August 13, 2008
Contact: Ron Nelson
(530) 273-6185
Or: Dave Carter
(530) 265-NEWS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

GRASS VALLEY  - Lake Wildwood resident John Norton was appointed Wednesday (Aug. 13) to fill the vacant Division V seat on the Nevada Irrigation District Board of Directors.
Norton was the only applicant among six who said he would not run for election in November when the Division V seat is on the ballot.
NID Board President John Drew said Norton’s appointment allows the board to remain politically neutral and will help to even the playing field as voters decide their next elected representative. Board members said an appointment now might give a candidate an election edge in November.
Five other applicants for the open seat said they planned to run for election in November. They are Brad Fowler of Penn Valley, Martin Harmon of Penn Valley, Jack Meeks of Penn Valley, Glenn Orren of Lake Wildwood and Nick Wilcox of Penn Valley.
The Division V seat was left open by the July 7 resignation of longtime director George Leipzig, who has relocated away from Nevada County. Division V extends from the western side of Grass Valley to the Yuba County line and takes in Penn Valley and Lake Wildwood.
Norton is a registered professional engineer and three-year Lake Wildwood resident who is retired from a 28-year career with the State Water Resources Control Board. He cited knowledge of the water industry, broad management experience and a desire to be involved in public service.
Locally, Norton has served on the Lake Wildwood Lake Committee, Friends of Deer Creek Board of Directors and Citizens Advisory Committee for the Nevada County Sanitation District. He is scheduled to take the oath of office at the board’s next meeting on Aug. 27 and serve until his successor is seated in early December.

In other business, NID directors:

• postponed the award of a construction contract for a major upgrade of the Elizabeth L. George Water Treatment Plant on Banner Mountain. In recommending the postponement, General Manager Ron Nelson cited uncertainty in the state budget process and the impacts it could have on district finances.
• approved a $193,720 engineering services contract with Sauers Engineering, Inc. of Nevada City for the Rodeo Flat Road - Scooter Bug Lane waterline project.
• approved a $240,192 contract with Baldoni Construction of Newcastle for asphalt pavement overlays at NID’s Grass Valley headquarters and the Lake Wildwood Water Treatment Plant.
• heard a water supply update that indicated the district has 186,972 acre-feet of water in storage, which is about 4500 acre-feet less than last year and about 13,000 acre-feet below the 40-year average for this time of year. The district’s water storage capacity is 280,380 acre-feet.

The next regular meeting of the NID Board of Directors will be held at 9 a.m. on Aug. 27 at the NID Business Center in Grass Valley. NID board meetings are open to the public.