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| Nemaha NRD September 2011 Board Meeting Report Tecumseh – Nemaha Natural Resources District board members approved a budget on Thursday, September 8, totaling just over $4.9 million. Following public hearings on the budget and proposed property tax request, the board approved its budget calling for a total of $1,866,625 in property taxes from the District’s eight-county area. Property valuations throughout the District increased a total of about 9 percent; therefore, though the property tax requested increased about 5 percent, the resulting tax levy actually decreased. Compared to last year’s levy of 4.2913 cents, this year’s levy settled at 4.1477 cents per $100 valuation. At the direction of the board last month, about $200,000 in proposed expenditures were cut with $145,000 added for the Buck and Duck Creek projects near Peru before finalizing the budget. The flood control dam on Buck Creek is currently under construction and is funded through federal PL566 monies. Land rights acquisition on the Duck Creek project, which will include public recreation, is slated to begin sometime this year. Much of the $4.9 million budget includes work in these watersheds, including land treatment above the structures, road and utilities expenses, and mitigation requirements. Other components of the budget include watershed structure repair and rehabilitation work, contributions to a drainage project for the Village of Firth, and continuation of District’s water quality and quantity programs. Board members reviewed several possible scenarios for redrawing the lines for their voting subdistricts based on the 2010 census. Because the law requires the subdistricts to be divided as equally as possible based on the most recent census, changes were unavoidable. The board looked at three options for 9 of the 10 subdistricts and three more options for the Nebraska City area of the District. Option 3 for the 9 subdistricts was selected coupled with Option 3 for the Nebraska City area as the proposal to be voted on at the October board meeting. Public comment on the proposed options will be accepted anytime prior to the October 13 meeting, and maps showing the areas are available at the NRD’s office in Tecumseh or may be viewed on the District’s website, www.nemahanrd.org. In other action the Programs & Projects Committee reviewed six bids received for repair work on Upper Little Nemaha dam 21 near Bennet. The low bid of $76,100 was submitted by Luetchens Land Co., Murdock, for the placement of 2,000 tons of rip rap on the dam’s face. Board approval was granted for the work, which is scheduled for completion this fall. Two permits for irrigation wells were on the agenda for consideration. The board approved the permit from Double T Livestock for a well with a capacity of 800 gpm located 3.5 miles north of Adams. No action was taken on a permit from Prairie States Enterprises for a well 3.5 miles north of Sterling pending receipt of additional information. In conjunction with the upcoming annual conference of the Nebraska Association of Resources Districts, Don Siske, Table Rock, was selected as the voting delegate and Duane Sugden, Sterling, as the alternate. The board also reviewed two resolutions to be discussed at the conference. The next regular meeting of the Nemaha Natural Resources District board of directors will be held Thursday, October 13, 2011, at 8:00 p.m. at the NRD headquarters in Tecumseh. Committees will meet just prior to the regular meeting. |