By Allison Peck
Listen to the full interview with Board Chair Kent Weems on our Kubota Podcast
LINCOLN COUNTY, Neb. — Lincoln County Board of Commissioners Chair Kent Weems said the last month has been “kind of a hodgepodge” as the board worked through legislative issues, road planning, budget discussions and county operations.
Weems said the county gets involved in legislation when proposals affect local decision-making. “Typically they impact the local jurisdiction or sovereignty in some cases when they're trying to encroach on planning and zoning,” he said.
He pointed to bills tied to planning and zoning authority, including a proposal he said would have changed renewable energy permitting. Weems said it “basically circumvented local comp plans and planning and zoning regs,” adding, “that bill apparently, thank heaven, is probably going to die by dereliction.”
Weems also discussed a confined feeding operation permitting proposal. He said Lincoln County has generally not been “very onerous to potential confined feeding operation permits,” noting that “production agriculture is our number one industry.” He said the legislation “basically starts a permit clock,” describing “a 30-day window where the county planning commission has to address it,” followed by county board action. Weems said the county plans to move forward with its comprehensive plan and adjust later if needed. “We've come to the conclusion we'll adopt our comp plan we've spent three years on,” he said. “And then as this ink dries on all the LBs that do in fact make it to the governor's desk and are signed, we will revise as necessary after we've adopted the comprehensive plan.”
Weems also highlighted LB 719, which he said was led by Sen. Mike Jacobson. “We hats off to the Senator,” Weems said, calling it “a very crucial thing.” He said it would allow Department of Economic Development funds tied to inland ports “to be able to go beyond the physical borders, legal borders, of your inland port property and build out infrastructure.”
On how the board decides when to take positions on bills, Weems said, “We don't have a formal process,” but board members “are fairly active in paying attention to what's going on in Lincoln.” He also credited outside coordination, saying, “The Nebraska Association of County Officials is very proactive as far as making counties aware of any and all legislation that impacts counties and how they function.”
A long-running local issue was also resolved. “We finally put that one to rest,” Weems said of Vieyra Avenue. He said the county “passed Resolution 2026-07,” calling it “the last formal step in vacating that 60 feet by 1320 feet parcel.” Weems said vacating the right-of-way “cleans it up for the city” as North Platte works through annexation nearby, and “made Mr. Viera whole. He got the property back and it's no longer a concern of ours or anyone else for maintenance or snow removal.”
Weems said the annual one-and-six road plan remains a major tool for the county. “This is a statutory requirement of all counties,” he said, adding commissioners must adopt the plan each year. He called it “a roadmap” and “a blueprint,” saying it helps set priorities for road work, including carryover projects and longer-term needs. Weems said overlays on paved roads “always commands a lot of money,” adding, “that portion of it is a little over $4 million.”
Asked how the county balances needs with limited funding, Weems said, “It's one of the biggest challenges we have.” He said the county has used bonding to keep road work moving, because “the last thing we want to do is hinder the people that are paying those property taxes, bringing those products to market.”
Weems said budget discussions are starting earlier than usual. “Collectively we are a gaggle of procrastinators,” he said, describing past years where the board waited late in the year to dig into details. This time, he said, “we need to look at this earlier,” adding, “I really expect this to be a very tight budget season again.” He also warned the state’s budget situation could affect counties: “If there's funding cuts, I'm almost assured that they're going to be impacting local governments.”
On insurance, Weems said the county previously chose a limited window for wind and hail coverage because the risk in winter months was low. “The answer is between slim and none and slim already left town,” he said. This year, he said a renewal option would have increased premiums sharply, but the county’s agent shopped for alternatives. “He found one that actually would provide us 12 month coverage for about $7,000 for the entire year, more premium,” Weems said. “He went and found us a better deal and… we seized the opportunity.” He added, “It was a very positive move as far as budget was concerned.”
The board also approved replacing aging equipment for the Noxious Weed Department. Weems said the department had “two spray rigs that are 20 years old,” and “it was time to get rid of one.” He said the superintendent “did his due diligence on getting competitive bids” and that “all those bids were local.”
Weems said the county also supported the Lincoln County Dive Team by transferring a vehicle to help haul equipment. “Those dive team members have been absorbing that expense by wear and tear on their own vehicles,” he said, calling it “one little… effort to kind of minimize their out-of-pocket.”
To close, Weems said the county renewed its workplace wellness plan with the West Central District Health Department. “If we can save one person because they've been proactive,” he said, “we feel very strongly that our employee group needs to be encouraged to live health, healthy.”