By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

A legal battle might be on the horizon for the county emergency medical department.

Interim director Chuck Kenney hoped to have an executive session to discuss potential litigation during county commissioners’ Aug. 30 meeting.

After he asked for an executive session, county clerk Tina Spencer told him he could not discuss legal matters without a lawyer present.

She told him which topics could be discussed in executive session without a lawyer. He then called for an executive session to discuss personnel performance.

Later, when county counsel Brad Jantz logged in online to discuss vacating a road, commissioner Randy Dallke called for an executive session to talk about whatever had been discussed with Kenney.

No decision was made after the session with Jantz.

In other business, commissioner Randy Dallke said he wanted to build an open storage shed with a roof over it behind the sheriff’s office.

“It’s just a matter of storage there,” Dallke said. “That’s where we’re at right now. Go ahead and have a building designed and look at the cost and decide.”

Items have been stored in trailers behind the office. Spencer said it was hard to find time for employees to go through records and items in storage.

No decisions were made.

Fireworks

Commissioners heard a request from a resident of Pawnee Rd. to shoot fireworks during a Labor Day celebration.

Spencer said the applicant did not submit a $50 application fee, so commissioners could either deny the application or approve the application and waive the fee.

“The gathering would be 20 to 25 people at the most,” Spencer said. “It wouldn’t be a big group.”

Commissioners approved the application for the celebration subject to the fee being paid.

Other matters

In other matters, commissioners:

• Interviewed a candidate for emergency management director.
• Heard a routine report from interim emergency management director Marcy Hostetler.
• Heard a routine report from county engineer Brice Goebel.