Board of Commissioners
Staff Meeting Agenda
STAFF MEETING AGENDA
Lancaster County Board of Commissioners
Thursday, June 18, 1998 - 8:00 a.m.
County-city Building - Meeting Room #113
AGENDA ITEM
1 APPROVAL OF STAFF MEETING MINUTES OF JUNE 11, 1998
2 ADDITIONS TO AGENDA
3 8:00am BUDGET WORKING SESSION
Dave Kroeker, Budget & Fiscal Officer
4 9:00am STREET NAME CHANGE NO. 98005 (RAMONA DRIVE TO RAMONA CIRCLE)
Mike DeKalb, Planning Department
5 9:15am PENDING LITIGATION; SALE OF REAL PROPERTY
Mike Thew, Chief Deputy County Attorney
6 9:45am RUNNER SERVICES
Brian Pillard, Records & Information Manager;
Richard Diegel, County Property Management
7 10:00am QUIET ROOMS AT CORNHUSKER PLACE; DWI TESTING
Jim Baird, Cornhusker Place Director;
Kit Boesch, Human Services Director
8 ACTION ITEMS
a. Execution of Defeasance of Industrial Revenue Bonds for
MI Nebraska LC Associates
9 CONSENT ITEMS
a. Vacation Request from Gary Chalupa for Monday, June 22
through Friday, June 26, 1998
10 ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER REPORT
a. Letter to Jesse Rasmussen re: Network Management
Entities
b. Letter from Lower Platte South NRD re: Inspection of
County Property
11 PENDING
12 DISCUSSION OF BOARD MEMBER MEETINGS
a. Railroad Transportation Safety District - Steinman,
Svoboda and Tussing
b. Visitors Promotion Committee - Steinman
c. Government Access & Information Committee - Steinman
13 SCHEDULE OF BOARD MEMBER MEETINGS
a. Master Plan Steering Committee - Thursday, June 18, 1998,
at 1:00 p.m., at the County-City Building, Room #106
Hudkins
b. Growth at the Fringe-Tuesday, June 23, 1998, at 3:30p.m.,
at the County-City Building, Mayor's Conference Room
Campbell
14 INVITATIONS TO BOARD MEMBERS
a. Nebraska Urban Indian Medical Center HIV Prevention
Program 1st Annual National HIV Testing Day Awareness
Cookout - Saturday, June 27, 1998, from 10:00 a.m. to
7:00 p.m.
15 CORRESPONDENCE TO THE COUNTY BOARD
16 CORRESPONDENCE FROM THE COUNTY BOARD
17 AGENDA ITEMS FOR COUNTY BOARD MEETING OF JUNE 23, 1998
18 EMERGENCY ITEMS AND OTHER BUSINESS
MINUTES
Lancaster County Board of Commissioners
County-City Building
Meeting Room #113
Thursday, June 18, 1998
8 a.m.
Commissioners Present: Linda Steinman, Chair
Kathy Campbell
Larry Hudkins
Steve Svoboda
Darlene Tussing
Others Present: Kerry Eagan, Chief Administrative Officer
Dave Kroeker, Budget & Fiscal Officer
Ann Taylor, County Clerk's Office
AGENDA ITEM
1 APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF THE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING OF
JUNE 11, 1998 AND DEPARTMENT BUDGET HEARINGS OF JUNE 9, 1998.
MOTION: Hudkins moved and Tussing seconded approval of the minutes of the
County Board of Commissioners meeting of June 11, 1998 and
Department Budget Hearings of June 9, 1998. On call Hudkins,
Campbell, Svoboda and Steinman voted aye. Tussing abstained from
voting. Motion carried.
2 ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA
a. Land Re-utilization Commission
MOTION: Hudkins moved and Tussing seconded approval of the addition to the
agenda. On call, Hudkins, Tussing, Campbell, Svoboda and Steinman
voted aye. Motion carried.
3 BUDGET WORKING SESSION - Dave Kroeker, Budget & Fiscal Officer
Attention Center
Dennis Banks, Attention Center Director, appeared to report on
cost estimates for a new van for the Attention Center (Exhibit
A). He noted that the bids were based on the 1998 State bid
figure, plus a six percent increase for 1999.
Banks recommended purchase of the eight passenger Safari van,
based on its configuration which would allow transport of six
youth and two staff.
The Board requested Banks to conduct further research on the van
configurations to determine which vans would best meet the needs
of the Attention Center.
Board consensus to include $22,000 in the Attention Center budget
for the purchase of a new van, and to postpone a decision on
whether to purchase the van outright or through a Nebraska
Association of County Officials (NACO) lease purchase.
Relief/Medical Fund
Dave Kroeker, Budget & Fiscal Officer, reported that the Lincoln
office of the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) had
located a number of outstanding hospital bills for General
Assistance clients, dating back to 1995 (Exhibit B). He
recommended that $90,000 remaining in Relief be transferred to
the Medical portion of the budget, leaving a deficit of
approximately $120,500 for Fiscal Year 1998.
Hudkins inquired whether every effort had been made to recover
funds from Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for these bills.
Kroeker responded that Connie Johnson, Account Clerk II in the
HHS office, had assured him that no additional SSI funds would be
recovered.
MOTION: Hudkins moved and Tussing seconded to add $120,500 to the
Relief/Medical budget for Fiscal Year 1999 and to schedule
authorization to transfer $90,000 in funds from Relief to
Medical on the agenda for the Tuesday, June 23rd County
Board of Commissioners meeting. On call Hudkins, Tussing,
Svoboda, Campbell and Steinman voted aye. Motion carried.
Information Services
Doug Thomas, Information Services Director, appeared to request
authorization to complete the second phase of enhancements to the
Public Defender's computer system.
Thomas reported that the computer programer, currently working on
the project, has limited hours remaining in his contract. He also
noted that funds remaining in the budget for the Year 2000
Conversion project were sufficient to cover the additional
enhancements to the Public Defender's system.
In response to a question from Kroeker, Thomas stated that
Information Services is currently $8,000 over the amount budgeted
for enhancements to the Public Defender's system. He attributed
the additional cost to a larger block of time expended on case
files than originally anticipated.
Dennis Keefe, Public Defender, confirmed that the additional
enhancements were needed.
MOTION: Hudkins moved and Tussing seconded to transfer up to $20,000
in funds, budgeted for the Year 2000 Conversion, to complete
enhancements to the Public Defender's computer system. On call
Hudkins, Tussing, Svoboda, Campbell and Steinman voted aye.
Motion carried.
Thomas briefly reviewed 98/99 Budget Highlights, Details of Specific
County Office Increases and Estimated Revenue Fiscal Year 1998/99
(Exhibit C), noting an overall reduction of 5.8% for the County for Fiscal
Year 1998/99.
In response to a question from Hudkins, Thomas stated that fiber
will be extended east down Capital Parkway to connect the Parks &
Recreation Department to the Network. He also noted that Aliant
Communications has agreed to provide fiber connection for the
Lincoln/Lancaster County Health Department in exchange for
location of a 75' cellular tower on Health Department property at
3140 "N" Street.
Kroeker reported that costs related to Internet access to the
Property Information Database will be split between the County
Treasurer and County Assessor, as of July 1, 1998.
Kroeker briefly reviewed Lancaster County Summary Analysis of
Requested Budget Data Processing (Exhibit D).
Thomas stated that Information Services will be working with
agencies operating with in-house systems to insure Year 2000
compliance.
Brief discussion took place on whether to move Noxious Weed
Control Authority to Oracle for compatibility with Geographic
Information System (GIS) data.
The Board requested Thomas to prepare an estimate of conversion
costs.
4 STREET NAME CHANGE NO. 98005 (RAMONA DRIVE TO RAMONA CIRCLE)
Mike DeKalb, Planning Department
Mike DeKalb, Planning Department, briefly reported on Street Name
Change No. 98005, a request to change the official street name of
Ramona Drive to Ramona Circle to correspond with the street sign.
5 PENDING LITIGATION; SALE OF REAL PROPERTY
Mike Thew, Chief Deputy County Attorney;
Diane Staab, Deputy County Attorney; Doug Cyr, Deputy County Attorney
MOTION: Hudkins moved and Tussing seconded to enter Executive Session
at 9:17 a.m. for the purpose of pending litigation and sale of
real property. On call Hudkins, Tussing, Svoboda, Campbell and
Steinman voted aye. Motion carried.
MOTION: Campbell moved and Svoboda seconded to exit Executive Session
at 9:52 a.m. On call Campbell, Svoboda and Steinman voted aye.
Tussing and Hudkins were absent from voting. Motion carried.
6 RUNNER SERVICES - Brian Pillard, Records & Information Manager;
Richard Diegel, County Property Management
Brian Pillard, Records & Information Manager, reported that many
departments that were temporarily relocated are using staff or
contracting separately for delivery runs to the County-City
Building. He also noted that Information Services has a delivery
need which will no longer be met by the Purchasing Department,
due to the warehouse closing.
Pillard stated that Records and Information Services currently
makes one trip to Trabert Hall and two trips to the Old Federal
Building each day. He suggested that this service be expanded to
include a two run per day inter-office mail route which would
include the County-City Building, Gold's Galleria, Downtown
Senior Center, Old Federal Building, Attention Center, Lancaster
Manor, Trabert Hall and the Lancaster County Community Mental
Health Center.
Pillard stated this could be achieved by increasing a part-time
Stores Clerk position in Records and Information Management 14
hours a week to full-time status.
Brief discussion took place on how to handle urgent deliveries,
such as court subpoenas, which are currently hand-delivered by
Court and Sheriff's department staff.
Eagan noted that current contracts for delivery service will need
to be reviewed for terms of termination.
MOTION: Campbell moved and Tussing seconded to approve Records &
Information Management's proposal for inter-office mail delivery
and request that Brian Pillard, Records & Information Manager;
Richard Diegel, County Property Management; and Dave Kroeker,
Budget & Fiscal Officer, work out the details of the proposal.
On call Campbell, Tussing, Svoboda, Hudkins and Steinman voted
aye. Motion carried.
7 QUIET ROOMS AT CORNHUSKER PLACE; DRIVING WHILE INTOXICATED (DWI)
TESTING - Jim Baird, Cornhusker Place Director; Patti Schumann,
Cornhusker Place Assistant Director; Terry Wagner,
Lancaster County Sheriff; Kit Boesch, Human Services Administrator
Jim Baird, Cornhusker Place Director, noted that a recent policy
change at Bryan/LGH, which requires the direct referral of
Emergency Protective Custody (EPC) clients to the Community
Mental Health Crisis Center following detoxification, rather than
Cornhusker Place, has raised questions regarding the scope of the
planned renovation of Cornhusker Place and funding of that
project.
Baird reported that separation and isolation of clients,
necessary due to age, gender, severity of blood alcohol level,
overall behavior and medical conditions, continues to be a
problem. He described the rooms currently used as being small
and having poor lighting and ventilation, resulting in concerns
with regards to safety, humanity and liability.
Baird reported that Jim Hille, Sinclair Hille & Associates Inc.,
has designed changes to the facility which will provide greater
separation of clients and will increase the size of the
Protective Custody area from 13 to 26 beds, thereby relieving
pressure on the jail.
Baird stated that renovation of the current facility or
construction of a new facility is necessary if Cornhusker Place
is to meet the needs of the future. He requested that the County
continue its support of the renovation project up to $40,000, as
previously discussed.
In response to a question from Steinman, Baird stated the City
and Regions have both indicated that their funding levels will
remain the same as last year.
Baird also noted that Cornhusker Place will continue, for the
present time, to accept EPC clients from the other counties in
Region V, at their request, but will discontinue that service in
the near future unless the quiet room situation is addressed.
Eagan reported that Mike Thurber, Corrections Director, supports
the quiet room renovation project, as it will help to limit the
number of Civil Protective Custody (CPC) bookings, and resulting
disruptive behavior, in the jail facility.
In response to a question from Tussing, Dave Kroeker, Budget &
Fiscal Officer, reported that the County has reserved $40,000 for
the renovation project in the Keno Fund budget.
Campbell, Tussing and Steinman indicated support for the
renovation project, noting that it will help protect the resource
of the jail facility.
The Board will take formal action on an agreement with Cornhusker
Place for financial support of the renovation project in the
amount of $40,000 at a Tuesday, County Board of Commissioners
meeting.
Baird distributed a handout of changes that have occurred at
Cornhusker Place, a report from United Way of Lincoln and
Lancaster County on 1999 funding allocation, statistics with
regards to clients served in Fiscal Year 1997-98, and a 1996-1998
Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) test fee comparison (Exhibit E).
Baird explained that the Court assesses a fee of $100 if the
Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) test is administered at
Cornhusker Place, and $85 if the DWI test is administered
elsewhere. He noted that any agreement to transfer funds
generated by fees to Cornhusker Place would not eliminate the
ability of law enforcement to perform their own tests.
Baird noted that Cornhusker Place would prefer that the County
Attorney issue subpoenas for staff, rather than a letter
requesting their court appearance, so that witness fees can be
recovered. He noted that staff is currently paid overtime for
their court appearance. Baird reported that the County Attorney
is reluctant to do so, due to the time involved in preparing each
subpoena.
Terry Wagner, Lancaster County Sheriff, noted that there are a
number of charges related to the issuance of a subpoena,
including a fee of $15.50 if service is by a Deputy Sheriff.
Baird noted that, in cases where staff is called to testify by
the City, the City Attorney prepares the subpoena a week in
advance, with service by mail.
The Board requested Baird to discuss the matter further with Gary
Lacey, County Attorney.
8 ACTION ITEMS
b. Execution of Defeasance of Industrial Revenue Bonds for MI
Nebraska LC Associates
Loel P. Brooks, Brooks Pansing Brooks P.C., appeared and explained that
execution of defeasance of Industrial Revenue Bonds for MI Nebraska LC
Associates will allow advanced pre-payment of the bonds so that ownership
of a building, located at 1420 "P" Street, can be transferred to the
Lincoln Children's Museum.
MOTION: Campbell moved and Hudkins seconded to authorize the Chair to sign
an Execution of Defeasance of Industrial Revenue Bonds for MI
Nebraska LC Associates and to schedule ratification of the
Board's action on the agenda for the June 23rd County
Board of Commissioners meeting. On call Campbell, Hudkins,
Tussing, Svoboda and Steinman voted aye. Motion carried.
ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA
a. Land Re-utilization Commission
The Board requested Eagan to draft a letter to Bill Austin, City
Attorney, and Gary Lacey, County Attorney, with carbon copy to
Mayor Johanns, requesting that they expedite their review of an
interlocal agreement establishing a Land Re-utilization
Commission for Lancaster County.
9 CONSENT ITEMS
a. Vacation Request from Gary Chalupa for Monday, June 22 through
Friday, June 26, 1998
MOTION: Tussing moved and Campbell seconded approval. On call
Tussing, Campbell, Hudkins, Svoboda and Steinman voted aye.
Motion carried.
10 ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER REPORT
a. Letter to Jesse Rasmussen, Health & Human Services
Director, Regarding Network Management Entities
Campbell reported that the Lancaster, Douglas and Sarpy County
Boards had agreed to send a joint letter to Jesse Rasmussen,
Health & Human Services Director (Commissioners Information
Packet), requesting a delay in the process for contracting of
Network Management Entities and to seek an injunction to delay
the process, if necessary.
The Board requested Kit Boesch, Human Services Administrator, to
draft a brief letter to the Department of Health & Human Services
indicating the County Board's interest in forming Network
Management Services for Lincoln and Lancaster County and
requesting updates on the creation of such networks (Exhibit H).
b. Letter from the Lower Platte South Natural Resources District
(NRD) Regarding Inspection of County Property (Commissioners
Information Packet)
Eagan reported that the property in question is a road right-of-way located
at 112th and Old Cheney Road.
11 DISCUSSION OF BOARD MEMBER MEETINGS
a. Railroad Transportation Safety District - Steinman, Svoboda
and Tussing
Steinman reported a quorum was not present so no action could be taken.
Discussion focused on a request that entities along the "X"
Street Corridor contribute additional funding for the project.
b. Visitors Promotion Committee - Steinman
Steinman reported that a $500 grant request from Lincoln Velo for
a bicycle race and tour was denied, due to lack of funds in the budget.
c. Government Access & Information Committee - Steinman
No report was given.
BUDGET WORKING SESSION
Public Defender
Dennis Keefe, Public Defender, appeared and recommended the
addition of two contracts for abuse and neglect representation
to lessen the number of private attorney appointments and to
spread the caseload so that one contract would not be
overburdened. He also recommended that the Orton, Thomas,
Peterson contract caseload remain the same, but that compensation
be increased to $60,000 a year.
In response to a suggestion from Steinman, Keefe agreed to
investigate whether Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA)
volunteers could assist attorneys with case development in abuse
and neglect cases.
Keefe also requested the following:
* The addition of one full-time juvenile division attorney to
provide representation in law violation cases
* To extend the employment period of a part-time temporary
misdemeanor attorney
Keefe reported that the request from Legal Services of Southeast
Nebraska for a one-time allocation of $50,000 is related to costs
incurred in providing representation in termination of parental
rights cases. He noted that the increase in the number of these
filings by the County Attorney is due to passage of LB 1041,
which changes children-related provisions and conforms state law
to the Federal Adoption & Safe Families Act of 1997.
Brief discussion took place on how much to budget for outside
counsel in termination of parental rights cases, with Keefe
suggesting that Gary Lacey, County Attorney, provide an estimate
on how many cases his office plans to file.
Emergency Services
Kroeker distributed a List of County/City Buildings &
Contacts prepared by Les Myers, Lincoln-Lancaster County
Emergency Services Coordinator, in support his department's
request to place tone-alert receivers in City and County offices
(Exhibit F).
Board consensus to not fund this item in the Fiscal 1998-99
budget, but to further assess need for next year's budget.
County Assessor
Kroeker distributed copies of Lancaster County Assessor, 1998-1999
Travel and Related Expense (Exhibit G).
Kroeker reported that $17,803 was budgeted in FY98 and $28,050 is
requested for FY99.
Board consensus to budget the same amount as FY98.
Election Commissioner
Kroeker reported that he had confirmed with Don Killeen, County
Property Manager, that there is storage space available for the
Election Commissioner in the "K" Street Building, but the rent is
greater than that currently paid for space in a building at 201
"F" Street.
12 SCHEDULE OF BOARD MEMBER MEETINGS
a. Master Plan Steering Committee - Thursday, June 18, 1998, at
1 p.m., at the County-City Building, Room #106 - Hudkins
b. Growth at the Fringe - Tuesday, June 23, 1998, at 3:30 p.m.,
at the County-City Building, Mayor's Conference Room - Campbell
13 INVITATIONS TO BOARD MEMBERS
a. Nebraska Urban Indian Medical Center HIV Prevention Program
1st Annual National HIV Testing Day Awareness Cookout
Saturday, June 27, 1998, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
14 CORRESPONDENCE TO THE COUNTY BOARD
15 CORRESPONDENCE FROM THE COUNTY BOARD
16 AGENDA ITEMS FOR COUNTY BOARD MEETING OF JUNE 23, 1998
17 EMERGENCY ITEMS AND OTHER BUSINESS
18 ADJOURNMENT
By direction of the Chair, the meeting was adjourned.
______________________
Kandra Hahn
Lancaster County Clerk
Board of Commissioners