Jansen Village Board Responds To FJN Requests, But Questions Remain

By FJN StaffAfter several months of refusing to respond, the Village Board of Jansen has finally answered some of the questions posed by FJN.FJN had contacted Kesha Eldridge, chairperson of the village board, with questions via email on numerous occasions. Some of these questions have been asked multiple times. Therefore, FJN requested to be placed on the agenda of the village board meeting on Tuesday, July 6, 2022. Gregory Kratz, attorney for the village board, was present. At the meeting, FJN asked several questions. Eldridge responded, “We’ll take note of your question and we’ll prepare a response to you in 15 business days.”A response was received via email on July 27.Some of those questions concern possible violations of the Open Meetings Act. The purpose of the Nebraska Open Meetings Act is to guarantee that every meeting of a public body shall be open to the public in order that citizens may exercise their democratic privilege of attending and speaking at meetings of public bodies. There are a number of rules spelled out by the act that public bodies must follow.At a meeting of the village board on Monday, June 6, 2022, one member of the board, Tom Gogerty was not present in person but attended the meeting via telephone. Gogerty voted to approve the Treasurer’s report and to pay bills. The rules for teleconferencing under NRS 84-1411 do not permit voting remotely, either via telephone or video conferencing. Governor Pete Ricketts had issued an executive order relaxing some of the requirements of the Open Meetings Act due to the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing more business to be conducted remotely, but that order expired before June 6. Votes made in such a manner may not be valid.Question: How many times has someone vote remotely since the governor’s executive order ended? (Previously asked via email on June 10, 2022.)Answer: “Once on June 6, 2022.”Question: There are times when a board may close the meeting to the public, usually referred to as a ‘closed session’ or ‘executive session,’ to allow the board to speak in private. The Open Meetings Act allows meetings to be closed only under certain circumstances, such as discussing litigation or personnel issues. The meeting must be reopened to the public when discussion of the closed session-appropriate topic is completed. How many times did the board go into executive session and not re-open to the public? (Previously asked on June 10, 2022.)Answer: “The board has never gone into executive session and not re-opened to the public. On June 6, 2022, as the minutes indicate, the board went into executive session. They then came out of executive session at which point the meeting was re-opened to the public. The board then voted on the date of the July meeting and adjourned.”FJN News Editor Gordon Hopkins was present at the June 6 meeting. He reports that the board closed the meeting to discuss “customer accounts.” The door to the meeting room was closed once all members of the public and press were outside. At one point, village board member Tiffany Schoenrock opened the door but promptly closed it again before anyone could re-enter the room. The door did not open again until after the meeting had adjourned. When the door re-opened, Eldridge said, “Gordon, we didn’t know you were still out here.”FJN has pointed this out to the board and Kratz and requested clarification. As of press time, no response has been received.Question: Why does Kesha abstain from votes on the treasurer report and billings?Answer: Mrs. Eldridge’s husband works for the village doing maintenance. Although not required, she abstains on those treasurer reports and billings where payments would be made to her husband.Question: Fiscal year 2021 was $125,000 over budget. Why wasn’t an amended budget filed? (Previously asked on April 25, May 17 and May 19, 2022.)Answer: “Human error.”Question: Eldridge is part of a campaign against windfarms. Is she acting on Jansen’s behalf or as an individual? (Previously asked on May 3, May 4 and May 5, 2022.)Answer: “This is your perception of Mrs. Eldridge’s actions, she has the freedom to take part in public discord (sic) on any matter which she chooses.”FJN has not suggested in any way that Eldridge may not or should not participate in public discourse, but only asked if she represent the village as a public official or herself as an individual. This response does not answer that question. Again, FJN has asked for clarification.Question: If Kesha is acting as an individual and not as the mayor of Jansen while conducting windfarm events, is she making that clear to the people she speaks with regarding windfarms?Answer: “Mrs. Eldridge has made that very clear.”Question: Does the Village of Jansen have an official stance on wind farms?Answer: “The Village of Jansen has not passed any measurers taking any stance on commercial wind energy development.”To ask additional questions, FJN has once again requested to be placed on the agenda for the July 9 village board meeting. As of press time, the board has not acknowledged that request.

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