Lincoln, Neb. – The Lower Platte South Natural Resources District (LPSNRD) Board of Directors tentatively approved a Fiscal Year 2020 Budget, Wednesday, that is $3.2 million lower than the initial draft of expenditures presented to the board in June.  Final consideration of the $31.2 million balanced plan for expenditures and revenues is expected to get final consideration when the board meets August 21.  The annual public hearings on the budget and certain property tax changes will be Thursday, August 15.  The hearings and board meeting will begin at 7:00 PM at the LPSNRD office, 3125 Portia Street, in Lincoln and public input is invited.

While the tentative budget is about $1.2 million more than the FY 2019 Budget, LPSNRD Board Treasurer Dan Steinkruger told the board he expects district property valuations to increase by approximately five percent, meaning the same property tax levy rate as last fiscal year would generate an additional $483,000 and the Tentative Budget, he said, reflects that.  Steinkruger said valuation figures would be known before final consideration of the budget on August 21.  LPSNRD’s Fiscal Year 2020 began July 1.

Highlights of the tentative budget include:

• Deadmans Run Section 205/Flood Reduction Project ($1.736 Million) ($7.5 Million Total) - Federal funds will cover 40% of $25 million in flood control projects to remove about 500 homes and businesses from the 100-year floodplain in Lincoln’s Deadmans Run Watershed.  LPSNRD and the City of Lincoln are responsible for the remaining 60% of the cost.
• Antelope Creek 40^th Street to Scott Ave. ($1.95 Million) – LPSNRD is working to repair streambank damage from floods in 2015, utilizing FEMA funds.
• Prairie Corridor on Haines Branch ($1.578 million) – LPSNRD is a partner with the City of Lincoln and others in creating a 10-mile tall grass prairie preservation corridor between Pioneers Park and Spring Creek Prairie.
• Salt Creek Levees Major/O&M ($1.5 Million) – LPSNRD will continue updating the 13-mile levee to keep it effective in protecting Lincoln neighborhoods and businesses.
• Upper Salt 3-A Watershed Rehabilitation ($1.385 Million) – LPSNRD will get USDA/NRCS assistance to upgrade this dam, one-mile southeast of Sprague.
• Land Treatment ($1.3 Million) - LPSNRD cost-shares with landowners to install conservation practices on their land, such as terraces and waterways, designed to reduce erosion and improve surface water quality.
• Trails (Construction, Bank Stabilization, Operation & Maintenance - $1.1 Million) – Safety is the top concern when maintaining trails.  Included in the 2020 Budget are repairs to a Homestead Trail bridge, drainage repairs to a portion of the MoPac East Trail and continued work on the Salt Creek Levee Trail near Rosa Parks Way.
• 56^th & Morton Flood Reduction Project ($550,000) – Widening of a drainage channel will reduce frequent flooding in this area of northeast Lincoln.  A FEMA grant through the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency will pay for 75% of the $3.7 million total cost.  The City of Lincoln and LPSNRD are responsible for the other 25%.
• Oak Middle 82-B Watershed Rehabilitation ($550,000) – This dam, five miles northwest of Garland, will be upgraded, utilizing federal funding from USDA/NRCS.
• Oak Creek Weir Repairs at 15^th Street ($478,000) – This weir has helped control channel erosion since about 1940, so it’s time for some repairs to stabilize the streambanks.
• Community Assistance Program ($473,000) – LPSNRD help towns, villages, neighborhood associations, etc., plan, design and construct projects to improve stream stability, streambank stabilization, flood control, and stormwater quality.
• Lower Platte River Restoration & Resiliency Study ($200,000) – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to study ways to make the Platte River less prone to flooding, make the banks more stable, improve the ecosystem and more.  LPSNRD will be responsible for 50% of the cost.

Besides attending the August 15 public hearing or the August 21 board meeting, public input may be provided by email through our website at LPSNRD [at] LPSNRD.org (LPSNRD.org)/About or by U.S. Mail at:

LPSNRD
P O Box 83581
Lincoln, NE 68501-3581.

The tentative budget is available at LPSNRD.org, along with an audio recording of Wednesday’s meeting.

Other actions taken by the board included:

• Approval of a Real Estate Sales Agreement to purchase the City of Lincoln’s former Fire Station #10, at 1440 Adams Street.  The property is adjacent to the LPSNRD office.  ($275,000)
• Approval of a two-year agreement allowing Water Strategies, LLC to represent LPSNRD, the Lower Platte North NRD and the Papio-Missouri River NRD in tracking federal legislation, coordinating congressional communications and updating of federal issues and actions.  The agreement cost will be split evenly between the three NRDs.  Water Strategies has represented the three NRDs in the past, under a three-year agreement that recently expired.  ($44,400/NRD/two years)
• Approval of a request from the Village of Garland for funds under LPSNRD’s Community Assistance Program for a study of five problem drainage areas in Garland ($8,000)
• Approval of an engineering services agreement by Olsson, Inc. for repair of the channel liner in a portion of Antelope Creek, near the Bob Devaney Sports Center ($15,000)
• Approval of an agreement with JEO Consulting Group, Inc. for engineering services for a Salt Creek Levee Trail railroad underpass at First and “J” streets, in Lincoln ($7,600)
• Approval of a Mentored Hunt Agreement with the Nebraska Game & Parks Commission for an archery hunt on the Warner Wetlands property
• Approval of requests from two landowners for cost-sharing on water quality improvement practices under LPSNRD’s Summer Conservation Program ($30,000)
• Approval, on behalf of the Eastern Nebraska Water Resources Assessment, of a Professional Services Agreement with Aqua Geo Frameworks, LLC., for the standardization of the district’s AEM geological scanning data for inclusion in the Nebraska GeoCloud Project ($16,200)
• Approval of applications for cost-sharing on the decommissioning of two wells ($2,450) and authorization for the general manager to approve additional best management practice cost-sharing applications, up to the budgeted amount, through the end of the fiscal year.

The next meeting of the LPSNRD Board of Directors is on Wednesday, August 21, 2019, starting at 7:00 PM, at the LPSNRD office, 3125 Portia Street, Lincoln.