ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
The Seward County Commission had its last regular meeting of 2024 Dec. 16, but the commission is expected to meet at least one more time before year’s end.
A special meeting will likely take place before Dec. 31 to finalize allocations for projects paid for from money the county received from the federal American Rescue Plan Act.
At its first meeting in December, the commission heard from Administrator April Warden about what has been spent from the ARPA funding thus far, and she and commissioners talked about what they would like to see the remainder of the money spent on before Dec. 31, 2026, when the county is required to have spent the money.
Dec. 16, Warden said a special meeting would need to be scheduled to discuss the ARPA projects the county is still trying to get completed and worked on before the end of 2026.
She started with the county’s EMS department, where she said paperwork is in place to pay off the remaining on an ambulance for that department. She added EMS Director John Ralston has gotten bids on flooring, painting, shelving and bay floor work in the building the department currently calls home.
Next, Warden visited the Seward County Fairgrounds, where bids are being sought for roof repairs on the grandstands.
“The roofers who have looked at it have told there is quite a bit of damage up there, some things that need to be replaced,” she said. “There’s a lot of rust. They were not comfortable in just redoing the screws and washers and coating it. They felt we should be resolving the issues with the roof. However, what bids we have been able to get were quoted to us verbally right now because we’re waiting for those in writing or coming in less than what the architect had anticipated those could cost. “
Warden said county leaders are still working within the numbers they knew they had left in the ARPA budgets, and she said likewise, paperwork has been obtained to pay off breathing apparatuses for the Rural Fire District.
“Everything you asked for is moving along, but once I have those binding documents, we’ll need to have one final meeting before the end of the year to be able to take formal action on those in a meeting so we have our document before the end of the year to show we’re moving forward with the allocations for the ARPA funding,” she said. “We will need to have a special meeting before the end of the year for that.”
As of Monday, no date had been announced for a special meeting, but with the county closed for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, as well as New Year’s Eve, the county likely only has Thursday, Friday and Monday to schedule that meeting.
