UPPER ELKHORN NATURAL RESOURCES DISTRICT

BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING

November 9, 2009 -- 1:00 P.M.

O’Neill, NE

CALL TO ORDER, STATEMENT OF ADVERTISEMENT AND OPEN MEETING LAW NOTIFICATION:

The special meeting of the Board of Directors was called to order at 1:00 P.M. by Chairman Dale Wiles. 

DIRECTORS PRESENT:

Jerry Childers               Chris Dierks                 James Dvorak               Gregg Felker                Curtis Gotschall

Reg Green                    Ted Hughes                  Jim Keller                    Janet Koinzan                Jeff Krebs

Mike Russman               Roy Stewart                 Dale Wiles

DIRECTORS ABSENT:

Jerry Heithoff               Tim Knuth

STAFF PRESENT:

Dennis Schueth, General Manager

Tom Riley, Water Resources Manager

Beth Walsh, Information & Education Coordinator

Marsha Hart, Administrative Secretary

GUESTS PRESENT:

Jerry Kovarik – NRCS – O’Neill

ADOPTION OF AGENDA:

]It was moved by Jim Keller and seconded by Gregg Felker to adopt the agenda.  AYE:  Dierks, Dvorak, Felker, Gotschall, Keller, Koinzan, Krebs, Russman, Stewart & Wiles.  NAY:  None.  ABSTAIN:  Green.  ABSENT:  Childers, Heithoff, Hughes, & Knuth.  MOTION CARRIED. 

REVIEW OF LB 483 OCTOBER 2009 APPLICATIONS:

The Upper Elkhorn NRD Directors and staff reviewed the LB 483 October 2009 applications for the expansion of acres.  There was a request by Janet Koinzan to review a portion of the actual applications and accompanying material.  Discussion was held as to how the applicants should be notified.  The recommendation of the staff is to have an acknowledgement of the notification.    ]It was moved by Reg Green to send notification to the applicants by Certified Letter with a return receipt.  MOTION DIED DO TO LACK OF A SECOND.  ]It was moved by Janet Koinzan and seconded by Gregg Felker to approve the expansion of 2476 acres and notify the October 2009 applicants by Certified Mail with a return receipt.  AYE:  Childers, Dierks, Dvorak, Felker, Gotschall, Green, Hughes, Keller, Koinzan, Krebs, Russman, Stewart & Wiles.  NAY:  None.  ABSTAIN:  None.  ABSENT:  Heithoff & Knuth.  MOTION CARRIED. 

DISCUSSION ON JANUARY 1, 2010 LB 483 APPLICATION SIGN-UP:

Purchase Agreements – Other Options:  Discussion was held as to how to handle purchase agreements or other options on a piece of land during the expansion of acres sign-up for 2010 - 2012.  ]It was moved by Curtis Gotschall and seconded by Roy Stewart that it must be the landowner or power of attorney to apply for the expansion of irrigated acres.  AYE:  Childers, Dierks, Dvorak, Felker, Gotschall, Green, Hughes, Keller, Koinzan, Krebs, Russman & Stewart.  NAY:  Wiles.  ABSTAIN:  None.  ABSENT:  Heithoff & Knuth.  MOTION CARRIED.  This means purchase agreements will not be accepted during the sign up. 

Tie-Breaker Criteria – Stream Depletion Factor/Stream Depletion Points:  It was recommended by the staff to expand the scoring for the stream depletion portion of the criteria ranking.  And since the stream depletion factor is important and can be determined by section this might be a good tie-breaker method.  ]It was moved by Janet Koinzan and seconded by Jeff Krebs to use the staff recommended expanded stream depletion scores for the expansion of acres sign-up and use the stream depletion factor as the first tie-breaker method.  AYE:  Childers, Dierks, Dvorak, Felker, Gotschall, Green, Hughes, Keller, Koinzan, Krebs, Russman, Stewart & Wiles.  NAY:  None.  ABSTAIN:  None.  ABSENT:  Heithoff & Knuth.  MOTION CARRIED. 

Nitrate-Nitrogen Levels – Phase I, II and III Levels/High Well Capacity Well Points:  The Board reviewed the staff recommendations related to the criteria scoring for nitrate-nitrogen levels and high capacity wells.  ]It was moved by Gregg Felker and seconded by Janet Koinzan to accept the staff recommendations for the new scoring on the expansion of irrigated acres criteria sheet for Nitrate-Nitrogen and High Capacity Wells.  AYE:  Childers, Dierks, Dvorak, Felker, Gotschall, Green, Hughes, Keller, Koinzan, Krebs, Russman & Stewart.  NAY:  Wiles.  ABSTAIN:  None.  ABSENT:  Heithoff & Knuth.  MOTION CARRIED.  ]It was moved by Mike Russman and seconded by Gregg Felker to use the Nitrate-Nitrogen section of the ranking criteria as the second tie-breaker.  AYE:  Childers, Dierks, Dvorak, Felker, Gotschall, Hughes, Keller, Koinzan, Krebs, Russman & Stewart.  NAY:  Green & Wiles.  ABSTAIN:  None.  ABSENT:  Heithoff & Knuth.  MOTION CARRIED. 

USDA-FSA or other Conservation Program Documentation:  Staff explained the difficulty with confirming conservation practices through other governmental agencies.  ]It was moved by Gregg Felker and seconded by Ted Hughes that it will be the applicant’s responsibility to provide confirmation of any conservation practices that they wish to receive credit for on their expansion of irrigated acres application.  AYE:  Childers, Dierks, Dvorak, Felker, Gotschall, Hughes, Keller, Koinzan, Krebs, Russman, Stewart & Wiles.  NAY:  None.  ABSTAIN:  None.  ABSENT:  Green, Heithoff & Knuth.  MOTION CARRIED. 

Dennis Schueth explained that the unapproved applications that will roll over to the January sign-up will be re-evaluated based on the scoring changes approved by the Board.  As a result as some of the changes made, there will need to be some updates made to the LB 483 Rules and Regulations which will be addressed at the regular November board meeting. 

EXCUSED ABSENCES:

]It was moved by Janet Koinzan and seconded by James Dvorak to excuse the absence of Jerry Heithoff and Tim Knuth.  AYE:  Childers, Dierks, Dvorak, Felker, Gotschall, Green, Hughes, Keller, Koinzan, Krebs, Russman, Stewart & Wiles.  NAY:  None.  ABSTAIN:  None.  ABSENT:  Heithoff & Knuth.  MOTION CARRIED. 

There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 2:40 P.M.