Commissioners debate how to handle ditches

While state statute says trees and bushes in ditches are the responsibility of the adjoining landowner, Chase County commissioners Jacci Brown, Duane Dinnel and Dennis Kunnemann debated setting a clear county policy during their Dec. 12 meeting.
Dinnel said, in his discussions with representatives of the Nebraska Intergovernmental Risk Management Association, it was made clear to him that state statutes say the county should have landowners take responsibility for trees and bushes in the ditches along county roads.

Brown has had her own discussions with NIRMA reps, who she says told her to cut some trees out of ditches for insurance purposes.
The pair stayed firmly on opposite sides of the issue.
With different counties having different policies, Kunnemann said he can see how it’s the county’s responsibility to keep the roads safe and wanted to look into the issue before taking a side.
The board also discussed possible upgrades to the truck route north of Imperial. With Roads 740 and 741 seeing heavy truck use coming off Highway 6 on Avenue 330, Kunnemann, who lives along Road 741, would like to see the improvements made along the designated truck route, Road 741.
Craig Loeffler, Imperial EMS president, told the board he’d like to buy six new pagers for EMS at a cost of $2,808. Loeffler’s request was approved.
Loeffler has also applied for at $150,000 grant for a new ambulance and shared the grant info with Leanne Klein of Wauneta EMS. Loeffler is optimistic that both crews will receive the grant.
The board approved Barb Hogsett for an opening on the Imperial Community Center board. There are seats still open on the board.
The next regular board meeting will be Dec. 27 at 8 a.m.