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| Nemaha NRD October
2008 Board Meeting Report Tecumseh – Well permit variances were abundant on the agenda for the Nemaha Natural Resources District board of directors’ October 9 regular meeting. In all the board approved permits to install ten irrigation wells for eight landowners. The wells are located throughout the District as follows: 3.25 miles northeast of Adams, 3.5 miles south of Sterling, 1.25 miles west of St. Mary, 4.5 miles northwest of Crab Orchard, 0.75 mile southwest of Elk Creek, 0.5 mile south of Steinauer, 5 miles northwest of Humboldt, and 1.5 miles north of Brownville. Though approved at this meeting, the applicants will not be able to proceed immediately with drilling these wells. Proposed changes to the District’s rules and regulations could not be approved at the September meeting, which would have left the District without any control over well permits once the current moratorium on well permits expires on October 15. Therefore, the board voted at this meeting to order an immediate, temporary stay on the construction of any new water wells designed and constructed to pump greater than 50 gallons per minute. The stay may last up to 180 days, and any wells for which permits have been approved but construction has not begun will not be allowed to be constructed until either the stay expires or the board holds a hearing and decides to exempt these wells from the stay. During the stay no new well permit or variance requests will be considered. A benefit of the stay is that it will allow the District more time to incorporate additional changes to its rules and regulations, which were brought up at a September hearing. Three bid projects were reviewed by the board’s Programs and Projects Committee for construction of two dams and repair to one. B.A.B., Inc., Adams, was the successful low bidder for construction of a dam in the Muddy Creek Watershed east of Tecumseh for Robert McGinley. Their bid of $36,952.65 was approved. The board also voted to award B.A.B., Inc., the contract for construction of a cost-share dam for Daniel Hill located northwest of Falls City. That bid was $41,018.49. Kuhl Trenching & Excavating, Inc., Tecumseh, was approved as the low bidder for repair work at Brownell structure 2-1 near Otoe. The bid of $19,905 was for spillway replacement on this aging structure. Only two bids were submitted for each of the projects. Also involved with the Muddy Creek Watershed project, the board approved a contract for design work with Mainelli, Wagner & Associates. The contract includes services related to five bridge protection projects that the NRD and Nemaha County are working together to install. Estimated fee for the work is $9,500 per site plus inspection costs. At the recommendation of the board’s Executive Committee, a revision to the District’s personnel policy was approved. The addition of a classification for temporary employees was added that will more closely match situations where employees are hired for specific lengths of time, usually funded through a time sensitive grant. The board further decided not to offer insurance or retirement benefits for positions to be hired under this classification to assist with technical work in the Duck and Buck Watershed. The next meeting of the Nemaha Natural Resources District board of directors will be held Thursday, November 13, 2008, beginning at 7:00 p.m. at the NRD headquarters in Tecumseh. This is one hour earlier than normal as the board voted to move their meeting times for the November, 2008 – March, 2009 meetings to 7:00 p.m. with committees meeting prior to the regular meeting. |