The Superior Express -

The Nuckolls County Board of Commissioners met at the county courthouse in Nelson Monday. All three commissioners were present.

Jeff Wagner, county highway superintendent, and Jim Bolte, road foreman, reported crews are concentrating on routine road maintenance. The 1 and 6 year plan is being prepared.

Jerry Grove, chairman of the county board of equalization, convened the board session. They issued determinations in several valuation protests which were heard at the previous meeting.

The board determined no change was required in the Michael and Sharon Combs protest.

The board approved a reduction of valuation for Dennis and Sandra Foote as a portion of the property was located in a flood plane.

The board approved a reduction for two properties for Judy Bond.

The board determined no change was necessary in the Paul Garst and Dale Kimberly protests.

The board has yet to hear several more protests.

Jon Canon, executive director of the Nebraska Association of County Officials, provided the board with an overview of activities during the legislative session. The association provides input to Unicameral members from local county officials.

The board denied a $1,000 funding request from the First Light Child Advocacy Center.

The proposed budget from the State of Nebraska 10th Probation District was approved.

The board approved an interlocal agreement for cooperative law enforcement services among Adams and Nuckolls counties.

The saga continues with the courthouse HVAC system. A teleconference with a Trane representative was not a productive call. Trane proposed to sell the county replacement equipment for a new system at an approximate cost of $275,000. Trane offered a tentative five to 10 percent discount on the equipment with further discounts possible. The county would be responsible for the installation costs. The current system was installed five years ago. It carries a 10-year parts warranty. Trane does not actually manufacture the equipment. They source from other companies, in this case it was Samsung. While Trane places the blame on Samsung components, it is the Trane name on the product and the warranty. They currently source their system components from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Further discussions are scheduled with Trane. System reliability is a pressing matter as the heating system is also impacted. While temperatures climb into the 90s, cold weather is only three to four months away.

The second floor corridor was the site of an impromptu air show when a bat demonstrated its steatlh attack capabilities on a court worker. After a startled scream, fellow workers came to her aid. The winged mammal was relocated to a safe location. It was the second appearance of a bat last week. The bats gained entrance to the building when a wind gust blew open a hatch on one of the courthouse clock faces. The opening has been sealed.

The board will meet at 8:30 a.m., Monday, at the courthouse.