Commissioners approve purchase of High Point building

The Kimball County Board of Commissioners approved the use of funds and issuance bonds for several different agenda item at their meeting Tuesday, June 3.

The first financial item up for discussion was that of tickets for the Kimball Ambulance crew to the Cattlemen’s Ball. Banner County EMS requested that Kimball County assist as EMS volunteers at the ball. With three members of the ambulance crew volunteering the expenses, which included the tickets, it came to a total of $225. Carla Goranson was in attendance to request that the county pay for the tickets of the crew attending the ball. Engstrom and Brower both brought up that several of the volunteers were paying their own way to the ball, and they saw no reason to pay for the ambulance crew’s tickets. Goranson responded by explaining that the crew members attending would be doing so in a strictly work-related capacity. Nolting thought that it was important for the county to make sure that Kimball was represented and that the tickets should be paid for. Engstrom agreed that Kimball should be represented. Brower did not think that it should be the county’s responsibility to pay for the tickets.

“Lots of volunteers who are going are paying their own way. I don’t see a reason why we should be paying for something that they volunteered to do,” Brower said.

Goranson countered with the fact that Kimball County had been asked to attend and that the crew members who were going to attend were doing so because they were asked to by the ambulance and not of their own volition. The ambulance is under budget for the current fiscal year and that played into the deciding factor along with the need for Kimball to be represented. After everyone had a chance to speak, it was decided that the county would approve the use of the ambulance budget to pay the $225 to send the ambulance volunteers to the Cattlemen’s Ball with Nolting and Engstrom in favor and Brower against.

Brad G. Slaughter, the Assistant Vice President of Ameritas Investment Corp. attended the meeting for the adoption of the resolution authorizing the issuance of General Obligation Nursing Home Funds, Series 2014, in the principal amount of $1,475,000 for the purpose of constructing additions and making improvements to the existing nursing home as well as providing payments for issuance costs as well as the execution of bond documents.

The way this is set up is so that the county is issuing the bond and Kimball County Manor will be making payments to Kimball County. It was made known that Kimball County Manor has money reserved for the renovation project, more than enough to cover the costs. So the county approved the issuance of the bonds through them and will be collecting payment from the manor.

The county also issued another bond in the amount of $155,000, for the purchase of the High Point Welcome Center. The cost of the building in total was $250,000. However, Jo Caskey made it known that there was $100,000 available in the Visitors Improvement fund for the purchase of the Welcome Center building. The Welcome center will make monthly payments on the bond via accumulated funds from the lodging taxes. The extra $5,000 is for the issuance fees. No new property taxes will happen as a result of the building purchase.

The commissioners expressed their excitement over all the things that Jo Caskey has accomplished through the Welcome Center.

“We feel it’s a real benefit to the community. If we didn’t feel that way we wouldn’t be spending this money,” Engstrom said.

The district court expressed a need for updated equipment in the district courtroom. Several updates have been made to courtrooms in the surrounding area and the benefits reaped are many. According to Deb Rahmig, it can cut down jury time as the advanced technology allows information to be easily shared with the jury. Also, in order to increase proficiency, the district court clerk’s office will be moved to the third floor, where the district court room resides. The commissioners approved the funding for the new equipment in the District Courtroom as well as the moving costs. The moving of the office entails electrical work so that the new district court office will be properly equipped with the right technology that allows them to accomplish their jobs more efficiently. The amount for the electrical is $7,198 and for the equipment, $6,311. The updates that are being made are proactive, not only is the district court preparing for the updates that the money from the county will fund, but also future updates as well. They are making sure that they are making the district courtroom more technology friendly so that future updates will not cost as much.

The commissioners also approved $10,300 on the Maintenance and Support Services Agreement between GIS Workshop, Inc., and Kimball County, NE; Assessor/Planning/Zoning/Emergency Management Web GIS Support.

The Commissioners spent various lengths of time in consideration before each approval. They came to the conclusion that while a lot of money was dealt with, it was all for the benefit of the tax payers who deserve a community that makes necessary advancements.