Final Minutes
Land Committee Meeting

March 15, 1999/4:00 p.m.
Kirk's Restaurant
Lexington, Nebraska

 Call to Order

The meeting was called to order by Rhodell Jameson at 4:02 p.m. The United States Pledge of Allegiance was recited at the beginning of the meeting.

Minutes of the Previous Meeting

Carroll Sheldon requested a correction to the February 15, 1999,Land Committee minutes:

Page 1 under "Other Items for the Agenda" should read as moved by Carroll Sheldon and seconded by Gary Sears, by everyone in the room by vote, for the reports of water flows from Lake McConaughy to Grand Island and a description and full accounting of wages and expenditures paid to who and by whom for the Land and Governance Committee be placed as an item on the agenda.

There were no other corrections or additions to the February 15, 1999, Land Committee (LC) minutes. The minutes stand approved.

Other Items for the Agenda

There were no other corrections or additions to the agenda.

Committee Reports

Executive Director

Governance Committee/Finance Committee

Dale Strickland explained the position of the Governance Committee (GC) on taxes and stated that one of their main objectives is not to shift tax burdens to adjacent landowners. This topic will be discussed further at the upcoming GC meeting. A consensus on the GC position on taxes should be reached at the meeting. Strickland explained Colorado's concern about maintaining equity in land and water acquired through the Program. He stated that the GC would eventually have to decide how to credit contributors to the Program appropriately.

 Strickland noted a funding agreement covering the Operating Budget Request over the next 3 months was received by the Finance Committee (FC) from the LC (attached handout). The request was approved by the FC and will be sent to the GC for final approval.

Other additional items to be discussed at the upcoming GC meeting are a decision on either the Nebraska Community Foundation or the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to be used for a banking entity for the handling of Cooperative Agreement expenditures and tax and groundwater flooding issues.

Water Committee

Strickland discussed the Water Conservation/Supply study being conducted by Boyle Engineering for the Water Management Committee. Strickland reported 60,000 acre-feet of additional water are needed to fulfill the first increment. It was noted that additional questions the public may have on the study could be answered during the Open House session of the meeting. Strickland also stated that during the first or second week of June, Nebraska, Colorado, and Wyoming will present a draft report of the study at one to two meetings in each state for explanations and to receive public feedback. The states will use information obtained at the meetings to help them respond to the draft.

Technical Committee

Strickland stated much progress was made at the last Technical Committee meeting. The Technical Committee charter is almost completed. The committee is also drafting an outline of products that will be produced for the environmental impact statement (EIS) and the Program.

Subcommittee Reports

Information and Education

It was announced that Jeff Buettner, CNPPID, is the new chair for the GC Outreach Committee. Buettner commented that an Outreach Coordinator for the committee is needed. The committee is in the process of determining ways to educate the public about the Cooperative Agreement and the efforts of the GC. Possible ideas given were a video and printed materials for distribution. Strickland stated a funding agreement was approved by the FC and will be submitted to the GC for printed materials defining the Cooperative Agreement.

Mapping

Larry Wells reported the web site is up and running for databases on the Platte River. The address is http://mcmcweb.er.usgs.gov/platte. Wells stated the group is working with the EIS team on the processing of the eight target sites from Lexington to Chapman, Nebraska. Further work will be pushed back until the fall of 1999.

Wells reported the group is studying a new system, named LIDAR, which is used for laser ranging from aircraft. This allows digital acquisition of data and provides for better quality control of remote sensed ground data and surface of the riverbed (along the Platte River). Discussion will also be held on coordinating where the databases for LIDAR will be housed and managed. Wells stated discussion of this issue is open to all subcommittees in order to reach a final decision.

Habitat Criteria

Don Batie explained one of the subcommittee's milestones is to evaluate habitat practices and to identify and select priority land for inclusion in the Program. Batie reported on the need for a contractor to obtain information on land management practices for this milestone. The FC has given a preliminarily approval for the group to proceed with this project. Strickland indicated that the FC had asked that the Executive Director's office provide the support for the Habitat Criteria subcommittee's needs. A separate contractor will not be necessary.

Strickland clarified the procedure for a revision of the Habitat Criteria Report. The report should first be approved by the LC and then sent to the GC for final approval. A copy of this revision will be sent with the next LC meeting mailing.

Batie reported the subcommittee has been given the opportunity to score two pieces of land, one located at Fort Kearny, Kearney, Nebraska. Each are trial scores to determine if scoring works and is beneficial.

Questions from the board and public were addressed. A full subcommittee draft report is attached.

Third Party Impacts

Dick Pierce indicated that Hazen & Sawyer had been selected for contract work for the Third Party Impact. Roger Bauer stated other items need to be addressed in addition to the list in Hazen & Sawyer's proposal and expressed his concern regarding the payment of taxes on land. A motion was made to approve the hiring of Hazen & Sawyer for contract work. Seconded. Motion carried.

Curt Brown proposed and reviewed a two-phase process to develop a plan of study for the Third Party Impact. Proposed dates were set with meeting topics:

Further questions from the board were addressed.

Land Interest Ownership

Paul Matson reported that a request for a proposal was sent to 15 different potential contractors that addressed several different aspects, including: 1) different types of entities used for managing and holding properties and 2) a report defining legal and institutional restrictions on holding land from properties.

Clayton Derby reported mailing out 17 requests for proposals. Each will be reviewed, and recommendations will be given to the GC. By early fall of 1999, a facilitated meeting will be held for further development of this issue.

Mike Drain, CNPPID, reported on the Platte River flows from Lake McConaughy to Grand Island (attached handout). Drain noted that daily river and lake information can be found at the following Internet sites:

USGS web site: http://www-ne.cr.usgs.gov/re-cgi/gen tbl pg

 Review of Land Committee Time Lines and Schedules/Upcoming Events

Dinner Break / Business Meeting Adjournment

The business meeting was adjourned at 5:45 p.m.

Open House

No minutes taken. A public "question and answering" session with each subcommittee was held.