NE 49th in receiving federal funding

Hamilton County commissioners learned a disturbing bit of trivia on Monday morning, when Sharon Hueftle of the South Central Economic Development District (SCEDD) reported that Nebraska is 49th out of the 50 states for receiving funds from the federal government. That fact was contained in Hueftle’s annual report to the commissioners at their regular Monday meeting about the district, which includes Hamilton, Merrick and 11 other counties in south central Nebraska. 
In the ensuing discussion, it was noted that part of the problem is that rural areas often lack the resources to draft grant applications that are a key to receiving those funds. 
“It’s not unusual for entities to apply for a grant two or three years in a row and then get it in the next year,” Hueftle said. 
In the rest of her report, Hueftle noted that the district helps local communities with applying for and administering grants, provides technical assistance for community childcare development programs, provides startup assistance to local investment clubs and provides business consulting, connections and loans, among other services. She also reported that SCEDD had held 53 topic-driven discussions, fostered 80 project developments and implemented 54 projects over the years. 
Locally, Hueftle said SCEDD had assisted with project development for Aurora’s current Downtown Revitalization project as well as coordinating the grant application for the project. She also noted that SCEDD had helped with projects in Giltner and Hampton. 
Aurora Development Corporation Executive Director Kelsey Bergen, who was also in attendance at the meeting, said she had worked closely with Hueftle on securing a recent community development block grant and stated, “Whatever she wrote on there is probably a fraction of what they actually do.”
Hueftle also reported that SCEDD will soon be starting a vacant property registry which will manage those properties for local communities. SCHEDD is one of eight such districts statewide. 
Another agenda item on Monday’s agenda dealt with renewal of a lease agreement for a Caterpillar D3 bulldozer. Highway Supt. Jeremy Brandt reported that the lease on the county’s current dozer, which it uses about 300 hours a year, especially when working on ditches, is about to expire. He said the county could purchase the current bulldozer at a price of about $71,000 or it could rollover the machine and trade it for a new one at a cost of about $20,000 a year over five years. After several minutes of discussions, the board approved rolling over the machine and renewing the lease.

Signs of spring and summer
In a signal that spring and summer are only weeks away, the board approved two requests for use of the courthouse grounds brought by Sara Sutherland. 
Acting in her capacity as the coordinator of the Aurora Chamber of Commerce Bands on the Bricks summer concert series, Sutherland sought permission to use the grounds for the Friday night concerts scheduled to run from July 11 to Aug. 15. The programs will take place between 5 and 9:30 p.m. each night and will utilize the courthouse lawn and the street in front of the facility. 
Noting that this will be the eighth summer for the popular concerts, Sutherland said she was requesting one change in the request -- the adding of canned distilled spirits to the beer and wine which are usually offered for sale. Stating that there was no plan for opening a full bar and that glass bottles will still be prohibited, Sutherland said the seltzer drinks containing vodka are popular and were not available when Bands on the Bricks was first started. 
The board unanimously approved the request. 
Acting as a board member of the Hamilton County Youth Center, Sutherland also asked for permission to re-start the annual Easter Egg Hunt on the courthouse lawn on Easter Sunday, April 19. Noting that different groups have put on the popular event over the years, Sutherland said the Youth Center wants to use the hunt as a way to help eighth graders get their required community service hours. She said the eighth graders will be completely coordinating the event with help from the principal and their teachers. She said the students will work on everything from marketing and promotion to setting up the event. 
Sutherland said she also sees the event as one more way to attract people to Aurora’s historic downtown square on a Sunday afternoon. The event will take place between 1 and 3 p.m. The board gave its blessing to the event in a unanimous vote.