The Hall County Commission voted Tuesday to pay $1,348,000 for a new HVAC system for the Administration Building.
 The bid, from Mid Plains Construction of Grand Island, was the only one received.
 Facilities Director Doone Humphrey said he solicited other bids, but other companies didn't pursue the work.
 Commissioners Scott Sorensen and Pam Lancaster said they were uncomfortable with the board receiving only one bid.
 Commissioner Jane Richardson said in a perfect world, the board would have received five bids for the project. But Mid Plains Construction made the effort to submit a bid.
 Mid Plains didn't know it would be submitting the only bid, Commissioner Karen Bredthauer said. If the board went through the process again, it might not get one bid, she said.
People are also reading…
 Commissioner Gary Quandt said the HVAC system works perfectly well now. Instead of buying a new system, the board should save money for courthouse needs down the road, he said.
 Richardson said the system is actually not working well now. There have been a lot of issues with it.
 Humphrey agreed that the current HVAC system has had a lot of issues. Materials aren't going to get cheaper down the road, he said.
 Five members of the board voted to go ahead and open the bid. Quandt voted no, and Sorensen abstained.
 The board returned to the subject later in the meeting, after department heads had a chance to study the bid.
 Humphrey reported that the company told him it would take 44 weeks for the air conditioning equipment to arrive. If the commission postponed action, it would arrive even further down the road, he said. The panel approved the purchase on a 6-1 vote, with Quandt voting no.
 Earlier in the meeting, the board discussed the problem of littering in farm fields and ditches.
 Quandt and Sorensen talked about materials that wind up in farmers' fields, and trash that falls off on roads to the transfer station and the landfill. The issue is also a problem on Husker Highway.
 Sheriff Rick Conrad said some motorists realize something has fallen off their vehicle and just keep on driving. It's hard not to know if a screen door has dropped off your vehicle, he said.
 Finding waste products on their land slows down the work of farmers, the officials said. "I'd be very upset if this was my land," Conrad said.
 Also at the meeting, the board gave the go-ahead to applying for two matching grants to pay for mobile radios, consoles and towers. Deputy Hall County Attorney Sarah Carstensen brought the opportunity to the board's attention. The deadline to apply for the grants is Friday.
 The board voted to buy five pallets of Mastic material to patch roads and rent a patching machine, at a total cost of $11,220. Highway Superintendent Don Robb also reported that he'd been able to buy a used snow wing, in good condition, at a cost of $4,950. A new snow wing might cost up to $25,000.
 Kayla Schulte of Lutz presented a financial statement and independent auditors report to the board. Although Lutz will continue to assist the county in other areas, the company will no longer be doing audit work for the county. The commission's audit committee will work with Lutz to look into other auditing firms.
 In addition, the board voted to pay $13,145 for 71 heavy-duty meal trays for the Hall County Department of Corrections.Â
 Conrad introduced Kevin Denney, the new Grand Island police chief. Denney said he will focus on recruiting. The department is down 17 police officers, but 11 are in the training process.