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The Holt County Supervisors addressed a recent article submitted to area media when they met at the courthouse Monday, Nov. 18.

According to the letter submitted by Holt County attorney Brent Kelly, published in the Nov. 20 edition of the Advocate and online at SummerlandAdvocate.com, and by other area news media, his purpose was to explain some of the issues county residents and elected officials will face as TC Energy proceeds with its effort to build a pipeline.

Chairman Bill Tielke turned the meeting over to vice chair Steve Boshart, due to Tielke's declared conflict of interest regarding the pipeline.

Tielke and Boshart both voiced concern with Kelly's reference to an "increase in crime" during construction of an area wind farm. They disagreed, specifically regarding an increase they said the attorney attributed to the presence of the enterprise.

Sheriff Ben Matchett was asked for input.

"Who's next? Who's he going to throw under the bus next?" Boshart asked. "I don't think an elected official should be going on social media doing it."

Supervisor Doug Frahm said, "Then that's taking away their freedom of speech."

Kelly was called into the room to answer questions.

Boshart asked the attorney his reason for pointing to the wind farm in the letter.

Disagreement centered on differing perceptions of "increase in crime." Boshart maintained Kelly should prove an increase occurred from a time period prior to construction of the wind farm.

Kelly, on the other hand, explained his premise that any crime related to any company was an increase over what there would have been, had the workers not been in the county.

"The broader point is when you bring in a hundred or 200 or a thousand construction workers or realtors or doctors - if you bring in a thousand people, some of those people, even if all thousand of them are just good people, some of them are going to commit crimes," he said. "I didn't say wind farms are bad or anything like that... they were just an example. Do you disagree with the proposition that people in my position or sheriff Matchett's position should be concerned about potential issues and public safety and should be readying ourselves for those? That's the point of that whole exercise."

Boshart persisted, asking several times why Kelly used the wind farm as an example.

Kelly maintained his example was a test, similar to testing yield in a cornfield.

"I am using our experience with the wind farm as one of those ears...For easy math, let's say there's 10 criminal cases, let's say the pipeline has five times as many workers, so we go five times 10, now were at 50. Let's say they are here twice as long, five times 10 times two. Now we're at 100," he explained. "No, the wind farm didn't bring county court to a screeching halt, they were very good to work with."

Speaking on behalf of BHE Wind, Don Claussen said, "There is not a single person who works at the wind farm (who) doesn't go through a background check and a drug test. I don't want to work with somebody who's under the influence."

Tielke opined, "This wind farm has been talked about and used as an example of success and now, all of a sudden, it comes out and it looks like Holt County is against economic development. We're picking out one company that is a model, that spent six and a half million, $6.3 million to fix our roads,$ 7.7 million generated in local construction, and now we're saying boy, we don't want somebody like that coming to Holt County...When you bring people, there's going to be an increase (in crime). It looked bad to pick one particular company...That's why I asked, in our minutes, it's just going to say that I do not agree with that statement."

Claussen told Kelly he had insulted everyone who works at the wind farm.

"Of 25 employees, 16 are from Holt County. Twelve are from O'Neill and third, fourth and fifth generation families," he said. "It was a very unfair statement that you made."

Supervisor Don Butterfield said he agreed with Kelly's letter and had received positive feedback.

Matchett concluded, "I do have to agree with Brent, we do have to be prepared for anything that might arise with this, we can't be just reactive, we have to be proactive."

"Even I have to agree with that," Claussen added.

Lindsey Stecy with Forbes Brothers Timberline Construction, based in Rapid City, South Dakota, presented a road maintenance plan her company planned to use as they construct Nebraska Public Power's R-Project transmission line along 846 Road over the next two years.

According to a NPPD press release, the $265 million construction contract was awarded to RF Timberline in January. The line begins at Gerald Gentleman Station near Sutherland, then heads north to Thedford, where it will connect at an existing substation. The line then will move east to Holt County, covering approximately 225 miles, where it will connect with a new substation.

Stecy said work would take place in both Holt and Wheeler counties, crisscrossing the county-line road, and no underground boring is planned.

"Part of our contract stipulates that we are to meet your road or construction fees, that we are maintaining those roads that we are utilizing, whether it is putting gravel down and having our own grader machines come behind it to keep it maintained, the use of that road throughout construction," she said. "After construction is completely finished and we pulled out equipment and the line is up, energized, good to go, we are also contractually obligated to make sure the road is left in equal to or better than shape after all the construction."

She inquired about the process for permitting approaches to the sites. The company planned to install four or five temporary approaches, while utilizing existing field driveways for most of the project.

Road superintendent Gary Connot said he had relayed the normal policy for driveways was just a verbal agreement, but that he had not been aware of the scope of the project.

"The bigger issue is road-haul (agreement)," he said.

Stecy said, beginning about April 2020, heavier equipment, including concrete trucks and heavy cranes will travel the road as monopoles are erected.

After Stecy presented the plan, it came to light that no road-haul agreement with Holt County is on record. The supervisors asked to see the road-use agreement FB Timberline has with NPPD.

"We need (a) road-haul agreement," Tielke said. "We've got to treat people the same."

He suggested "some kind of letter of understanding" with RF Timberline in the meantime. Connot, Frahm and Ewing supervisor Bob Snyder planned to view the sites with Stecy.

Snyder asked for a list of easements currently held with landowners, a request Stecy said she would relay to NPPD.

County clerk Cathy Pavel updated the supervisors on plans for purchase of time clocks to be used countywide. She said her office staff had been working on the matter for a couple of years, checking with other counties and working on logistics.

"We are getting closer and closer," Pavel said.

According to the clerk, the current price is $625 plus shipping for each device. She estimated a need for 10 clocks, one in each of the five county barns, one for the weed/road department shop, one at the courthouse annex, one at the county attorney's office, two in the courthouse. Internet access is required at each location as well, for sending the data to the clerk's office at the end of each pay period.

Discussion ensued regarding identification methods to be used for signing in. The supervisor's unofficial direction was for either fingerprint or a card. Use of a password or identification number for access was discarded due to the possibility of having a different individual clock an employee in.

Pavel said the procedure would have to be worked into gradually due to a change needed in pay periods.

A printed copy of each employee's hours for the pay period would be mailed to the employee, to be signed and returned to the clerk for payroll processing.

"We seem to be real thrilled with what MIPS can offer us," she said. "They know our payroll system."

MIPS is a service provided through the Nebraska Association of County Officials. The Multi-county Information and Programing Services platform provides Nebraska counties with custom software, support, networking and consulting services.

Sheriff's department dispatchers will continue to log deputies' hours.

"What are we gaining on these time clocks?" asked supervisor Don Buchholz.

"It takes a lot of time to gather up these time sheets from everybody. It would already be clocked in and they'd be there, and we could just press a button and they would be here," Pavel replied. "You guys were the ones very interested in it the last few years."

No official action was taken, Pavel said she wasn't yet ready to request a supervisor vote.

Representatives from two county auction companies presented proposals for online consignment auctions. Brant Pavel of Pavel Auction Services, a listing agent with AuctionTime, and Tim Borer and Todd Enke with BigIron Auctions explained services their companies offered. The supervisors approved using both companies for end-of-the-year surplus property disposal, on an alternating basis.

Connot reported a recent surplus action netted the county $4,152.

The road superintendent was given the go-ahead to hire Brian Jackson to provide three days of education and heavy-equipment and motorgrader training to county road employees, at $46 per hour. Instruction will combine classroom and in-machine training.

The supervisors selected a proposal from Speece/Lewis Engineers for the Naper South bridge removal, as recommended by Road Committee members Boshart, Butterfield and Darin Paxton. The bridge was washed about 200 feet downstream during March floods. A proposal was also received from Mainelli Wagner and Associates.

Connot said FEMA has indicated the project will be approved, although the agency has requested more documentation. He said a request will be made through a new FEMA program for "in-progress payment."

"It looks promising," he said. The engineers are estimating $500,000 to $1 million for this removal project so it's pretty important that FEMA does participate in this process....

I don't know all the details (of in-progress payment program) yet, but instead of waiting for two or three years to have this project money reimbursed, there's potentially the possibility for some money up front."

Connot also informed the supervisors a $43,000 payment for emergency work, like barricading, is expected soon.

Quotes submitted by the low bidder, Midwest Fencing-Guard Rail Systems Inc., of Ralston, were approved for guard rail repairs at four locations, for a total $52,960. Bids were also received from Garcia Chicoine Enterprises, Inc. of Milford.

The county leaders also gave their approval for the road department's annual holiday safety meeting, the Friday before Christmas. Connot said safety films will be shown and lunch served.