The Wayne County Commissioners met in scheduled session on Feb. 7 where they received updates from the county Ag Extension office, the Fair Board, County Offices and more.
Julie Schultz, UNL Associate Extension Educator, informed the board of recent happenings within the extension office including a new leadership program where 10 Wayne High sophomores and juniors will engage in 12 weeks of leadership-centered curriculum.
February is also National 4-H Month, so the extension office plans to spend the month celebrating, Schultz said. The date of the meeting, Feb. 7, marked 4-H T-shirt Day.
Hasemann Funeral Home has not updated its pricing since 2011, according to owner Scott Hasemann. He walked through the necessary price increases with the Commissioners. The rise in fees updated the cemetery cost to $550, up from $450, among others.
Bradley Wieland, Wayne County’s Veterans Service Officer, met with the board to review his eventual retirement and how the county will move forward with filling the vacant position. Wieland has served in this position for a long time, saying he wants to have an active role in training the next officer.
“I want to do training properly,” Wieland said. “I have been in this position for a while, and I am still learning new things all the time. The biggest thing is that I care. I love my job and I love veterans and we need someone who will continue that.”
The board plans to start receiving applications during early March for a two-week period.
Members of the Fair Board presented the Commissioners with their proposal to expand grandstand seating north of the crow’s nest. The total cost of the aluminum stand with steel frame and an all-new sidewalk connecting the stand to the other seating rests at around $160,000, according to the board.
This seating would add almost 900 seats, eight of which will be handicap accessible for those in wheelchairs. They also discussed ramps and updating lighting around the new and old stands.
“We are always trying to improve seating for everyone,” said Todd Gruenke, a member of the Fair Board. “We acknowledge that the seating has lacked in accommodating disabled people in the past and we have been working hard to fix that.”
The Board looked into purchasing used grandstands from other facilities, but travel added too many extra expenses. Also, the new seating has all the required codes, whereas the used grandstand would need extra work to bring it up to code.
Commissioners and the Fair Board will take the next two weeks to deliberate the details and vote during their next meeting.
Highway Superintendent, Mark Casey, presented a bid for a new tractor of $139,500. The 2022 McCormick tractor will go to District Three after the purchase passed unanimously.
Casey also discussed the upcoming Scrap Tire cleanup event, gravel availability and problems with snow removal.
The Wayne County Board of Commissioners will next meet in regular session on Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 9 a.m. at the Wayne County Courthouse.
