Recall election set for Dunbar village board member

DUNBAR – Paving a portion of a Dunbar street has resulted in the setting of a recall election and a letter from the Nebraska State Auditor’s Office critical of the village board’s handling of the street project.

The state auditor’s Nov. 13 letter says the village board received a bid from Midwest Armor Coating, but did not adopt a formal motion to commence the street work. Meeting minutes later described “phase one” of a plan to seal cracks and coat asphalt streets, but the actual work included a replacement of about 250 feet of paving in front of board member Terry Weible’s residence.

The letter says Dunbar’s meeting minutes should have recorded a vote to approve the bid and for any subsequent change orders.

The meeting minutes do say the village paid a down payment of $7,375 and an invoice of $24,468.

Weible explained that the contractor informed him that the condition of asphalt near his residence was in too poor of shape to make crack sealing effective. Weible said he consulted the board chairman Randy Cunningham and then ordered the work to replace the asphalt.

 

The auditor’s letter says Weible also explained that the board had made street improvements for other board members in the past.

The auditor’s letter says there is conflicting information about the timeline and whether Cunningham was consulted prior to the work being ordered. 

It says, based on the existing record in the village board minutes, Weible directed the paving without prior approval of the entire board.

The auditor says Dunbar should adopt internal controls to ensure that road work is properly recorded in village minutes and conducted within the state’s bidding requirements.

In the village’s response, the village says it should have made a formal motion to move forward with the project, but did not.

the petition forms for the recall election included a statement by circulator Kent Kavan:  “Mr. Weible used his office to pave a street in front of his house without a vote of the entire board.”

A defense statement was also included: "The village board is well aware of the condition of the streets in Dunbar. And this recall petition is not about W. Indiana Street. It’s about bitterness and hatred some have for me, so a vote to not recall me will send a message that that’s not the community we want to live in, not for our children.

The all-mail, election to recall  Weible is scheduled on Tuesday, Jan. 13. The recall petition needed 22 valid signatures and the election’s office says 29 were accepted.