Commissioners Hold First Meeting of 2025

SIDNEY--On Monday, January 6, 2025, the Cheyenne County Board of Commissioners met for their first session of the New Year. On the agenda were many actions that were a formality of the changing of the calendar from 2024 to 2025, plus a few other agenda items.

The formality of electing a Chairman and Vice-Chairman was taken up first, with Darrell Johnson continuing as Chairman and Philip Sanders continuing as Vice-Chairman.

Next, the Commissioners approved the continuance of the E911 surcharge fee on landline telephones. This surcharge was enacted in 1993 and has been approved every year since its inception. All Cheyenne County landline telephones are subject to a $1 surcharge per year to help fund E911 services for the county. The commissioners approved the surcharge 3-to-0.

The Commissioners then approved the existing committees and re-appointed officials and department heads to their positions. They also designated the Cheyenne County official newspaper, the Sun-Telegraph, the official radio station, NewsChannel Nebraska, and the official county website, http://www.cheyennecountyne.org.

Next, Cheyenne County Treasurer Shelley Bowlin spoke with the commissioners about the annual approval of official depositories of Cheyenne County, and those banks designated last year continued. Some of the institutions include Security First Bank and the Potter State Bank. Bowlin also had the commissioners authorize a resolution to invest surplus funds in Cheyenne County banks over the amount insured under the FDIC.

Kendra Mitchell, Cheyenne County Tourism Director, asked for approval to transfer funds from the Visitors Improvement 995 Fund to the Visitors Fund 990. The transfer of funds is used to fund the necessary operations of the Visitors Center and other expenses. Mitchell also reported on the success of the All is Bright Christmas Tour, noting that attendance was up 41% from last year’s event.

Cheyenne County Highway Superintendent Skyler Saucedo spoke with commissioners about road conditions after the snowfall that took place overnight Saturday into Sunday morning. He said that his crew was able to get all asphalt roads plowed and cleared. There was a discussion between Saucedo and Commissioners Sanders and Miller about a few problem spots in the outlying village areas and the importance of keeping the main roads going from the villages and into Sidney and Route 80 clear. Miller noted many areas that had “washboard” surfaces which are dangerous to travel upon, and in snow and ice conditions could easily cause accidents. The lack of moisture on the roads for the past few months had contributed to the rough surfaces, but Miller hoped that with this snowfall, the washboard areas could be smoothed out. He also stressed the importance of Saucedo having his crew members properly trained to effectively manage snow and keep road conditions safe.