Commissioners support downsized, continued HHW program

McCOOK, Neb. — The future of the county’s Household Hazardous Waste collection site is up in the air, but commissioners hope to keep it open at least a few days a month, and probably without traveling to collect materials from other sites around the state.

More certainty surrounds another issue raised by the resignation of a county employee last week, that of the county weed superintendent, which the county is required by law to have.

County Clerk Penny Cooper said she had not yet received a quote for liability insurance to cover travel to collect household hazardous waste, one of the issues that caused commissioners to rethink the program.

Josh Mullen resigned as from both HHW and weed superintendent positions last week, citing uncertainty over the HHW program.

At Monday’s meeting, Commission Chairman Ted Gans said he had contacted one person about possibly taking the Noxious Weed Control position, a part-time county job, but asked anyone else who might be interested to contact the county.

He said the Red Willow Western Rural Fire Department, which has training for handling hazardous materials, has agreed to assist the county with having materials already on the HHW site at 108 West Railroad Service Road, secured and shipped out. The application for the grant that will fund the operation next year already eliminated collections elsewhere around the state.

The program was originally intended to serve southwest and south central Nebraska, and commissioners expressed interest in continuing to provide service to that reason.

During the citizen’s comments, Kevin Potthoff, who had previously expressed concerns about weeds along county roads, urged commissioners to improve communications among supervisors, road crews and the public. County employees are already adjusting to new county-issued cell phones, with GPS and time clock functions.

District 3 Commissioner Charles Fritsche suggested there might be a way to combine the weed superintendent position with additional weed mowing work, but other board members were hesitant to adjust the budget accordingly.

On that topic, CPA Dan Miller delivered the good news to commissioners that the budget would not require a special “pink postcard’ hearing to exceed 2% growth, coming in $700 under the limit.

Red Willow County’s total property valuation is $1.5 billion, up by $128 million from last year, which allows the county tax levy to decrease by nearly 2 cents, or 29 cents per $100 valuation, down from almost 31 cents last year.

The proposed county budget is $4.363 million, up by $82,213 from 2022-23.

The budget includes a transfer of $800,000 from the county’s inheritance tax fund if needed. The fund contains some $3.5 million, but commissioners hope to tap into that fund as little as possible.

Some state lawmakers have favored eliminating the tax.

Commissioners plan to obtain more information before acting on random drug testing procedures for employees with commercial driver's licenses, which has been requested by the county’s insurance carrier, the Nebraska Intergovernmental Risk Management Association.

Commissioners also approved an interlocal agreement with Bartley for law enforcement, an agreement with Domestic Abuse/Sexual Assault Services for providing services from October 2023 through September 2024, accounts payable of $23,032.12 and an insurance settlement for a destroyed 1997 Peterbilt Semi. The county received $14,000 from insurance carrier NIRMA for the truck, which was destroyed by fire while parked at the county shop on the fairgrounds.

A letter terminating a Household Hazardous Waste agreement with the Loess Hills RC&D was pulled from the consent agenda pending legal advice from the county attorney.