Banking on a bright future

HARTINGTON — Security Bank is investing in Hartington.

The bank plans to build a 5,852-square-foot facility along Highway 57 next to Subway.

The Hartington City Council Monday approved a building permit for the $3.5 million structure, which was designed by Omaha-based architects Carlson West Povondra.

RaDec Construction is the general contractor for the project. Trent Becker of RaDec told the Council Monday they are now seeking bids for subcontractors on the project and hope to have them all lined up in May.

Becker told the Council they plan to bore under the highway to connect up with the city water line in front of the old VFW building. The sewer line will need to connect with the sewer line south of Subway, he said.

The bank quickly outgrew its space after first opening here in 2002, said Brandon Baller, branch president of Security Bank in Hartington.

“After opening in 2002, we added to our current building in 2010 to create more office space and to accommodate our growth,” Baller said. “The new facility will provide for continued growth, providing a total of 10 offices, a conference room, storage and expansion capabilities in just over 6,000 square feet,” added Baller.

Upon completion of construction, the existing branch in downtown Hartington will be moved to its new highway location.

Security Bank has additional branch offices located in Allen, Osmond, and Coleridge, along with its main location in Laurel.

“The plan to build a new facility in Hartington is part of our ongoing mission to build for the future,” said Keith Knudsen, President and CEO of Security Bank.

Construction is scheduled to begin in late May, with completion planned for spring 2023.

The City Council also approved building permits Monday for Jason and Natalie Schaecher, and for Dean and Brenda Dowling. Both couples plan to build floating decks at their homes.

Also Monday, the Council met with Hartington EMTs Chuck Meirose and Troy Bottolfsen.

Meirose asked the city to budget $600 a month or $9,600 a year to help the ambulance reimburse members for some of the time they put in each month to make sure the ambulance and all of its emergency equipment is properly maintained.

These funds would also be used to reimburse a billing clerk who sends out bills and handles invoices.

Meirose said one person does most of the maintenance work each month, but several members come in once a month to take on the bigger projects.

Meirose said he'd like to see the main maintenance person paid $450 a month to do most of the monthly maintenance. An additional $250 a month could then be split among however many members come in to help out on specified nights for maintenance.

"We are having a hard time recruiting new members," he said. "We have to do something to get people interested.

If we don’t, to some degree, compensate key people to do some of these jobs, then we’re going to lose those key people."

Mayor Mark Becker said the EMTs do a tremendous service for the community.

“We appreciate what you do and we know you volunteer a lot of time,” he said.

Becker said the city wants to show its support, but needs the EMTs to work with them more on collecting past due bills.

City Clerk Natalie Schaecher said after looking over the financial information provided by the ambulance crew, it appears there are currently 91 unpaid ambulance runs on its books.

If those could be collected, the ambulance service would be much more solvent, Schaecher said.

Meirose said it’s tough to gauge how much each ambulance run costs. He said $500 per run might be a good average cost.

Meirose also noted they are planning a training session this fall in Hartington for new EMTs.

The last time this was done, he said, it cost $2,100 a person to go through new EMT training. The city picked up that cost, he said, adding that he hopes the city will be able to cover those costs again this year.

Also Monday, the city signed an interlocal agreement between Hartington-Newcastle Public School and the city to use two school buses for summer youth programs. The Council also approved an LB 840 zero percent, 10-year

The Council also approved an LB 840 zero percent, 10-year revolving loan fund of $50,000 for Casey Rossiter, and Wildcat Properties of Big Hair Brewhaus.

The next Hartington City Council meeting is set for May 9 at 7 p.m.