The area around the old jail has been fenced off, and demolition is underway. The old jail is southeast of the Hall County Courthouse, (Carol Bryant, Central Nebraska Today)
GRAND ISLAND – The first step toward construction of an addition to the Hall County Courthouse is underway, with demolition starting on a structure called the “old jail” southeast of the courthouse.
Fencing surrounded the area March 11, and workers were doing various tasks near the building.
At the Hall County Board of Commissioners’ meeting March 11, a agenda item was for a change order to install a brick face on a section of the annex building southeast of the courthouse.
However, Commissioner Gary Quandt suggested that a brick face not be installed there. Quandt said that commissioners should consider putting an elevator shaft in the region to connect the courthouse addition to the annex building. County departments have a storage facility on the second floor of the annex building, and the elevator would give them quicker access to that area.
In another item, Commissioners discussed Hall County Election Commissioner Tracy Overstreet’s annual salary with her. Overstreet said she needed the information as she works on her budget. Board Chairman Ron Peterson said that Overstreet’s salary for calendar year 2025 is $88,921.
Commissioners discussed raising Overstreet’s salary because of the amount of responsibility she has, and raising her salary to be commensurate with the Hall County Clerk and Hall County Treasurer. Commissioners voted 5-2 to increase Overstreet’s salary to $102,320 for calendar year 2026 by a 5-2 vote, with Commissioners Jane Richardson and Butch Hurst voting against the motion.
After a closed session to discuss personnel, Commissioner Gary Quandt made a motion to terminate the employment of Public Works Director Don Robb. No one seconded the motion, so it did not advance.
Commissioners did not take action on approving $10 million in revenue bonds for the Tri Cities Sports Complex, which is proposed to be constructed north of the Bosselman Travel Center. Commissioner Pam Lancaster said after the meeting that commissioners have asked representatives of the sports complex to meet with attorneys from a specific law firm before the Commissioners will take action on the matter.
Hall County Public Transportation Director Bob McFarland gave Commissioners an update on the department’s activities. The transportation system provides transportation outside of Grand Island within Hall County.
“It’s a needed and worthy operation. I believed in it from the beginning,” Commissioner Pam Lancaster said.
Commissioners reviewed an FY 2026 budget for the department. It will receive $558,345 in federal section 5311 funds, and $71,321 in state section 5311 funds, for a total of $629,666. The local match, which equals the state reimbursement plus 10 percent of vehicle cost, is $91,509.
Operations expenses for the department are 50 percent federally funded and 25 percent state-funded. Total operations costs for FY2026 are $74,712.
Transportation challenges were discussed, such as having to use a bus rather than a minivan to transport families that had child safety seats, because there was not enough room to place the child safety seats in the minivans.
