County will set aside watershed funds

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, June 26, 2002

Will Mower County get a watershed coordinator?

Possibly. Though the Mower County Board still has questions and reservations about the feasibility of such a position, they have agreed to work a coordinator into their 2003 budget.

Board member Ray Tucker explained the long-discussed matter came up again at the city-county meeting earlier this month. "It seemed to be the consensus that there needs to be someone in this position," but there are still unanswered questions such as who will fund the position and where will it be housed, he said. "As we kick this thing around, we need a little direction."

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Bev Nordby of the Mower County Soil and Water Conservation District was at the meeting to discuss the watershed coordinator position and said the position should be housed at the SWCD offices and that she was investigating the possibilities of grants and other sources of funding. However, she told commissioners, "I don't want to paint the picture that I can find a bunch of money for this."

She still feels the position is important because it's something from which the whole county would benefit. "This person would be able to look at the priorities of the watersheds in the county," and would go to those communities and work with them to make their priorities reality, Nordby said.

A watershed coordinator also would be able to focus not just on Mower County but on the water flows into Austin as well, she said.

Though the County Board members remain reluctant to move forward with hiring someone as a watershed coordinator, they agreed to work 50 percent of the funding into the 2003 budget.

Amanda L. Rohde can be reached at 434-2214 or by e-mail at amanda.rohde@austindailyherald.com