At its Dec. 6 meeting, the Seward City Council:
• held a moment of silence for Tim Richtig, head of the water and wastewater department, who died Nov. 29 after battling pancreatic cancer. “Tim devotedly served as the water and wastewater director these last nine years,” Mayor Josh Eickmeier said.
• received certified results of the Nov. 8 General Election and recognized outgoing council members Ellen Beck, Sid Kamprath and Alyssa Hendrix for their years of service. Beck was first elected in 2014 and served two terms; Kamprath served four terms beginning in 2006 and was council president in 2008 and 2013; and Hendrix served one term after election in 2018.
The council then adjourned and reconvened, with the following action:
• seated new and re-elected members for four-year terms. City Clerk Derek Bargmann administered the Oath of Office to Mayor Joshua Eickmeier, Megan Kahler (Ward 1), Tatum Tonniges (Ward 2), Rich Wergin (Ward 3) and Karl Miller (Ward 4). Additional members remaining on the council through 2024 include Jessica Kolterman (Ward 1), Matt Stryson (Ward 2), John Singleton (Ward 3) and Jonathon Wilken (Ward 4).
• confirmed the following city officials appointed by Eickmeier: Greg Butcher, city administrator; Kelly Hoffschneider, city attorney; Nicholas Wolf, city treasurer; Derek Bargmann, city clerk, Michael Oneby, city engineer; Robert Miers, public works superintendent; Brian Peters, chief of police; Timothy Dworak, building inspector; Larry Ruether, light commissioner; and James Kimsey, fire chief.
• confirmed Eickmeier’s appointments of council members as follows: Civic Center Commission – Kahler, Singleton; Cemetery Board – Kolterman; Fire Department – Singleton; Library Board – Wergin, Wilken; Park and Recreation Board – Stryson, Tonniges; Planning Commission – Stryson, Wergin; Tree Board – Wergin; Aging Services Commission – Tonniges; Community Development Block Grant Review Board – Wilken; Seward County Chamber and Development Partnership – Kahler; E911 Board – Kolterman, Singleton; Seward Foundation – Miller, Tonniges; LB840 Sales Tax Application Review Board – Kahler, Miller; Personnel, Finance and Audit Committee – Kolterman, Miller, Stryson, Wilken; Seward/Saline County Solid Waste Agency – Singleton; Rail Campus Development Review Committee – Miller, Stryson
• elected Miller as council president.
• confirmed non-council members to the following appointments: Angela Dobrusky, Seward Volunteer Fire Department; Ben Hughes, Cemetery Board; Mike Klintworth, Housing Authority; Jo Ann Hoffman, Edward Zak, Patricia Bruenger and Julie Cox, Aging Services Commission
• approved the addition of the City of Milford to an interlocal agreement among Seward, Butler, Saline and York counties and the cities of Seward and York for public safety software, hardware and related services from Zuercher Technologies.
• authorized an on-call agreement with JEO Consulting Group for preliminary engineering services for future federal aid transportation projects, specifically regarding the East Hillcrest bridge project.
