Board of Supervisors Convenes August 9 in Lengthy Discussion

Board of Supervisors Convenes August 9 in Lengthy Discussion
The Custer County Board of Supervisors convenes August 9.

BROKEN BOW – The Custer County Board of Supervisors held a 9 a.m. marathon meeting to commemorate the final full month of summer; it lasted a walloping three hours and seven minutes, adjourning at 12:07 p.m. All seven members from all seven districts were present.

Material bids for the upcoming federally-funded Callaway bridge projects (Project C21(447)A1 and Project C21(453)A1) were heard. The project received three bids total, one each from Kearney, Lincoln, and Schuyler. After little deliberation, the board unanimously approved the bid from Ace/Eaton Metals in Kearney; the proposed estimate for both projects was $56,207.20, which undercut the next-closest bidder by roughly $7,000.

The first project is expected to take between 8 and 14 weeks, while the second project’s estimated completion timeframe is between 10 and 16 weeks.

The board also voted to renew the Broken Bow Interlocal Airport Agreement for the upcoming fiscal year to the tune of $13,000: identical to last year’s contract. The airport plans a ramp expansion and new lighting, construction of which should begin this coming fall, and a runway expansion is planned in the near future.

The Board of Equalization proposed a vehicle exemption which had slipped by the sheer number of vehicles approved last meeting: Callaway Hospital had their 2013 Dodge van granted unanimous tax exemption by the supervisors.

A public hearing was held to discuss Comstock Premier Lodge’s liquor license application; the business will become a part of the Nebraska Passport Program and scheduled its grand opening to coincide with Junkstock’s jaunt through the county. The board unanimously approved the license.

After a great deal of discussion with Applied Connective’s two present representatives, the Board of Supervisors approved the new IT contract with the group as it was initially proposed; the contract includes a 50% increase in man hours over last year, from 200 to 300, and carries with it a price increase of $18,500 for the year.

The bailiff agreement for District 8 for the year was approved after deliberation. The bailiff, who schedules court dates and operations for 6 counties, collects a salary to which each of those counties contributes a percentage; this number is based on counties’ populations. Custer, being the most populous, pays a total of 39%.

The question for the board was not whether the salary should be paid or not, but rather how the agreement was written; there was no addendum in place allowing for a cap either in salary or percentage paid. To protect county interests, the board approved the bailiff’s payment, but capped it, for the time being, at the current year’s dollar amount.

Three members of the Custer County Tourism Board were up for reappointment: Anne Thomas, Rick Maas, and Donna Glendy. The board unanimously approved all three board members, who will serve another three-year term.

The Custer County Historical Society made its annual support request; the number remained the same as last year. Three county right-of-way crossing requests were approved unanimously, as well.

Among tabled discussion items were the review of inventory for all offices, the setting of clerical and appointed officials’ salaries for the upcoming fiscal year, and a decision on time clock systems for the county; three additional time clock systems had made bids.

The next Board of Supervisors meeting will take place on August 30.

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