For the past six years I have been the chair of a special committee of the Nebraska State Legislature known as the Building Maintenance Committee. The Building Maintenance Committee is an oversight committee for the 309 Task Force for Building Renewal. The 309 Task Force for Building Renewal is a subdivision of the State Building Division. They use state monies, especially revenues generated from the cigarette tax, to take on special projects that other state agencies need help with.

By law the Building Maintenance Committee is required to meet at least four times throughout the year. This year we held all four of our meetings on-site where the work was being done, and those meetings spanned the entire state of Nebraska. So, today I would like to tell you about some of the improvements that we have made to our state facilities.

On May 13 we held our first meeting at the Platte River State Park near Louisville, NE. Among Nebraska’s State Parks the Platte River State Park is Nebraska’s most hidden gem. The Park offers all kinds of camping opportunities ranging from wigwams to glamping. The Park also offers archery, fishing, hiking, horseback riding, Kayaking and canoeing, a water fall, a water spray park, and a lot more. The Park also has its own restaurant, known as the Walter Scott Jr. Lodge, which had not been in compliance with the Americans for Disabilities Act (ADA). So, we added an ADA compliant restroom and built a ramp for wheelchair access up to the restaurant. We also repaired the roof and some windows at the Mallet Lodge, which is a meeting facility for large groups.

Our second meeting of the year was held on July 21 at the Nebraska Department of Corrections Reception and Treatment Center in Lincoln, NE. Because the Department of Corrections stands in need of more bed space, major renovations are taking place at this facility to accommodate more inmates. Our work there mostly involved window replacements in a connecting hallway that will soon link to a new building. Because the main prison in Lincoln is quickly becoming obsolete, the renovations taking place at the Reception and Treatment Center, which is located on the outskirts of Lincoln, will help to ensure that our inmates will be properly cared for many years into future years.

Our third meeting took place on September 7 at the Military Readiness Center in Sidney, Nebraska. The Military Readiness Center in Sidney is important because it supplies the United States Army with combat ready troops from Nebraska’s Army National Guard. The main facility needs a lot of repairs. The building needs a new boiler, window replacements and a new roof. So, we began the process of making each of these repairs.

Our fourth and final meeting of the year took place on September 14 at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. The Fine Arts Building and the Administration Building both have entryways with energy inefficient single-paned glass windows and glass doors that are too heavy for their pivots. Some of the concrete was crumbling from the weight of the doors. So, we will replace the single-paned glass windows with double-paned glass windows and we will replace the pivot doors with hinged doors in order to take the weight off of the pivots.

Finally, after serving as the chair of the Building Maintenance Committee for the past six years, the Senators on the committee and I have discussed the necessity for having such a committee. Because the 309 Task Force for Building Renewal is part of the State Building Division, having a Legislative oversight committee oftentimes seems redundant. There is no reason why the State Building Division should not be given direct oversight over the 309 Task Force for Building Renewal. The Legislature’s Building Maintenance Committee should be restructured to avoid having on-site meetings. Instead of having four on-site meetings every year, Legislative oversight may be achieved simply by reviewing the plans of the 309 Task Force for Building Renewal on an annual basis during the winter months before construction projects begin in the springtime.