NID News Release
March 24, 2010
Contact: Ron Nelson
(530) 273-6185 Or Dave Carter (530) 265-NEWS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
GRASS VALLEY – A community water
project to supply treated drinking water to the Cement Hill Road area near
Nevada City is in construction but could be delayed if the Nevada Irrigation
District is unable to complete purchase of a storage tank site. The project has
been planned for several years but hit a snag in February when the owners of a
155-acre parcel in the Sugarloaf Mountain area objected to a district plan to
purchase a 0.94-acre tank site.
District
engineers said the site is at the proper elevation and best suited to supply
the project area, but Kriss Halpern, a Southern California-based manager for
Sugarloaf Properties, LLC, said the same area offers the best views and home
sites for future development. NID legal counsel Tony Soares said Halpern does
not want the tank on his property but that if it must be located there it be
moved to a northeast corner, which, according to NID engineers, would cost an
additional $215,000. Soares said meetings and discussions have failed to
produce accord and that the matter will likely go to mediation in early May. Cement
Hill resident Norm Stout urged the NID Board of Directors on Wednesday (Mar.
24) to move forward with the plan to purchase the property. He lauded NID staff
for making a “tremendous effort” to acquire the site. “You have 241 people who
are waiting for water,” he said.
Directors
adopted a resolution of necessity, declaring the property necessary for the
public good, and authorizing acquisition of the land through eminent domain if
an agreement cannot be negotiated.
In
a related matter, Directors approved the $53,200 purchase of a permanent
easement for a 0.57-acre strip of land from the Cebollero Family Trust. The
easement is needed for a main line on the Cement Hill water project.
In
other business, Directors:
•
approved environmental studies for a replacement and realignment of the Lake
Vera Pipeline, an old irrigation water line that is leaking and unable to
properly supply customers. The project involves 3800 feet of new 8-inch Pipeline
and is currently budgeted in 2016 at a cost of $700,000.
•
updated the district’s strategic plan and reviewed the board’s three top
planning objectives, which are; 1) proactively expanding water service to new
and existing customers within the service territory, 2) improving and
developing a management system for asset protection, and 3) maintaining the
reliability and efficiency of the water delivery system.
•
declared that surplus water will be available this year within NID’s exterior
district boundaries and authorized the sale of surplus water that is available
near the bottom of the system to the South Sutter Water District. The district anticipates
the annual sale will generate revenues of $300,000 to $400,000.
•
approved a standard agreement with the Pacific Gas and Electric Company for the
sale of hydroelectricity produced by NID’s small powerhouse at Scotts Flat Reservoir.
The contract calls for the 2009 rate of 6.9 cents per Kilowatt-hour to rise to
13.4 cents over the 10-year life of the contract.
The
next regular meeting of the NID Board of Directors will be held at 9 a.m. on
Apr. 14 at the NID Business Center in Grass Valley. NID board meetings are open
to the public.
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