County board approves NACO voting representatives

Commissioner Chairman Daniel Grotz explained how NACO asks each county to have a representative, as well as an alternative, so they can vote for board members during the annual meeting.

Grotz and Commissioner Andy Bowman said they were unable to attend the December meeting and the decision was made to appoint Commissioner Randy Obermier as the board member with voting credentials and for Deb Robertson to be named the alternate should Obermier not be able to attend.

Other county board business

• York County Visitors Bureau Director Alex Saathoff talked about the work of the current intern, noting the person has been in the office for five months and has been working to photograph and create stories regarding York County’s highlighted properties. She said the intern is also working to “set a stronger foundation for search engine optimization, gathering data for a new three-year strategic plan, increasing social media traffic” as well as organizing a photo/information library.
• With no zoning administrator in place at this time, Commissioners Grotz and Obermier are sharing the duties until someone is appointed. Both have said, “inquiries come in every single day” and they note the workload for this office is probably more than anyone noted before. They will take that into account when efforts are made to hire someone for the position.
• Efforts are underway to pursue federal grants which would help improve communications between local fire departments and law enforcement. York County Sheriff Captain Josh Gillespie talked with the county board members regarding a meeting which was held with U.S. Senator Deb Fischer regarding the application for the grant. He said they obtained a quote from a company, as far as what it would take to tie everyone together in a better manner, as an amount they would be asking for.

“We have been meeting with fire chiefs in our area and with emergency management,” Gillespie said. “We will talk more in our upcoming mutual aid meeting. We also have to remember, this will be a long process, probably to stretch out 2 ½ to 3 years.”