Human Resources Firm Talks To County

Zelle Human Resource Solutions met Tuesday with the Kimball County Board of Commissioners for 45 minutes; the presentation was on their human resource company.

For their standard fee of $5,000 a month, Zelle would help the county in the areas of salary determination, recruiting, conflict, team building and a safe sounding board.

Zelle's website states: “We understand the complexities of each industry and know what it takes to hire the best talent, improve employee engagement and provide solution throughout talent assessment business partnership.”

No decision was reached on whether or not to enter into a contract with Zelle.

At 10 a.m., a public hearing was opened to accept comments on vacating 2.3 miles of a county road known as Forsling Road. No comments for or against were received at the hearing. In a vote of 2-0, the resolution to vacate the road was approved. Engstrom was absent and excused.

After the public hearing, Rick Wrangler updated the commissioners on the weed department. Due to an accident in which the 2013 one-ton Silverado was totaled, they have scheduled the remaining spray truck to be used between the two individuals until the end of the employment season.

Wrangler stated that bindweed is a real problem, and they have sprayed the state highways and county roads. He continues to do inspections and flagging of Scotch thistle and Canadian thistle.

The County Highway Superintendent update was provided by Randy Bymer. He said they have been blading and fixed a wash-out from the rain. An individual will be interviewed on Thursday for the grader position.

Bymer had a meeting with the road department employees in an effort to review some routine issues, including watching the signs better and dealing with complaints such as pulling of shoulders. Pulling of shoulders will be on hold for a while, and they will blade the road to get rid of the weeds.

Bymer informed the board that the chip seal project for the seven miles of pavement, including Highway 71 north and four miles south of Dix, is scheduled to begin on Monday.

Meeting next with the commissioners was Brandon Loy, Chief Deputy Sheriff, and Alica Downey, 911 Coordinator. They explained the Computer Aided Dispatch System. They have received five quotes, but the one they are interested in began at $90,000 as a one-time fee. They were eventually able to get the price dropped to $31,000. In addition, a discussion was held on installing Emergency Medical Dispatching Software. Both proposals were put on hold.

Kimball County Transit System update included ride purpose date and scheduled trips to DIA for July 1-15th.

Jessica Rocha, County Tourism Director, reported that the visitor numbers are up, but nothing like they were pre-Covid. As a pleasant surprise, the Lodging Tax is much better than in previous years, June numbers have not been determined, but the fiscal year 2021-22, July to June is a record-setting amount of $56,316. In addition, Rocha explained that South Platte Natural Resource District distributes some of their donations from Oliver to the Lodging Tax fund.

The Lincoln Highway Crosswalk program is in the works. Supplies and paint have been purchased, and after harvest, the design will begin to take shape at selected intersections.

The next Kimball County Board of Commissioner will meet on August 2 at 9:00.