McNutt reprises chairman role
McCOOK, Neb. -- District 1 representative Earl McNutt of McCook returns as chairman of the Red Willow County board of commissioners following the board's annual reorganization during its weekly meeting Monday.
Vice chairman will be District 3 representative Vesta Dack of rural McCook. Dack has been board chairman for the past two years, but told fellow commissioners McNutt and Steve Downer that she needs to have a more flexible schedule because of her husband Dean's health. "I don't want to be left out," she said, agreeing to fill the vice chair position, and not shying away from committee appointments.
Steve Downer will continue as chairman of the board of equalization; Dack will be vice-chair.
The leadership of the Noxious Weed Control Authority will continue as it has in the past, with McNutt as chair and Downer as vice chair.
The board then:
* Renewed the contract with Gary Dicenta of Miller and Associates as county road superintendent for 2016.
* Renewed the contract with County Tourism Director Carol Schlegel for 2016. Schlegel's contract pays her $3,166.67 each month, or $38,000 a year, for 2016. This contract was recommended to commissioners by the County Visitors Committee, and is the same as it was in 2015.
* Appointed Sheriff Alan Kotschwar as the count's Emergency Manager, for an annual salary of $7,200.
* Designated the McCook Gazette as the official county newspaper, with the Red Willow County Website as an additional method of providing notice of meetings.
* Adopted a resolution designating these banks as depositories for Red Willow County for 2016: Wells Fargo, McCook National Bank, AmFirst Bank, Horizon Bank, First Central Bank, Adams Bank and Trust of Indianola, State Bank of Bartley and the Nebraska Public Agency Investment Trust (NPAIT).
Commissioners also divvied up appointments to various committees, the only change this year being the appointment of Dack to the Hillcrest Nursing Home board rather than McNutt:
Downer: E911, RC&D board, Region II governing board, County Visitors Committee, Fair Board, County Planning Commission and McCook Economic Development Committee board of directors.
Dack: Work Ethic Camp Community Involvement Committee, Hillcrest Nursing Home board, Veterans Service Committee and County Health Board.
McNutt: West Central Nebraska Development District administrative board (Downer alternate), City/County Cooperation Committee, Southwest Nebraska Public Health Department board of trustees and REWARD board of directors.