With the Seward County Board of Commissioners approving an agreement with the U.S. Department of Transportation at its Dec. 23 meeting, Seward County will soon begin a study of traffic and safety on Milford’s State Street.
The State Street Tech South Pedestrian Safety Project will be a collaborative effort involving the City of Milford, Southeast Community College, the Seward/Saline County Solid Waste Management Agency and the Seward County Board of Commissioners, who all have a stake in the road that runs from Highway 6 southward through the SCC campus and the people who use it.
Board Chair Misty Ahmic said the $400,000 grant received through the federal Safe Streets and Roads for All program requires a $100,000 local match that will primarily be met through in-kind work and use of equipment by the roads department and others.
The street that cuts through the SCC campus continues the straight path of Highway 6 from Interstate 80 after Highway 6 turns west in Milford. It is signed as State Street in Milford then becomes 238th Road and in addition to local traffic is used to access the landfill as well as providing a route to Crete.
Ahmic noted there was a recent truck-pedestrian injury accident on the street, which is what this project is intended to limit in the future.
The first step will be to conduct an engineering traffic study to determine what measures can be taken to increase safety and reduce speed on the road.
Recommended changes could be anything from pedestrian crossing lights, additional stop signs, an overpass or even a bypass for the road.
Ahmic anticipates the three-phase project could result in a construction project in 2028, but the grant covers only architectural and engineering fees at this time.
Also at the Dec. 23 meeting, the commissioners voted to offer a third hiring bonus for a new employee at the Seward County Detention Center citing the center’s staffing needs and public safety role.
Earlier in December, the commissioners approved offering two $5,000 hiring bonuses to fill center positions that had been vacant for 30 days or more. Detention Center Director Sara Stenger returned on Dec. 23, reporting that they were ready to hire two people but had a third candidate they would also like to hire.
That person had responded to the ad indicating a hiring bonus was offered and Stenger said they would fill a position expected to be open in the next few weeks.
The bonuses are awarded in increments over the next two years as long as the employee stays.
Commissioner Raegan Hain, who is the board’s liaison to the jail, noted that using a hiring bonus for a position that has not been vacant for 30 days goes against the policy the board has set.
“If we start making allowances to policy, that creates a very slippery slope,” she said.
Ahmic said she was frustrated by the situation.
“We want to be competitive in the way that we can be, but we also answer to the rest of the county,” she said.
Hain said she talked to other county leaders at the recent Nebraska Association of County Officials conference and staffing is an issue across the state. The detention center has found hiring challenging in the past year.
Board members told Stenger the hiring bonuses would have to be included in future budgets, but in the end voted 4-1 to approve the bonus based on public safety needs.
Commissioner Darrell Zabrocki, who has spoken against hiring bonuses each time they are on the agenda, voted against the action.
The commissioners said they would review the policy on hiring bonuses across the county’s departments at a future meeting.
Hain also requested a recent payment related to the Seward County Sheriff’s office be placed on a future agenda so the status and location of Flock Safety cameras can be discussed.
In October, commissioners questioned why the cameras, which were leased to allow the Seward County Sheriff’s Office to participate in the Flock data network for investigations, were not on the department’s inventory reports.
The cameras facilitate traffic monitoring with automated license plate readers (ALPR) and were originally expected to be installed in Seward. That plan was changed in March due to city and other concerns.
In other action the commissioners:
• Signed a letter to Four Corners Health Department requesting a consistent date and time for Board of Health meetings.
• Approved the Seward and Butler Counties FY2027 Community Based Juvenile Services Aid CB and EB applications.
• Met in closed session for about an hour to discuss personnel.
