January 19, 2021
North Platte, Nebraska
Meeting of the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners. Present were Commissioners Joe Hewgley, Bill Henry, Kent Weems, Chris Bruns, Jerry Woodruff and County Clerk, Rebecca Rossell. Bruns offered prayer. Henry called the meeting to order at 9:00 A.M.
Chairman Weems announced the Open Meeting Act with amendments is posted for public review and the county board will comply with the open meeting requirements.
Motion by Bruns, seconded by Woodruff to approve the minutes regarding the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners meeting held on January 11, 2021. Upon roll call vote Hewgley, Weems, Henry, Bruns and Woodruff voted “aye”. Nays, none.
Motion by Hewgley, seconded by Henry to receive and order filed the treasurer’s receipts. Upon roll call vote Hewgley, Weems, Henry, Bruns and Woodruff voted “aye”. Nays, none.
Motion by Henry, seconded by Bruns to adopt Resolution No. 2021-02 denying the petition to vacate Sea Street in Jeffrey Fjords Estates submitted by Richard Konyek Jr. Upon roll call vote Hewgley, Weems, Henry, Bruns and Woodruff voted “aye”. Nays, none.
Motion by Woodruff, seconded by Bruns to authorize the Chairman to sign a consultant agreement with Don Wilson, CPA. Upon roll call vote Hewgley, Weems, Henry, Bruns and Woodruff voted “aye”. Nays, none.
Motion by Hewgley, seconded by Bruns to receive and order filed the fee report submitted by the County Sheriff. Hewgley, Weems, Henry and Bruns voted “aye”. Woodruff voted “nay”. Motion carried.
Motion by Bruns, seconded by Woodruff to authorize the Chairman to sign a letter of support for LB 40 (Rail Park project). Upon roll call vote Hewgley, Weems, Henry, Bruns and Woodruff voted “aye”. Nays, none.
Motion by Henry, seconded by Hewgley to adopt Resolution No. 2021-03 to correct the flexible benefits plan with First Concord Benefits concerning unreimbursed medical plan entry date to beginning of plan year only (July 1st). Upon roll call vote Hewgley, Weems, Henry, Bruns and Woodruff voted “aye”. Nays, none.
Motion by Henry, seconded by Woodruff to authorize the Chairman to sign the corrected flexible benefits plan adoption agreement with First Concord Benefits. Upon roll call vote Hewgley, Weems, Henry, Bruns and Woodruff voted “aye”. Nays, none.
The Lincoln County Board of Commissioners recessed at 9:22 A.M. and the Lincoln County Board of Equalization convened.
Chairman Weems announced the Open Meeting Act with amendments is posted for public review and the county board will comply with the open meeting requirements.
County Assessor, Julie Stenger appeared.
Motion by Bruns, seconded by Woodruff to approve the minutes regarding the Lincoln County Board of Equalization meeting held on January 11, 2021. Upon roll call vote Hewgley, Weems, Henry, Bruns and Woodruff voted “aye”. Nays, none.
No certificates of correction or refund submitted by the County Assessor.
The Lincoln County Board of Equalization adjourned at 9:23 A.M. and the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners reconvened.
Carla O’Dell, County Highway Supt., reported that they had done some additional research and she is recommending the county bid out a single rotary flex wing mower and a tractor that will rotate among the districts.
Commissioner Woodruff asked about the horsepower of the tractor.
O’Dell responded that this type of mower will actually use a tractor with less horse power.
Commissioner Bruns stated that per state statute the land owner is responsible for mowing.
O’Dell replied that is true per statute but there department mows from April to October.
Commissioner Weems commented that it is more out of public safety concerns. They also used to chemically burn some of the intersections.
Commissioner Henry agreed that it was for public safety reasons as well as to help with snow.
Commissioner Hewgley questioned if they wanted to limit the horsepower on the tractor.
Motion by Hewgley, seconded by Woodruff to set February 8, 2021 at 10:00 A.M. to receive bids on a tractor for the Lincoln County Dept. of Roads. Upon roll call vote Hewgley, Weems, Henry, Bruns and Woodruff voted “aye”. Nays, none.
Motion by Woodruff, seconded by Bruns to set February 8, 2021 at 10:05 A.M. to receive bids on a mower for the Lincoln County Dept. of Roads. Upon roll call vote Hewgley, Weems, Henry, Bruns and Woodruff voted “aye”. Nays, none.
Carla O’Dell, Lincoln County Highway Supt., gave a 2020 update/summary to the Board of Commissioners.
Chairman Weems made appointments to the following boards and committees as follows:
Annual Appointments – 2021
Commissioner Hewgley – District One
Economic Development Task Force
Region II Human Services
ADA Coordinator
Rules Committee
Law Enforcement/Judiciary Committee
Personnel Committee
Commissioner Weems – District Two
West Central Area on Aging
North Platte Senior Center Advisory Committee
Drug Task Force
Law Enforcement/Judiciary Committee
Safety Committee
Commissioner Henry – District Three
Sandhills RC & D
West Central Development District
County Roads Committee
Building & Grounds Committee
Security Committee
Noxious Weed Committee
Commissioner Bruns – District Four
North Platte Area Chamber Development
West Central District Health Board
West Central Development District – Alternate
County Extension/Ag Society Committee
Security Committee
Commissioner Woodruff – District Five
North Platte/Lincoln County Visitor’s Bureau
Personnel Committee
Rules Committee
County Roads Committee
Building & Grounds Committee
*Appointees to receive drug testing reports – Commissioner Weems & Tyler Volkmer
*Fair Housing Representative – Rebecca Rossell
*South Central Planning & Exercise Training Region (SCPETR) Brandon Myers & Joanna Lemoine
*Mid-Nebraska Community Services Inc. – Bob Peal
Motion by Woodruff, seconded by Henry to appoint Todd Herndon as Lincoln County Noxious Weed Supt. for 2021.
Commissioner Bruns commented that it is difficult for him to assess performance of these positions since there are no formal evaluations.
Commissioner Weems stated he thinks a comprehensive review during the year rather than a single formal review is a better evaluation tool.
Commissioner Henry told board members he suggested that Carla O’Dell give her summary report to the board and that it is up to Commissioners to investigate on their own.
Upon roll call vote Hewgley, Weems, Henry, Bruns and Woodruff voted “aye”. Nays, none.
Motion by Bruns, seconded by Woodruff to appoint Paul Cooper as Lincoln County Veterans Service Officer for 2021. Upon roll call vote Hewgley, Weems, Henry, Bruns and Woodruff voted “aye”. Nays, none.
County Board then discussed the appointment of the County Highway Supt.
Commissioner Weems stated that the department’s performance has improved, but it was his opinion that the impetus was from the County Board. He feels this department historically has been reactive rather than proactive.
Commissioner Henry commented that this department has 1800 miles of road to deal with and there will always be new problems to deal with while others are being solved. He feels other adjoining counties have much worse road conditions. He also commented that in the past that the road department had huge budget cuts so there have been reasons why there are some roads in poor condition.
Commissioner Bruns reported that he is not looking at this personally but at it as a steward of the taxpayers. He has received calls since his election saying even though there has been great improvements that are a lot of county roads that are subpar. He also indicated he had questions about the training process and he understood that Covid 19 played a part in the success of the training process.
Commissioner Woodruff told board members that he was very negative about this department a year ago but had seen tremendous improvement in responsiveness to his questions. He added the road department is probably the most visible department in the county and the most emotional in regard to constituent’s reactions.
Commissioner Hewgley gave a brief history of prior County Highway Superintendents and their experience. He feels the road budget is very reasonable considering the number of roads there are in our county. He commented that new Commissioners often receive a lot of calls from those that previously complained and didn’t like the answer they received. He did not like this public process for evaluation and would have liked this done in a different forum.
Commissioner Weems reported that a number of key issues that were addressed last year in his opinion he had not seen any changes.
Motion by Henry, seconded by Hewgley to appoint Carla O’Dell as Lincoln County Highway Supt. for 2021. (License # S-1052, Class A License, Appointment January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021) Hewgley, Henry and Woodruff voted “aye”. Weems and Bruns voted “nay”. Motion carried.
Motion by Woodruff, seconded by Henry to appoint Brandon Myers as Region 51 Emergency Management Director for 2021. Upon roll call vote Hewgley, Weems, Henry, Bruns and Woodruff voted “aye”. Nays, none.
Motion by Woodruff, seconded by Bruns to set the 2021 salary for Noxious Weed Supt. at $43,068 or $20.71 per hour. Roll call was not taken.
Motion by Hewgley, seconded by Bruns to rescind the motion to set the salary for the Noxious Weed Supt for 2021. Hewgley, Weems, Henry and Bruns voted “aye”. Woodruff voted “nay”. Motion carried.
Commissioner Hewgley asked for a legal opinion concerning salaries and asked to have current salary information on these positions from other Nebraska counties in our array.
Hear concerns from Elected Officials, Department Heads and their representative.
Approved the following claims as presented for payment:
The meeting was adjourned at 11:36 A.M.
Advance notice and the agenda for the January 19, 2021 board meetings were sent to the county board and all others requesting the same. Advance public notice (includes agenda) of the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners meeting and the Lincoln County Board of Equalization meeting was posted at the Lincoln County Courthouse, City Hall and the Lincoln County website on January 15, 2021; and was also emailed to the media on January 15, 2021.
The agenda for the meetings to be held on Monday, January 25, 2021 will be kept
continually current and open for inspection at the office of the Lincoln County Clerk. The regular meeting of the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners will be at the Lincoln County Courthouse in the Commissioners Room at 9:00 A.M. The regular meeting of the Lincoln County Board of Equalization will be at the Lincoln County Courthouse in the Commissioners Room at 9:15 A.M.
Rebecca J. Rossell
Lincoln County Clerk
