Webster County Board of Commissioners April 3, 2018

 The Webster County Board of Commissioners met at 8:30am on Tuesday, April 3, 2018, for a regular business meeting at the Courthouse in Red Cloud. The following Board Members were present for roll call: Dan Shipman (District One), Trevor Karr (District Two), Roger Bohrer (District Three), Keith Buschow (District Four) and JoAnn Reiher (District Five). The Board stood and recited the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. Chairman Buschow gave notice of the Nebraska Open Meetings Act Laws. Motion was made by Bohrer, second by Reiher, to approve the minutes of the March 20, 2018 meeting. Upon roll call vote, voting to approve the minutes: Bohrer, Reiher, Shipman, Karr and Buschow. Voting no, absent or abstaining: none. At 8:35am, Jeff Kuhn, Road Maintenance Coordinator, met with the Board. About half of the Road Maintenance crew worked on Sunday, April 1, 2018 doing snow removal north of “S” Road where they received 4 – 8” of snow. The Road Crews have been working on culvert repairs. Kuhn, Johnson and Reiman attended Erosion Control Training and have tested for their Inspectors License. Five Road Maintainer operators are attending training in Kearney. Four bridges are part of the SWPPP Program for protection of stream life. Gravel orders are being prepared. Webster County received a check for $11,526.00 for the sale of equipment at a Bladen sale. Lance Harter, Webster County Road Superintendent, has completed 5 bridge inspections. Two of those bridges are under review for possibly closing. A claim has been done for the purchase of the lots for the Inavale shop. Chairman Buschow signed County Floodplain Permit Application for Webster County for Project No. C91(629) Structure No. 12312 and Structure No. 2318. Pricing and leasing of equipment was discussed. Engineering studies for stop signs will be done. A list of names of Webster County residents that have tree issues over and along roadways is being compiled. At 9:15am, Ashley Olson, Chairperson for the Visitor Promotion Committee, met with the Board. Olson shared the minutes of the meeting held on February 28, 2018. Olson reviewed the grant money that was paid to Byways 136 – Heritage Highway, Red Cloud Chamber of Commerce and the Willa Cather Foundation. Lodging tax was discussed. Discussion was had on the Board of Commissioners approving purchases of the Red Cloud and Blue Hill Ambulance Services. The Board recommends that purchases over $5,000.00 be discussed between the two squads and then presented to the Board of Commissioners before the purchase is made for approval. Clerk Klingenberger will compose a letter to each squad explaining this policy. Motion was made by Karr, seconded by Shipman, to approve the appointment of Ronald Schutte and Michael Barton to the Veterans Service Committee. Upon roll call vote, all voted in favor. At 9:45am, motion was made by Shipman, seconded by Karr, to convene as the Board of Equalization. Webster County Assessor Sonja Krueger presented an LB271 Protest from Red Cloud Public Schools for a parking lot. After discussion, motion was made by Karr, seconded by Shipman, to approve an exemption. Upon roll call vote, voting in favor: Karr, Shipman, Buschow and Reiher. Abstaining: Bohrer. Voting no or absent: none. At 9:50am, motion was made by Shipman, seconded by Karr, to adjourn as the Board of Equalization and to reconvene as the Board of Commissioners. Upon roll call vote, voting in favor: Shipman, Karr, Bohrer, Buschow and Reiher. Voting no, absent or abstaining: none. Motion was made by Bohrer, seconded by Karr, to approve the Sheriff’s Quarterly Fee Report for January, February and March, 2018. Upon roll call vote, all voted in favor. Chairman Buschow reviewed financial reports from the Webster County Hospital. At 9:55am, the Board recessed for a break. The Board reconvened at 10:15am with all members present. At 10:15am, Brad Frey met with the Board. Frey shared that he has done extensive research on the Veterans buried at the Red Cloud Cemetery in the hopes of presenting reenactments during Memorial Day ceremonies and Street Car Days Celebration. During his studies, Frey has noticed that there are several Civil War Veteran’s that do not have Civil War markers on their graves. Frey requested from the Board to purchase markers for the 131 Civil War Veteran’s buried at the Red Cloud Cemetery. Webster County has purchased markers for Veterans of the World War 1, World War 11 and the Korean War. After discussion, motion was made by Shipman, seconded by Karr, to approve the purchase of the markers from the Inheritance Fund. Upon roll call vote, voting in favor: Shipman, Karr, Bohrer, Buschow and Reiher. Voting no, absent or abstaining: none. At 11:00am, the pre-advertised Request for Proposals was held for Webster County Project #647. Two proposals were presented. Motion was made by Shipman, seconded by Karr, to table this discussion until the April 17, 2018 meeting. Upon roll call vote, all voted in favor. Jeff Kuhn, Road Maintenance Coordinator and Lance Harter, Webster County Road Superintendent, will review the proposals and make a recommendation to award the Project at the April 17, 2018 meeting.