Council Discusses Range Of Topics At Monday Meeting

SERVICE RECOGNITION - Mayor Scott Menish awarded Susie Kramer a certificate in recognition of her service as a member of the city council for 16 years.

The O'Neill City Council met on Monday, Dec. 9, with all members present, including new council member Chris Laursen, who was inducted into the council along with other council members who retained their seats in the 2024 General Election. Laursen is taking the place of councilwoman Susie Kramer, who served as a leader for 16 years. Quana Wheeler was elected council chair person for the next year.

The council approved LB840 money to help with news signs for businesses and one for help in demolition. The council approved Deniuce Prausto Alcala for the O'Neill Fire and Ambulance Departments. The consideration of approval for KENO for Hooligan's Pub was discussed with Councilwoman  Kayla Burdick, who asked the City Attorney if there were any special regulations the council needed to be aware of. Council Attorney Boyd Strope and City Clerk Sarah Sidak assured Burdick that the Keno was nothing new and that the city had taken the necessary steps in 1996 when KENO had its first go around in the city.

Number 13 on the agenda was the consideration of appointing City Clerk Sidak to be Nebraska Cooperative Government Audit Clerk for the City of O'Neill, with the city paying the fees for her. The council approved the matter before moving on.

The council briefly talked about the FEMA update. The council has had trouble getting funds from the government agency for street damage caused by the 2017 floods. The council took some financial precautions, obtaining a $500,000 line of credit from Pinnacle Bank  and making money available from investments from Tri- County Bank. The council then heard from O'Neill Police Chief Matt Otte and Officer Cully Forker. Forker asked the council for their thoughts on bringing the K-9 program back to O'Neill. The city has been without a K-9 unit since 2017. They discussed how a K-9 unit would help in the ongoing battle against drugs. Folker stated that criminals are changing tactics, so we probably need to change ours by bringing back a canine unit.

"We want a drug dog that can also track. The finished dog would cost about $9,000 to $9,500 and include handler training. Then, we would go through the Nebraska State Patrol training, and so the dog would have to be available to the patrol if requested. Folker said he has been looking into finding grants for things such as food, which could save the city up to about $900 a year.

Councilwoman Quana Wheeler asked about the dog's years of service and what happens if the handler moves. "The dog's service life is seven years, and I will be committing to this project and would be willing to sign a five-year contract if that would help. We would like to do a lot of this by fundraising to save the city money," said Folker.

Next on the list was Councilman Paul Asche, who discussed the recent scuttle over the council's purchase of a pickup truck from Courtesy Ford of Norfolk. Ache was upset at the allegations brought up by representatives of William Krotter Co. at the last meeting regarding Water Supervisor Jason Baker and the bidding process used by the city.

Asche reiterated their problems with the previous Dodge Tradesman pickup purchased from Krotters in 2019. After the bids were released, the council received bids from Krotters and Courtesy Ford. Asche accused Krotters of calling Baker if they had gotten the bid and said that they had responded negatively towards him. Asche said they then had a special  council meeting to let Krotters air their say on the matter, questioning the fuel used in the matter with the defective fuel pumps and questioning Baker's integrity when, in fact, they placed the blame everywhere except their pickup. Asche said they didn't understand how the city could be putting in the wrong gas when that kind of gas is not even sold in the town and were dismayed at calling the employees negligent for putting in the wrong fuel.

Asche then expressed his dismay at the Independent for writing a slanted story and not considering Baker's side of the story. He also stated that the Publisher wasn't at the meeting. I was not at the meeting but received a recording of it a couple of days after it.

In having a meeting with Baker and Asche and Mayor Scott Menish, they told Publisher Terry Miles about the gas issue and how they were baffled at how that could happen with no pumps selling the kind of gas that was too high of ethanol and that they even started using non-ethanol gas. 

"They need to find out how the gas tested by Krotter's could have come back with that much ethanol, as the pumps in town don't sell that."

Asche also said they had some other trouble with the vehicle and were dissatisfied with the product. 

The vehicle's problems are unfortunate, and when I talked with Asche, I told them they probably got a lemon. 

We have all had products that have not lived up to our desires, and as private citizens, we have the right not to choose that product again. In that meeting with the three gentlemen, I explained that Baker was a good water supervisor and that I had no problems with him or his job. The problem was with the council members who voted to take their tax-supported purchases out of town over $96 and purchase a vehicle from a company that pays no tax in the City of O'Neill and Holt County. Asche asked if I would go somewhere else if I got a lemon. I said no and that I am loyal to the business at O'Neill. Not only do some of them support me and help put a roof over my head and put dinner on the table, but by buying local, I help keep their businesses going and that their employees who pay taxes and hopefully spend their dollars locally to benefit us as residents so when we the city needs to buy some equipment they can buy it at home and keep the cycle going.

Asche then said he called Moody Motors and wondered why they never submitted a bid. He told Asche that Moody's does not compete with Krotter's in their area. Asche said it might be criminal in light of the information when they requested a bid from Moody and didn't receive one. Asche stated that he felt the victim here was Baker because his integrity was questioned several times. Asche said that Krotters should apologize and that the paper should apologize. Now, I didn't report anything that wasn't said out loud and was not an accusation from one side or the other on the matter. 

As far as writing a slanted story, yes, I did slant it to the fact that the support of community businesses is indeed essential. As a business owner, I want my community to thrive, and the City Council of O'Neill should support its pillars.

Lonnie Fueller was the last speaker of the night and told the council how important it is that we have all been led to shop local, and that asking Krotters to apologize is probably not who needs to apologize.

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