Vandals, burglars, fires keep public servants busy

Staff reports

The Odessa Town Council met last week Tuesday instead of Monday due to the Veterans Day holiday.

Police reports

Police chief Helen Coubra led off the November 13 meeting with reports of vandalism, burglary and general mayhem on the night of November 11.

The perpetrators struck first at the equipment yard of the Odessa Trading Company, taking fire extinguishers that were strapped to combines and spraying their contents onto the ground.

School buses parked outdoors near the grandstand at Finney Field were struck next. One bus had a window in its door broken, and fire extinguishers were set off and sprayed around the interior of several buses. The ticket booth and concession stand at the football field and the crow’s nest in the grandstand were also broken into and items were stolen.

The food booths in downtown Odessa’s Festplatz were the next target. Some of the booths had been locked up and provided storage space for items used by the civic and church groups that operate them during Fest. Leaving the Festplatz, the perpetrators moved next to the Odessa Inn, where they broke in and destroyed dishes and other items still in the one-time restaurant.

Moving on to fire department property, they broke into the Chevy flatbed truck, removed the battery and broke the glove box and a flashlight holder.

Coubra said the breaking and entering, plus the loss of the items taken, were enough to constitute charges of felony burglary against the perpetrators. One suspect is already in custody, and charges are being prepared against a second suspect.

Coubra suggested the installation of additional security cameras in the area to help law enforcement with apprehending the perpetrators of such crimes of opportunity.

Target practice at a gravel pit on Duck Lake Road led to a dangerous situation when a stray bullet struck a trailer located on the nearby property of Traig Weishaar. A handyman hired by Weishaar sometimes sleeps in the trailer but was not present on the date of the incident. No one was injured, but the possibility of a tragic mishap is all too possible.

It was believed initially that the gravel pits were owned by the state and county, but Chief Coubra and Mayor Doug Plinski learned that the Town of Odessa also owns some of the property. They plan to secure the area and get it posted with no-trespassing signs.

Fire Dept.

The two-week period just past has also been busy for the Odessa Fire Department. Following the recent spectacular warehouse fire downtown and a smaller fire that burned only vegetation along one bank of Crab Creek near the walking bridge, Town Fire Chief Don Strebeck and Rural Fire Chief Roger Sebesta would no doubt prefer some quieter times. Unfortunately, they and their crews have not been getting much rest, having fought seven fires already this year.

A shop recently put up at the farm home of Tom Evavold near Lamona caught fire November 8. Of the three vehicles stored in the shop, only one was able to be driven out of the shop before the blaze became too intense. Evavold lost his farm rig and all of the tools stored in it, as well as a classic car that he had proudly maintained for some time.

Fire crews were able to save the farmhouse, but the shop and most of its contents were a total loss. The cause of the fire is unknown.

On November 13, the fire crew responded to a 4:30 p.m. report of a kitchen fire in a south Division Street rental home belonging to Ed and Nadya Hayden. Crews responded and put out the fire, initially with only minor smoke damage to the home. At 9 p.m. that same evening, however, the residents called again to say that the fire had restarted. Crews rushed to put it out, but the flames burned through a portion of the roof and left the house uninhabitable. Reportedly, the renters told the fire chief that a pet dog and cat perished when the fire reignited, but all of the residents got themselves out of the house with no injuries.

Public Works

Lise Ott brought to the council a plan for assessing the viability of the Old Town Hall. She will be getting estimates for putting a new roof on the building and also trying to determine the cost of refurbishment of the building. She will also look at whether demolition might be the best option.

Town council member Marlene Kramer volunteered to assist Ott in those endeavors as the town government representative.

While those efforts are underway, the public works crew will be digging up piping leading to and from the Old Town Hall bathrooms, and a plumber will be working indoors installing new pipe and hookups. At this year’s Fest, problems developed with the plumbing in those bathrooms. Plinski said that the problems were caused by piping exiting the building in a nearly horizontal orientation instead of sloping downward. This caused drainage to be too slow and resulted in frequent clogs and overflows.

Public Works director Rod Webster reported that the flatbed trailer seized by the Odessa Police following the conviction of its previous owners on theft charges, has already been put to good use as a utility trailer.

Mayor’s report

Plinski, Webster and Kennet Bertelsen, an engineer with USKH, the town’s engineering firm, met with Dept. of Health representatives in late October to discuss a six-year water plan for the town of Odessa. Such a plan must be in place, Plinski said, before applying for grants and loans to help make improvements and/or repairs to the existing water system, parts of which are quite old.

Maps exist of the water mains and feeder lines, but in many respects they are incorrect, Plinski said. One of the first steps to be taken will be to produce accurate maps of the municipal water-supply. It was pointed out at the meeting that the system currently has dead ends that need to be connected to the rest of the system in order for it to work more efficiently and reliably.

Plinski said that Bertelsen will be in Odessa to attend the November 26 meeting of the council to explain the costs and requirements that go along with the six-year water plan.

Odessa has entered into an interlocal agreement with Lincoln County on a shoreline master plan, saving the town $4,600 for the cost of a red-dye test on Crab Creek.

Revenue

Plinski opened discussion of potential revenue sources to help balance the town budget. The first two options involved a .01 increase in the sales tax for local public safety and a .02 sales tax increase for the Transportation Benefit District that would raise $15,000 and $30,000, respectively. Both tax increases would require a vote of the people, and the state would have to be notified 75 days prior to preparation of the ballots. Of the existing 7.7-cent sales tax rate for Odessa, 6.5 cents go to the state, 0.2 cents goes to the County and approximately one cent goes to Odessa’s treasury.

Other sources of revenue include annexation of the Odessa Industrial Park and the north and south hill properties. Anyone hooking up to the water system would also generate revenue.

Creation of a Parks & Recreation District would add revenue by taxing all residents within the district and not just those within the town limits. Rural residents who enjoy use of the pool in Odessa, for example, currently do not support its upkeep with their tax dollars. The same is true for a Cemetery District or a cemetery endowment fund. A Cemetery District, again, would tax both rural and in-town residents for upkeep of the cemetery. An endowment fund would involve a bequest by a wealthy person or some kind of fundraising effort to establish the endowment, which would have to be large enough that the interest on it would supply the needed revenue.

Following the discussion of revenue options, the council took a 10-minute break before holding a budget workshop. The council will meet again November 26 for a regularly scheduled meeting.