Hall County Courthouse, (Brian Neben, Central Nebraska Today)
GRAND ISLAND – Hall County Commissioners failed Aug. 12 to approve preliminary rezoning from A2 to planned unit development for the Sycamores at Prairie Creek subdivision east of Highway 281 and north of One-R Road.
Commissioners voted 3-3 to approve the preliminary rezoning, with Commissioners Jane Richardson, Pam Lancaster, and Ron Peterson voting for the motion, and Commissioners Karen Bredthauer, Gary Quandt, and Butch Hurst voting against it. Commissioner Scott Sorensen was absent from the meeting.
Commissioners will reconsider the issue in two weeks.
Regional Planning Director Chad Nabity said that the issue would go before the Commissioners on Aug. 12, then be referred back to the Regional Planning Commission. The topic then would return to the Commissioners for approval.
Commissioner Ron Peterson said he was disappointed that commissioners didn’t have many choices on the matter.
Several farmers spoke against the proposed housing development. Keith Ostermeier of 5701 N. Highway 281 said that taking prime farm land out of production was a bad idea. He said all of the neighbors he had talked to were opposed to the project. Ostermeier said there are things associated with living in the country that you don’t have to deal with if you are living in the city. One example is spraying crops.
Carl Mettenbrink of 2200 E. One R Road said there are drainage issues at the proposed development.
“This is not a need. This is a want,” Mettenbrink said.
Commissioner Karen Bredthauer said she was very concerned about drainage at the proposed development.
Michael Stanton of 3831 Meadow Road is a co-developer of the project. He said in the 29-acre plot, five of seven lots are “spoken for.”
“This is not a leapfrog development. The infrastructure’s there,” Stanton said.
Stanton said the developers see a planning unit development as the easiest way to get the project completed.
Stanton later came back into the meeting and said he wanted to have a vote occur with Commissioner Scott Sorensen present. That’s when Commissioners said they would discuss the issue again at their next meeting.
In another matter, Commissioner Gary Quandt had requested information about sex crimes in the county. Hall County Investigator Cami Jiskra, Grand Island Police Department Investigator Cayla Larkins, and Hall County Attorney Marty Klein appeared to give information and to answer questions.
Larkins said she does online work, posing as a young girl or young boy. A perpetrator may get a nude photo from a victim, then perform “sextortion” by requesting more photos, performance of a sexual act, or transfer of money. Police will step in and make an arrest if there is a meeting arranged.
Jiskra said a lot of work is focused on social media platforms. A victim may voluntarily provide a nude photo, then “sextortion” occurs. Larkins said law enforcement wants “the parents to be aware of what’s out there.” Educating parents is key.
Larkins said in the last year, there were 12 “meet ups” in Grand Island that occurred between perpetrators and “victims,” who could be law enforcement posing as a young child.
Investigators were asked about specific cases involving sex crimes. One case that was mentioned involved Cody Holum of Doniphan, who was recently sentenced to 40 years in prison for just under 20 counts of sex crimes. Hall County Attorney Marty Klein said this is “despicable” behavior.
State Sen. Loren Lippincott of Central City was in the audience and gave some statistics about sex crimes. He said the average age locally of women who enter sexual trafficking is 13 years old. One out of ten females “sold” is younger than 21.
“This is absolutely something we need to look at,” Lippincott said. “I think that rape should be a capital offense.”
The Central Nebraska Humane Society recently ended its contract with the city to provide animal control officers to do tasks such as pick up stray pets. Now, the Grand Island Police Department is responsible for performing those functions. Commissioner Karen Bredthauer placed the topic on the agenda, wanting discussion of who is responsible for responding to requests formerly handled by the animal control officers from the Humane Society. It was mentioned that the Humane Society is still negotiating with the city about the topic.
Greg Geis, president of the Central Nebraska Humane Society Board, said that the Humane Society has set up a system where law enforcement officers have access to the facility after hours to place pets that they have picked up.
Wood River Mayor Greg Cramer appeared to ask Commissioners for $60,000 for a new ambulance for Wood River. He said that he wants to have a long-term agreement with the county, just like an agreement with the city of Grand Island regarding ambulances.
The cost of a new ambulance is $500,000. After considerable discussion, County Board Assistant Kim Dugan reminded the Board that $400,000 was earmarked in Inheritance Tax funds for the Wood River ambulance.
Commissioner Gary Quandt said that the County provides a lot of services to communities in the county. He distributed a handout showing Hall County contributions to communities in the county. It was mentioned to have those communities take on more responsibility for funding their projects.
Commissioner Butch Hurst reminded the Board that if Wood River did not have an ambulance, what costs would the county incur for the city of Grand Island to provide those services.
Cramer said that Wood River has a 1.5 percent sales tax that would generate $140,000 for the project.
“Our goal is to keep the ambulance service,” Cramer said.
Commissioners were reluctant to give money to Wood River to set aside for the project, rather than keeping the money in Hall County funds and transferring it to Wood River when needed.
Cramer said he just wanted to have a stable income source for the project.
