BROKEN BOW — The Custer County Board of Supervisors met in regular session on Tuesday morning for just short of two hours. All supervisors were present.
Following the resignation of County Clerk Conni Gracey at the last meeting, the board discussed options on filling the position which included holding an election and appointing a new clerk themselves. Concern was voiced about being without a clerk for the period of time the election process takes, with the obvious counterpoint being that the clerk would have been elected by voters.
Ultimately, a motion was made and seconded to appoint Deputy Clerk Kelly Jacobsen to the position. The motion carried with Longmore and Kleeb voting ‘No’ and Markham, Parliament, Gibbons, and Fox voting ‘Yes’.
The appointment will be effective September 1 and Jacobsen will finish Gracey’s term which runs until December 31, 2026.
Levy Allocation Requests approved, support requests tabled
Levies were approved unanimously as presented to the board by townships throughout the county. (See allocations here) The Ag Society request of $190,678 was applied via a levy of .004923 for each township.
Support requests for the Custer County and Seven Valleys Historical Societies were tabled to a later meeting.
Road study accepted, applications to cross right-of-way approved
A road study conducted by Highway Superintendent Chris Jacobsen was accepted by the board, pointing to Road 1094 in the Cliff Township being inaccessible while not serving adjacent landowners or the general public. The road would be vacated due ultimately to fallen trees, erosion, and overgrowth. A public hearing was set for September 30 at 10 AM on the matter.
Applications to cross right-of-way were granted for Myers Construction and Viaero. In the case of Viaero, the application was for a fiber project that crosses the railroad off Highway 2, follows Cramer Canyon Road and turns to go up Paulsen Road to 17th Avenue in Broken Bow.
Other items from Tuesday’s meeting
- Approval was given for Board President Chip Blowers to sign the annual certification of program compliance to the Nebraska Board of Public Roads and Standards
- An amendment brought to the board by County Attorney Steve Bowers about the IVD child support agreement was received and given the ‘OK’ by the board. The amendment made a change to the county’s process of submitting for reimbursement.
- Jordan Arndt with Zelle HR came before the board with concerns about their use of TimeClock Plus (TCP) ahead of an upcoming contract renewal for the system. She cited several ongoing issues including constantly needing to fix problems in the system that were thought to have been fixed already and inconsistencies with accruals. Several department heads in the audience echoed her frustration. Arndt said that a start-over on TCP with a ‘clean slate’ was an option, as was exploring pricing on products like MIPS. The board encouraged exploring other options and their prices, which Arndt will return to them.
- Brandon Petersen and Jarvis Culler with Applied Connective Technology came before the board regarding a contract renewal. All pricing before the board’s decision had not changed except for a $5 per month per user raise for user support. The contract, at a cost of $4,398 per month was approved. The board will continue to use an SLCG grant for the second of an anticipated four years to help pay for a good portion of the contract.
Tuesday’s meeting adjourned at 10:40 AM.
