February 1, 2024 at 8:30 AM - Operations Committee Meeting

Rationale:  There is no unfinished business to address.

Rationale:  On the Wanahoo Ducks Unlimited wetland renovation site, all tree piles have been burned. The time frame for burning cattails and dirt removal is unknown with the snowpack.
The staff is currently reviewing and has made comments to an agreement with Ducks Unlimited.

Rationale:  The O & M crew moved snow. Worked on and kept equipment running during the cold spell. We are currently going through maintenance items on equipment.

Rationale:  HDR continues developing conceptual designs and coordinating with NRCS regarding their policies. HDR intends to have a 60% completion meeting in mid-February. The staff is meeting with the engineering group on Friday, Feb. 2 at 1:30 to review a couple of potential design strategies.

Rationale:  Rieschick Drilling was back on site pumping testing the last 10 wells that have been cleaned. They finished on January 25th. We received their invoice for $116,160.00 which is the contracted amount. We have also received the results of the cleaning but have not gone over them.

Rationale:  On January 16 we met with JEO and the City of Wahoo staff on how we can plan/coordinate with NDOT and Dam Safety on responsibilities, time frames and finances for the utility issues in the Round-About intersection.
JEO will obtain more specifics from Dam Safety on how to filter and seal all conduits. JEO relayed a message from NDOT that they are willing to coordinate, including the NRD's work on their construction via change order, as long as our utility coordination doesn't disrupt or delay construction, that our plans are within NDOT's requirements and we cover our cost. JEO will get some improvement concepts on paper. The staff is meeting with NDOT on Friday Feb 2 at 10:00.

Rationale:  The District owns three No-Till Grass Drills stationed in Platte, Colfax and Saunders counties. The drill in Platte County is 20+ years old and Stan Rosendahl informed us that it needs major repairs (list attached).
We could get a repair estimate from Benes Service for all the problems listed and have it fixed, or scrap it, and/or purchase a new drill. The estimated price for a new drill is $55,000 - $60,000 as Pheasants Forever has recently purchased new drills with NET funding.
All of our drills were purchased with financial assistance from Nebraska Environmental Trust. The drill in Schuyler was purchased in 2009 and the drill in Saunders in 2012. The committee suggest that staff write a grant application to NET. With the drill being unusable, this means the Platte County area would go without a drill during 2024.

The District received second half of the year revenue (2023) from Rezac Seeding of $1,215.70 and from Rosendahl $2,184.50.

Rationale:  The District received two letters from FEMA acknowledging receipt and acceptance of our certification that all work is completed on the Wanahoo Dam repairs and the Clear Creek Fuse Plug, that the projects can be closed.(Letters Attached) They are covering 90% of the project cost or $2,366,270.14 on the Wanahoo Dam and $105,420.00 on Clear Creek Fuse Plug.
Also attached is a list of financials for all our flood-damaged projects. Rawhide Ditch 8 and the Wanahoo Breakwater have been paid in full by FEMA. Once FEMA closes these projects, then NEMA will include another 5% for three of them.
Chapman and Heimann have worked on CDBG funding for the last 5% or the local share of these projects.

Rationale:  The New JD 6155M is in. We can proceed to sell our 1984 JD 4450 with duals. The Committee suggest that after the February Board meeting, we accept offers up to 12:00 (noon) on Friday, March 8th, with a starting minimum of $35,000. The highest offer takes the tractor.  
We purchased the JD 4450 in August 2018 from Plains Equipment in David City for $37,500.
Internet research showed a 1983 4450 w/ duals for $39,500 and a 1983 w/out duals for $32,500 in NE. Two 1983 4450's w/out duals in Wisconsin for $43,000 & $42,400. One in Missouri w/out duals for $32,500. 

Rationale:  We have not received any applications or request for payments.

Rationale:  For the month of December, the District received $6,185.00 in annual park permit revenue. The year by year break down is listed below. 
 

Month	Monthly Total	YTD
December 2023	$6,185.00	$73017.50
December 2022	$5,045.00	$75262.50
December 2021	$4,725.00	$85681.85
December 2020	$4,470.00	$96317.50
December 2019	$4,585.00	$82252.50

Rationale:  For the month of December, the District received $1,734.74 in camping revenue. The year by year comparison is listed below.
 

Month	Month Total	YTD
December 2023	$1734.74	$127,792.00
December 2022	$2276.95	$129,922.83
December 2021	$2438.00	$118,152.11
December 2020	$1485.97	$134,027.78
December 2019	$1160.56	$93,337.36

Rationale:  The Clint Johannes Education Building at Lake Wanahoo was rented 9 times with 3 NRD events/meetings. Revenue for the month was $650.

Rationale:  The KTIC radio ads and Wahoo newspaper e-ads during January featured the upcoming nitrogen certification classes in the area. This will continue in February. The ads are attached.

Rationale:  The LPNNRD Facebook/Twitter pages, and the website are some of the fastest ways to get information out to the public. Tracking analytics are a way to see how many people are seeing the information. Sometimes a decrease in reach or impressions can mean there is an error with the Facebook/Twitter pages or the website. Facebook and Twitter posts range from 10 - 15 posts per month. If you are on Facebook or Twitter, please like, follow, share, or retweet the Lower Platte North NRD posts!

Total reach/impressions show how many people saw the post/tweet. Engagements include likes, comments, shares/retweets and link clicks.
 

FACEBOOK	Total Reach	Engagements	Followers
January 1-29	13,669	1078	1,513
December	2,381	135	1,501
November	4,072	138	1,501
October	3,103	137	1,499

Twitter is in the process of updating analytics still. Some of this data may not be measured the same as it was in the previous months.

TWITTER	Total impressions	Engagements	Followers
January 1-29	1438	80	417
December 2023	711	51	411
November 2023	682	16	411
October 2023	1,148	54	411
September 2023	1,490	69	406

Top Posts on Facebook and Twitter:
• Drought monitor map update
• February Coffee Lakeside flyer
• Upcoming Nitrogen certification classes
• Water Specialist job opening
• Ice fishing event flyer

 

WEBSITE	Users	Traffic Channel	Top Pages	Devices
January	1,614	Organic 51.06% Direct 1.06% Referral 63.3% Social 937.5%	Home Lake Wanahoo Downloads Czechland Staff	Desktop 51.4% Mobile 47.3% Tablet 1.3%
December 2023	1,075	Organic -20.26% Direct 3.1% Referral -2.27% Social -81.58%	Home Lake Wanahoo Downloads Staff Czechland	No data
November 2023	1,332	Organic -32.42% Direct -25.96% Referral -42.86% Social -81.58%	Lake Wanahoo Home Czechland Lake Staff Downloads	Desktop Mobile Tablet
October 2023	1,328	Organic -31.36% Direct -0.54% Referral -21.79% Social +245.45%	Lake Wanahoo Home Czechland Lake Staff Downloads	Mobile Desktop Tablet
September	1,726	Organic 75% Direct 20.1% Referral 4.1% Social 0.8%	Lake Wanahoo Home Czechland Lake Outdoor Recreation Staff	Mobile 59.9% Desktop 38.4% Tablet 1.7%

Traffic channels: organic traffic means they use a search engine then choose an option that includes lpnnrd.org, direct traffic means they type in lpnnrd.org directly (or have it bookmarked), and referral traffic is any other traffic not from a search engine or social (such as a link from another site). As of mid-September changes for traffic channels and devices will show increase or decrease for the month.

Top referral clicks from: visitnebraska.com 15, nrdnet.org 31, Wahoo newspaper website (LPNNRD digital ad) 0
Clicks from Facebook: 41.
Clicks from Twitter: 0.
 

Rationale:  The LPNNRD plans to have a booth at the Butler County Ag Expo held in David City on Wednesday, February 14, 2024. The booth is 10' x 8' for $150.

Rationale:  The Winter edition of the Lower Platte North NRD Viaduct is finished and will be in local newspapers January 31st, February 6th and 7th. The digital version has been sent via email to subscribers and is available at LPNNRD.org/downloads

Rationale:  On January 24, 10/11 took some footage in the LPNNRD office to add to the commercial for the Local Business Spotlight. On January 30, Eric, Sean, Ryan, and Lacey went to the 10/11 studio for an interview with Taryn Vanderford for the Local Everyday on-air spot. This will air on February 9th, just before 9 a.m.
The package includes a 30-second commercial to air on 10/11, MeTV, and CW during February.

Rationale:  January 11th: Coffee Lakeside, Renewable and Non-renewable Energy Sources. Three people attended.
January 17th: Survival club. 16 students learned about every day carry kits and received one at the end. 
January 18th: St. Wenceslaus Pre-K classroom. Talked about wild vs domestic animals and went on a classroom safari. 
January 21st: Ice Fishing Event - 20-30 people attended this event. 
 

Rationale:  February 8th: Coffee Lakeside: Snakes of Nebraska. Flyer attached.
February 12-13th: East Butler, test your well night prep.
February 13th: Survival Club.
February 14th: North Bend Career Fair.
February 21st: Test your well night event at East Butler.

TBD: St. Wenceslaus Pre-K classroom visit; survival club. 

 

Rationale:  I will be presenting at the NACEE conference held at Ponca State Park on February 28th. My presentation, Creating Unexpected Partnerships, will highlight the Story Walk at Lake Wanahoo; the quarterly Science and Scenes program; and the Movement in Nature night we held back in September. This will be a twenty-minute bright spot presentation. To see more of the preliminary schedule you can go here: https://www.nacee.org/conferenceschedule. 

Rationale:  Working with UNL's herpetology lab and Dr. Ferraro, I will be receiving a western fox snake in the upcoming weeks to use for classroom visits and outreach events. Western fox snakes are native to the eastern part of Nebraska, they are very docile especially when handled frequently, and the best part, it will be FREE from UNL. They will also provide the mice, some of the set-up necessities, and health check-ups for the snake. I will be purchasing a forty gallon tank with a wire lock lid, as well as any other needs that are not provided to me by UNL.