Board of Commissioners
Agenda
STAFF MEETING AGENDA
Lancaster County Board Of Commissioners
County-City Building
Fourth Floor Conference Room
Thursday, September 25, 1997
8:30 a.m.
AGENDA ITEM
1 APPROVAL OF STAFF MEETING MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 18, 1997
2 ADDITIONS TO AGENDA
3 8:30am GENERAL ASSISTANCE BURIAL SUBCOMMITTEE REPORT
GA Burial Subcommittee
4 9:15am PENDING LITIGATION
Mike Thew, Chief Deputy County Attorney
5 9:30am CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU QUARTERLY REPORT
Dan Quandt, CVB Director
6 10:00am PRELIMINARY PLAT NO. 97007, BLUE SPRUCE ESTATES
Mike DeKalb, Planning Department
7 10:15am DANGEROUS BUILDINGS
Diane Staab, aDeputy County Attorney; Mel Goddard,
Building & Safety
8 10:30am POST ADJUDICATED YOUTH & WARDS OF THE STATE
Dennis Banks, Attention Center Director
9 11:00am EMERGENCY PLACEMENT CUSTODY AT CORNHUSKER PLACE
Kit Boesch, Human Services Director;
Dave Kroeker, Budget & Fiscal Officer;
George Hanigan, CMHC Director;
Jim Baird, Cornhusker Place Director
10 ACTION ITEMS
11 CONSENT ITEMS
12 ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER REPORT
a. NACO Legislative Committee Meeting
b. Budget Amendment for City Building Maintenance Fund
c. LPS Lands Available for Trade with County
13 PENDING
a. Establishment of Special Improvement District in
Princeton
b. South Street Campus
14 DISCUSSION OF BOARD MEMBER MEETINGS
a. Board of Health - Hudkins
b. Information Services Policy Committee - Steinman
15 SCHEDULE OF BOARD MEMBER MEETINGS
a. Lancaster Manor Advisory Committee -
Thursday, September 25, 1997, at 12:00 p.m., at
Lancaster Manor, Conference Room - Tussing
b. Master Plan Steering Committee - Thursday,
September 25, 1997, at 1:15 p.m., at the County-City
Building, Fourth Floor Conference Room - Hudkins
c. Community Mental Health Center Advisory Board
Wednesday, October 1, 1997, at 12:00 p.m., at the
CMHC, Basement Conference Room - Svoboda
16 INVITATIONS TO BOARD MEMBERS
a. 1997 Annual Stewards and Retirees Educational
Banquet - Saturday, October 11, 1997, at 5:30 p.m., at
Sherry's Dining and Dancing, 3223 Cornhusker Highway
17 CORRESPONDENCE TO THE COUNTY BOARD
18 CORRESPONDENCE FROM THE COUNTY BOARD
19 AGENDA ITEMS FOR COUNTY BOARD MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 30, 1997
20 EMERGENCY ITEMS AND OTHER BUSINESS
MINUTES
Lancaster County Board Of Commissioners
County-City Building
Fourth Floor Conference Room
Thursday, September 25, 1997
8:30 a.m.
Commissioners Present: Linda Steinman, Chair
Kathy Campbell
Larry Hudkins
Darlene Tussing
Commissioners Absent: Steve Svoboda
Others Present: Kerry Eagan, Chief Administrative Officer
Ann Taylor, County Clerk's Office
AGENDA ITEM
1 APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 18, 1997
MOTION: Tussing moved and Campbell seconded approval.
On call Tussing, Campbell and Steinman voted aye.
Hudkins not present for voting. Motion carried.
2 ADDITIONS TO AGENDA
a. Review Furniture Purchases for New Building
b. Project Manager for Attention Center Project
Hudkins arrived.
MOTION: Campbell moved and Tussing seconded approval of the
additions to the agenda. On call Campbell, Tussing,
Hudkins and Steinman voted aye. Motion carried.
3 GENERAL ASSISTANCE BURIAL SUBCOMMITTEE REPORT - General
Assistance Burial Subcommittee, Susan Klein, Health and Human
Services; Kathy Smith, Purchasing; Dave Kroeker, Budget and
Fiscal Officer; Gary Chalupa, Veterans Service Officer
Kathy Smith, Purchasing, reviewed the comparison schedule for
the County Burial Plan and the County Burial Fee Schedule
comparison to surrounding counties (Exhibit A).
Hudkins inquired whether there would be a charge for burial
of cremated remains in County owned cemeteries.
Campbell responded that unless legislative change allowing
the Board to authorize cremation occurs, burial of cremated
remains would only be at family member request.
Smith reported that burial providers had noted concerns
regarding the amount offered for adult burial. She stated
that the Burial Committee reviewed the cost quotes submitted
by burial providers in a survey and proposed the amount of
$1,600 for an adult burial, with a total fee of $2,150 to
include open and closing costs be offered in the contract.
Smith also noted that the three year contract provides a two
year cap on a fee, with provisions for an increase on the
third year based on the consumer price index.
Steinman inquired whether it would be beneficial for the
County to contract with one particular provider, based on the
County Attorney opinion which stated that the County would
not be liable for costs incurred by a non-contracting
mortuary which picked up a body and began the embalming
process at a family's request.
Susan Klein, Health and Human Services, suggested that the
$250 special circumstance funds could be used for such a
case, or reimbursement could be sought from the contracting
mortuary.
Klein reported minor changes to the contract which included
separation of burial items from cremation, minor language
changes to coincide with terms used by the funeral industry
and removal of examples from the special circumstances clause
and increasing the amount of the award to $250.
Eagan recommended that the three-year inflationary escalation
language be included in the plan as well as the contract.
Campbell and Smith agreed to work with Mike Thew, Deputy
County Attorney, to resolve the issue of reimbursing non-contracted
funeral homes for costs incurred. Kroeker agreed
to add the three-year inflationary escalator clause to the
County burial plan.
Campbell asked Gary Chalupa, Veterans Service Officer,
whether the issue of granite headstones for Veterans Service
markers had been resolved.
Chalupa responded that the County was obligated to abide by
the regulations set by the cemeteries, but that a less
expensive provider could be used.
ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA
a. Review Furniture Purchases for New Building
Dave Kroeker, Budget and Fiscal Officer, briefly reviewed
furniture expenses for County office for the County-City
Building (Exhibit B). He noted that there may be slight
adjustments to the figures for purchases from other vendors
and labor charges.
Board consensus to approve the submitted figures.
b. Project Manager for Attention Center Project
Kathy Smith, Purchasing, reported that Chinn Planning had
agreed to contract with counties participating in the "Three
Phase Comprehensive Study for the Juvenile Justice System" at
the rate of $80 per hour. She stated this would allow
counties to only contract for the amount of time necessary to
meet their needs.
Brief discussion followed on selection of a project manager
for the study, with Board consensus to appoint Dennis Banks,
Attention Center Director, with oversight provided by Dave
Kroeker, Budget and Fiscal Officer.
4 PENDING LITIGATION - Mike Thew, Chief Deputy County Attorney
MOTION: Tussing moved and Hudkins seconded to enter Executive
Session at 9:27 a.m. for the purpose of discussing pending
litigation. On call Tussing, Hudkins, Campbell and
Steinman voted aye. Motion carried.
MOTION: Tussing moved and Campbell seconded to exit Executive
Session at 9:38 a.m. On call Tussing, Campbell, Hudkins
and Steinman voted aye. Motion carried.
5 CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU QUARTERLY REPORT - Dan Quandt,
Convention and Visitors Bureau Director
Dan Quandt, Convention and Visitors Bureau Director, reported
that convention business is still the number one priority of
the Convention and Visitors Bureau. He stated that the
associations, conventions and hotels are being contacted by
the Convention and Visitors Bureau to assess needs and
receive feedback. Quandt also noted that a new data base was
in place to assist in assembling convention data and tracking
lost business.
Quandt reported that letters had been sent to the board
members of the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce requesting
participation in the Lincoln Leaders program, which promotes
bringing convention business to Lincoln.
Hudkins suggested that the program be named Lincoln/Lancaster
County Leaders.
6 PRELIMINARY PLAT NUMBER 97007, BLUE SPRUCE ESTATES, SOUTHEAST OF
NORTH 148TH AND HOLDREGE STREETS - Mike DeKalb, Planning Department;
Diane Staab, Deputy County Attorney; Mike Rierden, Attorney
Mike DeKalb, Planning, reported on the history of Preliminary
Plat 97007, Blue Spruce Estates, and concerns by neighbors of
length of cul-de-sac, septic or lagoon systems and density
issues (Exhibit D).
DeKalb displayed a site plan and stated that the road
had been shortened and moved, one lot had been eliminated and
that the lots had been rearranged in response to Health
Department concerns regarding the flood plain.
In response to a question from Hudkins, DeKalb stated that
access to all the lots would be from an internal road, except
Lot 1 which will access Holdrege Street and Lot 6 which will
have access to North 148th Street.
Tussing inquired whether the association covenants dictated
the size of lots.
DeKalb replied no, although the association would prefer the
size of lots be in the five to six acre range to correspond
with neighboring acreages. He also noted that the covenant
setback requirements differ from the AG zoning and that
lagoons will not be permitted.
In response to a question from Dale Stertz, Building and
Safety, DeKalb stated that the developer will require all
lots to use the Minnesota pile system, as septic systems were
not permitted due to the high water table.
Hudkins asked Mike Rierden, attorney for the developer,
since uniformity and lot size seems to be an issue with
neighbors, whether the developer would consider dropping Lots
4 and 5 to increase their size and to decrease the size of
Lot 6.
Rierden stated that he knew of no geographical reason why
this would not be acceptable to the developer.
7 DANGEROUS BUILDINGS - Diane Staab, Deputy County Attorney;
Dale Stertz, Building and Safety
Diane Staab, Deputy County Attorney, recommended that the
County adopt the City of Lincoln's Uniform and Dangerous
Building Code, noting that an interlocal agreement with the
City would be necessary.
In response to a question from Steinman, Staab stated that
the code would not apply to farmsteads twenty acres or more.
Brief discussion followed on whether to adopt the Appeals
Board utilized by the City of Lincoln.
Dale Stertz, Building and Safety, noted that the Appeals
Board which is technical in nature, is currently made up of
three individuals which all reside within the City of
Lincoln.
Hudkins noted concern regarding lack of rural representation
on the appeals board, and suggested that the County Engineer
serve as an ex-officio member of the board.
Campbell stated that the appointment of the Appeals Board
members should include approval by the County Board and that
a fund for up-front demolition costs will need to be
established. She suggested that initial funding be from the
Contingency Fund, with costs assessed against the property.
8 POST ADJUDICATED YOUTH AND WARDS OF THE STATE - Dennis Banks,
Attention Center Director; Michelle Schindler, Deputy Attention
Center Director
Dennis Banks, Attention Center Director, distributed a
National Juvenile Detention Association (NJDA) position
statement draft (Exhibit E) noting that the NJDA had
advocated that juvenile detention not be used as a sentence
and opposed holding adult jurisdictional youth in juvenile
detention facilities. Banks suggested that the Board may
wish to respond to these issues while the document is in the
drafting stage.
In response to a question from Campbell, Banks stated that
County Court judges have sentenced juveniles to detention as
a sentence, although Juvenile Court judges had not.
Banks briefly reviewed the fiscal year 1997 summary report
for the Attention Center (Exhibit F) noting an 8.5 percent
increase in admissions to the facility.
In response to a question from Hudkins, Michelle Schindler,
Deputy Attention Center Director, stated that long term
placements of juveniles in the Attention Center are a
reflection of evaluation which requires specific types of
disposition placement and the crowded court dockets.
Banks reported that 66 percent of the total of short term
placements were related to misdemeanor crimes and that
frequently Attention Center placements were based on lack of
other placement options.
Campbell inquired whether the juvenile court system is
causing youth to wait longer for a court date on misdemeanors
cases than similarly charged adults.
Diane Staab, Deputy County Attorney, stated that frequently
adults opt to post bond on misdemeanor cases.
Schindler reviewed admission and discharge comparisons for
post adjudicated youth and post dispositioned status youth
for January 1, 1996 through May 31, 1997 (Exhibit G), noting
that the majority of costs are related to youth returning
from court or their evaluation while awaiting disposition.
Banks reported that the Attention Center was still awaiting a
County Attorney opinion as to whether post adjudicated youth
costs are the responsibility of the County or the state of
Nebraska.
Hudkins requested Schindler to provide an additional five
years worth of data for comparison.
9 EMERGENCY PLACEMENT CUSTODY AT CORNHUSKER PLACE - Kit Boesch,
Human Services Director; Dave Kroeker, Budget and Fiscal Officer;
George Hanigan, Community Mental Health Director; Jim Baird,
Cornhusker Place Director; Patti Schumann, Cornhusker Place
Jim Baird, Cornhusker Place Director, gave a brief overview
of a contract that Cornhusker Place has through Region V to
provide care under the Mental Health Commitment Act for
intoxicated individuals until they are sufficiently sober to
be able to be transferred to the Crisis Center. He noted
that the other 15 counties in the Region pay for Emergency
Protective Custody (EPC) clients, but that Lancaster County
does not.
Baird stated that renegotiation of the Region V contract had
prompted the Cornhusker Place Board to send a letter to the
Board the end of August requesting that the issue of
Lancaster County's participation be addressed.
Kit Boesch, Human Services Administrator, inquired whether
payment for EPC clients was made by the Region or whether the
Region provided funds to the counties to pay Cornhusker
Place.
George Hanigan, Community Mental Health Center Director,
explained that the Crisis Center was originally envisioned as
a regional facility, however, the County Attorney's Office
had cautioned that Lancaster County tax monies could not be
used to support non-Lancaster County residents in the
program. He stated that client days were estimated to
determine how much of the funding was County versus State,
and that Lancaster County provided the entire match for that
program with reimbursement by counties utilizing the program.
Hanigan stated that initially a contract was set up with the
individual counties, but that Region V suggested that they
contract with the individual counties in an effort to provide
funding for the detox portion of the full mental health
program. He stated that the Region V contract was with
Lancaster County Mental Health Center as well as Cornhusker
Place.
Hanigan stated that the issue of ensuring that Lancaster
County not pay for EPC clients from other counties has become
confused with the need for additional resources for a more
comprehensive emergency program for Cornhusker Place. He
stated that Region V needs to identify the essential services
of a comprehensive emergency program. The State can be
requested to allocate funding of 90 percent of the program,
with the remainder funded by local government, which is the
City and County combined.
In response to a question from Boesch, Baird stated that
Region V bills the counties for services, the counties submit
payment to Region V and one check is submitted from Region V
to Cornhusker Place.
In response to a question from Campbell on how Lancaster
County's clients were paid for, Dave Kroeker, Budget and
Fiscal Officer, stated that the Region V contract did not
exclude Lancaster County. He stated, however, that because
separate contracts between Region V and Lancaster County were
not established, it was assumed that Lancaster County was
excluded.
Hanigan stated that the issue of funding of the Emergency
Protective Custody Program becomes confused when it's funded
through Cornhusker Place. He stated that Lancaster County
guarantees all of the County match and funding of the Crisis
Center, with reimbursement by other counties for services
utilized. He stated that is why a separate contract was not
developed with Lancaster County, that Lancaster County had
always contributed more on the front-end costs.
Campbell noted that it appears that County dollars used to
fund Cornhusker Place were allocated toward some programs,
but not emergency protective custody programs.
Baird reported that of the 214 emergency protective clients
served by Cornhusker Place last year, 182 were from Lancaster
County. He noted that EPC clients require much closer
supervision due to the threat of harm to themselves or
others, medical observation and evaluation and increased
staff time. He also noted increased physical constraints and
liability placed on the center by acceptance of EPC clients.
In response to a question from Boesch, Hanigan noted that the
greater issue for Cornhusker Place is the ability to provide
a safe environment for clients and lack of ongoing support,
rather than monetary. He also noted that this is an
opportune time to establish a comprehensive emergency program
to coincide with the State's redesign of behavioral health.
He stated freeing up overmatch funds for the Mental Health
Center could then provide a funding resource for Cornhusker
Place.
Campbell stated that if the County is unable to tap into
those State resources, the Board may need to rethink how it
allocates it's alcohol dollars.
Baird reported that he would be meeting with Jill Rubottom,
Region V, to discuss how County dollars should be allocated.
In response to a question from Boesch regarding
reorganization of regional dollars, Hanigan stated that they
would basically be receiving the same amount as allocated
last year for a three month extended period. He noted that
on October 4th community support dollars will be made
available through the rehab option, which could free up a
significant amount of funds.
The Board requested that Baird return in two weeks with an
estimate of renovation costs for Cornhusker Place and that
Boesch and Hanigan also return to discuss establishment of a
committee to re-evaluate priorities and funding of those
priorities.
10 ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER REPORT
a. Nebraska Association of County Officials Legislative Committee
Meeting
Hudkins agreed to report the Board's legislative concerns at
the Nebraska Association of County Officials (NACO) Board
meeting on Tuesday, October 1.
Campbell requested that Gordon Kissel, Legislative
Consultant, be placed on the agenda for the Thursday, October
2nd meeting to discuss legislative issues.
b. Budget Amendment for City Building Maintenance Fund
Kerry Eagan, Chief Administrative Officer, reported that an
interlocal agreement with the City was needed to pay for
maintenance of City property not covered by the Building Commission.
c. Lincoln Public Schools Lands Available for Trade with County
Eagan noted that a list of properties available for possible
trade for the South Street soccer field was included in the
Commissioners' information packet.
11 PENDING
a. Establishment of Special Improvement District in Princeton
b. South Street Campus
Steinman reported that the appraisal from John Layman, appraiser,
on the South Street property had been received.
12 DISCUSSION OF BOARD MEMBER MEETINGS
a. Board of Health - Hudkins
Hudkins reported that Greg Wright had tentatively accepted
the position of Intern Director of the Health Department,
pending approval of University of Nebraska Chancellor.
Hudkins stated that a national search would be conducted for
a new director.
b. Information Services Policy Committee - Steinman
Steinman reported that the networking connecting all
buildings housing departments temporarily relocated due to
renovation was discussed.
She also reported that a contract with an outside vendor for
training for security on computer firewalls and other
security issues was discussed.
13 SCHEDULE OF BOARD MEMBER MEETINGS
a. Lancaster Manor Advisory Committee - Thursday, September
25, 1997 at 12 p.m. at Lancaster Manor Conference Room - Tussing
b. Master Plan Steering Committee - Thursday, September 25,
1997 at 1:15 p.m. at the County-City Building, Fourth Floor
Conference Room - Hudkins
c. Community Mental Health Center Advisory Board - Wednesday,
October 1, 1997 at 12 p.m. at the Community Mental
Health Center, Basement Conference Room - Svoboda
14 INVITATIONS TO BOARD MEMBERS
a. 1997 Annual Stewards and Retirees Educational Banquet -
Saturday, October 11, 1997 at 5:30 p.m. at Sherry's Dining
and Dancing, 3223 Cornhusker Highway
15 CORRESPONDENCE TO THE COUNTY BOARD
16 CORRESPONDENCE FROM THE COUNTY BOARD
17 AGENDA ITEMS FOR COUNTY BOARD MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 30, 1997
18 EMERGENCY ITEMS AND OTHER BUSINESS
19 ADJOURNMENT
By direction of the Chair, the meeting was adjourned.
Kandra Hahn
Lancaster County Clerk
Board of Commissioners