BROKEN BOW – The Custer County Board of Supervisors met for its final May meeting; all board members were present.
Bids for the front steps of the courthouse were opened; the estimate for the project, which includes window and walkway work, would total just under $393,000. To cut costs, the board set to work dissecting pieces of the operation under Supervisor Dwain Bryner, head of the renovation efforts.
“We’ve got some choices to make: we can go with the bid, back away and reconsider the walk-out, or another option would be to bid the windows out separately with a different project. I’m sure we could save some money there.”
Materials and additional cost-saving measures were batted about, though Supervisors Chairman Barry Fox said that at the end of the day, some form of renovation is necessary.
“It seems to me that the steps are something we absolutely have to do, but the rest of it is a want, not a need. Those steps are a liability, or could be. At some point, we have remodeling and code updates that need to be done.”
Ultimately, the board rejected the construction bid with the plan to renegotiate an estimate involving only the courthouse steps, forgoing the windows and walkout.
The supervisors closed two bids for the highway department: Nebraska Machinery Company had put out a bid on the department’s old road reclaimer for $14,750. Part of the purchase would include NMC covering any outstanding invoices on the reclaimer, which total nearly $4,000. The bid was approved unanimously.
The second bid was for a new pickup for the department; three companies pitched 6 vehicles to the board. Under the advisement of the highway department, the supervisors approved unanimously the purchase of a 2023 GMC Sierra from Ernst Auto in Columbus for a total of $46,618, which is about $10,000 below the MSRP.
The construction and maintenance agreement between BNSF and Custer County was tabled so that more revisions could be made; the board is also waiting on financial support from the Nebraska Department of Transportation before finalizing the agreement.
Two right-of-way crossings were approved, both for waterlines, and the board unanimously tax-exempted Custer Care’s newest fleet addition: a 1998 minivan.
In addition to renewing the county’s policy with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska, the board also reviewed the Extension Office’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year, and once again tabled the discussion surrounding DHHS’ building lease.
The meeting adjourned at 11:25 a.m., with the next scheduled for June 13.
