County expects high court costs from murder case

    Chase County Sheriff Kevin Mueller attended the Nov. 26 Chase County Commissioners’ meeting to prepare the board for an expensive trial regarding the death of Annika Swanson.
    Mueller said it could be six months to two years before a trial takes place. In the meantime the two conspirators will have to be housed separately.
    County Attorney Arlan Wine anticipated the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office will be lead prosecution in the case, which was confirmed this week.
    Commissioners Jacci Brown, Dennis Kunnemann and Chuck Vette also spent time discussing the Southwest Solid Waste Agency audit conducted by the state’s Auditor of Public Accounts.
    After reviewing the audit, the commissioners don’t feel that the city or county could afford to buy the other out and continue with operations.
    The board agreed that the county needs to stay in the SWA agreement with the City of Imperial.
    Much like the city’s concerns about future statutes, the commissioners want to ensure that the county can provide facilities for its residents in the future.
    The commissioners reiterated that they would like the SWA board be reestablished. The group also said they’d like to see the SWA board hire a manager and have its own employees, rather than use City of Imperial employees.
    County Clerk Debbie Clark added that it would be good for SWA to have its own bank account and budget.
    The county had approved Rob Hartman as a joint member of the SWA board, but he has not been approved by the city. The city has also not named its representatives on the board.
    The commissioners would like to hold a joint meeting with the Imperial city council with a mediator of the city’s choosing.
    “It’s a good thing for both the city and the county to have (the Southwest Solid Waste Agency),” Brown said. “It’s a good thing for them to get along and do it right together.”
    Brown and visitor Jan Elliott agreed, it’s irresponsible to city and county taxpayers for either entity to walk away from the investments they’ve made in SWA.
    In other business, after interviews with Craig Loeffler and Kim Kunnemann for open positions on the Chase County Community Hospital Board, Brown and Vette approved Kim Kunnemann for the hospital board. Commissioner Dennis Kunnemann abstained.
    December meetings for the commissioners will be held on Mondays, Dec. 9 and 23, in the Chase County Courthouse at 8 a.m.