The Seward Blue River Historical District will ask Seward County voters to allow it to add 3/10ths of a cent levy to their taxes in November 2026.
The Seward County Board of Commissioners on Nov. 4 approved the 501(c)3 organization’s request to seek tax support for its ongoing efforts to develop a historical district southeast of Seward and preserve the 1866 Seward County Log Cabin.
State statute allows nonprofit county historical associations or societies to seek a tax no more than that $.003 per $100 in tax valuation levy, which county officials said could generate an estimated $9,000 a year for the group.
Pat Coldiron advocated for the historical district at the commissioners’ meeting and noted that the organization had, as Commission Chair Misty Ahmic suggested, approached the Seward County Historical Society to determine whether this is something they should approach together.
The two decided it made more sense to continue separately because their organizational missions are different.
The historical society would also be eligible to ask voters for tax levy support if it came to the commissioners with such a request.
Coldiron said the Blue River Historical District funds would be used to continue the group’s work to relocate and refurbish an historic 1866 log cabin at its five-acre property, establish a hiking trail, and utilize the cabin as an information center to tell visitors about the history of agriculture in the area, the forced march of Chief Standing Bear along the Blue River, and the importance of the tall grass prairie.
Coldiron said the funds generated by the levy would “keep us going.”
In other action, the board:
• Postponed to Nov. 18 review of the Seward County Sheriff’s Equitable Sharing Agreement and Certification (ESAC). report that was originally due Aug. 30 because of some technical problems with the federal online entry and submission program.
• Approved plans to increase the maximum contribution county employees can make to their Flexible Spending Accounts to $3,400, aligning with 2026 IRS rules for the FSA program.
• Heard reports from Weed Superintendent Matthew Mottaz, Highway Superintendent Jon Regnier, Human Resources Director Roxanne Knutson, County Attorney Wendy Elston, County Clerk Brandy Johnson and Jonathan Jank, president and chief executive officer of the Seward County Chamber and Development Partnership.
• Approved a contract with Wissman Enterprises, Inc., to sandblast and paint the courthouse’s emergency stairway for $14,232, to be paid from the Commissioners Sinking Fund.
• Discussed the process for reviewing and potentially recommending changes for elected officials’ salaries, with Ahmic asking commissioners to review the Nebraska Association of County Officials’ recent salary study, and the elected county officials excluding the commissioners discussing a salary recommendation to the commissioners at a future meeting.
• Authorized Ahmic to certify County Highway Superintendent Regnier’s appointment for the year-end document required by the Nebraska Department of Transportation.
