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| Nemaha NRD October
2007 Board Meeting Report Tecumseh – During their regular meeting Thursday, October 11, Nemaha Natural Resources District board members were updated on the data collection and modeling activities associated with the ongoing update of the District’s Groundwater Management Plan. Representatives of Olsson Associates, who were contracted for the hydrogeologic study, reviewed not only information collected to date but also methods used in collecting and evaluating the data. Test hole and observation well drilling will be the next step in obtaining additional information. Four requests for variances to allow well permits to drill wells within the District were on the agenda. Two of these were carried over from the September board meeting. The request from Garry Heetderks for an irrigation well five miles northeast of Adams had been postponed to obtain more information regarding its possible effect on neighboring wells for the Lancaster Rural Water District. Analysis by Olsson Associates indicated the irrigation well would not adversely affect neighboring wells. Therefore, the board approved the variance request for Garry Heetderks. The other request carried over from last month was not acted upon because additional information required from the applicant had still not been received. Two new variance requests received were from Twin Sycamore Farms, LLC, for an irrigation well 7.5 miles northeast of Humboldt and from Herr Farms, Inc., for an irrigation well five miles northwest of Humboldt. Both variances were approved by the board. Only two bids were received for resurfacing work required on the Steamboat Trace trail south of Peru. Approximately 3.5 miles of the trail require grading and additional rock screenings following damages from heavy rains in May. The low bid of $54,454.50 was submitted by Lottman-Carpenter Construction, Diller, who was the contractor for the original grading and surfacing on this portion of the trail ten years ago. FEMA funds were expected to be used to help defray some of the cost; however, the low bid was somewhat higher than FEMA had estimated. Therefore, the board approved the low bid contingent upon receipt of additional funds from FEMA. Five applications for small dams to be built with NRD cost-share funds during FY 2008-2009 were reviewed by the board’s Programs & Projects Committee. Because of budget limitations, one of the dams was actually carried over from this year. Though no formal action was taken by the board at this time, the committee endorsed the staff’s recommendations for these projects to be considered for approval next year subject to available funding. In other action the board discussed what role, if any, the District should take in the development of a local hazard mitigation plan. Because future funding through state or federal emergency management agencies may be available only to entities having a plan in place, the board directed staff to continue investigation of such a plan. A meeting will be held on October 23 with various city and county officials to determine what other partners might be included in the planning. The board took no action on a request to provide cost-share assistance toward the repair of a grade control structure that was originally built with NRD cost-share funds. Because the project, built in the fall of 2005, sustained damages from the May, 2007, heavy rains, the landowner was asking for help from the NRD to repair it. However, the Programs and Projects Committee asked staff to continue investigating this issue and bring more information back to the board. Manager Bob Hilske reported to the board that he had decided not to fill the position of Business Management Assistant but instead would reassign the duties for this position to other staff members. The next regular meeting of the Nemaha Natural Resources District board of directors will be on Thursday, November 8, 2007, beginning at 8:00 p.m. at the NRD headquarters, 62161 Highway 136, Tecumseh. |