Return to Board Meeting Updates
| Nemaha NRD May
2009 Board Meeting Report Tecumseh – All 21 seats on the Nemaha Natural Resources District board of directors are once again filled following the board’s regular monthly meeting held Thursday, May 14. Wayne Goering filled the position representing Subdistrict 4, which is located within the limits of Nebraska City. The position was formerly held by Steve Sherrow, who opted not to run again in the 2008 general election. Now retired from OPPD, Goering lists farming and operating a service station as his previous occupations. His term on the Nemaha NRD board runs through the end of 2012. Prior to the meeting, the Nemaha NRD board of directors honored the memory of two conservation leaders. Members of Don Larson’s family from Nebraska City were on hand to witness the planting and dedication of a linden tree at the NRD’s headquarters near Tecumseh. Larson, who served as a member of the board of directors from 1980 to 2000, recently passed away. He was an active member who also represented southeast Nebraska on the Nebraska Natural Resources Commission and prior to that on the Nebraska Association of Resources Districts board of directors. Members of Larson’s family said he would have loved the idea of planting a tree in his memory. Current NRD board members who served with Larson also spoke of his conservation leadership, honesty, and integrity in lobbying for the natural resources needs of southeast Nebraska. The second tree planted was to honor Olin Sims, who was the president of the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) from February to December, 2007. Sims died unexpectedly in a ranching accident in 2007 at the age of 47. As a part of an NACD-sponsored living legacy to Sims, Orval Gigstad, Nemaha NRD director from Syracuse and former NACD board member, requested the local planting. Therefore, Nemaha NRD directors planted a maple tree at the NRD headquarters in his memory. In action from the board’s meeting agenda, three applications were considered for Urban Special Project funding in the upcoming fiscal year. Because available funds for this program are limited, the board voted to fund two of the three applications. The Sterling Community Association will receive $10,384.30 to develop a recreational and nature trail. Up to $11,000 was obligated to the City of Falls City for redevelopment of a wetland area near Stanton Lake for educational purposes. An application from Nebraska City for $25,000 in assistance with their Steinhart Park Trail project could not be funded under the program this year. Two quotes were received to provide chemical pesticides needed for the upcoming season at NRD recreation areas and on watershed dams. Farmers Coop, Humboldt, who submitted the low total quote of $4,762.30 to provide the chemicals, was approved. No action was taken yet at this meeting on applications for the District’s small dams cost-share program. Staff will be discussing the applications further with the top candidates, and approval for funding will be considered next month. The board’s Executive Committee also deferred action on the FY2010 salary schedule until next month. It is anticipated the committee will submit a recommendation for board action in June. Three well permit applications were approved by the board. They included one application from Bill Othmer for an irrigation well 2.25 miles southwest of Elk Creek and two irrigation wells for Lynn Binder 2.5 miles south of Rulo. The board was also updated on the Buck and Duck Creek Watershed Management Cost-Share Assistance Project by Shawn Kreienhop, NRD Resources Specialist. He reviewed the eligible practices selected by a landowner/stakeholder committee and funding rates for this area near Peru. This Watershed Management Plan has just been completed, and a public meeting will be scheduled to receive comments on the plan. The next meeting of the Nemaha Natural Resources District Board of Directors will be held Thursday, June 11, 2009, beginning at 8:00 p.m. at the NRD headquarters in Tecumseh. Committees will meet prior to the regular meeting. |