Board of Commissioners
Agenda
STAFF MEETING AGENDA
Lancaster County Board of Commissioners
New County-City Building
Meeting Room #113 - Adjacent to Council Chambers
Tuesday, March 10, 1998
11:30 a.m.
AGENDA ITEM
1 APPROVAL OF STAFF MEETING MINUTES OF MARCH 5, 1998
2 ADDITIONS TO AGENDA
3 11:30am VETERAN SERVICES QUARTERLY REPORT - Gary Chalupa,
Veteran Services Officer
4 12:00pm CRISIS RESPONSE TEAM -
George Hanigan, Community Mental Health Center Director;
Sue Eckley, Workers' Compensation and Risk Manager
5 12:30pm FIRE DISTRICT BUDGETS -
Dave Kroeker, Budget & Fiscal Officer
6 ACTION ITEMS
7 CONSENT ITEMS
a. Microcomputer Request from Lancaster Manor, C#98065, for
$1,561.68 from Lancaster Manor's Budget for Laser Printer,
Additional Paper Tray and Envelope Feeder
b. Letter to Nebraska Crime Commission Withdrawing Grant Request
for Staff Secure Facility
8 ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER REPORT
a. Juvenile Justice Consensus Building Meeting
9 PENDING
a. Request from Nemaha NRD to Pay 1/3 of Fee for Request to
Revise Flood Map (County Share $1,100)
10 DISCUSSION OF BOARD MEMBER MEETINGS
a. Master Plan Steering Committee -Hudkins
b. GIS Software Requirement - Steinman
c. Special Board of Health - Hudkins
d. Board of Health - Hudkins
e. Ecological Advisory Committee - Tussing
f. Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development - Steinman
g. RTSD - Steinman, Svoboda, Tussing
h. Joint Budget Committee - Campbell, Steinman
i. Public Building Commission - Campbell, Hudkins
11 SCHEDULE OF BOARD MEMBER MEETINGS
a. Civil Defense Advisory Committee - Wednesday, March 11, 1998,
at 7:30 p.m., at the Emergency Operations Center -
Operations Room #046 - Svoboda
b. Master Plan Steering Committee - Thursday, March 12, 1998, at
1:00 p.m., at the County-City Building, Room #106 - Hudkins
c. Parks & Recreation Advisory Board - Thursday, March 12, 1998,
at 4:00 p.m., at the County-City Building, Commissioners
Hearing Room - Tussing
d. Visitors Promotion Committee - Monday, March 16, 1998, at
1:00 p.m., at the Chamber of Commerce - Steinman
e. General Assistance Monitoring Committee - Tuesday,
March 17, 1998, at 8:00 a.m., at the County-City Building,
Mayor's Conference Room - Campbell, Tussing
f. Government Access & Information Committee - Wednesday, March
18, 1998, at 12:00 p.m., in the County-City Building, Room
#206 - Steinman
12 INVITATIONS TO BOARD MEMBERS
a. Operation ABLE Annual Luncheon - Friday, March 13, 1998, at
12:00 p.m., at the Cornhusker Hotel
b. 1998 Nebraska Leadership Prayer Breakfast - Tuesday, March 24
1998, from 6:30 to 8:30 a.m., at the Cornhusker Hotel
c. Capital Humane Society's Animal Awareness Dinner - Thursday,
March 26, 1998, at 6:00 p.m., at Park Centers, 2602 Park
Boulevard
13 CORRESPONDENCE TO THE COUNTY BOARD
14 CORRESPONDENCE FROM THE COUNTY BOARD
15 AGENDA ITEMS FOR COUNTY BOARD MEETING OF MARCH 17, 1998
16 EMERGENCY ITEMS AND OTHER BUSINESS
MINUTES
Lancaster County Board Of Commissioners
County-City Building
Meeting Room #113
Tuesday, March 10, 1998
11:30 a.m.
Commissioners Present: Linda Steinman, Chair
Kathy Campbell
Darlene Tussing
Steve Svoboda
Larry Hudkins
Others Present: Kerry Eagan, Chief Administrative Officer
Ann Taylor, County Clerk's Office
AGENDA ITEM
1 APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF THE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING
OF MARCH 5, 1998
MOTION: Hudkins moved and Tussing seconded to approve the minutes. On call
Hudkins, Tussing, Campbell, Svoboda and Steinman voted aye. Motion
carried.
2 ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA
a. Voice Mail Training
b. County Government Presentation for Foreign Delegation
c. Legislative Update
MOTION: Tussing moved and Campbell seconded approval of the additions to
the agenda. On call Tussing, Campbell, Hudkins, Svoboda and
Steinman voted aye. Motion carried.
3 VETERAN SERVICES QUARTERLY REPORT
Gary Chalupa, Veteran Services Officer
Gary Chalupa, Veteran Services Officer, briefly reviewed the Veteran
Services Quarterly Report and Veterans' Aid Fund Quarterly Expenditure
Report.
Chalupa also reported that the Veteran' Service Center plans to distribute
information at this year's Lancaster County Fair. He projected a budget
impact of approximately $25 for in-house printing of brochures and business
cards.
ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA
a. Voice Mail Training
Board consensus to schedule the training session for March 31st at 12 p.m.
b. County Government Presentation for Foreign Delegation
Steinman agreed to meet with the delegation of local officials from Africa
on March 20th from 9:30 - 10:15 a.m.
4 CRISIS RESPONSE TEAM
George Hanigan, Community Mental Health Center Director;
Denise Bulling, Crisis Center Program Supervisor;
Sue Eckley, Workers' Compensation & Risk Manager
Sue Eckley, Workers' Compensation & Risk Manager, reported that
there have been several recent instances in which a County
employee has exhibited stalking or violent behavior. She stated
that lack of a consistent crisis response policy and training
made effective handling of these situations difficult.
Eckley suggested that the County develop a "Violence in the
Workplace" policy, as the City of Lincoln has, and establish a
Crisis Response Team made up of professionals within the County
to serve as a resource and to provide enhanced training for
County agencies (Exhibit B).
In response to a question from Steinman, Denise Bulling, Crisis
Center Program Supervisor, stated that the Employees Assistance
Program would remain a referral option for the employee
exhibiting the violent behavior. She stated that the Crisis
Response Team would help the department respond to the resulting
workplace issues.
Campbell asked if the Crisis Response Team could be called out to
assist a department when an incident occurs.
Bulling stated that it could be structured that way.
Board consensus to proceed with development of a "Violence in the
Workplace" policy and establishment of a Crisis Response Team,
with funding from the Wellness Budget.
The Board requested Eckley to return in two weeks with a
"Violence in the Workplace" policy draft.
DISCUSSION OF BOARD MEMBER MEETINGS
e. Ecological Advisory Committee - Tussing
Mort Stelling, Ecological Advisory Committee Chair, appeared to
request the Board to transfer $25,000 in "seed money", allocated
for study of the Wilderness Park ecosystems, from the Keno Fund
to the Lincoln Parks & Recreation Department, which serves as the
coordinating agency for the study (Exhibit C). Lincoln Parks &
Recreation would then issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a
Consultant to coordinate the work, to organize and analyze flora
and fauna inventory findings and to draft a summary report with
recommendations. Stelling noted that a deadline of March
31st for responses to the RFP is suggested to permit work
to begin on the botanical and zoological surveys in mid-April to
coincide with emerging flora and fauna.
Eagan suggested that further consultation with representatives of
the Lincoln Parks & Recreation Department is needed with regards
to project expectations. He also indicated that the County Board
will need to be the contracting entity for hiring of the
Consultant, but that administration could be through the Lincoln
Parks & Recreation Department.
5 FIRE DISTRICT BUDGETS - Dave Kroeker, Budget & Fiscal Officer
Dave Kroeker, Budget & Fiscal Officer, briefly reviewed the fire
districts' budget calendar (Exhibit D).
Kroeker briefly summarized the provisions of LB 1120, which
creates a Mutual Finance Assistance Fund, stating that he does
not foresee the County's fire districts qualifying for the $10
per capita assistance provided for in Section 6 of the bill this
year. He also noted that Section 17 of the bill provides that
the Board may relocate the boundaries of fire districts in order
to place more valuation in the highest levy districts and less in
the lowest levy districts so that highest levy district does not
exceed two times the average levy of all the fire protection
districts for which the County allocates levy authority.
Kroeker stated that the County has three levy options for the
Rural Library:
Include in the 30 cent levy for the County
Include in the 15 cent levy for political subdivisions
Include in the 5 cent levy for Interlocal Agreements
Kroeker noted a section of LB 306, which states that no final
levy allocation shall be changed after September 1st
except by agreement between the County Board and the governing
body of the political subdivision whose final levy allocation is
at issue (Exhibit E).
The Board scheduled a meeting with Rural Fire Districts for April
21st at 7 p.m. in the Commissioners Hearing Room to
discuss the levy allocation of 15 cents to the fire districts.
ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA
c. Legislative Update
Gordon Kissel, Legislative Consultant, appeared and reported that
the Governor has indicated that he will not veto a "county aid
package" of ten to twelve million dollars. He noted that this
package would exclude the following:
LB 1108, which provides deficit funding for State operations
and aid programs
LB 485, which transfers the cost of maintenance and care of
individuals found mentally incompetent to stand trial from
the county to the state
LB 1120, which changes provisions relating to fire districts
Kissel also reported that the Governor has agreed to a boarding
fee of $35 per day for State prisoners in correctional facilities
in LB 695, provided that counties agree to share juvenile
boarding costs with the State on a 50/50 basis in LB 512, with a
cap on the amount spent by counties to be based on the amount
they have expended between July 1, 1997 - June 30, 1998.
In response to a question from Steinman, Kissel stated that the
amount the State spends on facilities in Kearney and Geneva is
not included in the State's split of costs in LB 512.
The Board requested that representation on a Task Force, proposed
in the bill to review juvenile boarding costs, be equally split
between counties and the State. The Board also requested that
the Task Force consider a graduated phase-out of counties'
responsibility for juvenile boarding costs.
6 CONSENT ITEMS
a. Microcomputer Request from Lancaster Manor, C#98065, for
$1,561.68 from Lancaster Manor's Budget for Laser Printer,
Additional Paper Tray and Envelope Feeder
MOTION: Hudkins moved and Tussing seconded approval. On call
Hudkins, Tussing, Campbell, Svoboda and Steinman voted aye.
Motion carried.
b. Letter to Nebraska Crime Commission Withdrawing Grant Request
for Juvenile Staff-Secure Facility
Steinman reported that Kit Boesch, Human Services Administrator,
is investigating the possibility of transferring use of the grant
funds to development of an Assessment Center.
MOTION: Hudkins moved and Campbell seconded to authorize the
Chair to send a letter to the Nebraska Crime Commission either
withdrawing the grant request or asking consideration of an
Assessment Center, at her discretion. On call Hudkins, Campbell,
Tussing, Svoboda and Steinman voted aye. Motion carried.
7 ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER REPORT
a. Juvenile Justice Consensus Building Meeting
Board consensus to limit the list of meeting participants to the following:
Linda Steinman, County Board Chair
Kathy Campbell, County Board
Juvenile Court Judge Tom Dawson
Juvenile Court Judge Toni Thorson
Karen Chinn, Chinn Planning, Inc.
Kerry Eagan, Chief Administrative Officer
Dave Kroeker, Budget & Fiscal Officer
Kit Boesch, Human Services Administrator
Dennis Banks, Attention Center Director
Bill Janike, Chief Juvenile Probation Officer
Jim Hille, Sinclair Hille & Associates Inc.
The Board also requested that Diane Staab, Deputy County Attorney, remain
accessible by telephone to answer any legal questions that may arise in the
meeting.
8 PENDING
a. Request from Nemaha Natural Resource District (NRD)
to Pay 1/3 of Fee for Request to Revise Flood Map
for Bennet, Nebraska (County Share $1,100)
9 DISCUSSION OF BOARD MEMBER MEETINGS
a. Master Plan Steering Committee - Hudkins
Hudkins reported briefly on pricing of surplus furniture.
b. Geographic Information System Software Requirement - Steinman
c. Special Board of Health - Hudkins
d. Board of Health - Hudkins
e. Ecological Advisory Committee - Tussing
This item was moved forward in the agenda.
f. Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development - Steinman
g. Railroad Transportation Safety District - Steinman, Svoboda,
Tussing
h. Joint Budget Committee - Campbell, Steinman
Campbell reported that the Joint Budget Committee is making a recommendation
to the County Board and City Council that the contract with the Consortium
for Planning and Advocacy be canceled, with the exception for the technical
assistance. She stated that a Request for Proposal (RFP) would be developed
for completion of the planning process.
Eagan noted that issues still need to be resolved regarding amendment of
the contract.
i. Public Building Commission - Campbell, Hudkins
The Board postponed Items b, c, d, f, g and i, due to time constraints.
10 SCHEDULE OF BOARD MEMBER MEETINGS
a. Civil Defense Advisory Committee - Wednesday, March 11, 1998, at
7:30 p.m., at the Emergency Operations Center - Operations Room
#046 - Svoboda
b. Master Plan Steering Committee - Thursday, March 12, 1998, at
1 p.m., at the County-City Building, Room #106 - Hudkins
c. Parks & Recreation Advisory Board - Thursday, March 12, 1998, at
4 p.m., at the County-City Building, Commissioners Hearing Room
Tussing
d. Visitors Promotion Committee - Monday, March 16, 1998, at 1 p.m.
at the Chamber of Commerce - Steinman
e. General Assistance Monitoring Committee - Tuesday, March 17,
1998, at 8 a.m., at the County-City Building, Mayor's Conference
Room - Campbell, Tussing
f. Government Access & Information Committee - Wednesday, March 18,
1998, at 12 p.m., in the County-City Building, Room #206
Steinman
11 INVITATIONS TO BOARD MEMBERS
a. Operation ABLE Annual Luncheon - Friday, March 13, 1998, at
12 p.m., at the Cornhusker Hotel
b. 1998 Nebraska Leadership Prayer Breakfast - Tuesday, March 24,
1998, from 6:30-8:30 a.m., at the Cornhusker Hotel
c. Capital Humane Society's Animal Awareness Dinner - Thursday,
March 26, 1998, at 6 p.m., at Park Centers, 2602 Park Boulevard
12 CORRESPONDENCE TO THE COUNTY BOARD
13 CORRESPONDENCE FROM THE COUNTY BOARD
14 AGENDA ITEMS FOR COUNTY BOARD MEETING OF MARCH 17, 1998
15 EMERGENCY ITEMS & OTHER BUSINESS
16 ADJOURNMENT
By direction of the Chair, the meeting was adjourned.
______________________
Kandra Hahn
Lancaster County Clerk
Board of Commissioners