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A month after Brady village officials terminated a contract with the Lincoln County Sheriff for law enforcement, they asked the county commissioners to restart the agreement again. The county commissioners agreed to do so Monday. On Feb. 1, the board reluctantly allowed Brady to cancel the village’s annual $14,000 contract with the sheriff’s office for village law enforcement. Some residents of Brady were concerned about withdrawing from the contract, so the village board had a public hearing Feb. 24. After a half-hour discussion, the board voted to ask the county for reinstatement. Brady is also preparing to update its wastewater system, a $500,000 project, and wanted to cut what expenses they could, village board member Joe May initially told the commissioners. A $23,000 feasibility study for a new waste lagoon has begun, funded by a grant. The wastewater project could take 4-5 years, so financial concerns are not as pressing as once thought, village clerk Pam Diehl told the Bulletin Tuesday. State law requires villages to have some form of law enforcement, either a town constable or a contract with another law agency. Without a specific contract, sheriff’s deputies can only respond to violations of state statutes, not village ordinance violations.
Tax value compromise In other business Monday, the commissioners approved a compromise in a tax dispute between two property owners and the county assessor’s office. The property owners protested their valuation all the way to the state’s Tax Equalization and Review Commission, which has not yet made a decision. Larry Warick of Butch’s Restaurant in Hershey protested a real estate valuation of $194,025 and settled with the county for a value of $115,015. Providence Investments II of North Platte protested the valuation of $178, 250 for 10 acres of land land south of the Mid America Bio Energy Commodities company, operated by George Lundeen, along E. State Farm Road. They and settled for a value of $151,515 and also dropped their protest on two other parcels, county appraisers said.
New digs for county extension In other business, NU extension educator Randy Saner told the board that the Lincoln/McPherson County 4-H and agriculture extension offices are going to move to the state farm – the West Central Research and Extension Center – on March 15-16. The county extension offices will be closed those days. An official grand opening is scheduled April 13. NU has renovated an old laboratory building on the east side of the WCREC campus for the new offices. In a related move, the Lincoln County Veteran’s Service Office will leave the same downtown office as the county extension offices. Robert Lowe owns the building. The veteran’s office is moving to a renovated county building south of the city library in mid March. The extension office and the veteran’s office moves are expected to save the county some money. The county has rented Lowe’s building for $1,800 a month. Lincoln County is going to pay a total of $42,000 to the state farm for the new extension offices, strung out in monthly payments over three years. But when the three years is past, the county will pay just $500 a month.
Windows in probation office Lonnie Folchert, the director of the District 11 probation offices, suggested the board consider buying new windows for that building. Folchert said stimulus money might be available to pay the cost. The board asked him to look into it. Chairman Joe Hewgley also suggested checking with the Nebraska Department of Energy for weatherization grant money. The probation offices were remodeled last summer. New heating and air condition were installed but the windows were not updated, to save money. The windows were made in the mid-60s, Folchert said.
Wind generators The county planning commission is working on regulations for wind conversion generators for homes. Planning director Judy Clark asked the board for input. Clark said a quandary is how many generators to allow in adjoining residential tracts, where dozens of houses are relatively close together. She said the commissioner might make “set back” requirements tougher. She said people frequently ask about regulations for wind generators, and hopes the regulations will be final by mid summer. Commissioner Willis Roethemeyer asked Clark to be sure to differentiate between existing windmills and new generators in the new regulations.
Jail construction Work on the new county jail and sheriff’s offices is steadily progressing, but county officials don’t know for sure how well it’s going compared to original plans. Board chairman Joe Hewgley said he has repeatedly asked for a comparative timeline, but the board hasn’t received one yet. “Are we ahead or behind the original schedule?” Hewgley asked the county's construction inspector, Kirk Nichols. “We’ve asked for a timeline several times, but we’ve never had it. I’m getting irritated.” Nichols said he received a long-term planning schedule Monday morning, but not the comparison. He will keep asking for it. Nichols, who watches construction every day and looks out for the county’s interests, said structural steel is being erected above the sheriff’s offices and the day room – a commons area for prisoners. Concrete floors are expected to be poured in three big sessions after the rainy weather clears. Nichols works with the construction foremen and the county's analyst, Tetra-Tech, to review such critical elements as materials, joints and the amount of ground frost. On Monday, Nichols told the board he was somewhat concerned that metal bars were temporarily stored atop cell pods, which could generate corrosion.
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