BROWNVILLE – Brownville Mayor Martin Hayes is citing robust contributions from the three board members who are subject to a recall election this fall and asking voters to retain.

Hayes: “I want to keep my board the way it is because they’ve stepped up and done a lot work that I don’t have to and its been working quite well.”

Hayes said  Natisha Winkelman, Bailey Bindle and Terry Vice are among the most willing and capable board members over his time spanning four decades. He assessed the recall effort this way.

Hayes: “I think most of it, they are after one person and she’s a female.”

Board member Natisha Helmick-Winkelman said she is the female in question. She said opposition started after the resignation of former board member Josh Russell when she agreed to fill the vacated role over the water and sewer operations.

Winkelman said she was happy to help out because she has a passion for Brownville’s welfare and water leaks were driving up costs.  Her grandmother, Charlotte McComas, was a village clerk for 26 years and her family goes back to founder Gov. Robert Furnas.

 

Winkelman: “I volunteered at the time because I was the one that found the initial leak and I was the one that actually started doing all the leg work on it.”

She was already working with contractors and the Auburn Board of Public Works. Board members welcomed her to continue in that capacity.

Winkelman: “I’m surprised at the recall election that there’s three individuals listed when there is only one person that they are primarily after.”

She said Bailey Bindle is newer to the area and has done a fantastic job with public communications. She said Bindle is an inspiring person that started a non-profit when she was in high school. She said board member Terry Vice is also newer to the area and has been a valuable resource.

Winkelman: “The only real argument that’s ever been put out there and in public was that if there was not a female water operator, there would not be a recall.”

 

 Natisha Helmick-Winkelman

She said if the state had more female water operators, the public would already know they are just as fit as a male for the job. Winkelman said she is up to the task.

Winkelman: “There’s never ever been a problem before to date. As soon as I took over, everybody started having questions, everybody started having problems. It was never what anyone else was making when they were plowing snow or what they were making working down at the park, it was everything that I was doing and they wanted a detailed list of every single thing that I was doing and it had to be itemized. They did not ask the rest of the board members to itemize their time sheets.”

Winkelman: “One of the things that they did bring up is the maintenance building and having it insulated and the cost that was associated with it. We had over 50 leaks in the roof of that building. I went up there and I caulked some of them. Marty had went up there and he caulked them. Like you could only do it so much. To tear off and replace just the roof on that building was going to be outlandish. We turned it around and insulated the whole building, sealed all the leaks and took care of all the leak problems and it was for $15,000, when to replace that roof we were looking at well over $60,000 to  have it tore down and replaced.”

Winkelman said the village maintenance building provides an example of how the current board benefits the village. She the cost to replace the roof was estimated over $60,000, but village board members caulked leaks, insulated the buildings and addressed the source of leakage for $15,000.

Here are responses to issues circulating Brownville from Mayor Hayes and Winkelman:

The Brownville Village Board cut ties with the Auburn Board of Public Works regarding water department management?

BVB: True.

September 2022: BVB sends e-mail to Auburn BPW asking for copies of current and previous contracts.

October 2022:   The Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy sent a letter to former board member John Russell saying it has been informed the city does not have the services of a licensed water operator.

October 2022: Former Auburn Utilities manager Dave Hunter sent a letter to BVB saying the Auburn Board of Public Works sent a copy of an updated water operations agreement  to the village board, but had not received a signed copy back.

Josh Russell, former vice chairman, stepped down the village board prior to a June meeting.

As there was no updated contract and the Brownville Board felt there was friction between the Board of Public Works and Winkelman, the board agreed to seek alternatives.

Board member Natisha Helmick-Winkelman is listed on government documents for water wastewater oversight.

BVB: True

When Russell stepped down, board member Natisha Helmick-Winkelman agreed to take on the role.

Winkelman: “from “day one” she was concerned about a valid contract and water leaks typical of public water systems.

In October of 2022, the villages water usage peaked. At 977,000 gallons it was 449,000 gallons higher than the nine-month average and 763,000 gallons higher than the previous month. BVB searched for a water leak as the culprit.

The board of Public Works provided a more affordable solution to water wastewater operations.

BVB: Not true.

From March to July in 2022, the Auburn BPW charged $3,713. Helmick-Winkelman has charged $1,134 over the same time period in 2023 for a savings of $2,579. Village records say there is a savings of $962 in sewer expenses through July.

BVB: BPW charged $50 an hour plus mileage for trips to Brownville to monitor meters and perform essential duties. Winkelman is getting $25 an hour and water operator Aaron Davis of Stella is not charging anything for operator duties.

Mayor Martin Hayes said it is not unusual in Nebraska for board members to receive wages for functions such as the water department.

The Nebraska Department of Environment and Resources issued a wastewater operator certificate to Winkelman  as a class L facility operator. The certificate was issued in June of 2023.

 

https://drinkingwater.ne.gov/JSP/WaterSystemDetail.jsp?tinwsys_is_number=713089&tinwsys_st_code=NE&wsnumber=NE3112704

The Brownville Village Board neglects the opinions of the public

BVB: Not true.

BVB: the village sent out a public survey to gain input on the park grant. The village board took 20-minutes of public comment at a December meeting. Mayor Martin Hayes said the public asked him to verify the license status for Davis and  he followed up to verify the license.