City Council - Regular Meeting

The Columbus City Council meeting for December 1, 2025 will now come to order in compliance with the Open Meeting Act. A current copy of this act is posted in this meeting room. Madame Clerk, would you please call roll? Bley here. Olone here. Bar here. He here. Jablonsky here. Lopez here. Pollinsky here. Roth here. Schilling here. Mayor Bowley, the role has been called. Thank you, Mr. Council President.

Our father, thank you for the opportunity to serve our fellow citizens. Please give us your wisdom and guidance to make the proper decisions entrusted to this governmental body. May our conduct show respect, honor, and courtesy to each other as well as to all of our citizens. Amen.

Can you see by the dawn early light? What so proud to through the night that our flag was still there. Oh, sit does that star spangle banner yet way. Oh, the land of the free. and the poem of the brave.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. I'm on last week's agenda. How's that working?

Good evening. I welcome everyone to tonight's council meeting. If at any time during our meeting, all of you in the audience, well, at least you guys in the audience who would like to come forward and speak, we'd ask that you do so, come forward to the podium, give your name, your address, and we'd ask that you keep comments to five minutes or less. With that, we will start tonight's meeting with some nor new annual business that we have to take care of at the first council meeting in December. The first thing is the election of a council president. As mayor, I will ask for nominations.

Council members, with your permission, I'd like to nominate the uh fine gentleman from W 2, Troy Heamer, as president. Second. Are there any further nominations? Seeing no further nominations, I would accept a motion to close the nominations. So moved. Second.

We have a motion and a second to close the nominations. All those in favor signify by I. Those opposed, nay. Motion passes. With only one on the ballot, I would ask for a motion to elect Mr. Heamer to the council presidency. So move. Second.

We have a motion and a second. Any discussion? Seeing none. All those in favor signify by I. Those opposed? Nay. Congratulations. Council President Heamer. It's now on your shoulders. Any comments? No. Thank you very much for the nomination, Rich. All right, we move on to appointment of council members. You want to do that, Tara?

Sure. Um, appointment of council members to public finance judic judiciary and personnel committee and the public property safety and works committee. Item 5A, council members Cynthia Olone, Troy Heamer, Rich Jablonsky, and AJ Pollinsky to the public finance, judiciary, and personnel committee. And council members Charlie Bar, Katherine Lopez, Jay Prrent Roth, and Ron Schilling to the public property, safety, and works committee. Do we need a motion to accept that those appointments? We have a Can I have a motion to accept those appointments?

Second. We have a motion and a second to accept those appointments. Any discussion? All right. Seeing none, all those in favor signify by I. Those opposed, nay. Motion passes. Moves us on to the consent agenda.

Item six, consent agenda. The following items are considered to be routine by the city council and will be enacted by one motion. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a council member or citizen requests in which event the item will be removed from the consent status and considered in in its normal sequence on the agenda. Item 6A, minutes of the November 17th, 2025 city council meeting. 6B, reappoints of Gary Pitt, Stacy Smith, and Nick Larson to the board of parks commissioners for three-year terms. Item 6 C, resolution number R25-144, approving the year-end certification to the Nebraska Department of Transportation of Richard J. Bogus as the street superintendent for January 1st, 2025 through January or December 31st, 2025. Item 6D, resolution number R25-145, approving the renewal of the maintenance agreement number eight with the Nebraska Department of Transportation for January 1st, 2026 to December 31st, 2026 for maintenance of state highway systems in the city limits. Item 6E, resolution number R25-146, reaffirming the city's intent to provide or expand municipal solid waste collection services. Item 6F, resolution number R25-147, approving the agreement with Dave Wilkkey for harvesting and bailing of hay at the Columbus Municipal Airport. Item 6G, resolution number R25-148, approving the addendum to the farm lease with Jim and Dan Donahghue to provide for a one-year extension. And item 6H, payroll and bills on file. Mr. Mayor and council members, is there anything you would like removed from the consent agenda? Do you want to just tell us to accept

the consent agenda, please? The items on the consent agenda be approved as presented. Second. We have a motion and a second to accept the consent agenda. Any discussion? Seeing none. All those in favor signify by I. Those opposed, nay. Motion passes. Brings us up to special presentations this evening.

Item 8A is a proclamation of thanks for support presented by the International Association of Firefighters, local number 1575. Well, thank you.

Okay. Good evening. Um, on behalf of the firefighters of Columbus, we I'm presenting this proclamation to you uh for your continued support. I'm just going to read it uh for the public record, so bear with me. It's kind of lengthy. Um proclamation. Whereas the safety and well-being of the residents of Columbus, Nebraska depend upon a strong, wellsupported fire department dedicated to service, protection, and professionalism. And whereas the mayor, city council members, and city administrators have consistently demonstrated their commitment to the Columbus Fire Department and its members through proactive leadership, responsible decision-making. And whereas this support has included investments in increased staffing to meet the growing needs of our community and ensuring timely emergency response. And whereas the city has prioritized the development and maintenance of highquality facilities allow firefighters, paramedics, and emergency personnel to perform their duties safely and effectively. And whereas the purchase of modern equipment and apparatus has strengthened the department's operational readiness, enhanced service delivery, and improved firefighter safety. And whereas the continued provision of medical physicals and health initiatives for department members demonstrates a clear commitment to the long-term wellness and career longevity of the firefighters who serve the community. And whereas such actions reflect a positive collaborative partnership among local elected officials, city administration, and IAFF Local 1575 united in service to the citizens of Columbus. Now therefore be it proclaimed that the International Association of Firefighters Local 1575 extend its deepest gratitude to the mayor, city council members, and city administrator for their steadfast support, dedication, and trust in the brave men and women of the Columbus Fire Department. Be it further resolved that this proclamation be presented as a symbol of appreciation for continued cooperation and a shared vision of safety, progress, and excellence in

service. Presented to Mayor James Bokeley, Council President Rich Jablonsky, Councilman Charles Bar, Councilwoman Cynthia Olan, Councilman Troy Heamer, Councilwoman Cat Lopez, Councilman Ron Schilling, Councilman Jay Prrent Roth, Councilman AJ Pollinsky, and City Administrator Tara Vosichek. So, this is just our appreciation for all the support you've given us the last few years. Um, we've grown and we're uh we're doing good things. We're heading in the right direction and uh we appreciate it very much.

Well, I think I can speak I mean I'll speak for myself, but I believe I can speak for the council that we are humbled by this proclamation. We believe strongly in the professionalism and the strength of our fire department and all our professional services. We thank you all for what you do and we will continue to support you any way we can. Thank you. All right. Thank you. appreciate.

All right, we move on to new business. Item 15A, quote from Pro Vantage LLC in the amount of $24,417 for 13 laptops, 20 monitors, and computer hardware for various departments. Mr. Mayor, I move the quote from a Pro Vantage LLC for laptops, monitors, and computer hardware be accepted. Second. We have a motion and a second to accept the quote from Pro Vantage LLC. Any discussion?

Seeing none, all those in favor signify by I. Those opposed, nay. Motion passes. Item 15B, purchased from Northern Truck Equipment Corporation in the amount of $342,120 for three tandem axle trailers for the transfer station. This is CIP23-45. Mr. Mayor, I move for the purchase for Northern Truck Equipment Corporation for three tandem axle trailers be approved.

Second. We have a motion and a second to approve the purchase of tandem axle trailers from Northern Truck Equipment Corporation. Any discussion? I would just ask the we're replacing some. Is there any value in what we replace or do they get traded in or do they get scrapped? Usually they're going to end up on the scrap side of the items. We'll evaluate them when we get the new ones in, see what kind of shape they're in, but uh they're in need of replacement, so they have a relatively low value. They'll probably be auctioned off.

Okay. Appreciate it. Thank you. All right. Any other discussion? Any other comments, questions? Seeing none, we have a motion and a second. All those in favor signify by I. Those opposed, nay. Motion passes. Item 15 C, comments from the mayor and council members in compliance with the open meetings act. No discussion may be held on this item. Do we have any comments from council members this evening? Yes, sir.

I just want to take a minute to thank everybody for allowing me to be council president for the last two years. I appreciate everybody's support. Uh everybody asked me when I'm downtown. I said, "Oh, you're the council president." I said, "Yeah, I get to read the prayer every meeting." And u but uh no, it uh seriously it's It was a privilege to serve and uh it's a great community as uh we have wonderful uh representation here by the fire safety people. I think it's our our community is really growing and it's because of what uh we're able to do here as a group and um and it's pretty seamless with the staff that provides all the uh information for us to make great decisions. But I just like to thank the council for that. Thank you.

Absolutely. Any other comments from council members? All I'd like to mention is through the Thanksgiving weekend. I know on Thanksgiving I was not there so this is secondhand but I know the 1C church and the group that put on the community dinner just did a unbelievably fantastic job. I was told they served over 600 meals and they took over 200 meals to shutins or people at home. just an awesome example of Columbus coming together and doing what we do best and that is helping one another. So with that, we'll move on to resolutions.

Item 16A, resolution number R25-149, awarding the bid to Garing Construction and Readymix Company Incorporated in the amount of 1,897,61810 for concrete paving improvements 2026. This is CIP20-71. Mr. Mayor, I move resolution number R25-149 be adopted. Second.

We have a motion and a second to adopt resolution number R25-149. Any discussion? I would reach out to uh Mr. Bogus and just ask for maybe a little explanation. And I know probably the largest item of this uh this award is going to be some 33rd Avenue reconstruction. Um as we all know 33rd Avenue is a main arterial for our schools and I was just wondering are we close enough to uh any kind of plan what what might we be seeing uh on 33rd Avenue and if you can't give it to us yet but you know I guess tell me what you can tell us about this. Sure. Um, so good question because you're right. I mean, obviously a lot of the collectors arterials will affect, you know, either a school or a church or an event or something. So, 33rd Avenue is, you know, Lost Creek School, the high school is obviously up that way. So, what we try to do when we set these projects up is make sure that we're not um doing too much that it can't get done during the summer. So we have in the contract that that the that Garing signed here is that they will not start with the actual construction on 33rd till after school is out in May. And they'll be substantially complete um by the time school starts in August. And by substantially complete that means that the road is open and operable. There may be there probably will be some things to do after that. I mean it's August and so seating you know things some sidewalk work probably things but that's in the contract. So they agree to that when they sign this contract. So, we try to do that much similar to um the downtown. We have a couple pedestrian nodes we're going to do on this project, too, on 13th Street. You make sure it doesn't happen like during Columbus Day. So, we always try to come up with stuff like that. Put it in the contract so it's it's bound by the by the agreement.

Awesome. All right. Thank I think that's very important that the public knows that because obviously it it will be a disruption when when construction does begin. Yeah. No matter what you do, it's going to be disruptive. All right. Any other questions? How far are they going to come? It's uh from 30th Street from just north of the 30th Street intersection to 38. So we'll not get into 38th Streets intersection. Will not get into 30th. So that's segment between there.

Okay. Any other comments or questions? Seeing none, we have a motion and a second to accept. All those in favor signify by I. Those opposed, nay. Motion passes. Meeting adjourned.