Nemaha County Commissioners on Wednesday, July 25, unanimously approved a resolution to reduce the speed limit by 15 mph on County Road 728. The county road leads into the west edge of Auburn.
The speed limit will be lowered from 50 mph to 35 mph on County Road 728 from the intersection of 638 Avenue and 728, east to the Auburn city limits. It will apply to motorists entering and leaving the city’s limits and takes effect immediately.
In April, Auburn city officials told the commissioners they had received complaints about motorists speeding on 728 Road eastbound on West 26th Street entering Auburn. City officials asked commissioners to consider lowering the speed limit. State statutes indicate that the speed limit cannot be reduced by more than 15 mph in a 1,000 feet area.
Auburn officials asked JEO Consulting Group, Inc., to conduct an engineering study. JEO staff presented their recommendations dated Friday, June 15, to city officials. A copy of the engineering study was forwarded to the commissioners earlier in July.
The resolution also called for a 35 mph speed limit sign for eastbound traffic to be installed about 50 feet east of the intersection of the two county roads. For westbound traffic, a 35 mph sign should be placed at or near the Auburn city limits. A reduced speed ahead sign will be placed for eastbound traffic on County Road 728 at a distance of 500 feet before the change in speed.
The commissioners thought the reduced speed limit should work.
Hearing to Close or
Vacate County Roads
Two hearings were conducted regarding closing or vacating two county roads northwest of Brock. The roads involved are 632 Avenue south to the north bank of the Little Nemaha River, and 737 Road west to the east bank of the Little Nemaha River.
The county attorney will be asked to prepare an easement for recording of ingress and egress for Louis and Cheryl Parrott to access their property via David and Mark Gravatt’s property.
No action was taken. Resolutions to close or vacate the roads will be considered later.
Several landowners attended the hearings. They were: John Harney, David Gravatt and Mark Gravatt. The commissioners suggested that affected landowners needed to work together.
Commissioner Marvin Bohling said all landowners need access to their property by road or easement. The commissioners wanted easements in place before the roads were closed or vacated because that step would allow landowners access to their property. Nemaha County will pay for the easements. Any landowner with concerns was asked to contact the commissioners.
The commissioners discussed the need to have all irrigation equipment removed from road right of ways. This issue will be considered later.
Other Action Items
An application from Nemaha County Rural Water District No. 2 for undercrossing of a county road was approved based on RWD 2’s following general instructions based on work within county road right of way. No open cutting will be allowed. Either boring, jacking or dry auguring needs to be used. If the applicants want to do something different, they need to contact the commissioners.
The rural water district officials wanted to install a water line across a county road east of Sheridan Cemetery. The line is for Brandon and Bailey Mazzulla.
August fuel bids were accepted from Lueders Petroleum, the low bidder. Lueders bid $3.495 for No. 2 Diesel and $3.365 for regular unleaded. The other bid, sbumitted by Farmers Coop, was $3.630 for No. 2 Diesel and $3.400 for regular unleaded.
A bid from Action Technology Services, Inc., Auburn, to install Internet service in the commissioners office was accepted. The bid was $522.07 for the wireless access point and installation, including $100 installation. There also is a $20 monthly access fee.
The installation allows the Nemaha County Road Department laptop computer with bridge inspections, bridge files and Nebraska Department of Roads files to be accessed by the commissioners, road foremen and responsible charge individuals for bridge projects.
An interlocal agreement with Brock village officials was renewed. The current agreement expired July 25. The new agreement will allow cooperation with equipment and personnel through July 25, 2017.
Charles Fike was reappointed to a five-year term on the Veterans Service Board. His term expired June 30.