Submitted by Mary Kay Schultejans County Clerk

The Board of Nemaha County Commissioners met in regular session on Monday, May 1, in the Commissioner’s Room of the Nemaha County Courthouse. The meeting was called to order with Chairman Jason Koch leading the flag salute. Present also were Commissioners Ben Glace and Dylan Keim, and County Clerk Mary Kay Schultejans recording the minutes. County Attorney Brad Lippert was also present during today’s open public forum. Koch asked for a moment of silence to begin the meeting.

Nathaniel “Bud” Keim came before the board to let commissioners know that they are doing a great job running the county like a private business. N. Keim thanked the board for their service.

Todd Grimes came before the board to let commissioners know that he appreciates the board being fiscally aware of the taxes that are paid in by the public. Grimes also stated that he appreciates the time that commissioners have put in to this job and to keep up the good work.

Dan Ronnebaum came before the board to let commissioners know that they are doing a good job except for one area, the Nutrition Center. Ronnebaum stated that commissioners should have put a locked cabinet at the Nutrition Center to secure documents. Ronnebaum asked commissioners if they trusted anyone. Ronnebaum stated that commissioners should get a CPA to do an audit instead of doing it themselves. Ronnebaum also stated that commissioners should not be going into executive session all the time.

Jim Shump came before the board to let commissioners know that he is giving them 30 days to get Feldkamp in here to figure out what that poison was or he is going to file a lawsuit against the county.

Department Reports

Road and Bridge/Solid Waste Supervisor Adam Kuckelman, along with Assistant Office Manager Kristina Talkington, advised the board that:

• The guys are hauling rock on the Horton Road at this time.

• He hopes to start blade patching at the end of the week.

• He has received one bid for an engineer to oversee the work to be done on the Goff-Oneida Road. Commissioners advised Kuckelman to wait and see if we receive more bids at this time.

• The Humboldt Road, the Allison Road, and the Baileyville Road are being used as a detour following the closing of Highway 50 in Nebraska. County residents are complaining of the dust issues due to the extra traffic along these roads. Kuckelman stated that he spoke with someone from the Nebraska Department of Transportation about this issue and found out that they have never given another state funding for the use of county roads as a local detour.

• Kuckelman plans to apply for a grant to get cardboard dumpsters to place at the Recycling Center in Seneca and to place at businesses throughout the county.

• The three-phase motor on the trash compactor caught on fire last week and was out of service. Kuckelman stated that HEMI Electric has already made the repairs necessary at this time.

• They covered the C&D pit last week at the landfill.

Emergency Preparedness Director Eddie Aldrine advised the board that:

• He will be working with the Brown County Emergency Manager to set up the track app recently purchased and to learn how to use it.

• The State has provided counties with a template to use in developing a Recovery Plan for use following a disaster. Aldrine stated that he will be working on preparing this plan for Nemaha County.

• There will be a KEMA meeting on May 16 at Johnson County Community College.

• A tornado presentation will be held on May 20 at the Nemaha County Community Building to discuss a historical tornado that hit the local area.

Sheriff Rich Vernon and Undersheriff Bob Cross advised the board that:

• They are currently holding four inmates in the jail.

• They booked six individuals into the jail this past week.

• They are currently holding an individual from Lawrence that is charged with local burglary charges,

• They dealt with a juvenile last week. Vernon stated that they were able to find a treatment center to transfer this individual to.

• They have several patrol cars that are currently being repaired at this time.

County Attorney Lippert came before the board. Lippert stated that he is working to finish the sale of property to Nemaha Valley Community Hospital. The county will need to pay for some of the abstracting fees from this transaction. Lippert also stated that he has ordered a new office chair for his office at the courthouse.

Also at the meeting:

The board reviewed and approved the minutes with corrections noted from the April 24 meeting.

Bob Ruddick came before the board on behalf of the Nemaha County Planning Commission to provide an update to commissioners concerning the development of a comprehensive plan for Nemaha County.

John Weingart submitted a proposed Four-County District Court budget request for 2024 in the amount of $12,384, which is just under the amount appropriated for this entity in 2023.

Commissioners asked Appraiser Betty Roeder to come before the board to ask for her input concerning the letter of support prepared for an additional proposed tax abatement on an expansion of KSi Conveyors, Inc. Following discussion, the commissioners approved the letter of support for KSi Conveyors, Inc. Commissioners signed the letter as presented.

The board reviewed vouchers submitted by the different departments that were paid at the end of April. The commissioners approved the pay vouchers and warrants for April 2023.

Audrey Schremmer with Three Rivers, Inc. came before the board to request funding for 2024 in the amount of $1,200, which is the same amount appropriated to this organization in 2023. Schremmer also let commissioners know that they will be receiving more funding from the State beginning July 1 of this year. Schremmer provided an update to commissioners concerning recent services provided to area residents that this organization serves. Three Rivers, Inc. provides independent living services for those in our area.

Celene Holthaus with Nemaha County United 4 Youth came before the board to ask for continued financial support from the county. Holthaus shared with commissioners the results of surveys conducted with the youth in Nemaha County. She also gave commissioners an update concerning the recent activities provided by the Nemaha County United 4 Youth organization for the youth in Nemaha County, such as alcohol and drug awareness information.

Maintenance employee Troy Melvin came before the board to speak to commissioners about changes to the inspection process for the elevators at the Nemaha County Courthouse and the Nemaha County Pioneer Building. Following discussion, the commissioners approved hiring Elevator Safety Services, Inc. to inspect the elevators per new State law in the amount of $930. Chairman Jason Koch signed the quote from Elevator Safety Services, Inc. as presented.

The next regularly scheduled meeting was held Monday, May 8. These minutes were not available at The Herald’s press time.