BROKEN BOW – The Custer County Board of Supervisors held its midmonth meeting Tuesday morning; all members were present.
The board reviewed a loan application for the ongoing housing rehabilitation grant; the maximum allotted per project would be $25,000. The cost of repairs for the proposed property was $41,000, which prompted the board to move forward with a difficult denial.
In the words of Supervisor Anne Gibbons, the denial of the loan based on missing qualifications could prove to be an ongoing dilemma.
“What’s that person going to do? Lots of people live in houses that are falling down. They just don’t have enough money to tackle the minimum requirements before they tackle these big issues. They’re falling through the cracks. I wish this program could help more people; I think you’re going to run into this a lot.”
Register of Deeds Christie Trumbull presented a possible solution to recent fraud scams circulating the county; her proposal would involve enlisting Iowa-based company Fidlar’s protective services. Two county offices in Nebraska currently use some form of the company’s services: Buffalo and Scotts Bluff.
No decision was made by the board regarding the initiative, as minimal coverage would cost the county an initial $10,000, with a $3,000 per year subscription fee.
Carla Kimball of the Central Nebraska Economic Development District appeared before the board to ask for its signature on a letter of support for the USDA’s recently announced broadband technical assistance grant. Kimball said that signing the letter would go a long way toward the effort, and require very little from the county.
“We’re not asking you to do anything. It won’t cost you anything. It would be a volunteering space if we wanted to have meetings, to help distribute information and surveys that we would do. It would not be a lot.”
The board unanimously approved signing the letter of support.
Motions to approve the contracts with BNSF for ongoing construction and maintenance and the Department of Health and Human Services for the lease of its current building were struck down; the contracts will be sent back to the county’s legal counsel for continued revision.
The board also heard updates from Applied Connective Technologies, which included a separation of the Broken Bow Police Department and Custer County Sheriff’s Office networks.
Additionally, the supervisors approved Emergency Management’s purchase of a $48,233 Ford pickup to replace an aging truck; the older truck will be traded to the Highway Department for $7,000.
The meeting adjourned at 12:33 p.m.
