Nance County Board approves shed move for 4‑H, conditions fiber permit and hires law firm to respond to NEOC complaint

The Nance County Board of Supervisors met April 14 in Fullerton and approved several routine and substantive items, including relocating a small county shed for 4‑H storage, conditioning approval of a fiber‑optic right‑of‑way permit on verification of bore counts, adopting a new bank cash‑management payroll process and hiring Woods & Aitken law firm to respond to an NEOC complaint.

The board voted to move a small county shed located south of the courthouse to the fairgrounds for use by the Extension Office for 4‑H storage. The motion to relocate the shed was moved by Supervisor Darren Nelson and seconded by Supervisor Steve Crouse; supervisors also directed staff to obtain quotes for a 12‑by‑16 concrete pad with footer to support the structure.

On utility permits, the board reviewed Great Plains Right‑of‑Way permit #1‑2026 for a fiber‑optic project north of Genoa on 390th. After discussion about the number of bores proposed, the board approved the permit with a condition requiring verification of the number of bores (motion moved by Ralph Horacek, seconded by Scott Russell). Two Viaero right‑of‑way permits (#2‑2026 and #3‑2026) were tabled for further review and verification of bore counts (motion moved by Scott Russell, seconded by Darren Nelson).

County Highway Superintendent Tony Bernt reported ongoing road work including repairs on N 480th east of a Genoa motel, upcoming bridge work on Valley Road at the Forbes bridge project, drainage work at the fairgrounds to be completed before the fair, and that new hires have begun operating graders on routes.

A copyright claim alleging the county used an internet photo without permission was discussed. Supervisor Ralph Horacek moved and Supervisor Andrew Ditter seconded a motion directing the County Attorney to negotiate with the claimant; that motion passed on a 5‑2 roll‑call vote with AYES from Horacek, Darren Nelson, Crouse, Ditter and Chairman Timothy Cornwell and NAYS from Robert Voichoskie and Scott Russell.

On banking and payroll processing, HR/Budget officer SuAnn Gabel explained Points West Bank charges: $35 per payroll file (four files monthly) and an alternative Cash Management Program for $30 per month for the bank to handle file processing. The board approved adopting the bank’s cash‑management payroll option (motion moved by Scott Russell, seconded by Darren Nelson). The board record notes that under the new arrangement the bank would not be liable for losses and that the county would continue to prepare files for upload.

Heid Borg, agricultural liaison from Congressman Adrian Smith’s office, summarized the congressman’s committee work and priorities, heard constituent concerns about farm inputs and fertilizer prices amid ongoing international conflict, and held a one‑hour mobile office session for constituents.

The board entered executive session at 11:00 a.m. for a personnel discussion (moved by Darren Nelson, seconded by Ralph Horacek) and reconvened at 11:20 a.m. with no motions reported from the closed session. After reconvening, the board approved signing an engagement letter to employ Woods & Aitken law firm to answer an NEOC complaint (motion moved by Darren Nelson, seconded by Scott Russell).

The meeting adjourned on a motion by Ralph Horacek, seconded by Darren Nelson. Unless otherwise specified in the minutes, roll‑call votes for motions were recorded as AYES: Cornwell, Voichoskie, Horacek, Crouse, Russell, Nelson and Ditter; NAYS: None; ABSENT: None.

Next procedural steps noted in the meeting record include obtaining concrete pad quotes for the relocated shed, verification of bore counts for the outstanding utility permits, and attorney negotiation on the copyright claim and the NEOC complaint.