Commissioners Review Storm Damage and Approve Promotion Grants

SIDNEY--On Monday, April 15, the Cheyenne County Commissioners held their regular meeting, with several items on the agenda. Commissioners Sanders and Miller attended the meeting, while Commissioner Darrell Johnson was absent. After approving the agenda and the minutes from the last meeting, the first items up for discussion were the Applications for County Burial for Jose Maestas and Rose Douville. Cheyenne County Attorney Paul Schaub said that in the case of Mr. Maestas, the county would have to deny the application, as Maestas owned a Ford F-150 pickup truck with an estimated value of over $2000. The threshold to qualify for burial assistance is $1500, thus disqualifying Maestas from burial assistance. In the matter of Rose Douville, she did not have any assets over $1500, so the burial assistance application was approved.

Next up, Cheyenne County Treasurer Shelley Bowlin asked the Commissioners to approve a tax exemption for motor vehicles owned by a qualifying non-profit organization, namely Sidney Regional Medical Center. SRMC CEO Jason Petik joined Bowlin on this issue. Bowlin said she had reviewed the paperwork, and all seemed in order, with the only change from last year being one of the vehicles owned by SRMC was sold. The Commissioners approved the application.

After Bowlin, Cheyenne County Assessor Jordan Hajek asked the Commissioners to review and approve Tax List corrections for 10 Cheyenne County residents. Apparently, the State of Nebraska had difficulty getting the paperwork on Homestead Tax exemptions on time to these 10 residents and denied their Homestead Tax reductions. The residents were given an additional 30 days to resolve the matter once the paperwork was received, and the Commissioners approved the adjustments in accordance with the Homestead Tax rebate.

Emergency Manager Ron Leal then gave an update on the recent storm with gusting winds that caused power outages and damage throughout the county. He said that most of the power had been restored throughout the area and that the damage caused by the storm in Cheyenne County was estimated at 2 million dollars. Seven million dollars is the estimate for damage throughout the panhandle region. Commissioner Philip Sanders said about the storm, "I never saw anything like that in my life, and I hope to never see it again." The Nebraska Emergency Management Agency has issued a Disaster Declaration for the panhandle region, meaning the emergency exceeds local response and recovery capabilities. Leal said FEMA is starting to get involved in recovery efforts.

Cheyenne County Tourism Director Kenra Mitchell next spoke to the Commissioners about two promotion grants the Visitor's Committee approved, and was now seeking final approval from the Commissioners. The first was for Sidney Gold Rush Days, which was seeking a $4500 Promotion Grant for marketing and advertising. This request is higher than last year's $3200, but Sidney Gold Rush Days representative Ken Geu said that this was because the event was expanding its marketing and advertising efforts to attract more visitors, and that Gold Rush Days has added events to bring in more visitors. The Commissioners approved the grant request. The Cheyenne County Fair Board approved a $7500 Promotion Grant request, that was to be used for advertising and marketing, specifically for a digital marketing campaign that uses technologies to specifically target individuals that would be interested in events going on at the fair. The Fair Board believes the targeted digital marketing campaign will make a big difference in attendance and is eager to utilize the new technologies. The Commissioners approved the request. Finally, the Commissioners approved a $70k transfer of funds from the 995 Visitors Improvement Fund to the 990 Visitors Promotion Fund.

District Court Clerk Mindy Wiegand spoke to the commissioners about technological improvements in the court system, and she was joined by Judge Weimer who explained the necessity of the the upgrades and how they made it possible for the courts to function during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how the upgrades have made Cheyenne County and the panhandle region one of the best areas in the state for keeping courts operating efficiently while saving taxpayers money. "It has been transformational for the system," said Judge Weimer. Utilizing the technological upgrades, the courts can now conduct much of their business through conference technologies, such as Zoom Calls, which help make it possible for attorneys and clients to appear in court remotely without having to travel long distances and incur additional expenses that would be absorbed by taxpayers. Cheyenne County Sheriff Adam Frerichs added that one of the most important improvements due to the technological upgrades has been safety. Because of not having to move inmates from the jail to court, there has been an improvement in overall safety in the process of court appearances for detainees. Overall, the upgrades have been a great success and have improved the efficiency of the courts while saving money.