County commissioners approve bylaw revisions for SENDD

​YORK – The York County Commissioners have approved bylaw revisions for the Southeast Nebraska Development District – York County is a member of SENDD’s governing board as a member – which will allow the agency to own real estate.

​Tom Bliss from SENDD was unable to attend this past week’s meeting of the commissioners, as SENDD representatives were speaking with many different county boards about the matter. He asked Lisa Hurley, director of the York County Development Corporation, to meet with the commissioners on his behalf as she is a board member as well.
“SENDD is updating the bylaws because as they stand now, SENDD can’t own land” for its own offices or, as an example, for land on which they are creating housing projects, Hurley said. “We are seeing opportunities to improve housing, if SENDD can acquire the land, and then those new housing projects will be sold.”
“I was a member of the SENDD board, I’m no longer, so I’m asking if the SENDD board still feels it shouldn’t compete with private business,” said Commissioner Daniel Grotz.
Hurley said that sentiment remains the same, noting “a lot of the SENDD housing projects have been and will be in communities where there hasn’t been any new private development.”
“To Daniel’s point, I’m a little concerned about whether this would open the door for competition with private developers,” Commissioner Andy Bowman said. “What prevents SENDD from going out of their lane in the future?”
“Well, over 50% of the board is made up of county board members so you guys are really the checks and balances,” Hurley said. “We want the counties to be heard. We are very transparent and the contracts are all public.”
“And we hold the purse strings; if they make the members mad, they won’t get memberships,” Commissioner Randy Obermier said.
“It is incredibly important you keep your membership,” Hurley said, noting some of the communities inside York County do not have SENDD memberships of their own so they rely on the county’s membership.
She also noted how projects by private contractors/investors are preferred, “as we want our contractors strong and private business to be growing and thriving.” The SENDD projects, she reiterated, are concentrated in areas where there has been no private housing activity as far as creation/renovation.
Hurley also talked about the recent housing projects in York County, noting they are currently working toward a new one in the near future.
The commissioners voted in favor of authorizing the chairman to sign the interlocal cooperation agreement with SENDD with revisions which include SENDD’s ability to buy, acquire and sell land, for a 501c organization and change the bylaws without having to have the approval of counties.