Moria Holly Called for nominations of Chairman and cease. Motion by Weise, second by Rahe, to appoint Lyle Fink as Board Chairman. Motion approved by unanimous roll call vote: Lyle Fink – Chairman of the Board. Appointments approved by unanimous roll call vote: 1. Moria Holly – Clerk/Treasurer 2. Kelly Hoffschneider – Village Attorney 3. Hunter Oliver – Utility Superintendent and Building Inspector 4. First State Bank Nebraska – Official Depository 5. No appointment for an engineering firm to act as Street Superintendent for calendar year 2025 6. JEO Engineering – Village Engineer 7. 20 Volunteer Firefighters on the role of the DeWitt Fire Department 8. Seward County Independent (Wilber Republican) – Designated newspaper for official publishing 9. Library Board – Liz Poessnecker, Jill Cammack, Emily Pohlmann, Linda Schuerman and Jan Stokebrand 10. Park & Pool Board – Bobbie Scherling, Chelsea Tietjen, Pam Garrison, Ray Brown and Josi Remmers 11. Planning and Zoning Commission – Mike Rahe, Marge Badman, and Gary Shepler. 12. Tree Board – Jane Hermsmeier, Laura Pieper, Bruce Waltke, and Dave Rentschler 13. Civic Board – Travis Rahe, Glen Pieper 14. Senior Center Board – Joan Wilkens, Mary Cape, Arlene Smith, Marna Conn, Randy Badman, Kathy Stokebrand, Gary McIntosh, Arlin Parde, Lois Wattjes and Lana Hager 15. Dr. Amy Vertin – Medical Director 16. Board of Health – Village Chairman, Fire Chief and Saline County Sheriff 17. Authorization for the Clerk/Treasurer to purchase or transfer Certificates of Deposit. Yearly Goals: 1. Cat population control – set up meeting with Beatrice Humane Society; 2. Community Center Project; 3. NRD grant for cleaning ditches; 4. Tar Village Streets; 5. Nuisance properties; 6. Abandoned vehicles Executive Session called at 7:38 P.M. for the purpose of discussing job performance, raises and incentives. Executive Session ended at 8:03 P.M. with no formal action taken. Motions approved by unanimous roll call vote: 1. Salaries and Wages 2025 2. Annual Employee Incentives 3. Ordinance 794; Salaries & Wages 2025 Discussions: Emily Pohlmann presented to the Village Board and employees a gift from First State Bank to show their appreciation for being a valued customer over the years. She addressed the Village Board to say thank you and that First State Bank is looking forward to all future business they can help provide in the future. Larry Wattjes discussed with the Village Board about participating more in community events, such as, volunteering to help set up for such events at the Community Center. Larry then proceeded to state his appreciation for the Village Board and employees over the years and wished everyone well in the future. The Village Board took this time to thank Larry Wattjes for his 36 years of service to the Village Board. Lyle Fink, the current Chairman, presented Larry Wattjes with a Certificate of Appreciation for service and dedication to the Village. Liz Poessnecker addressed the Village Board regarding the Library Board recommending an increase in wages for the Library Director and the Library Assistance Director. The Library Board is recommending a wage of $13.50 per hour for the Library Director and $10.50 per hour for the Library Assistance Director. The Village Board agreed to discuss the issue. Village Clerk, Moria Holly, spoke with the Village Board regarding an ongoing dog complaint where multiple notices have been delivered to the owner, two being hand delivered by the Animal Control Officer, with no action being taken to rectify the Ordinance violations. The Village Clerk asked the Village Board for permission to hand the matter over the Village Attorney for citations and any possible court appearances regarding this matter. The Village Board agreed to have the Village Attorney handle matter at his discretion. The Village Clerk also presented to the Village Board a Notice to be mailed community wide as reminder to all pet owners regarding the Village’s Ordinances in relation to running at large, vaccinations, licensing, etc. Lastly, the Village Clerk discussed with the Village Board the issue of the Village owned garbage totes. After discussion, the Village Board agreed to collect all of the Village owned totes, unless a resident preferred to keep the tote. A letter will be sent out to all garage customers informing them of when the Village will pick up the totes, and if desired, to contact the Village Office regarding keeping the tote. Once all the totes have been collected, any further measures will be decided at that time. Fire Chief, Shawn Weise, addressed the Village Board that Dr. Amy Vertin will be stepping down as Medical Director for DeWitt and a new Medical Director will be appointed at a later date. The Fire Department has 8 older SCBA tanks that are no longer needed due to the purchase of new ones earlier this year. The Fire Department has planned to retain 2 for Village use and to donate the remaining 6 tanks to the Wilber Volunteer Fire Department. Utility Superintendent, Hunter Oliver, informed the Village Board with a review of the last year’s matters, including diagnosing and repairing Wastewater Treatment Plant issues, working with JEO on the designs for the Wastewater Treatment Plant rehabilitation project, finding and repairing multiple water main breaks, buying and selling of equipment, and other Village maintenance. Reorganization Meeting adjourned at 8:25 P.M., all in favor. ATTEST: /s/ Lyle Fink Chairman, Board of Trustees Village of DeWitt, NE. s/ Moria Holly Village Clerk SEAL Bills and claims approved: ABC Termite-$1271.62, Amazon-$110.17, Ameritas-$986.00, Aqua-$35.00, Black Hills Energy-$201.74, Blue Cross Blue Shield-$4885.36, Steve Bragg-$120.00, Capital Business-$295.02, Capital One-$77.01, Chrysler Capital-$1629.72, City of Beatrice-$74.24, Constellation-$56.51, Crete News-$275.13, DeWitt Aging-$3884.90, Display Sales-$8264.00, Eakes-$140.58, Farmers Coop-$1168.49, Global Indust-$2244.95, Google-$14.40, Hoffschneider Law-$500.00, Moria Holly-$50.00, Hydro Opt-$729.85, IRS-$3230.28, Lampton Welding-$28.97, Madison Natl-$27.34, Kyle Meers-$72.00, MES-$1136.05, Municipal Supply-$4200.00, NDEE-$617.58, NE Dept of Rev-$1224.32, NE Public Health Lab-$31.00, Principal Financial-$218.54, Rahe Trucking-$1824.41, Saline Co Clerk-$2308.50, Schmidt Sanitation-$4682.75, Servi-Tech-$168.00, Tri-County-$20.00, Uhls Sporting-$25.00, Verizon-$345.79, Village of DeWitt-$299.75, Vyhnalek Ins-$100.00, White’s Welding-$240.00, Wilber Plumbing-$212.96, Windstream-$1173.85 and Salary & Aggregate Wages-$15280.05. WR — December 18, 2024 ZNEZ
