Lancaster County approves contracts and grants, including $1.2M for Lied Center

The Lancaster County Board of Commissioners approved a slate of routine contracts and grant awards during its Aug. 18 meeting, including a grant contract with the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska for the Lied Center for Performing Arts not to exceed $1,200,000 from the Visitors Improvement Fund.

Chair Christy Yokum characterized the fund awards as part of the county’s visitor-promotion work, saying, “one of the really exciting moments that we get to share in is the Visitors Promotion Fund projects that just make our community such a rich and exciting place to be.” The Lied Center contract passed with one recorded abstention (Johnson) and other commissioners voting to approve the award.

The board also approved a range of consent-agenda contracts and grants in a single omnibus vote. Contracts listed on the consent agenda included Ricoh USA Incorporated for print goods and services and NCIC Inmate Communications for phone services at the Youth Services Center. Grant awards approved included the Community Action Partnership of Lancaster and Saunders Counties ($137,031.24), Clyde Malone Community Center (Yes to Health — $32,000; Leadership Academy — $26,000), Mentoring Plus ($10,000), and NAMI Nebraska ($35,000 and $8,458) for mental-health programming.

These consent items were described as routine business and were approved as a single motion after commissioners were given the opportunity to remove any item for separate consideration. The board’s public materials note that printed copies of contracts and grant documents are available upon request at lancaster.ne.gov.