If the Senate approves its appropriation, Seward County may get a $1 million boost toward the remaining $4 million cost of paving 420th Road between Interstate 80 and Highway 34.
But they aren’t spending the money yet.
The appropriation is part of a spending bill sent to the senate last week that included controversial funding for the Department of Homeland Security and the potential for another federal government shutdown that may or not be decided by the time this article appears in print.
As of Jan. 31, the senate had separated the Homeland Security funding from the rest of its budget bills, but the appropriations still required action.
Seward County Commissioner Raegan Hain shared news with the board on Jan. 27 that U.S. Rep. Mike Flood informed her that the on-again-off-again federal funds for the construction project are included in a spending bill before the U.S. Senate.
“I was extremely grateful to Congressman Flood for fighting for us,” she said. “Sometimes we don’t always see the benefit of our congressional and senate level representatives.”
She said Flood attempted to restore the entire $4 million the county had expected in federal funding last year, but the amount was whittled down.
Commission Chair Misty Ahmic told the board that the Seward County project had not appeared on Sen. Deb Fischer’s list of fundable projects this time.
“He has really been the voice that pushed this forward,” Ahmic said of Flood.
To continue their search for funding, the commissioners on Jan. 27 also approved a $23,750 contract with Sunflower Grant Writers to write and submit a grant proposal for the 2025 Better Utilizing Investment to Leverage Development (BUILD) funding. This fund comes through the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Hain said the county is seeking the full $4,463,647 needed to complete the project, but if the $1 million appropriation comes through, that will likely be deducted from that amount.
The proposal for Flood’s allocation also included a commitment that the county would fund less than $100,000 of the remaining project, she said.
Commissioners said the grant-writing fee would be paid from remaining American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 funds.
The commissioners’ letter accompanying the grant application cites the county’s 1 percent annual growth since 2020 and the proximity of two poultry operations, one cattle feedlot and a trucking company to the 5.5-mile stretch also used for commuter and school traffic.
Commissioners Ahmic and Hain have said the county’s use of a $3 million Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) award obtained in 2024 through Sen. Deb Fischer puts them in a good position to receive a grant as a “shovel-ready” project.
The county has used that $3 million for preparatory engineering and planning for paving the 5.5-mile stretch of road. It recently had environmental reports finalized which makes the construction portion of the project ready to go if the county can raise the $4 million needed.
Last April, $8.5 million in CDS awards, often called earmarks, that were directed by Fischer to Seward County, Milford, Staplehurst and Malcolm for water and road projects were part of a $100 million on its way to Nebraska, but cut in the spending bill.
That budget stopgap measure was part of an effort to keep the government from shutting down last March.
In other action on Jan. 27, the commissioners:
• Recognized Garry Dittmar of Utica as Veteran of the Month.
• Met in executive session regarding pending litigation for eight minutes.
• Met in executive session regarding personnel for one hour, 29 minutes after which the commissioners voted to engage the Nebraska Intergovernmental Risk Management Association (NIRMA) for representation on pending litigation.
• Authorized submission of the county’s annual noxious weed report to the Nebraska Department of Agriculture for 2025.
• Scheduled a public hearing for the One- & Six-Year Road Plan for 9:15 a.m. Feb. 24.
• Discussed dust control efforts on county roads and asked Highway Superintendent Jon Regnier to contact neighboring counties about possible use of equipment for some product testing.
• Conducted the quarterly jail inspection.
