Minutes of the Burt County Board of Supervisors The Burt Co. Board of Supervisors met August 12, 2026in the Boardroom of the Burt Co. Courthouse in Tekamah, NE. Notice was upon a 1st floor courthouse bulletin board and on the Co. website. The following members were present: Ted Connealy, Gary “Bird” Swanson, Samuel M. Titus, Carl Pearson, Jay W. Johnson, Paul Richards and Jeff Kutchera. The meeting opened at 9:00 A.M. with the pledge of Allegiance. Chairman Kutchera informed the public of the Open Meeting Act posting on the Co. website and in the meeting room. The agenda was approved. The minutes of 7/28/2026 Bd of Supervisors meeting were approved. July office Financial Reports, Planning and Zoning Report, Fund Balances, and Miscellaneous Receipts were all approved. OFFICE UPDATES(2): (1) Bldg& Grounds –Bruce Nathan; (2) Planning & Zoning – Ann Chytka COMMUNICATION: District Six Probation FY25-26 Recap & FY26-27 Budget ZONING: Ann Chytka, Zoning Admin Conditional Use Permits: A public hearing was held from 9:07-9:08 a.m. to take comments from the public concerning consideration of CUP’s for landowners to spread biosolids from Cargill. Chytka confirmed that the planning commission held a hearing Aug. 3rdand had recommended approval for the CUP’s. Having no public comment, the following (8) CUP’s were APPROVED:(1) 26-13CUP- BRU Ag, LLC (Chris Reimers) filed for Roger Johnson to spread on tract in N2SE4 31-21-10 Summit TWP (434801200), Burt Co., NE. (2) 26-14CUP- BRU Ag, LLC (Chris Reimers) filed for JP Olsen Farms, LLC (Jeff Blum) to spread on tract in SW4 16-20-11 Arizona TWP (437500500), Burt Co., NE. (3) 26-15CUP- BRU Ag, LLC (Chris Reimers) filed for JP Olsen Farms, LLC to spread on tract in S2NE4 21-20-11 Arizona TWP (437501200), Burt Co., NE. (4) 26-16CUP- BRU Ag, LLC (Chris Reimers) filed for JP Olsen Farms, LLC (Jeff Blum) to spread in N2NE4 21-20-11 Arizona TWP (437501100), Burt Co., NE. (5) 26-17CUP- BRU Ag, LLC (Chris Reimers) filed for JP Olsen Farms, LLC (Jeff Blum)to spread on tract in NW4 21-20-11 Arizona TWP (437501000), Burt Co., NE. (6) 26-18CUP- BRU Ag, LLC (Chris Reimers) filed for JP Olsen Farms, LLC (Jeff Blum) to spread on tract in NW4NE4 13-21-11 Arizona TWP (436300800), Burt Co., NE. (7) 26-19CUP- BRU Ag, LLC (Chris Reimers) filed for JP Olsen Farms, LLC (JeffBlum) to spread on tract in N2SW4&SW4SW4 EX TR 12-21-11 Arizona TWP (435903600),Burt Co., NE. (8) 26-20CUP- BRU Ag, LLC (Chris Reimers) filed for JP Olsen Farms, LLC (Jeff Blum) to spread on tract in N2SE4 EXTR &SW4SE4 EX TR 12-21-11 Arizona TWP (435905500), Burt Co., NE. BURT COUNTY SOLAR update: Present speaking was Brian Boerner Senior Vice-President, Development with Sandhills Energy -gave an update on the 250-megawatt project. A power purchase agreement was signed with OPPD; cover crop planting is taking place; road construction (within the project)is underway. Equipment installation and roadways within the project take time; May 2029 is the target connection timeline. Boerner also informed the Board that Sandhills Energy has acquired the BEELINE SOLAR project from Invenergy. Boerner and Mark VanDerHart, Tekamah Joint Airport Zoning Rep, reported positive progress for the Beeline project. PLANNING & ZONING: Ann Chytka, Zoning Admin Data Centers: The planning and zoning commission requested the board’s approval to research data center development and to prepare updates to both the Co.’s Comprehensive Plan and the Zoning Regulations to establish appropriate policies and regulations relating to data centers within Burt County. The Co. Board unanimously agreed this is a step to be taken. Inventories FY 2026-2027:Chairman signed the oath certifying the collection of inventories from all Burt Co. Officers. Inventory statements of all County real & personal property are updated annually and on file per §23-347; and available in the Co. Clerk’s office. County owned building in Oakland: Unsafe County owned building in Oakland (PID #312808100). Committee of Pearson and Johnson reported they have found a new structural engineer to help plan/advise for demolition. The board approved to hire Nicholas Williams, P.E. with Schemmer Assoc. based out to Omaha. Closed Session (9:30-9:50) with Co. Attorney Edmond Talbotto discuss litigations. Also present during closed session were Highway Supt, Ann Chytka, Attorney Ryan Kunhart and Board Secretary, Sarah Freidel. No action was taken during closed session. Attorney for Litigations: The County has litigations pending against them from Oban Construction on C-11(451) Co.Rd. L project. The board approved to hire Ryan Kunhart with Dvorak Law as council for the County in a counter suit claim against Oban; the motion includes allowing Kunhart to contract with an expert(s) to get data collected on the road before the County does anything to try to rebuild/redo the road. ROADS: Ann Chytka, Highway Superintendent C-11(456) CO.RD. L, E. OF OAKLAND –STABILIZATION &OVERLAY A representative from Western Engineering was present to discuss the project; the board tabled any discussions due to pending litigations with their sub-contractor Oban Construction. FY2026-27 Budget: August certification of valuations is still pending; no further reviews of the budget were done today. Katie Hart, Assessor, read a letter to the board as a taxpayer and as an elected official, expressing concerns. She shared a spreadsheet of courthouse wages/positions. Her concerns expressed: office staff pay being based off percentage vs hourly rate, office to office differences; pay of appointed vs elected officials; mileage on County vehicles. Her documents are on file for public review. Supervisor Swanson responded with frustration stating that of the nine years he’s been on board, bickering and complaining within the Courthouse is getting out of hand, and he feels issues are discussed with individuals in the public rather than with board members. PUBLIC COMMENT: Gregg Smith, rural Lyons – opinion that County should consider a moratorium on data centers due to the way the State Laws are set up. Colby Hansen, rural Burt Co – based off of what he knows working in the technology field, he seconds that comment, stating it is best to stay ahead of it. The meeting adjourned at 10:18 A.M. Next meetings: August 17, 2026 special mtg. – FOP negotiations. August 28, 2026 Board of Supervisors. SARAH J. FREIDEL, BURT CO. CLERK These minutes are not the official record; a complete copy is available at the Clerk’s Office or on our website at www.burtcountyne.gov . Official minutes are not yet approved. ZNEZ BCI 8/20/26
