Commissioners set public hearing for road vacation
Dawson County Commissioners entered two executive sessions Tuesday, Sept. 15, to privately discuss the vacation of Road 425 and an interlocal agreement with Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District.
The board considered Resolution 2018-31, which authorized the vacation of Road 425, because of legal issues related to the resolution. After meeting in executive session, the board voted to rescind Resolution 2018-31 and scheduled a public hearing regarding the road vacation for 9 a.m. Oct. 15.
Mark Christiansen, highway superintendent, presented the interlocal agreement with Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District. The wording of the agreement was still being revised at the time of the presentation. The board discussed the agreement in executive session, returned to open session and approved the measure.
Jon Hudson of Gothenburg was appointed to a five-year term on the Veterans Service Committee. Hudson is replacing Robert Schwanz, who served on the committee for eight years and is retiring from the position.
Sheriff Mark Montgomery reported that the jail is experiencing problems with leaking water pipes. He has hired professionals to repair the problem, but they have had difficulty locating the source of the water.
Montgomery also reported that a sergeant is moving from the road division to the civil division and that a new road deputy will be needed to fill the vacancy.
The jail is fully staffed, but Montgomery said the dispatch center needs additional assistance. The sheriff’s department recently updated its interlocal agreement with Dawson County communities and is seeking to hire a new dispatcher to help serve the area. He said a second dispatcher will need to be hired next year, but he acknowledged that the current budget does not provide funding for two new hires this year.
“Getting those dispatchers in place will solve a 20-year problem. It will relieve a lot of stress in dispatch and allow the guys and gals in there to take time off,” Montgomery said.
Treasurer Kaitlyn Woltemath asked the board to approve Resolution 2026-25 to obtain county tax sale certificates. The resolution was approved.
She also asked the board to approve a resolution striking taxes associated with distress warrants returned by the sheriff’s department. Woltemath said the uncollected amounts would remain fully due, but the resolution would eliminate the need to repeatedly return the warrants to the sheriff’s department for collection attempts. The board approved the request.
In other business, the board approved the Sept. 1 regular meeting minutes, the filing of officials’ receipts, the filing of the treasurer’s receipts and the payment of claims.
Before the Dawson County Board of Commissioners meeting, commissioners convened as the Dawson County Board of Equalization and approved the Sept. 1 regular meeting minutes. That was the only item on the board’s agenda.
