BROKEN BOW, Neb. – The Custer County Board of Supervisors met in regular session for a wide variety of agenda items on Tuesday morning, spanning from possible contract renewals to hearings on destroyed real property.
Supervisors Lynn Longmore and Tammy Kleeb were not present at the meeting.
Contracts totaling over $70,000 denied by board
County Assessor Elise Taylor came before the board regarding a contract with Central Plains Valuation LLC, a company the county has partnered with in the past for commercial property appraisals. Taylor stated that the contract would include appraisals in the city of Broken Bow and the Broken Bow township, totaling 290 parcels. The contract, totaling $39,494 was voted against by the board, who indicated to Taylor that more discussion was needed on the matter. Voting NO: Gibbons, Fox, Blowers. Voting YES: Markham, Parliament
Discussion continued regarding a contract with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the US Department of Agriculture (APHIS-USDA) for wildlife damage management assistance. The contract had risen by a couple thousand dollars to $34,326 for the county to receive 625 hours of work. It was stated in the meeting the county is believed to have been a part of the program since at least 2002.
Barb Cooksley of Anselmo came before the board in support of the contract, speaking on its success with helping her family’s control of skunks for decades.
Ultimately, the board decided against renewing the contract. Voting NO: Markham, Fox, Blowers. Voting YES: Gibbons, Parliament.
Board of Equalization property discussions, adjustments
Property valuation protest ‘season’ continued with several corrections and changes read on Tuesday across several districts. The board also denied a three year tax refund being sought on a farm implement building. County Assessor Elise Taylor said that her system showed a complete and accurate rundown of the history of the building and its assessment, and the board followed her recommendation to deny the refund.
Hearings were held for destroyed real property cases for Logan Ryan, Craig Lind, and Josh Cook regarding damages and losses from fires and storms. Taylor, if she hasn’t already, will be traveling to visit the sites per statute ahead of a decision on changes to assessments.
A substitution of securities at Bruning Bank that matured recently was approved in the same amount ($1,700,000) to mature June 10, 2026.
Highway department bids and purchase
The County Highway Department came before the board for the opening of bids for a new fuel storage system. Bids were received from Patriot Petroleum ($499,354.26), Stanley Petroleum ($307,179.65), and Midwest Petroleum Equipment ($271,253.30). The department took the bids under advisement to make a recommendation in a future meeting.
A tractor truck being sought for the highway department to replace a now-inoperable 1994 unit was presented to the board for special purchase authorization, which was approved. Superintendent Chris Jacobsen said that the purchase was in last year’s budget and was carried over to this year’s budget. Advertisement will be conducted to give others the chance to offer a truck of the same value for the county to consider.
Other items from Tuesday’s meeting
- The board received the quarterly report from County Attorney Steven Bowers
- Previously approved resolutions for Sandhills Open Road Challenge road closures were signed for closures on August 7th and 8th
- MIPS was designated as the printer for upcoming postcards for joint public hearing notifications. Cost will be .62 cents per card.
- Kroeger opioid settlement dollars were approved to be sent to a Nebraska remediation account fund. The money was not eligible to be sent to the regional program the county participates in and the amount (just over $600) was not seen as an amount worth creating a separate fund for
- Discussions about the conservation easement south of Broken Bow between two parties came to a close with the board voting unanimously to deny it. Nobody from either side was present at the meeting.
