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| Nemaha NRD September
2007 Board Meeting Report Tecumseh – A final budget of about $2.6 million was presented to the Nemaha Natural Resources District board of directors for their approval Thursday, September 13. Following a public hearing on the budget and another on the tax request in which no comments were received, the board approved the budget that requests $1,366,217 in property taxes. The resulting levy, which is the same as last year, will be 0.040471 per $100 assessed valuation. Significant expenditures listed in the budget include a $100,000 sinking fund for the upcoming Duck/Buck Watershed project near Peru. Two flood control structures are planned on these creeks, with public recreation to be incorporated into the Duck Creek structure. Federal funding is expected for construction of the projects; however, some local funds will also be required. Another major component of the budget is nearly $200,000 for construction of land treatment measures in the Iron Horse Trail Lake watershed. This watershed is being treated through a watershed management plan similar to the one just completed in the Kirkman’s Cove watershed. Much of the funding for the conservation practices, which are intended to help reduce sediment and associated nutrient loading in these public recreation lakes, comes from the Nebraska Environmental Trust and EPA Section 319 grants. In addition to this project, the NRD is embarking on another watershed protection project in the upper reaches of Muddy Creek around the Johnson area. About $100,000 is included in the budget for construction of weirs and grade stabilization structures in the watershed to address severe erosion problems throughout the watershed. Environmental Trust funds are also part of the funding for this project. Water monitoring and updating the District’s Groundwater Management Plan will continue in FY08 with just over $110,000 devoted to these programs. In addition the District also set aside about four percent of its total budget for maintenance and repairs of public recreation facilities. Part of this expenditure will be offset by a FEMA grant for flood repairs on the Steamboat Trace trail. More details on the entire budget are available at the NRD office in Tecumseh; they will also be included in the next issue of the NRD’s newsletter, Insight, later in October and on our website, www.nemahanrd.org. In other action the board approved bids for repairs to two watershed dams in the Wilson Creek and Brownell Watersheds. B.A.B., Inc., from Adams submitted the low bid of $16,189.86 that was accepted for repairing Brownell 12-2 near Syracuse. Kuhl Trenching & Excavating, Inc., Tecumseh, was awarded the bid for a similar repair job at Wilson Creek 1-9 near Lorton with their low bid of $19,970. Both projects include replacement of spillway pipes in the structures. Two requests for variances to allow issuance of well permits were reviewed by the board’s Water Resources Ad-Hoc Committee. However, neither was acted upon by the board. More information was requested on the Garry Heetderks variance since Lancaster Rural Water District No. 1 also has wells near the site in question. The other application for a variance for wells southeast of Nebraska City was missing some components needed prior to the board making a decision. A policy for selecting firms to provide professional services, which has been under review for the past two months, was finally approved at this meeting. The policy sets forth a standard set of steps to use when hiring firms for work such as consulting and engineering. The annual meeting of all the NRDs in the state is coming up later in September, and the board designated Lisa Beethe as its voting delegate for the conference. Several resolutions were reviewed by the board, which will be further explained and voted upon at the conference. An emergency item was added to the agenda for action on an easement to allow access across the Steamboat Trace trail to a tract of land enrolled in the Wetlands Reserve Program. Because of deadlines involved with the tract, board action was required at this meeting. The easement to the Commodity Credit Corporation and L&H Investments allows them to cross the trail to inspect, develop, upgrade, or maintain the property without interfering with the use of the trail. The board voted to grant the easement. The next regular meeting of the Nemaha Natural Resources District board of directors will be on Thursday, October 11, 2007, beginning at 8:00 p.m. at the NRD headquarters, 62161 Highway 136, Tecumseh. |