Highway Superintendent Steve Darveau Jr. reported that the County currently has only two operational semi-trucks. One is experiencing trailer issues. The trailer’s axles have been removed, and a weld is being repaired. While the repair is underway, all new bushings will be installed. Darveau cited the difficulty of getting the axles back into the proper position once they have been removed. Another truck has been out of commission for nearly a month while wiring issues are being investigated, and a third truck is experiencing DEF (Diesel Exhaust Fluid) pump issues. 

“It’s just one thing after another,” said Darveau. “We do this every year, it seems like we go through it with these trucks.” 

Darveau also discussed the vehicle cameras through Verizon. He said the estimate he received from Otoe County was inaccurate. In total, cameras will be installed in 24 County vehicles. The cameras will be front- and rear-facing. The County will pay $1,200 per month for the units. 

A contract with Van Dorn Valley Construction, LLC, for the Dawson NW C-74 (2023-05) in the amount of $40,720.78 was approved. 

Chief Deputy Dexter Holliday presented the Board with an update on routine business at the Law Enforcement Center and Jail. Holliday reported that the jail was currently holding 17 inmates. A new service agreement with IDEMIA for LiveScan fingerprinting was presented. The system speeds up the registration and enrollment of inmate data during booking. The cost of the agreement is $2,917.00. The motion passed 3-0. 

Falls City EDGE Director Lucas Froeschl delivered a quarterly report to the Commissioners. 

Director Froeschl said he had informed Citroniq of the change in Falls City’s City Administrator and that it wouldn’t affect anything moving forward. 

“He’s (Gary Jorn) all in on what we’re doing here,” said Froeschl. “He really brings a finance expertise that is valuable there.” 

He also noted a recent Citroniq press release stating that half of the Nebraska plant’s output has been pre-sold for the next 15 years. 

“They are using that as leverage to get the private investment they need to get to the next step,” said Froeschl. 

Mr. Froeschl said he’d like to execute land option agreements this calendar year. 

“We’re still trying to make sure we win this project and bring it here to Richardson County,” said Froeschl. 

Froeschl also said that a $5 million grant has been submitted to the Federal Economic Development Administration for the transmission line project. An error was found in the submission, but the grant will be resubmitted. 

“It sounds like the Denver office for the EDA is excited about this project,” said Froeschl. “So, they are really trying to work with us to make sure we get it submitted.”

At 10:00, Commissioner Caverzagie moved to enter a closed meeting with EMA Director Brian Kirkendall, County Attorney Samantha Scheitel, and Clerk Mary Eickhoff to discuss possible litigation and to protect the public interest. 

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Highway Superintendent Steve Darveau, Jr. updated the Commissioners on routine maintenance on county roads and bridges. Darveau noted that with the recent snow, most of the county’s trucks and graders were out clearing roads.

He also noted that his staff was gathering and preparing information for a grant application with the U.S. Department of Transportation Rural and Tribal Assistance Pilot Program for funding in cooperation with the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska and the village of Rulo. The grant would be used for improvements to the bridge at the mouth of the Nemaha River, the hard-surfaced road south of Rulo and certain street repairs inside Rulo.

Sheriff Hardest advised the Board that additional surplus items had been listed on a law enforcement auction site, GovDeals.

The Commissioners also considered three quotes for repairs to the grease and sewer drain at the Law Enforcement Center. After a discussion, Commissioner Campbell made a motion to accept a quote from Airstream Heating and Cooling to replace two existing sewage ejector pumps, float switches, seal the sewage pit and rework the pump venting to correct specifications. The quote received from Airstream Heating and Cooling was $4,100.00.

The Board also discussed a quote for inmate meal service at the jail. The matter was tabled until the Sheriff could meet with the current meal provider and provide information at the next meeting.

EMA Director Brian Kirkendall met with the Board to review the expenses involved with maintaining and insuring the outdoor warning sirens located within the corporate limits of the villages and cities in the county.

Kirkendall advised the Commissioners that there are currently 14 sirens located throughout the county. The total cost to maintain the sirens is $14,490 annually, just over a thousand dollars apiece. It also costs approximately $400 per year to insure the sirens and another $408.57 per siren for the “Commander” software which allows the National Weather Service to automatically sound the sirens to issue a tornado warning or for Kirkendall to do so from his phone. It costs the county approximately $1,800.00 per year per siren to provide, maintain and insure the sirens.

Kirkendall also advised the members that it is rare for counties to own, maintain and insure sirens.

According to EMA Director Kirkendall, Gage County pays for everything. Nearly everybody else (towns and villages) has bought their own sirens, paid for them, maintained them, and even sounded them themselves.

“Gage County owns all the sirens,” said Kirkendall. “Gage County pays for all the expenses.”

Kirkendall explained that Nemaha County owns one siren (Duck Creek), Otoe County owns zero, Jefferson County owns zero, and Saline County owns one (NRD campground). According to Kirkendall, most counties outside of Richardson don’t own the sirens, didn’t pay to have them installed and didn’t pay for the maintenance.

The Board decided to continue reviewing the matter at the following meeting and requested that the County Attorney be present to assist in drafting an interlocal agreement with the villages and cities.

The Board accepted Jerry McKim’s appointment to the Richardson County Planning Commission for a term of three years, which will expire on December 31, 2027.

A subdivision for Towle Realty at S23, T1 and R16 was presented to the Board but it was held until next week’s meeting.

A motion was made by Karas and seconded by Campbell to pay the claims.

The meeting was adjourned at 10:49 a.m.

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Interim Beatrice City Police Chief Jay Murphy met with the Board regarding the dispatching services of the Southeast Communications 911 Beatrice for the Richardson County Sheriff’s Department. A verbal proposal was stated that the organization would continue to provide the dispatch services for $200,000/year to Richardson County. The proposal would also include a three percent increase/year. It was previously reported that Southeast Communications 911 Beatrice wanted $360,000/year for the service.     

With the current contract, which will terminate in August of 2024, there were services included in the contract, such as dispatching fire and rescue and 911, that have not been done, and some conversation was held with the history of the contract and services.  

Murphy reported on the total calls that were serviced by the organization this past year, with the City of Crete at 6,900, Gage County at 7,000, the City of Beatrice at 12,000, and Richardson County at 8,000.  

Murphy said he talked to  Tobias Tempelmeyer (the Beatrice City Administrator), who gave him his blessing to negotiate with Richardson County. 

“I’m here to fight for you guys,” said Murphy. “I know how much of a benefit it is to have good dispatch.”

He said he understood that the majority of the calls are calls for service and traffic stops that don’t take that much more dispatching, and he feels it’s unfair to charge that amount of money per call for service. 

Beatrice would be looking at a two-year contract to keep everyone on the same renewal process, but they are not opposed to a three-year contract. 

“Here’s my big gripe,” said Karas. “We have paid for the last three years for services, extra services that we have not received. My thought is that we’ve overpaid, so I guess I’m not for the $200,000.”

The services in question regarded a cell tower issue, which was built for $900,000 after the County got into the contract with Beatrice.

“As far as 911 goes, it doesn’t sound like maybe that wasn’t kind of a done deal. It wasn’t really our fault,” said Murphy. “Falls City kind of wanted to keep that. So I can’t do a whole lot about that. What I will say, though, is you guys, realistically, compared to everyone else we dispatch for, you’re at like half the price. I realize there’s some bugs and issues and stuff that we need to work out. I’ll stand up for you, and we’ll try to work those out, but again, we just can’t go backward in price.”

Murphy said Beatrice hired additional dispatchers, and that’s why they need to stick with this number. 

“I still got a bad taste in my mouth because when a man don’t return your calls or emails and you’re paying him $80-90,000 a year, that’s not good,” said Karas. 

Murphy said he found it hard to believe that Tobias didn’t return phone calls and that maybe they had been pushed off to Chief Hickman, but Karas said he spoke to Hickman, and he said he had nothing to do with it. “So I kind of got the runaround.”

Murphy said he understood, but he was here now talking with the Commissioners, and he returned their calls and would be working with them. 

There was no formal action on this matter, and more discussion will be held at next week’s meeting when Commissioner David Sickel is in attendance. 

A report was approved for Sheriff Hardesty for fees collected during the month of November 2023 totaling $4,881.82. 

Sheriff Hardesty also reported that there were 23 inmates currently being held by Richardson County, with one of those inmates being housed in another facility. The Sheriff also met with HTRS Superintendent Dr. Griffiths, who indicated that the school district still desires to continue with the School Resource Officer program. The Sheriff also reported that Samantha Wissman graduated from the Law Enforcement Training Academy.    

The motion was made by Karas to approve the replacement of pledge security receipts with F&M Bank totaling $4,860,000 as presented by County Treasurer, Amanda Bartek-Ramsey:  current receipts 392203736 for $90,000, 392218119 for $95,000, 392225598 for $30,000, 392219905 for $835,000, 799017340 for $85,000, 392209226 for $100,000, 392218118 for $50,000, 392203735 for $355,000, 392209032 for $825,000, 392209225 for $100,000, 392205404 for $255,000, 392219904 for $35,000, 392206926 for $40,000, 392219906 for $490,000, 392219091 for $155,000, 392218535 for $540,000, 392203736 for $65,000, 392206926 for $220,000, 799018178 for $65,000, 392206926 for $430,000; to be replaced with the following receipts JC92998D for $610,000, JC93010C for $50,000, JC93011C for $95,000, JC93014B for $35,000, JC93015B for $835,000, JC93016 for $490,000, JC93020C for $85,000, JC93092B for $155,000, JC93025A for $65,000, JC93026C for $30,000, JC93042 for $155,000, JC93055B for $825,000, JC93070 for $540,000. The motion carried.   

The County Treasurer also informed the Board that she has been monitoring the investments and that a penalty will be incurred on a certificate of deposit that she will reinvest with a higher interest rate, which will result in a significant amount more to be collected in interest and which will more than offset the penalty.    

Plans are also being made for the County Treasurer’s Office staff to attend a motor vehicle fraud training in 2024.    

John Steinman requested to meet with the Board regarding a concern with a County road, 661 Avenue, located south of 708 Road.   The Board relayed to. Steinman that this is a minimum maintenance road, and certain maintenance items are not allowed to be done on it unless the road is brought up to minimum design standards as specified by the Nebraska Dept of Transportation Board of Classifications and Standards. If improvements are made to the road without the road being reclassified, the County could be subject to a loss of funding from the State of Nebraska.   Highway Superintendent Steve Darveau will be meeting with Steinman to review the area.   

Highway Superintendent Steve Darveau updated the Board on the routine business with County roads and bridges this past week.   He also reported on a session attended at last week’s conference with representatives from Nemaha, Johnson, Otoe and Pawnee Counties regarding the Bipartisan Infrastructure bill that would provide federal funding for county bridge projects.   The group will be working with engineers from the engineering firm of Midwest Engineering to proceed with completing the grant application, etc.  

The Board approved to enter into a contract with Steve Mercure for public defender services for the years 2024 through 2028.

A motion was made by Caverzagie to deny a portion of a claim held to Amazon for $119.92 denying the charge of $49.95 for invoice 16FX-1JMQ-1WH9 and to pay the remainder of that claim and to all the payment of all claims that were submitted. The motion carried. 

The meeting adjourned at 10:22 a.m. The Board met  again at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, December 27, 2023, in the Commissioner’s Meeting Room, Courthouse, Falls City.   The agenda is kept current at the County Clerk’s Office. 

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The purpose of the open meeting is to receive comments from the public in support of or opposition to the granting of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds received by the County to the following organizations: Falls City EDGE—Falls City Housing Improvement for $400,000; Humboldt Volunteer Rescue/City of Humboldt—purchase new ambulance for $260,000; Richardson County House of Hope Transitional Housing for $350,000; East Richardson County Rural Water District #2—Improvement Project for $499,613; Village of Rulo—Rulo Public Library for $51,860;  Richardson County Drainage District #7—Levee stabilization and Improvements for $194,315.  

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EMA Director Brian Kirkendall reported on areas of the county that were still without power. At 10:30 a.m. this morning, part of Falls City, Rulo, Barada, Salem and Shubert were still without power. Dawson, Stella and Humboldt had power.

Falls City Administrator Kevin Cluskey reported on issues with the water supply. Cluskey stated that last night’s storm knocked down power lines and poles between Verdon and Falls City from OPPD. “The power plant is trying to get the generators up, but an issue was discovered that with such a low voltage starting Engine 9 was not possible because they would not sync. Wartzilla has been contacted and waiting on tech for support; a person from Farbe Mechanics is assisting and one from Nebraska City is also coming to assist. There are two generators currently running and working on getting more going. Rulo water was affected last night. The roof was torn off and thrown into the tower, so we are currently unable to run the pump from the wells. The line crew is there to assess the situation and clear everything safely. Once things have been identified, the water plant can begin to draw from the wells.”

Falls City citizens are urged to conserve water as much as possible at this time until a better assessment can be made of the damages that were done to the water plant area at Rulo, which could be later today. City crews are also working to restore power to the city.

Sheriff Hardesty and Hwy Supt, Steve Darveau, Jr. recommended that EMA contact the Red Cross and NE EMA to request that bottled water be accessible to Richardson County residents due to how long rural residents may be without power and have readily available for residents who are serviced by the Falls City water supply.

Highway Superintendent Steve Darveau gave a report on the work the road department employees had done last night and today regarding storm damage. He also reported that the roof on one of the buildings at the Falls City shop area had been blown off and a tarp would be put up today until it could be fixed. With the approval of the County Board, he also offered to the City of Falls City staffing and any equipment that might be needed to assist with getting the debris from the damages at the water plant in Rulo cleaned up and to assist with the City of Falls City to get services up and operational.

A motion was made to approve a Disaster Declaration for the storm of Wednesday, December 15, 2021, and declare a state of emergency authorized under Nebraska State Statute R.R. S. 81-829.50 on behalf of Richardson County and all cities and villages within Richardson County. The motion carried.

Edited to add at 1:20 p.m. Thursday, December 16, 2021: City Administrator Kevin Cluskey stated that the city is running engines 3, 6, and 7 and working to have engine eight online if needed.

The biggest news from Cluskey’s statement is that the Rulo water plant is producing again.

It’s still important to conserve power at this time.

Turn off unnecessary lights.

Use natural light.

Use task lighting-turn off ceiling lights and use table lamps, track lighting and under-counter lights in work and hobby areas.

Unplug unused electronics.

Turn off and unplug your desktop computer.

Manage your thermostat.

Wash laundry in cold water.

Use your crockpot, microwave or toaster oven when you can.

Steele Cemetery will be closed until further notice to allow for the clearing of down branches. Please do not enter barricades.

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The County Board would like to clear up any confusion or misunderstandings regarding the move from Richardson County Dispatch services to the Southeast Communications 911 Center located in Beatrice as well as dispel any myths about the loss of jobs within the Sheriff’s Office. Dispatchers will be assigned different duties but the Sheriff’s Office will maintain the same number of employees.

To clarify, the city does not currently dispatch the Sheriff’s Office. The City only dispatches non-law enforcement agencies, such as emergency services, within the county and the Falls City Police Department. 911 calls are received by the Falls City Police Department and then transferred to the Sheriff’s Office for their Dispatch to obtain the same information that has already been received by the 911 operator. Only then is the Sheriff’s Office able to dispatch a Deputy to the address. This was problematic for the County due to the substantial time delay in emergency calls for the Sheriff’s Office when a few seconds could be the difference between life and death. The County wants to try and clear up any inconsistencies within the public’s opinion and let the citizens know that we are wanting to make sure we make the best safe and financial decisions for the citizens of Richardson county in the long run.

Negotiations between the County and the City were initiated in an effort to possibly combine the two dispatch centers to resolve the issue. The County offered the City employing their four full time employees and moving all dispatching to the Sheriff’s Office with the only expenditure to the City being to compensate for one Dispatcher position. The City has declined this offer. The County also offered the City acquiring its four full-time Dispatchers and moves the Dispatch Center to the Police Department in which case the County would reimburse the City for one dispatch position. The City declined. Ultimately, a letter was sent to the County Board from the City stating the City was unwilling to negotiate any 911 dispatch. However, the City did request the County pay $125,000 annually towards 911 costs, $185,000 annually for dispatch budget, and $750,000 (one time cost) for radio console updates. Therefore, it is not feasible. On June 15th, Gary Jorn, Falls City Administrator, suggested the County could raise the mill levy one cent to pay the City. The County Board is against raising the mill levy and does not believe it would be acting in the best interests of the taxpayers to spend over a million dollars to combine Dispatch Centers locally when the City and County will have no option but to move forward with implementing regional dispatching in a near future. Additionally, moving dispatch services to the Southeast Communications 911 Center, for $180,000 annually, and $400,000 (one-time fee) for tower and radio equipment, allows the cost of 911 equipment to be shared among all agencies dispatched, instead of Richardson County incurring the entire costs.

In conclusion, it is the Board’s position that moving Dispatch to Southeast Communications 911 Center will be a more cost-efficient move and most importantly provide better service to the citizens of Richardson County.

Commissioner Rick Karas

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During the regular meeting of the Richardson County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday, June 15, 2021, Bruce Lang, Police Chief of the City of Beatrice and Carla Zarybnicky, Director of the SE Communications 911 Center returned to address the Board. The pair wrapped up their presentation on the possibility of Richardson County joining the Communications 911 Center and delivered more figures and information for the Commissioners to consider before making their final decision.
Chief Lang told the Board that the County would need to build a tower whether they consolidated or not and the expense would be hefty, about $325,000. Lang said that would be the “not to exceed the estimate,” so it could be less than that figure, but it would probably need to be done going forward.
He said the cost could obviously be shared if Falls City PD joined to benefit everyone.
“Then about $75,000, one-time money for the different parts on radio equipment and power supplies, Co-Ax, that kind of stuff, electricians, all those things, again, that pushes it to about $398,000,” said Lang.
Additional costs moving forward would be dependent on optional things such as computer systems in vehicles and other services.
The Communications Center’s contract is asking for a minimum of three years, for five, but a minimum of three. “The reason for that is that it takes a lot of things to get an agency on, and you hire people, and so you want at least a commitment for that long,” said Lang. The annual cost would be $180,000.
“Now if in fact, the city joined, at the same time, we’re someplace close to that the combined cost would not be doubled that, it would be less so your costs would go down with that if we were able to do some agreement on that. That’s totally up to everybody,” said Lang.
After a lengthy discussion where Mike Ramsey of the Falls City Rural Fire Dept.; Falls City Councilman, Mitch Merz and Gary Jorn, Falls City Administrator, addressed the Board with some concerns and questions, the motion was made by Karas that Richardson proceed to go with Southeast Communications 911 Center, Beatrice. A motion was seconded by Caverzagie and carried.
The Falls City Journal will have a more in-depth story and coverage on this story in the June 23, 2021 issue.

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A Special Meeting of the Richardson County Board of Commissioners was held Tue., June 30.  During that meeting the Road  Department Union representatives Bryan Dettmann, Dustin Metzner and James Coonce along with Justin Hubly, the Executive Director of the NE Association of Public Employees/AFSCME Local 61 reviewed with the Board the proposed contract they presented for the period July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2023.   Jerry L. Pigsley of Woods Aitken, LLP, was also in attendance for this meeting for Richardson County.  

A motion was made by Commissioner John Caverzagie to go into an executive session at 8:58 a.m. to discuss contract negotiations and strategy and for the protection of the public interest.   The motion seconded by Commissioner Sickel and approved on a 3-0 vote.

A motion was then made by Chairman Sickel to close the executive session and return to the regular meeting agenda at 9:37 a.m and that motion received unanimous approval.

The Board then presented a counter-proposal to that proposed by the Road Department Union.   After reviewing the counter-proposal, the Road Department Union presented what it would find acceptable within the County’s counter proposal and those parts that they requested remain as first presented. 

A motion was made by Commissioner Sickel to go into an executive session at 10:18 a.m. to review contract negotiations and for the protection of the public interest.   That motion was seconded by Frank and approved by a 3-0 vote.

Following that closed session, a motion was made by Sickel to close the executive session at 10:30 a.m. and return to the regular meeting agenda, a motion seconded by Frank and approved by unanimous vote.

The Board then presented a second counter-proposal to the proposed agreement presented by the Road Department Union.   After its review, the Road Department Union presented an offer to the County’s second counter-proposal for consideration.  

Commissioners voted again to recess their regular meeting agenda and go into an executive session at 10:44 a.m. to further discuss contract negotiations and for the protection of the public interest.

Following further discussion, Commissioners voted to close that executive session at 10:48 a.m. and returned to their regular meeting agenda.

The Board then presented its third counter proposal to that presented by the Road Department Union.  After reviewing the Road Department Union presented another counter offer.  

A petition requesting attachment of additional lands to Rural Water District #2 has been filed in the Office of the Richardson County Clerk.

A motion was made by Chairman Sickel to set a public hearing date of July 14 at 11:30 a.m. to receive input from the public in favor of or opposition of said inclusion of property into the Rural Water District #2.  

On a motion made by Caverzagie and seconded by Frank, the Commissioners voted to adjourn their June 30 special meeting at 11:30 a.m.  

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