OSMOND — The mayor and city council met Monday, June 8, in the council room. Up for discussion were some of next fiscal year's budget items.
Park Improvement Project Amount Approved
With Osmond Park Board members Patti Ketelsen and Barb Johnson in attendance, the park improvement project was discussed. Treasurer Brittney Timmerman explained to council members that they need to decide which amount would be budgeted for the project so the board can reach out to the park equipment company to get the price locked in.
Ketelsen and Johnson both explained that they plan to have brochures at the alumni banquet, a table set up outside of Chrome N Smoke truck show and apply for more grants to raise additional funds.
As of now they have received a $25,000 grant from the Lower Elkhorn Natural Resource District, $1,000 from the Pierce County Visitors Bureau, about $2,000 from a Music in the Park event a few years ago, plan to pledge $20,000 of their own funds and the council agrees to pledge $20,000 towards the project as well.
After some discussion, the council decided to budget for the $135,540.
Wages, Office Equipment Budgeted
Treasurer Timmerman provided council with wage increase information to take into consideration so they can be set at the July 13 meeting. Also discussed was a new office copier, printer, scanner and fax machine council agreed to budget and purchase the machine after Oct. 1 of this year for around $3,455.
Streets, Equipment, Pool Items Budgeted
Next to be discussed was the asphalt street project where Treasurer Timmerman reviewed four new opinion of costs from Street Superintendent Baylor Bestgen. With the quotes ranging from $1,068,000 to $1,440,000, after a long discussion, council decided to budget $720,000.
Treasurer Timmerman also stated that the maintenance crew had mentioned that the backhoe is needing to be replaced and asked about looking for a mini excavator, Councilman Doug Schmit said he will provide more information to council after he speaks with Maintenance Supervisor Caleb Eckstrom.
Councilman Neil Wattier mentioned that Maintenance Supervisor Eckstrom informed him that the paint on the pool has started flaking off more and he is currently waiting on quotes. Wattier will provide more information at next month’s meeting.
Water Billing Discrepancy Noted Clerk Brittney Timmerman informed council that in the recent months it has been discovered between total gallons of water sold verse total gallons pumped that there has been a large discrepancy.Afew accounts with lawn sprinklers have been discovered to not be metered and will be fixed accordingly.
Timmerman asked council if it was ok with them to meter some of the non-billable city buildings and fire station to try to account for the water loss. Council all agreed to make this happen.
Vandalism A Problem
With considering some of the recent vandalism at the park, Councilman Dennis Haselhorst suggested installing more security cameras to help catch anyone doing the criminal activities. He explained one camera down at the park he personally owns has an annual fee and can receive pictures on his phone if it’s tripped.
Ericka Lewon, who was in attendance, asked what accountability will there be if an individual is caught? As a parent who has kids playing at the park, she would like to know that the kids will be safe and that the actions of the individuals responsible will be addressed to help deter anyone else from vandalizing the community park that the park board and city put so much work into.
Council stated that any individual caught will be turned over to the police for prosecution. Councilman Haselhorst will bring quotes before the council at the July 13 meeting.
Other Agenda Items
After reviewing an agreement between Hoppe Motor and the City of Osmond for the installation of a sewer line and who will be responsible for maintaining it later, council approved having Mayor Dennis Kuhl sign the agreement.
Mayor Kuhl was approached by a group of pickleball players who asked if the Council would consider turning the west tennis court into an exclusive pickleball court. After some discussion council agreed to entertain the idea and will review quotes at next month’s meeting.
Councilman Wattier asked for council’s permission to have a free swim day the Sunday of Summerfest/ alumni weekend. Council approved a free swim day on Sunday, June 28.
No maintenance workers were in attendance to provide the update on the “Great American Cleanup” day, but all of the council members were pleased with how things looked after.
After two properties passed the asbestos testing, they will both be demolished by Summerfest weekend. Other nuisance properties that received letters have had progress on cleaning up around their yards. No additional properties were added this month.
Clerk Timmerman provided an update on the deputy clerk position and reviewed a new ad with the council.
CITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES BUDGET, PARK PLAN After some discussion, council agreed to running the new ad.
Clerk Timmerman informed council that Casey Sampson, reemployment coordinator with the Nebraska Department of Labor, stopped by the office a month ago to share some information on their apprenticeship program opportunities that businesses or individuals could participate in. Anyone wanting more information on this can go to their website or stop by the city office.
Police Chief Tyler Wells was not present, but provided a report to Mayor Kuhl that reported on the following recent activity within the city: one dog bite (deemed a potentially dangerous dog), four case updates, two disturbance reports, two citizen complaints (referred to the city office), two abandoned motor vehicles and one neighbor dispute, to name a few. Wells also reported that owners of 52 unlicensed vehicles in city limits were notified to take care of them and, as of Friday, 18 of them were addressed.
In other business, the council: — approved Pierce Legion’s special designated liquor license application for a wedding reception at the city auditorium on June 20, 2026.
— approved Ordinance No. 2026-6 Unlicensed or Inoperable Vehicles; a complete copy of the ordinance is available at the city office and is also printed in full in this week’s Osmond Republican.
— saw the following building permits submitted: American Legion Post 326, two business signs; Dante Schmit, front and back porch on his house, and Walter Aschoff for a hair salon along 4th Street.
— heard Mayor Kuhl state city sales tax for March 2026 was a total of $19,151.47 (of that amount $2,948.38 is from motor vehicle tax).
— heard one correspondence from Baird Hold Attorney office for a solar project located outside of the city limits.
