On Tuesday, January 28th, the Dawes County Board of Commissioners convened in Chadron. Many items were on the agenda and promptly discussed as detailed in the meeting minutes.
One such item of business concerned the ADA Restroom Project for Chadron’s downtown plaza and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds that are available for use. Commissioner Jake Stewart, Commissioner Wally Juhlin, and Chairman Vic Rivera addressed the issue as Chadron City Manager, Tom Menke reported to the board.
Currently, there remains $62,000 available in CDBG re-use funding for Chadron. If these funds are not expended, they simply will go back to the State. Mr. Menke informed those present that the occupation tax recently voted-in will be used to bring existing park restrooms up to ADA standards, meaning the funds are not necessary for those projects.
During discussion, Commissioner Rivera voiced his opposition for ADA restrooms after apparently speaking with several people in the community. “…they don’t feel ADA restrooms are necessary. Park restrooms are filthy and are always locked,” Rivera claimed.
After discussion, Rivera asked for a motion to “distribute CDBG re-use funds to the City of Chadron for the ADA restroom project at the Downtown Plaza.” Since no motion was made, discussion was closed and the meeting moved onto the next item of business.
When asked for comment on the CDBG fund discussion by KCSR, Commissioner Jake Stewart gave some insight as to why he felt no action has yet been taken:
“I can tell you that the funds are still available for the City of Chadron to use,” continued Stewart. “The City of Chadron just needs to bring more information before the county board so they understand the project and the process of building a community gathering spot for events in downtown.”
KCSR also contacted Commissioner Wally Juhlin who sits on the Panhandle Area Development District Board (PADD), responsible for administering CDBG funding. Juhlin declined questions and gave no feedback at this time- simply adding, “Just come to the next meeting on February eleventh.”