BROKEN BOW – The Custer County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Tuesday morning (August 13) with a longer-than-normal agenda in front of them.
In Board of Equalization talks, Assessor Elise Taylor presented the board with her three year assessment plan. Upcoming reviews are: In 2025, Anselmo, Arnold, and Merna. In 2026, Sargent. In 2027, Ansley and Comstock. Each year also has several townships included in assessment plans. The three year plan was accepted by the board.
As has been the case regularly, the board passed resolution #22-2024 which increased restricted funds authority by 1%.
Tammy Hendrickson and Bill Hendricks came before the board representing the Custer County Historical Society for their annual support request. The Society is asking for $8,500 as they have in years past, which Hendrickson said goes toward utilities and insurance. She stated their insurance is going up a significant amount this year but they are staying with their normal support request. No decision was made.
Interlocal agreements with the Sargent and Broken Bow airport authorities for 2024-2025 were approved by the board Tuesday, for amounts of $2,500 and $13,000 respectively to be contributed by the county. With joint funding from the airport authorities, the agreements aim to provide services to taxpayers at the lowest possible cost.
A single bid for road armor coating work was received by the board, from Figgins Construction Company, based in Red Cloud, NE. Highway Superintendent Chris Jacobsen asked the board to table the discussion so he could crunch numbers to see if the bid could work with their budget. He stated that if it did not, the county roads department would have to pause their work on more road in order to complete the armor coating themselves, thus affecting road work timelines. The discussion was tabled pending recommendation from Jacobsen.
The inventory report completed with the Road Department was approved.
The subject of bids for work on the relocation of the Anselmo grain bin railroad crossing came back up for discussion Tuesday. More specifically, the realization that the bid submitted from Myers Construction was invalid since it was received after the deadline. Superintendent Chris Jacobsen appeared before the board stating he would like to have the authority to negotiate with contractors to complete the work as a result of having no qualifying timely bids.
Before a short break, the board authorized Chairman Chip Blowers to sign two documents. The first, an annual certification of program compliance to the Nebraska Board of Public Roads Classification and Standards for 2024, states that the department is complying with rules and regulations set by that board. That authorization passed unanimously. The second was an environmental services agreement which stated that the county is complying with costs for an environmental study regarding the bridge project near Comstock. That authorization passed, with Supervisor Anne Gibbons voting “no” while stating her disgust with the high environmental impact costs associated with a project that involves a bridge site that already exists.
Recycling Manager Kelly Flynn gave his quarterly report to the board, highlighting that between April 30 and August 13 the county had sold $16,596.72 worth of recyclables.
After a discussion about satisfaction level with their services, a contract renewal with Applied Connective was approved in the amount of $4,065 a month. The cost is up from $3,690 per month from the last contract.
Representatives with Zelle HR introduced themselves to the board after the exit of the county’s previous contact with the company. They stated that the handbook is nearing its final stages of completion and their desire to set up a regular schedule of in-person visits to best serve the county.
A letter of agreement between Region III Behavioral Health Services and Custer County was approved unanimously by the board, running from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2026.
Rick Maas came before the board representing Custer County Tourism, revisiting a request for the board to allow term limits to be removed from their bylaws. He cited the difficulty of finding new board members when the current limit of no more than two consecutive four year terms is met. The amendment was approved unanimously.
Custer County Attorney Steven Bowers addressed the board regarding a salary increase for the Deputy County Attorney, citing remaining competitive while also applauding the work of Kayla Haberstick. Current verbiage states that the Deputy County Attorney make no less than 65% of the salary of the County Attorney, but no more than 75%. Bowers’ ask of the board was for authority to increase to 85%. The board took the information under advisement pending budget discussions and the results of the current special legislative session.
The Corner Township, of which normal township business was recently made the responsibility of the Board of Supervisors due to no township board appointment, was on the agenda for budget preparation and the associated paperwork. The discussion centered around road work, which makes up a majority of the township’s budget needs. Chris Jacobsen offered to assist the board in forming a budget based on the needs the roads department sees the township having, with the possibility of levy changes.
All office inventories were completed between county departments and the supervisors assigned to complete them. All were approved.
Custer County Emergency Manager Mark Rempe appeared with Broken Bow City Administrator David Schmidt to close out Tuesday’s meeting. The two stated they were in the process of “kicking off discussions” regarding the interlocal agreement for dispatch services between the two parties. Schmidt stated he wanted the re-negotiation between Broken Bow and the county to be collaborative, not combative. The board commended the two on their work so far and their desire to find a healthy solution for both sides.
Tuesday’s meeting adjourned just before Noon.
