Village of Avoca
PO Box 694, 609 House Street
Avoca, NE 68307
SUMMARY OF MINUTES OF REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING
VILLAGE OF AVOCA BOARD OF TRUSTEES – AVOCA, NE 68307
Date: Monday, October 11, 2021
Present: Ehmke, Lehn, Kirchhoff, Clark, Moses and Clerk, Kirchhoff
Absent:
All board members, one guest and Clerk were present. Attendance was noted by the Clerk and the Board recited the Pledge of Allegiance to begin the meeting. The meeting was brought to order at 6:00 pm by the Chairman and reminded all in attendance of the Open Meetings Act posted on the wall.
The Minutes of the September 13, 2021, were submitted for approval. A motion was made to approve the minutes followed by a second. Upon a roll call vote of Trustees: Clark – yea; Ehmke – yea; Kirchhoff – yea; Lehn – yea; Moses – yea.
The Treasurer’s Report for approval. A motion was made and seconded to approve the report. Upon a roll call vote of Trustees: Clark – yea; Ehmke – yea; Kirchhoff – yea; Lehn – yea; Moses – yea.
Guest/Reports:
Fire department was not present.
Library Board was not present but sent a letter. If anyone has questions, they are to contact Nancy Bose at 402-275-3466.
Keene did not leave a report.
Kreifels discussed the playground equipment with the Board after meeting and inspecting. It was found that some of the pipes have cracks as well as the climbing wall, these will be replaced. The mulch is need of removal and replacement. She received a quote of almost $11,500 for rubber mulch. The cost for this may be lower next year, mostly due to shipping fees. There are many advantages of having the rubber mulch. Due to the high cost, it was decided to replace the old with cedar mulch at this time. Moses will look into getting mulch and a skid loader and trailer. The Clerk will check with the schools to see if there are students who need community service hours to help with putting in new mulch. A motion was made and seconded to proceed with removing the old mulch, laying new matting and putting in cedar mulch. Upon a roll call vote of Trustees: Clark – yea; Ehmke – yea; Kirchhoff – yea; Lehn – yea; Moses – yea. The tree by the equipment will also be checked as well as a stump in the park and the need for more dirt around the slide. The mowing contract will also need verification as to spraying and weeding the park.
Old Business:
Properties: No new information has been received as attorney has been out of the office due to surgery. The newest property problem has been tabled until November.
Utility Bills – There were 8 shut off notices mailed, 5 1/2 remains unpaid. One leak was noted on reading meters. One has been shut off.
Pending work to be done:
Tractor Shed work will be done within next few weeks.
Concrete work billing and warranty have not been received.
The Street Surveys were discussed. Additional replies were given to the Board and additional discussion was held. This will be discussed again in November.
New Business:
Work has begun on the audit waiver. A motion was made and seconded to approve for an audit waiver for the fiscal year 2020-2021. Upon a roll call vote of Trustees: Clark – yea; Ehmke – yea; Kirchhoff – yea; Lehn – yea; Moses – yea.
A letter was received from Hoback regarding a Memorial Gazebo. He has given cost estimates and provided a photo of how it would look. This is in the beginning stages of planning. The Board suggested that the gazebo be moved to the west edge of lot for future use of the east side. A motion was made and seconded that he could begin advertising and requesting pledges for the project. Upon a roll call vote of Trustees: Clark – yea; Ehmke – yea; Kirchhoff – yea; Lehn – yea; Moses – yea. If anyone is interested in hearing more information regarding a Memorial Gazebo, they can contact Richard Hoback.
Clerk Questions or Correspondence:
The Clerk is currently working to get the billing program transferred to the laptop and Lehn will help with this process. She is also checking on the billing cycle of the recycle container. The USDA audit is almost complete but the reserve account is still low, which should be reimbursed by ARPA funds once the issues of reporting funds is figured out. There are 3 virtual meetings in the next two weeks that she will be taking part in.
Trustee Reports:
Water/Clark: Nothing to report.
Sewer/Kirchhoff: Nothing to report.
Finance/Lehn: Nothing to report.
Parks/Moses: Nothing to report. The restrooms in the park will remain open for trick or treaters, October 31, then will be closed for winter. He will once again clear snow from the sidewalk with the same rates as the past.
Street/Ehmke: Nothing to report.
Discussion of bills to be paid for October: A motion was made and seconded to approve payment for Ehmke. Upon a roll call vote of Trustees: Clark – yea; Ehmke- abstain; Kirchhoff – yea; Lehn – yea; Moses – yea. A motion was made and seconded to approve payment for Moses. Upon a roll call vote of Trustees: Clark – yea; Ehmke- yea; Kirchhoff – yea; Lehn – yea; Moses – abstain. A motion was made and seconded to approve payment for the automatic bills. Upon a roll call vote of Trustees: Clark – yea; Ehmke- yea; Kirchhoff – yea; Lehn – yea; Moses – yea. A motion was made and seconded to approve the payment of the remaining bills for October. Upon a roll call vote of Trustees: Clark – absent; Ehmke- yea; Kirchhoff – yea; Lehn – yea; Moses – yea.
The following bills were approved for payment:
General: Kirchhoff - $719.13; Windstream Nebraska - $126.39; Lincoln Journal Star - $54.28; One Call Concepts - $9.22; Intuit - $8.44; Hauschild - $1017.00; Moses - $181.01; Meeske Hardware - $18.87; Kirchhoff - $449.87
Sewer Account: Keene - $1096.79; Kirchhoff - $129.29; Postmaster - $58; Tri-State Pumping LLC - $367.88; Meeske Hardware - $91.47; Sewer Reserve - $100
Water Account: Keene - $390.51; Kirchhoff - $129.29; Sewer Account - $2920.92; Rural Water Dist. #3 - $1560.00; NE Department of Revenue - $425.73; NE Public Health Environmental Lab - $15; Water Loan Repay - $2500.00; Water Reserve - $700.00
Street Account: Ehmke - $55.14
Automatic Payments: Black Hills Energy - $31.50
OPPD – General - $324.58; Water - $33.74; Sewer - $472.68; Street - $676.33
A motion was made and seconded to adjourn the meeting. Upon a roll call vote of Trustees: Clark – yea; Ehmke- yea; Kirchhoff – yea; Lehn – yea; Moses – yea. The meeting was adjourned by Chairman at 7:34 pm. The next meeting of the Avoca Village Board will be held on Monday, November 8, 2021, at 6:00 pm at the Village office at 609 House Street. Minutes are submitted by Marilyn Kirchhoff, Village Clerk/Treasurer.