Interim Deputy Attorney Approved, Extension Board Members Approved at Commissioner's Meeting

The Cheyenne County Commissioners meeting was held on Tuesday this week due to the Monday Labor Day holiday, and several items were on the agenda. The approval of an interim Deputy Attorney and Tax List Corrections were the main agenda items at the meeting.

The meeting started with Glenda Gay Condon addressing the commissioners and requesting that September 17 be designated Constitution Day and the week of September 17 through September 23 be designated as Constitution Week. Constitution Day is commemorated by ringing bells at 4 p.m. on Sept 17, the day and hour the Constitution was signed back in 1787. The commissioners approved the declaration of Constitution Day and Constitution Week for Cheyenne County.

Next, Extension Educator Jamie Bright announced that Office Manager Victoria Edwards would be resigning her position and that there was now an opening for a new Office Manager. Bright also said that there were some organizational changes, and her office would be moving to Kimball County. They still have a few educator positions unfilled. Two new Extension Board Nominees, Whitney Hurt, and Kevin Henke, were offered and the commissioners approved of both nominees.

The Commissioners then switched over to the Board of Equalization, and County Assessor Jordan Hajek spoke to the commissioners. She said there were six tax list corrections stemming from the 2021 sale of property by Frederick and Jacqueline Neal to Casey and Celeste Brauer. There was a mistake concerning a parcel of land that was sold that tax responsibility was still assigned to the Neal family and needed to be transferred to the Brauer family Tax liability years 2021,2022, and 2023 were reassigned to the Brauers, and approved by the commissioners.

A discussion concerning ARPA funds with Cheyenne County Building and Ground Superintendent Tom Payne was next on the agenda. Commissioner Miller asked Payne about the progress with bids for the Sheriff’s Evidence Building extension and new fencing for the yard. Payne said the bid requests were ready to go for those projects. Miller then asked about his meeting with a contractor concerning the roof repair that was also scheduled to be paid for with ARPA funds. Payne said there were structural challenges concerning the repair and that multiple options are available on how to move forward with the project. The contractor he met with was interested in the project, and Payne was ready to move forward with the bid request. Miller said, “We have to decide the best route to take on this.” Payne said he was still waiting to hear back from the contractor for a general estimate on the project. Miller then said that he would like to get the bids out as quickly as possible and to make sure the bids were subject to refusal in case they decided to delay the project. Miller said they will discuss the matter further at the next commissioner’s meeting.

County Highway Superintendent Skyler Saucedo then spoke with the commissioners. He said some problem areas on roads 58 and 123 had been fixed. He also noted that on Road 58 and Road 125 work along the sides of the roads needed to be done, but he was still waiting on a response from the Digging Hotline as they know there are Fiber Optic cables buried in the area. Commissioner Sanders told Saucedo that Road 46 west of Gurley needed repair as potholes were getting worse and weeds were growing on the road surface. Saucedo also said he had received calls from Sunol concerning potholes in the roads around the area. Saucedo also noted that when he started as Superintendent he had 22 workers, and now he was down to 19. He was looking for a new grader operator but has been unable to find any with experience and he was hesitant to hire operators with no grading experience. Sanders then said he should not be so hesitant to hire operators with no experience, as in the past many who came in with no experience turned out to be some of the best operators. He said that proper training is all that is needed. Saucedo indicated being down on workers was a reason why he wasn’t sure an inexperienced hire would get enough training to do the job effectively.

County Attorney Paul Schaub then spoke with the commissioners concerning hiring Travis Rodak as an independent contractor to serve as interim Deputy County Attorney. Schaub said they usually have three attorneys, including himself, in the office, but they are currently down one and Amber Horne is expected to go on a 12-week maternity leave starting October 1. Schaub said that Rodak is an attorney in Morrill County and he has worked with him in the past and would be a good fit for the Deputy Attorney position. He would require $6000 per month. The commissioners approved the request. The commissioners also approved the Assignment of Promissory Note obligations from Morrill County Community Hospital to Sidney Regional Medical Center, Emergency Medical Services, LLC. This re-assignment was approved by both Morrill and Sidney Regional Hospital CEO’s as part of the ambulance agreement. Morrill County’s debt obligation is now transferred to SRMC. The commissioners approved the assignment.