June 29, 2017 at 9:30 AM - Executive Committtee Meeting

Rationale: 

On June 12 we received a summons from the district court that Larry and Cynthia Ourada had filed a lawsuit against LPNNRD. As that was the day our our June board meeting copies of the action were attached for board members.   A copy attached to the Executive Committee Agenda. 

 

Rationale: 

On June 2, 2017 Jeff Jackson from Nebraska Game and Parks Commission preformed a fish survey on the reservoir owned by LPNNRD and Ourada’s.  Mitch O’Reilly from the NRD attended and assisted with the fish survey.

Jeff Jackson reported that the bass and bluegill count were lower than what he would normally expect to find.

Significant numbers of green sunfish and bullhead were observed during the shocking.  To keep a good fishery you need to keep the bullhead numbers in check.  The primary way to keep the bullhead numbers low is by having a high number of bass in the lake to consume the bullhead while they are small.

When originally stocked the fingerling fish count was estimated to be:
           100 bass/acre = 4,000
           500 bluegill per acre = 20,000

If the goal is to have a good fishery Jackson suggests stocking 4 inch to 6 inch fish.  Stocking smaller fish will result in low survival as the existing larger fish eats the small fish.  His suggestion is to add 1,000 bass this fall.  Whenever bass are added he suggests adding five bluegill for each bass that would mean adding 5,000 bluegill.  Jackson stressed that the bass are much more important than the bluegill and if budget is important you should skimp on the bluegill stocking.

Nebraska Lake Management in Valparaiso supplies stocking fish to much of this area of the state.  Their fish prices for 4-6 inch fish are:
            Bass               $175/ 100     $1,650/1,000
            Bluegill           $150/100      1,350/1,000

Rationale: 

Attached find a letter from our insurance carrier LARM denying coverage for Ourada vs LPNNRD.  

Lausterer was present for discussion and informed us that LARM's reasoning for the denial is not correct as we have a specific exemption for the reason given.  He will work with LARM to get this resolved.

We have 30 days to file a motion to dismiss the lawsuit and Lausterer will make sure a proper response is made by LARM or the district.

Rationale:  None

Rationale: 

NRCS State Conservationist Craig Derickson is conducting meetings with each NRD basin in Nebraska.  LPN, LPS and Nemaha NRD managers and assistant managers met with Craig and the District Conservationists on June 14.  The meeting was a good opportunity to prioritize what NRCS can do for us and what we can do to better assist them. Likewise we identified tasks that are not valuable to the partnership so that we can both concentrate on what we do best.

Universally the NRDs appreciate the technical leadership NRCS provides and NRCS appreciates NRD cost-share programs that are funded by the districts.

A copy of the agenda is attached.

Rationale: 

On June 15 Miyoshi traveled to Washington D.C. with LPS and Papio NRD representatives.  Water Strageties had arranged key meetings to promote our Corps projects.

Our first meeting was with Gary Waxman from Office of Management and Budget.  Updates were give on the Fremont GI Project, Deadman's Run (in Lincoln), Papillon Creek Watershed and the Lower Platte Authority.  Waxman shared his thoughts to assist the projects with receiving the needed funding.

We had lunch with Jessica Clowser from Senator Fischer's office and brought her up to date on our projects and the meeting with OMB. Jessica has provided valuable insights for our projects and helped arrange meeting with key staff members.

Our last meeting was held in Congressman Jeff Fortenberry's office with General Ed Jackson, Deputy Commanding General for Civil and Emergency Operations.  Jackson's main interest was with the broken 404 and 408 permitting process that Fortenberry had approached him with at a previous congressional hearing.  Our main points were like a broken record as Jackson shared there are common themes with permitting from the public.  We also had the opportunity to review our local project needs with the Deputy Commander and his staff.

It was a long day with a lot of flight miles, but the key meetings will hopefully bear fruit in the near future.

Rationale:  Minutes from the June 12, 2017 NARD Board Meeting are attached.

Rationale: 

On June 9 the attached inquiry was received from the Nebraska State Auditor's Office.  Included in the attachment is the response letter that was returned to the State Auditor's Office.

The inquiry was sent the day after the Ourada Lawsuit was filed and suggests "... possible waste, mismanagement or fraud within government".  We have not received any followup from the Auditor's Office since the response and supporting documents were sent on June 19.

Rationale:  We are experiencing problems and downtime with our current credit card provider and plan to switch providers.  Poole has investigated our options and it appears that our least expensive and most secure solution is to piggy-back onto the State of Nebraska contract through "Nebraska Interactive." The agreement is attached with service beginning in the next few weeks.

Rationale: 

Request for Proposals for a new phone system were due on June 20 with the opening taking place on June 21.  Two proposals were received with both offering VoIP phone systems.  The new systems are very flexible providing a host of services to keep offices operating efficiently and at less cost.

Diode Technologies is a local phone company based in Diller, Nebraska.  The company understands local needs and and is well established in southeast Nebraska.  Diode has a technician that lives and operates out of Wahoo. Diode's price is $17,367.62 with an option for a 60 month contract at $364.55/month.

Rise Broadband is a national company operating out of Englewood, Colorado.  Rise is a well known firm with employees in each state they service. Rise only offered lease options with a 60 month contract at $603 per month.

Miyoshi and Breunig recommend we accept the proposal from Diode based on price and a local technician.

Copies of the proposals are attached.

Rationale:  Several directors have asked about a cellphone booster for the office.  Poole has researched boosters and has found that a booster for the board room would cost close to $500 while a booster that would cover the entire office would cost close to $1,000.

Rationale:  At the June 26 Special Board Meeting a motion was passed to authorize the Board Chair and Executive Committee to negotiate an employment package with Eric Gottschalk for consideration at the July 10 Board Meeting.

Rationale: 

At 10:30 a.m. Cindy Love and Grant Nuttelmann were connected by conference call to the committee meeting to review the May financial report.  A few changes will be made to the report prior to board meeting.

The June financials and year end adjustments should be complete by our next executive committee meeting on August 3.

 

Rationale:  Colon Rural Water customer Michelle Hendricks house has not been lived in for over three and and one half years.  As our policy provides these accounts can be written off by board motion and if any customer ever reconnects to this service line a connection fee will be assessed equal to the installation cost mins the monthly fees collected for the connection.

Rationale:  We need to set the date for the Directors Budget Workshop.  The suggested date is Wednesday, August 9 beginning at 6:00 p.m.

Rationale:  We need to set the Budget Hearing date and time that has in the past been immediately before the September Board Meeting.