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The Council heard public comments. 

It was questioned by an attendee what the purpose was of using the round-up money totaling $305.38 to purchase a new American flag.

During the January 24 Council meeting, the four-year-old city round-up program was approved by the Council to be canceled. The program was set up as a way for people to round up their water bills as a donation to help other citizens who may not be able to pay their water bills. 

Council member Vicky Lynch said that as people have moved and passed away, the donations have declined each year. 

The Council approved the remaining $305.38 from the program to purchase the flag as a spare to have on hand. The Mayor said the flag will be treated with respect, up every day, 365 days a year, all year long, “So when we need it, it will be replaced immediately.”

Deputy Shiley from the Richardson County Sheriff’s Department gave the Sheriff’s Report. There were 46 calls, 175 hours, eight traffic stops, one runaway, six investigations,  three DHHS intakes, three animal complaints, one suspicious person, two disturbances, three welfare checks, one possible death, two information-only calls, one law enforcement assist, three miscellaneous calls, one VIN inspection, one parking complaint, one theft, one accident, one trespassing, one warrant arrest, one escort and one nuisance call. 

The Council went over the maintenance report. It was noted that the lake park buildings were checked during freezing weather and everything looked good. At the pool, the footboard for the lifeguard chair was still being searched for by the vendor, as they still needed to locate the original successfully and it will need to be replaced prior to the state issuing the permit. The swimming pool buildings were checked for freezing and the pool pump is checked daily to ensure it isn’t freezing. It did freeze during the last week of January, but that was resolved. 

The Seventh and Nemaha water main break was repaired and the road is open. The grass along the street will be filled when the ground thaws. The storm sewer drain on sixth street and Central has been cleared and is draining. The spring line broke the third week of January, but it’s been repaired. The 1978 Chevy Dump Truck is ready for sale/use. The garbage disposal and furnace maintenance have been finished at the Old Fire Hall and City Hall. 

The Library Board gave its annual report. Rachael Hernandez reported that the library received 4,506 visits in 2022, “which is huge considering we only have 223 [library] cards.” The number is up dramatically from the 2,561 visits the year before. Library cards went from 199 to 223, with 149 being Humboldt residents. The average attendance for children’s programs was 71; the average attendance for adult programs was 23 and the total number of books is now 13,332. Revenue this year from non-resident cards was $509; fines $19.08; Equipment usage $368.80; other income $93.85; state aid $846.00; ARPA grant $3973.00 for a total of $5809.00. Material Expenditures were $4,475.66

A recommendation from the Library Board to allow Part-Time Library Staff to make up hours missed during the same pay period for holiday closures with the approval of the Library Director was discussed. 

Mayor Rathbone entertained a motion to approve it, but the motion didn’t receive a second and the matter couldn’t be discussed. It was explained that in order to remove the holiday compensation line from the Library manual/personnel policy, the recommendation had to be discussed. The motion failed. 

Dennis Crispin, Chairman of the Humboldt Auditorium Board, requested approval to apply for the Rural Nebraska Historic Preservation Grant. 

The Mayor approved the request to apply; Councilman Stauffer made a motion. The Mayor asked if it was something to table and discuss later due to the lack of a second motion on the table. Action was needed to meet the deadline of the grant. Council member Dettmer made a motion for it to be discussed.

The Rural Nebraska Historic Preservation (RNHP) program will provide grants to owners of historic properties in rural Nebraska communities. Crispin said the Auditorium Board would be asking for $50,000 to clean the exterior of the Auditorium, paint paintable surfaces and windows before they start to deteriorate and replace curtains on the stage, which are old dirty, tattered and not up to fire code. 

Mayor Rathbone asked if it would affect any money that the city itself may ask for as far as taking care of the water problem. 

Council member Lynch said that several places in town were also applying for the same grant, which gave her hesitations. 

Crispin said he was told that the grants stand on their own merit and the city can apply for more than one. 

Council member Dettmer said she called to look into this grant and a couple of others and was told this wasn’t the case and because the city already has grants out there, they’re very lenient even to allow [us] the city to do anymore.

The Journal contacted Betty Gillespie at History Nebraska and she stated, “A city could apply for more than one grant; they will just all need to be for different properties. One property per application, but applicants can apply for multiple applications.

Crispin said this grant wouldn’t apply to the grants the city is trying to get for the water and sewage issues. Dettmer said this one wouldn’t, but the other one does [our] the city’s hands are tied. She said the city was going to try to go for this grant due to “big issues” in the city park because it’s historical and the city can’t ask for two grants on the same grant. 

Council member Wilhelm said she would like to see what the Auditorium has that needs fixed and more of the current grant money the Auditorium has spent down and some projects finished before they try to apply for another grant. 

“Because there’s other people who would like to get things done in this town with monies and you need lots of money to finish your auditorium to spend your money before going for another grant,” said Wilhelm. 

The request for approval for the Auditorium to apply for the grant failed. The city would like to see the Auditorium use their current grant money for renovations before applying for more grants. 

The next item was to approve phase three contract with AHRS for the Auditorium renovation. Dennis Crispin spoke again on behalf of the Auditorium Board. 

Crispin said they have a grant that will pay $400,000 and $100,000 for matching funds. He said he knew they would overshoot that by quite a bit and they would have to cut back funds and in the meantime, the cost of some of the elements of the project went up by 50 percent. They also ran into some added expenses that they hadn’t counted on. 

The engineer said they need to do some underpinning of the footings at the front side of the front side of the building. 

“We thought going in we would have to seal and tile the rear wall and part of the west wall. They couldn’t find a place to stop, so we needed to drain the entire footprint of the building. That got very costly,” said Crispin. 

“The plans we were working on, the old drawing showed the main water at the south side of the street. The water main is actually on the north side of the street. So we have to cross the street,” said Crispin. “It’s going to cost us $1,000 a foot to get those pipes across the street. It ended up the old bid for which we had $500K was now in excess of one million dollars.”

The good news is that the architecture is complete. The Board did make drastic cutbacks to their plans. They eliminated all the work on the lower level of the Auditorium, cut out the elevator plans and the work on the foundation.

The Auditorium Board was still over budget, so the Friends of the Auditorium came up with the other $110,000 to cover those expenses. 

Crispin said that maybe the elevator could get done later on and the floor finished.

Council member Lynch questioned how the Architect and engineers missed the hydrant being on the wrong side and asked if they had thought about not blasting through the building that was the bomb shelter and putting it on the backside of the building. 

Crispin said it was considered, but they never thought they could come up with the money or space to do it. They would have to purchase the property around the Auditorium. Total contract costs with AHRS are $548,368; architecture fees are $54,000 making the total project $602,368, which will be covered with the $610,000 available to spend—leaving a reserve of $7,632.

A question was raised about additional insurance being added and Crispin said it’s required to insure and bond each section of the bond individually and that’s charged back to the customer. 

The motion to approve the Phase three contract with AHRS was carried out.

The first reading of Ordinance No. 664 to Amend to Code of the City of Humboldt to establish compensation for appointed and elected city officials was held. 

It had been held over from the previous Mayor but was tabled because it was during the election and until the new Mayor and Council could discuss the raises. Now that the Mayor and Council have chosen the discussion on the hourly amounts, the ordinance is ready to be revised and have its first reading. 

Someone from the crowd questioned the verbiage of “City Employees” to “Appointed and elected officials.” City Clerk Darla Hulsebus said that is just what the ordinance is called. 

Discussion and action were held regarding the selection of a water engineer to develop a plan to resolve the water issue at Colonial Acres Nursing Home. Mayor Rathbone said he spoke with the City Attorney and he recommended a third-party engineer be considered. The Mayor spoke with Water Engineering of Mead, NE, to take a look. He said he checked them out and they have a great reputation and their work is good. The consultation fee is not to exceed $7,500 and the company would keep the Council informed so they could keep the city up to date on everything being done. 

The Mayor said the Nursing home was glad the Council was taking this “by the horns” and doing something about it.

Council member Lynch said she agreed, “these are our family members; this is a life source for Humboldt. So many people work there.” During the January 24 meeting, it was reported that 72 people are employed at Colonial Acres, making it the biggest employer in town. 

Three water tests were done in the city the week before and all three tests came back negative. One at the entrance of the nursing home and one at the exit of the nursing home, both of which returned negative. One was taken on the south end of town from a business and came back negative. That was done to get a perspective on the south end of town to ensure it’s safe.

Water Engineering can get started as soon as the contract is signed. The motion carried.

A discussion was held regarding incorporating trash service with the water and sewer bill. The discussion started during the January 24 meeting, but misinformation was spread regarding that discussion. 

“People will not be carrying their trash to a dumpster down the block. It was never said by me; it was never said in this room,” said Mayor Rathbone. “I mentioned that we could possibly model our billing service after Auburn. If we can save our constituents $4-$5 a month, have better trash service, and keep it picked up, I think we have to keep talking about it.”

During the January 24 meeting, the Mayor explained that he had spoken to other cities and they like how this is done and thought it would help “clean this town up in spots.” It’s not something being forced on anyone. It’s just an option that’s being looked at right now. 

Council member Stauffer said he checked with the individual who does the service for Auburn and after speaking with him, he thinks the city should check statutes. Notice time may be six months to a year before it can be implemented. 

No action was taken due to it being a discussion. 

Edited: In the previous version of the article stated the Friends of the Auditorium who donated to cover additional expenses to the Auditorium was listed as the Friends of the Library and the Architect fee was listed as $154,000. The correct cost is $54,000.

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On Monday, November 28, eight community members ranging from a state senator to local law enforcement gathered together with one common goal, to better protect our youth. 

Sheriff Hardesty, Senator Julie Slama, County Commissioner Rick Karas and HTRS staff members, Superintendent Dr. George Griffith, Principal Lisa Othmer, Assistant Principal Kari Lottman and Guidance Counselor Brittany Rogers, met to look to each other and the community for help.

It’s no secret that bullying and cyberbullying have significantly risen in the age of social media and cell phones, but one local school has noticed a rise in the problem and would like to see a change. 

Bullying complaints are increasing at Humboldt Table-Rock Steinauer School and even with the most abundant protocols and strategies in place to prevent this type of behavior, it hasn’t slowed down. 

This year HTRS started a school resource program funded 100 percent by them after several incidents over the last two years resulted in serious felony citations to students that stemmed from phone-related incidents. The deputy is in the school while in session to help alleviate some of the strain on the administrators.

Sheriff Hardesty said HTRS is the only school they are involved in within the county and after writing several felony tickets, it hasn’t stopped the bullying problem. 

HTRS certainty isn’t the only school with this type of problem, but Hardesty says, “we’re the school that wants to put it out front and say, ‘hey, we have this problem. Sitting back and doing nothing is not the answer.’”

In 2020 the Cyberbullying Research Center surveyed 1,034 9-12 year old’s across the United States and found that 15 percent of them had been cyberbullied while three percent had cyberbullied others. In a 2021 survey of approximately 2,500 middle and high schoolers, 45.5 percent said they had been cyberbullied during their lifetime, while 23.2 have cyberbullied others within the previous 30 days. 

“Enough is enough; the school has its policies and they do their part, but we don’t have a dog in the fight. We can’t legally do anything,” said Sheriff Hardesty. “I personally am not looking to charge some kid with all these felonies to where the parents have to pay for the court costs, citation, counseling, probation, whatever. I would like to see some long-term education on bullying as far as being sympathetic and apologetic.” 

HTRS Superintendent Dr. George Griffith says the definition of bullying needs to be clarified. 

“Two kids are going back and forth; that’s not bullying; that’s conflict. But what we have when we get a group of boys together or girls,” he trailed off. “Retaliation is the focus.” Students tell him that they will let him know when they get tired enough to let him step in, but until then, they don’t want the problem addressed due to retaliation fears. 

“That’s the biggest thing that keeps kids from coming in and saying something because nothing gets done, the kid gets talked to, but then it gets worse, then they don’t come back and talk to you,” said Dr. Griffith.

“Everyone has a breaking point, you know, at what point, whether it’s, they try to hang themselves, they shoot themselves, they take medication, or they come to school and take care of the problem themselves because they don’t feel that the school is doing something,” said Hardesty. 

They say that some students don’t see what they do as bullying. Calling fellow students names or commenting on their hygiene in front of a group of students can alter people’s perception of that person, then it becomes confrontational. Hardesty says that’s when the victim often reacts badly and the police intervene. They acknowledge that kids won’t change something they don’t feel is wrong. Hardesty said this is where he believes counseling and further bullying education could be beneficial. 

Principal Lisa Othmer said HTRS has an attorney come in each year to talk to the students about digital citizenship and bullying and what can happen when you break the law. But, “it doesn’t stick.” These types of issues have only increased. 

Sheriff Hardesty said the biggest problem with bullying is cell phones. It’s taking pictures and threatening people through Snapchat, a social media program that features photographs and messages that are only available for a short time before they become inaccessible to the recipients. 

But the school can only do so much regarding cell phones. Unless it’s a school-sanctioned event, it’s up to the parents. 

Cyberbullying and traditional bullying can be very different. Cyberbullying can be done anonymously and go viral. Once it goes viral, it can include the eyes of the school, community or world. 

HTRS has a cellphone policy that phones should not be used during school. Falls City Public has the same approach. At HTRS, phones are to be turned off once students arrive at school and placed in a Yondr Pouch, the same type of pouch now used at concerts. The students may keep their pouch with them throughout the day, but the pouch may only be opened with a particular device. If the pouch is scratched or damaged, as if the student has tried to open it themselves, they must purchase another. 

But the issue remains. 

The school lawyer said extra-curricular activities could be taken away because they are a privilege for students, not a right. School Counselor Brittany Rogers said this is when parents get upset.

Principal Othmer said there had been increased awareness about the social emotional needs of kids at the state level. 

Right now, HTRS has a social-emotional interventionist. There are three tiers. Tier one would be the guidance counselor and weekly visits with the class to educate them on these issues. A social-emotional screener is used to highlight the kids at a higher risk for bullying behavior or who may be a victim; then, they might be referred for a tier two intervention. That would be a one-on-one or small group setting to talk about ways to cope. Tier three would include disciplinary actions, a higher level of counseling and licensed therapist time (which HTRS has).

“I feel like we’re doing all the right things,” said Othmer.

Senator Julie Slama said she’s seen how “neutered” the laws for juveniles have become. The Sheriff’s Department is writing felony citations for revenge porn and felony sexual harassment and “there’s no teeth to these laws” because these kids are juveniles. 

“It’s because of people who, I’m sure at the time meant well, wanted to see laws walked back for juveniles to give them second chances and to give them structure and there’s no structure that’s taken the place of the justice system beyond a couple of facilities,” said Senator Slama. 

Hardesty said usually when there is a crime committed by a juvenile, they call probation. Probation has a scoring system and they have to meet a criteria. If a child isn’t on probation, they’ve been in trouble but taken diversion programs and commit a felony offense, it may not score enough and they’re turned back over to their guardian. 

Senator Slama said she would see what she could do to help.

“I’m more than ready to go to bat on this. Because this what we’re talking about when we’re talking about getting young people to stay in the area and having an environment they enjoyed growing up in is a huge part of that,” said Slama.

“Our kids are the best of the best,” said Rogers. “Everyone in the building has rights, not just the kids who are out of control. Everyone in the building has a right to an education.”

(See Editorial)

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By Nikki McKim; photos by Chelsie Alexander

Humboldt Mayor Bob Mendenhall and Larry Stauffer and Jan Wilhelm of the Humboldt City Council addressed community members last Friday night during a Town Hall meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the proposed 1.5 percent increase Sales Tax placed on the May 10, 2022, ballot.

Mayor Mendenhall told the community members he wanted to have a conversation with everyone to get everyone’s input and explain how the funds would be used. 

According to the last census, Humboldt is classified as a second-class city with 800 people.

Mendenhall said the sales tax is “desperately needed” due to rising expenses and the equipment that needs to be replaced, costs for water and sewer, swimming pools and other items that need to be addressed around the community. 

According to the Mayor, the situation now is better than it had previously been. 

“I’m proud of that. The Council has really done a very good job. We watched or semi-fixed expenses as much as we possibly could. But our fixed expenses are still there. We still have a $1.1 million bill for water, and we have a million-dollar street bond payment,” said Mendenhall. “We renegotiated these this last year and dropped our percentages down, which is saving the city a considerable amount of money. But still, we owe that money.”

It costs the city $2,000 a month for streetlights, which some residents may not realize. Over $40,000 was budgeted for the Library, which Mendenhall said he believed was necessary for the community. The biggest expense this year, according to the Mayor, is water. In 2022, Humboldt has spent over $270,000 on water, and that total is about $20,000 more than was spent in 2020.

The sewer plant is in poor condition, and the city is doing all it can to keep it going. 

“So there’s a lot of things that this money can be utilized for, to make our community stronger, and more importantly better,” said Mendenhall.

The city would like to offer services such as snow removal, fire, rescue squad, Library and the swimming pool to their residents. The Fire Department is currently using coats that are nearly a decade old. They are holding their own with costs and doing their best with what they have to equip 20 firefighters. For a new pumper, they’re looking at three-quarters to a million and a half dollars for a truck. The department is fundraising to help with building maintenance.

This sales tax would help with expenses for these types of services.

The current swimming pool costs the city “probably approximately $25,000 to $30,000.” That total is after passes are sold for the year. “Keeping it going is a major undertaking,” said Mendenhall. 

The pool was first opened in 1951. The City Council recently closed the baby pool, but the Mayor emphasized that they don’t want to start sacrificing services. 

“Even though we’ve negotiated these bonds, we’re still looking at over $100,000 a year for each one of us. Insurance runs approximately $42,000 a year. The bill can’t be paid quarterly; it must be paid in a lump sum in December, no exceptions. Other bills are also due in December; then, the Street Bond is due in January. 

“So the funding, we these things are extremely difficult,” said Mendenhall. 

Council President Larry Stauffer said some taxable sales come from the Internet. Sales made by retailers via the Internet are taxed in the same manner as sales made by other retailers.  Exception – Sales of household goods and personal effects made on an online auction site by an individual are not taxable if: The sale is made only once per calendar year for three days or less, and The type of property placed on the online auction site does not include anything similar to that sold by the individual (or any member of the individual’s household) in a trade or business.

“We’re not taxing you on your home. This is basically this is fair to everyone. Everyone gets charged the same. It’s not whether you’ve got more property, whether you own more cars; this is fair to everybody,” said Mendenhall.

The money would not be earmarked for any particular project; it would go into a general fund and be used at the discretion of the Council. 

The tax rate will remain in effect for a ten-year period if passed. 

A citizen asked if there was a plan for the future of the swimming pool and said he would like to see any money go towards things for the kids like the swimming pool, south baseball field, things for the city to maintain and grow. 

The Mayor said some of the money can be earmarked for the pool but can’t be guaranteed because it will be up to the Council to decide. He mentioned that the pool was built on a water table but can’t be moved because of the pool house. The ball fields should be able to get help for repairs and grants are always being looked into. 

Stauffer said he’s been in contact with an outfit in Kansas about swimming pools and he’s excited about looking more into it. But he’s not sure it’s affordable. He said he thinks fixing the current pool would be like putting a match to a $100 bill. “We’re spending good money after bad and we’re just band-aiding it to the maximum.”

Another issue with the pool is finding help. Last year finding help was a significant issue. This year the Council has passed many motions to help with certification aide to encourage more kids to lifeguard and come back the following year. 

The city sewer plant is in “horrible” condition and the sewer lines have recently been found to be in horrible shape. That’s going to be another significant issue for the city. They are falling in and leaking.

“We really don’t want our town to die, and it’s going to help out so much in the long run,” said Councilmember Jan Wilhelm. 

The last time the sales tax was placed on the ballot two years ago during COVID, it lost by one vote. The Mayor spoke with someone from Pawnee City, and they didn’t think the sales tax they’ve had the past four years had affected them negatively. 

Mayor Mendenhall said he would like to visit with city members about the sales tax rather than write an article for the paper or place information on Facebook to communicate better. Still, the point is, “I don’t want to lose services. We’ve got to have the equipment to remove snow whether we like it or not. We’ve got to have the particular equipment. As you know, it’s outdated, it’s old and it costs more now to try to fix it than to do something else,” said Mendenhall. 

The Mayor encouraged anyone to come to another Townhall meeting held sometime in April with questions or comments. 

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The family was not home at the time of the fire. 

The Humboldt Volunteer Fire Department posted on social media that the structure was fully engulfed upon their arrival with power lines down and arcing. The gas meter had burned off and was emitting natural gas that had ignited. 

The family lost a pet dog in the fire. 

The Nebraska Fire Marshal will determine the cause of the fire. 

The Red Cross has been notified and the community has set up a GoFundMe page for the family here.

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