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A rendering of the proposed site if the Kearney Law Enforcement Center co-locates with the Buffalo County Courthouse, the rending was provided by Wilkins and Parkhill, (Brian Neben, Central Nebraska Today)

KEARNEY — The Buffalo County Commissioners approved various agreements related to the new Law Enforcement Center that is to be built near the county courthouse.

The commissioners approved agreements with their chosen construction manager MCL Construction of Omaha and public finance with Northland, a division of First National Bank in Omaha.

Commissioner Tim Higgins was also selected as the primary contact for the county commissioners for the project.

The LEC at the site near the courthouse would be a two-story location with a basement. The first floor would contain 50,967 square feet, the second floor and basement would both be 24,717 for a total of 100,401 square feet.

The conceptual cost of the project, including hard construction costs, design and engineering fees, bond issuance fees, quality control, inspections, furniture and equipment would be around $65 to $75 million.

A rough timeline includes a bond election being called in the summer of July 2025 with an election set for the fall of 2025.

If approved, final designs would be created through spring of 2026, with bidding to follow shortly afterward. Construction could begin in the spring of 2026 and be complete by the fall of 2028.

In other business, the commissioners selected Midwest Connect as the vendor to supply the postcards for the Property Tax Request Act hearing notice.

Tom McCoy was reappointed as the chairmen of the Veterans Service Committee.

July 19 was set as the date for a surplus auction including vehicles and desks. Bramer Auction and Realty was retained as the auctioneer.

The commissioners also recognized several employees for their years of service which included Bradley Gancos, Hannah Golt, Rebecca Riley and Jacob Sindt for one year of service.

Oliver Combs was recognized for five years of service, Steve Gaasch for 10 years, Angie Hilton for 25 years and Brenda Rohrich for 39 years.