BROKEN BOW, Neb.— The Custer County Board of Supervisors met in regular session on Tuesday morning starting at 9 AM. All supervisors were present.
Custer County Recycling Center to stay open until at least February 2028
A larger than normal crowd number of about 50 accumulated toward the end of Tuesday’s meeting with an interest in the board’s ongoing discussion about the Custer County Recycling Center and if it should remain open. Past conversations by the board have cited a concern with the cost of operating the center in the red alongside not receiving sufficient monetary help from communities in the county or from those outside the county utilizing the service.
Recycling Manager Kelly Flynn shared that since its opening in 1995, the Recycling Center has recycled 18,240 tons of materials, therefore keeping that amount out of landfills. His provided information also identified that 14 communities in six counties utilize 22 different trailers in bringing materials to the center, where at least 30 trailers are unloaded each month.
Supervisor James ‘Bump’ Markham expressed a main concern with the county taking on the center’s labor and operating costs when it is used by many outside of the county not contributing to said costs.
Although nobody in attendance came forward to speak in opposition of the center continuing operation, concerns had been raised in previous Supervisors meetings. Those concerns include that funding is supported entirely by the county, that those outside the county utilizing the center are not being asked to pay more than what they had been paying since 2018, that the money the center has lost could have been used for other county benefits, and that raises in taxes have to stop somehow.
Link to recap of September 9, 2025 meeting
Link to recap of September 30, 2025 meeting
Link to recap of December 30, 2025 meeting
The exact motion that passed during Tuesday’s meeting to continue funding the center through February of 2028 when the building lease expires previously failed in the December 2025 meeting in favor of funding the center until June 2026 to allow time to gather information about grants and support from area communities.
In addition to Flynn, six citizens came forward to speak before the board and crowd in attendance about their support for the recycling center remaining open.
“If it’s a situation where the communities need to help shoulder it, we’re willing for it, but we want a lot more transparency and understanding in how it all works,” said Mark Kimball. “You guys are in charge of quite a little bit of money, and there’s a number of people that you have to answer to, their budgets and stuff too. But to just pull the plug on this and to go ahead and let them get what they want, I don’t think that’s right. That’s not serving the constituents of this county justice.”
Lance Bristol said that future generations would appreciate that this public service was continued.
“Rarely are we given the opportunity to do a good and prudent thing for the generations to follow us. I want a good environment for my four great nieces and their children and their grandchildren and their grandchildren’s grandchildren,” said Bristol. “In Custer County we all embrace and hold sacred the great inheritance given and won for us by our ancestors. We should not and cannot squander that opportunity to do the best thing for our children and for their descendants.”
Trash truck savings for communities and businesses, an approximate cost of $16.64 per citizen per year expressed to be ‘pretty cheap’ compared to what the increase in trash could cost, and the desire to have time to apply for grants that open this week and in July for submissions were all other reasons given for keeping the recycling center open.
Supervisor Tammy Kleeb expressed a concern of those who want to continue recycling if the center closed spending money out of the county when they travel to do so, directly affecting local business.
Supervisor Chip Blowers stated that Custer County is the only location in the state that operates a recycling center without support from communities in the county, which was met with a statement of ‘Well, you haven’t asked for it!’ from someone in attendance. Blowers responded by saying the supervisors wanted to get everyone together in the same room, but that backlash was given from village boards preferring to go one supervisor at a time to town hall meetings.
Ultimately, the lease with Myers Construction for the space the recycling center operates in was set as a deadline for movement to be made toward a solution that makes those on both sides of the issue comfortable. Sara Parliament made a motion and Clay Govier seconded for the recycling center to remain open until at least February of 2028, when the lease ends. Markham and Kleeb voted ‘Yes’, while Anne Gibbons and Lynn Longmore voted ‘No’. The motion passed 4-2.
Prairie Hills Wind Farm road agreement amendment approved
A representative of Invenergy along with Invenergy legal counsel came before the board on Tuesday to both give an update on the wind farm project south of Mason City and ask for an amendment to the road agreement for the project.
First, an apology was extended for a lack of communication due to internal assignment changes. A commitment to keeping the county board more in the loop was promised.
Other updates included that construction has to begin in some way before July 11, 2026, that turbine compliance had been reached, and that NPPD substation integration requirements had been put in motion. A full operation start time estimate of 2028 was given.
The road use agreement amendment was in order to push out staking crossings closer to a time where more ‘significant work’ would bring pertinent equipment to the project site. The amendment to the agreement would allow construction to still start and stay on schedule and prevent re-staking later in the project.
Eventually, following a discussion on making sure an analysis and bond follow(ed) the correct submission and receiving process, the amendment was approved. Supervisor Gibbons was the lone vote of ‘no’.
Other business from Tuesday’s meeting:
- Resolution #20-2026 was approved, which moved just over $11,000 from the general fund to cover expenses ‘in the red’ from the District Judge and County Attorney budget. The County Attorney was over due to autopsy costs, while the District Judge was over due to one quarterly payment being unknowingly left off the budget.
- Dell Moninger was approved for reappointment to the Veteran Service Committee for a term to conclude June 30, 2031
- The Board of Supervisors gave a directive of an allowable 3% raise for county departments when calculating their next budgets
- Names will start being gathered across county departments to be on a committee exploring health insurance options
- The board approved Chair Chip Blowers to sign a FEMA policy for Foreign National Vetting in FEMA non-disaster grant programs. Custer County Emergency Manager Mark Rempe indicated that the county had everything in place that should be to comply. The policy states that subrecipients are responsible for vetting all personnel charged to the award, and that recipients collect and submit subrecipient certifications to FEMA or certify to FEMA that the award has no subrecipients.
