Seward County commissioners are weighing alternatives for their emergency management director position in light of longtime director Gary Petersen’s Jan. 2 retirement.
A committee of County Attorney Wendy Elston, Commissioner Scott Pekarek and Commission Chair Misty Ahmic will be looking at the options and decisions to be made about continuing or ending their 17-year partnership with York County.
Petersen has been Seward County’s emergency management director for 20 years and York County’s for 17. The position has been partially funded with a $40,000 federal reimbursement grant split between the two counties that requires the position be full-time.
But after experiencing two emergency situations in the past year, commissioners on Dec. 9 were asking whether one person should be responsible for two counties that could be hit by wind, rain or snow emergencies at nearly the same time. The distance from Pleasant Dale in southeast Seward County to Arborville in northwest York County is slightly more than 60 miles.
At the commissioners’ Dec. 9 meeting, right after accepting Petersen’s notice of retirement with appreciation for his work, options were being considered.
Should the county continue to partner with York County to hire a full-time director?
Should they combine the director’s position with another position within the county’s structure, for example making the zoning administrator a half-time zoning, half-time emergency management position?
Should the position be tied to the county’s E911 center?
Should they pursue Seward City Administrator Greg Butcher’s invitation to discuss options to create a city-county partnership for the position?
Each idea raised at the meeting drew immediate support and opposition, as well as questions for which no answers were yet available.
Butcher, who attended the meeting with City Clerk Derek Bargmann, expressed appreciation for Petersen’s work over the years.
He said the city has not justified a full-time emergency management position, but would like to explore options with the county.
Butcher said one option they have considered is adding a position to the Seward Police Department that could provide back up for officers on leave and emergency management.
He said in a later interview law enforcement and emergency management professionals share traits, including the ability to be understanding, calm and collected in unexpected situations while being able to communicate and direct people to action.
“When an emergency happens, that person has to be available until the emergency is done,” Butcher said.
“You guys have your own priorities,” Butcher said, but he and others in city government could see potential advantages to the emergency management director being in Seward County all the time.
He also noted the uncertainty around the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s continued support for local emergency responses.
“If we continue to see the stuff that we have been seeing, we are very concerned,” Butcher said. “This is going to be completely our problem.”
The city of Seward received less in FEMA storm reimbursements than it requested after the Aug. 9 windstorm damaged trees and power lines to the extent that some city residents went a week without power. He said villages around the county may also need more help.
“I am not sure how they are prioritizing reimbursement,” Butcher said.
He offered the city’s involvement in reviewing and updating the position’s job description even if the county is not interested in sharing the position with them.
“We would love to be part of that conversation,” Butcher said.
In a later interview, Ahmic said the county could lose the $20,000 salary reimbursement it has through June 2026 under the current federal funding program if the emergency management director is not a full-time position for the county or as a shared position.
“We’ve had three fairly tough incidents in the last couple of years,” she said, so she also sees merit in having the position being “hyper-focused” on Seward County.
“I have not fully finished the conversation with York County yet,” she said, though she believes they would like to maintain the current arrangement.
Ahmic said the committee will look at all ideas and options before bringing a recommendation back to the full board.
