Hall County trying to solve facilities issues without hitting taxpayers

Grand Island, NE — Hall County leaders are trying to save taxpayers money, while also taking care of aging facilities.

This week, an excavator began to make way for a new parking lot at the county administration building.

“It’s going to improve drainage, of course get rid of those potholes we have today,” said Steve Riehle, the public works director.

Construction could also be coming on the other side of the building, to make a small office accessible for people with disabilities.

“Put a ramp to the front entrance, which is required by ADA rules,” said Loren “Doone” Humphrey, the county’s facilities director.

The county-owned building at 116 S. Pine in Grand Island houses state Health and Human Services employees. HHS said the building did not meet the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Humphrey said, “It’s a big issue in general, whether it’s a county building, city hall building, or school building. You have to address ADA laws, that’s why they were made.”

They expect it to cost about $50,000. County supervisors say the alternative would have been paying for office space offsite.

“We don’t have the money to really do any great relocation,” said county supervisor Doug Lanfear. “This is a better option that to pay the expense of rent.”

And they plan to do that work at a building that may be nearing the end.

“Five years it’ll be there, empty, about to be torn down,” Lanfear speculated.

County supervisors expect the HHS office building will make way for a courthouse expansion at some point.

Lanfear said, “I’m not sure, honestly, how much longer some of the courtrooms will be acceptable. Looking ahead, sooner or later we have to do something.”

Those decisions haven’t been made.

Unlike most counties, Hall County has a surplus of space, after buying a couple of buildings in recent years.

But there’s a catch.

“The space is not where we need it,” Lanfear said.

They still need to figure out where to move everything, in the meantime, they hope to upgrade the HHS building using the county engineer to do some of the design work.

Steve Riehle, the public works director said, “It’s great to have that expertise in-house, we can move a lot faster than hire a consultant to design a scope, having the board approve an agreement. We can just do it in-house.”

They hope to get to work on the HHS project soon.

Three of the seven county board members will be replaced following the election, so future boards face big decisions about the other facilities needs.

Courtesy: NTV