Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Sorted by date Results 1 - 18 of 18
When it comes to allowing conservation easements, the answer is clear for Holt County supervisors. Conservation easements cannot be approved, based on language in the county’s comprehensive plan. Whether the State of Nebraska understands that message isn’t so crystal clear. When the board met in regular session, Feb. 29, in O’Neill, chairman Bill Tielke said he’d been approached by a constituent asking if the board will support conservation easements. Holt County Attorney Brent Kelly reminded th...
Holt County Supervisors will tackle a small list of items when they meet in regular session, July 17, at the Holt County Courthouse in O’Neill. At 8:45 a.m., supervisors will meet as the board of equalization and will receive the three-year plan of assessment from county assessor Tim Wallinger. Two real estate valuation protests are scheduled for 9:05 and 9:15 a.m. The supervisors will open in regular session following the close of the equalization meeting. County treasurer Shelly Ross is s...
Bill Tielke will serve as chairman of Holt County Supervisors, who elected him to the position for 2023 during a statutory session, Jan. 5, at the Holt County Courthouse. Doug Frahm will chair the county's board of equalization. Supervisors approved board of representatives and delegates, as well as committee assignments for 2023, including: • Bonds: Darrin Paxton, Frahm, Tielke; • Bridge: Frahm, Paxton and Scott Keyes; • Claims: Frahm (chair) and the entire board; Courthouse: Frahm, Dusti...
Based on the county's comprehensive plan, Holt County supervisors denied a perpetual wetland reserve easement, for Melvin Knox's Bar K Bar , LLC, during a Dec. 16 public hearing, at the courthouse in O'Neill. Supervisor Doug Frahm made the motion, which passed unanimously. Supervisor Dustin Breiner was absent. The hearing, which lasted more than an hour, was a required step, following a Dec. 13 public hearing in front of the county's planning and zoning board. That board voted 6-3 in favor of...
Damage from a lightning strike that ignited grassland and spread to a five- to six-mile-wide fire is still being assessed. Holt County Emergency Management director Deb Hilker presented a map of damaged acres and buildings to Holt County Supervisors at the group's June 30 meeting in O'Neill. Hilker said an estimated 6,600 acres were affected. The topographical map is interfaced with a plat map to highlight people and acres affected by the fire, which started June 24, in the river bottom between...
A potential resolution denouncing President Biden's Executive Order 14008, dubbed the 30 x 30 land grab, will have to wait, after Holt County Supervisors tabled the item during Monday's meeting in O'Neill. The executive order, titled "Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad," directed the secretary of the interior, secretary of agriculture and other senior officials to devise and submit a plan, by April 27, to conserve 30% of lands and waterways in the United States by 2030. According to...
The Holt County supervisors finalized seating of a board of adjustment when they met at the courthouse in O’Neill last Tuesday, June 30. Vice chair Steve Boshart presided, due to the potential for board of adjustment action related to TC Energy matters, with which chairman Bill Tielke has a declared conflict of interest. Clayton Goeke of Atkinson was selected, by written ballot from a pool of three interested citizens, to serve as the alternate board member. Goeke garnered three votes, Cheri Frisch of Atkinson, two, and Tom Schaaf of Lynch, non...
The Holt County supervisors reviewed and set new parameters for daily meal reimbursement when they met at the courthouse in O’Neill last Tuesday, June 16. Staff working outside the county will be allowed $10 for breakfast, $12 for lunch and $16 for dinner/supper. The motion was made by supervisor Steve Boshart, seconded by supervisor Doug Frahm and carried on a 6-0 vote, with supervisor Don Hahlbeck absent. Mike Zakrzewski of O’Neill was appointed to the board of adjustments, with Jim Hubel of Ewing, Mark Rossman and Barb Steskal of Atk...
The Holt County board of supervisors approved more than $60,000 in courthouse maintenance projects when they met there May 29. On a motion by supervisor Bob Snyder, the leaders unanimously approved a proposal from Beckenhauer Construction for several maintenance projects at the courthouse. The proposal included replacement of a metal door and frame for $21,165; cleaning and painting 26 window frames for $22,825; and clean and paint the metal stairs for $19,085. Steve and Janene Peterson addressed the board regarding ongoing drainage issues...
The Holt County supervisors approved purchase of a vehicle for the sheriff’s department, when they met at the courthouse in O’Neill on May 18. The lease-purchase through the Nebraska Association of Counties Leasing Corporation, was approved by resolution, in an amount not to exceed $26,900, with an interest rate of not more that 2.5%. The supervisors unanimously approved a $2,722,583 bid from Knife River Midwest from Sioux City, Iowa, for asphalt overlay projects near Page, Emmet and Stuart. Knife River was the only bidder. Proposals from 10...
The Holt County supervisors approved a road-use agreement for duration of potential construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline, despite the county leaders’ denial of a construction permit in February. Consideration of the road-haul agreement was on the agenda when the supervisors met in the courthouse for an in-person meeting April 30. The agreement had been drafted by Omaha attorney David Domina, with Brent Kelley, Holt County attorney, proceeding, at the request of the supervisors, to negotiate terms with TCE officials. Kelly was present in t...
The Holt County supervisors approved hiring a human resource firm when they met at the courthouse in O’Neill on April 16. With all seven supervisors in attendance at the meeting, the leaders voted 5-2 to contract with Zelle Human Resources of Lincoln to provide consulting services for an initial six-month term, after holding a phone conference with Zelle representative Chad Thies. Supervisors Bob Snyder and Don Butterfield voted nay. According to Thies, the firm would update the county’s employee handbook, making sure it is relevant and mak...
Holt County supervisors are considering the engagement of a human resources firm to help navigate employment issues. A telephone conference was held with Chad Thies from Zelle Human Resource Solutions in Lincoln during the March 16 meeting at the courthouse in O'Neill. After hearing what the firm offered in services, chairman Bill Tielke asked Thies to submit a proposal. Supervisor Steve Boshart estimated an annual cost of $36,000 to $40,000. "It will be high," Tielke said. "But the thing is, if...
The Holt County supervisors spent nearly two hours at a meeting last week, reviewing a road-haul agreement brought to the table by TC Energy representatives last October, paragraph by paragraph, despite having a new agreement drafted by Dave Domina in hand. The scrutiny came after Holt County attorney Brent Kelly presented a preliminary agreement drafted by the Omaha attorney who was hired by the county officials on a 4-2 vote Oct. 31, 2019, to negotiate a road-haul agreement with TC Energy. At Kelly’s suggestion, the supervisors held an execut...
Three Holt County supervisors agreed, when the leaders met at the courthouse in O’Neill last Thursday, to serve on a committee to look for ways to improve efficiency within the road department. Road superintendent Gary Connot described several recent issues he attributed to lack of training, oversight and accountability. “I personally think we have got to get more oversight, more practical training and more instructions to our motorgrader operators,” he said. “We had a guy this last summer – we had the best set of roads in the county – in a per...
Bill Tielke and Steve Boshart will retain their leadership positions on the Holt County Board of Supervisors. Tielke was re-elected by his peers as chairman of the supervisors, while Boshart was re-elected to chair the board of equalization. Pursuant to traditional policy, the two leaders will serve as vice chair for each other. County clerk Cathy Pavel presided over the election process until a chairman was elected, then turned the gavel over to Tielke for the balance of the annual organization meeting Jan. 9, at the Holt County Courthouse. Pa...
Jon Cannon of Lincoln, deputy director of the Nebraska Association of County Officials, was a guest at the Oct. 15 meeting of the Holt County supervisors at the courthouse in O'Neill. Cannon is currently on a quest to visit each of the state's 93 counties. The county leaders approved a one-year lease of a skid loader from NMC CAT in Norfolk, at a cost of $7,800, for use by the weed department. CAT was contacted with a request for the lease option by Bill Teilke, chairman, during the Sept. 30 mee...
Local entities that depend on tax receipts for operation will soon make levy decisions as they consider their annual budgets. Real estate valuations certified recently by Nebraska county assessors, including Kelly Mueller in Antelope County and Tim Wallinger in Holt County, factor into those decisions. Antelope County’s total valuation for 2019 is certified at $2,483.485,076, up just over $24 million or 0.98% from 2018. Mueller attributed nearly $34 million of the total value to growth (new construction), about $10 million more than the overall...
