By Allison Peck
Listen to the full interview on our Kubota Podcast
The Keith County Commissioners are working toward an agreement with Lincoln County to address growing prairie dog concerns in Keith County.
Commissioner Lane Anderson says residents have brought prairie dog issues to the county, but Keith County currently does not have provisions addressing the problem in its bylaws.
“We have had some residents come to us with some prairie dog issues, and Keith County has never had anything in our bylaws or anything concerning prairie dogs,” Anderson said.
Keith County has been working with Lincoln County, which already has a prairie dog control program operated by Barry Johnson.
Johnson recently presented the program to the Keith County Commissioners, and Anderson says the county was impressed with what it heard.
“We were very impressed with his presentation,” Anderson said. “We're putting the final touches on an interlocal agreement between Lincoln County and Keith County using the state of Nebraska statutes on the prairie dog rules and regulations.”
The agreement still needs to be reviewed by the Keith County attorney. Anderson says commissioners hope to sign the agreement next week and have the program implemented later this year.
Anderson says working with neighboring counties can save money and allow counties to share resources.
“Lincoln County has been so good to Keith County,” he said. “We share, we bring prisoners down. There's just a lot of interlocals I can't think of right now that we share.”
Keith County also has similar agreements with Perkins, Arthur and Garden counties, including sharing a veterans service officer.
Anderson says prairie dog concerns have grown as the county has started talking with more property owners.
“We thought we only had a couple properties that had a problem, but now we're seeing more as we begin talking about it,” he said. “So it's good to get ahead of that game.”
Planning and zoning also remain a major focus for the county, with commissioners working through building permits and updates to the county's planning and zoning regulations.
A public meeting is scheduled for August 31 and September 1 at the NACO building to allow residents to review and provide input on the proposed rules and regulations.
Anderson says public involvement will be particularly important as the county addresses issues including wind and solar development and data centers.
“The big issues are the wind and solar, you know, data centers,” Anderson said. “Those are the hot topics right now, so you want to have the proper language in your rules and regulations.”
Anderson says residents will have an opportunity to review the draft regulations and point out anything they believe needs to be changed.
“They can see when the draft is out, so people can read it, and if they see some error or things that need to be changed, they still can be changed,” he said. “So, yes, it's very important.”
The county is working with Marvin and Associates on its planning and zoning regulations.
Anderson says the county is also looking at what other counties have done while developing its own rules.
“We always watch what other counties are doing,” he said. “I'm sure we are copying and looking and, you know, trying to make sure that everything's covered.”
Beyond prairie dog concerns and planning and zoning, commissioners are also dealing with the usual summer county business, including contracts and requests for annual county donations and sponsorships.
The county also completed its property tax protest process during July.
“We did tax protests all of July, and those went well, and a lot of them were settled,” Anderson said.
Now, commissioners are moving into the county's budget season.
Anderson says August is filled with budget work as the county prepares for the coming fiscal year.
Anderson also expressed concern about the low water level at Lake McConaughy, saying the lake is approaching levels not seen in many years.
“Lake McConaughey needs a lot of help,” Anderson said. “We're getting down to a point where we're getting close to that 2006, I believe, was the last time it's ever been this low.”
He says additional moisture locally and in the mountains will be important heading into the winter season.