VILLAGE OF ELM CREEK
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
APRIL 17, 2025, 7:00PM
A Regular Meeting of the Elm Creek Village Board of Trustees was convened in open and public session at the Elm Creek Village Center, 535 W. Boyd Avenue, Elm Creek, Nebraska at 7:00p.m. on April 17, 2025. Advance Notice of this meeting was given in advance thereof by posting of Notice in three public places within the Village and publication in the Beacon Observer, as shown in the Certificate of Posting affixed to these minutes. Advance Notice was simultaneously given to the Chairman and all members of the Board of Trustees and their acknowledgment of receipt of Notice and the agenda are affixed to these minutes. Tanner Tool called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. by calling for the roll with the following members responding: Kyle Lawrence, Brian Florell, Michael Strong, Tanner Tool, and Davis Miner. Absent: None. Tanner announced that in accordance with Section 84-1412 of the Nebraska Revised Statutes, a current copy of the Open Meetings Act is available for review and is posted on the east wall of the meeting room.
CONSENT AGENDA
It was moved by Tanner and seconded by Kyle to approve the Consent Agenda consisting of the minutes of the Road Improvement and Regular Meetings on March 25,2025, and the Claims for the month of April in the amount of $112,168.65. Ayes: Kyle, Brian, Davis, Michael, and Tanner. Nays: none. The motion carried.
SHERIFF’S REPORT: Capt. Bob Anderson reported that the county had provided breath testing services at the Elm Creek prom and that everything went well. They are continuing to have a presence at school events as often as possible. He mentioned that they are making a few changes to their reports that we receive each month, and they will now provide more information on certain action items. It was suggested by Davis that the Sheriff’s office start addressing the ATV/UTV’s that are running on the streets that are not registered so Capt Bob said he would remind the deputies.
REGULAR AGENDA
AGENDA ITEM #1: Consider and approve land application agreement with Ourada Family Partnership
Dusty recommended that we sign the 1-year agreement so that we can see how this year goes with the land application on our own land.
It was moved by Tanner and seconded by Michael to approve the land application agreement for 1-year. Ayes: Brian, Kyle, Michael, Davis, and Tanner. Nays: None. The motion carried.
AGENDA ITEM #2: Consider and approve putting the park pathway project out for bid.
Lance Harter with Oak Creek Engineering presented the updated plans for the project. There was a suggestion by Michael to widen the sidewalks on the south side of the pool as well.
It was moved by Tanner and seconded by Davis to put the park pathway project out for bid as presented with an alternate bid to include widening the sidewalks by the pool. Ayes: Davis, Michael, Tanner, Kyle, and Brian. Nays: None. The motion carried.
AGENDA ITEM #3: Consider and approve street maintenance bids.
Dusty met with 3 companies and received a bid from each. Figgins Construction presented the best bid and will be able to cover more streets than the other 3 companies.
It was moved by Tanner and seconded by Michael to approve Figgins’ proposal leaving off 2 Tyler Street sections and not to exceed $97,000.00. Ayes: Michael, Tanner, Kyle, Brian, and Davis. Nays: None. The motion carried.
AGENDA ITEM #4: Authorize the Village Trustor to sign off on the Village of Elm Creek subordinating to FNBO for lien on property at 425 N Bond St
The resident is applying for a HELOC so their bank would like to move us to the third Lienholder and add themselves as the second. Dusty spoke to the people at SCEDD that helped with the grant, and they said we would be able to do that. The bank requested that we have the Trustor sign off on it to make it official. The Trustor would be Taylor L’Heureux, our legal counsel. Taylor corrected us and said she is the Trustee.
It was moved by Tanner and seconded by Davis to allow Taylor to sign off on the Village of Elm Creek subordinating to FNBO for lien on property at 425 N Bond St. Ayes: Kyle, Michael, Brian, Tanner, and Davis. Nays: None. The motion carried.
AGENDA ITEM #5: Discuss a half cent sales tax increase.
Dusty contacted Lisa at the election commissioner’s office to see what we would need to do to hold a special election to increase the local sales tax by half cent. The sales tax increase would generate more income for the Village of Elm Creek to help fund more street repairs. The board would have to approve a resolution no later than their July meeting, ballots would be mailed out on August 18 and due back at the election commissioner’s office by 5:00pm on September 9.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
No report given
DEPARTMENT REPORTS
The auditors at Dana F Cole & Company were not able to make it to our meeting so they sent the audit report to us. The audit came back positive and there were no concerns with how we are doing things.
Dusty has issued a couple of fence permits. Randy Purdy inquired with NPPD about getting a light pole moved from his property to the other side of the street. NPPD asked if the Village had any issue with that and we do not. It would be billed to Randy.
Karen & Jerry Hall inquired about splitting their lot but no decision has been made yet.
Dusty is setting up a meeting with Dana Peterson and Beau Knapp to discuss the use of poly pipe for land application at the lagoons.
Since we will be dispensing water to the east and the west out of the lagoon we will need to move the float pump back and forth. We may be able to get an older Pond-Tini from AgDryer to help us move it so we don’t have to pull it out each time.
We are having a few issues with our underground sprinklers so Tanner Hemmingsen has been fixing those. There are a few on the big baseball field that they are looking to move closer to the outfield.
The school has re-seeded the football field so they would like more water on it.
The Utilities Department is still down a permanent full time employee so Dusty is working to find someone to fill it.
ARPA annual report is due April 30. We should have all of the money spent for the report.
Baseball – The ball club is going to put a fence cap on the top of the outfield fence for visibility and safety. The cost is around $700.00 and will be split between the Village and the ball club.
Scott Shubert has hauled more dirt in for the big field. Thank him if you see him.
Michael is a member of the ball club and said they have 12 teams and over 150 kids playing this summer.
Pool – Hannah is going to have a lady from Hastings come to Elm Creek in May to do lifeguard and CPR certification & recertification. The Village pays for the guards to become certified so we will pay for this service. The utility staff is going to have the pool filled by May 16th and it is expected to open on Tuesday May 27.
We had a water leak over by the Christian Church a couple of weeks ago. It was found to be a lead pipe so we had to pull it and replace it. All of the work has been completed.
The school will be adding lights to the south side of their property. They are waiting for them to come in. They would like to add a water line for the greenhouse. They asked us to do it and would like it done before the school year starts.
Buffalo Stampede is going to be moved back this year to its original weekend so the dates will be August 22-24. The theme this year is Country Roads Take Me Home.
AGENDA ITEM #5: Adjournment
All agenda items having been considered, it was moved by Brian and seconded by Michael to adjourn this Regular Meeting. Ayes: Davis, Michael, Brian, Tanner, and Kyle. Nays: none. The motion carried and the meeting was adjourned at 8:02p.m.
