Commissioners approve conditional use permit for Helena
By Becky Uehling
Grant Tribune-Sentinel
During their Monday, June 5 meeting, the Perkins County Commissioners unanimously approved a conditional use permit for Helena Agri-Enterprises LLC to operate a commercial fuel and fertilizer bulk plant at Roads 325 and 768 in northwest Perkins County. The 5.3 acre property, which has a building on it, is owned by Thomas and Lynne Werner of Grand Island, who are also listed on the permit. The permit will expire one year from when it was approved by the commissioners.
The property in question is zoned as General Ag and not Commercial, thus the need for the conditional use permit, according to Amber Kuskie of West Central Nebraska Development District in Ogallala, which is the administrator for zoning in Perkins County.
Jake Adler, general manager for Helena in Grant was at the meeting and stated the site will be used to hold bulk fertilizer product only. “No mixing or loading of product will be done at the location,” Adler said. “All of that will be completed in the field.”
Adler went on to say the permit is only needed temporarily until the company can get a permanent location built, which is in the works now, he said.
A public hearing on the permit request was held on Monday, May 8, at the courthouse. According to Kuskie, during the public comment portion of the meeting, Robert Gloy expressed his opposition to the proposal due to the history of the area, the industrial-type use, and that the issuance of the permit could set a precedence. Dennis Demmel was also present and inquired about the proposal. Demmel also clarified that no variance was being proposed with the request, Kuskie said.
After further discussion, the Perkins County Planning Commission members, which includes Tom Tines, Nate Dodson, Randy Gengenbach, Grant McClintock, Dawnya Dreiling, Greg Robertson, Jim Lampmann, Tim McQueen and Shannon Malmkar, voted unanimously to approve the request.
Janitor Hired
Also during the commissioners meeting on Monday, June 5, Derek Brueggeman was unanimously hired to serve as janitor at the Perkins County Courthouse. He replaces Barb Baney, who stepped away from the position to serve in road maintenance for the county. Rick Ochsner, who had been the janitor in the building for several years before retiring, had returned to fill the position until someone else was hired.
Thefts and 911 Hangups
During his report to the commissioners, Sheriff Jim Brueggeman stated the office had responded to five theft calls in last few weeks. He said the number is a little higher than normal, but he is not overly concerned about them.
“Many of them are happening in remote parts of the county,” he said. “An example of one was someone jacked up a 2002 Jeep and took its tires.”
Brueggeman also reported to the commissioners that within the past three weeks, the office has received 39 911 hangup calls.
“It is not uncommon to get hangups, but this is higher than normal,” he said. He went on to say that 911 hangups are, unfortunately, becoming a nation-wide problem.
Work on Roof Complete
It was announced during the meeting that the new roof on the courthouse has been completed by Weathercraft. Upcoming projects include a new HVAC system, and a new security and door-lock system.