The majority of Tuesday's meeting of the Wayne County Board of Commissioners involved an update on the recently completed Wayne County Fair and options for flooring in parts of the Wayne County Courthouse.
Fair Board members Merlin Felt, Trevor Hartman, Doug Temme and Dave Jaeger were at the meeting to talk about both this year's fair and plans for the future.
The group told the commissioners that attendance and revenue were up for this year fair, along with an increase in the number of sponsorships for the event.
Two new large golf carts were purchased for this year's fair. These were used to transport people to and from the west parking lot.
Upcoming projects for the fairgrounds included work on the Leland Herman Memorial Arena, putting asphalt on some of the roads throughout the fairgrounds, putting more lights up around the fairgrounds and work on the 4-H bathrooms.
Additional discussion was held on the carnival that was on the fairgrounds this year and the fact that a new carnival has been booked for next year.
Following the discussion, the Fair Board requested $200,000 be put into the county's budget for next year's fair.
Considerable discussion was held on the type of flooring to be installed in certain areas of the courthouse and whether it would be best to do the work all at once or one floor at a time. Having a uniform color throughout the courthouse was among the considerations for the new flooring.
The item was tabled until quotes can be obtained from companies in the area.
Highway Superintendent Kyle Huff presented information to the commissioners on the dedication of Logan Valley Drive Southward. Huff said this was actually dedicated several years ago but the legal description was not included.
The final item on the first part of the meeting was an update from Jill Belt, Director of Operations for the Northeast Nebraska Public Health Department.
She talked to the commissioners about a Healthcare Kiosk that was recently installed next to Short Stop, across from the Wayne State College campus.
The kiosk, which is the only one in Nebraska outside of Omaha and Lincoln, was funded by a grant from the opioid settlement. She explained how the kiosk is used and told the commissioners it is available to provide free health care products and test. It can be used by anyone and is ADA accessible and provides information in Braille also.
A ribbon cutting for the kiosk was set for Thursday, Aug. 21.
A budget work session was held Tuesday with Mike Pommer and continued to Wednesday as the board works to establish a budget for the coming fiscal year.
The Wayne County Board of Commissioners will next meet in regular session on Tuesday, Sept. 2 at 9 a.m. in the Wayne County Courtroom.
