GRAND ISLAND, Nebraska -- The Central Platte Natural Resources District (CPNRD) Board of Directors will hold a public hearing and consider approval of the Fiscal Year 2025/2026 budget at their upcoming board meeting on Thursday, July 31, 2025. The Budget Committee will present the proposed budget of $31,799,740.74, a decrease from last year’s budget of $34,714,184.14. The budget includes proposed expenditures, liabilities, necessary cash reserves, and county treasurer’s commissions. Based on current balances and projected revenues, the required property tax request is $5,347,834.31, a decrease of $1,489.86 from last year. A public hearing for the proposed budget will be held at 1:45 p.m. on July 31, immediately before the board meeting. A second public hearing to set the property tax request and levy will be held on Sept. 4, 2025, during the regularly scheduled Board of Directors meeting. (Note: The August board meeting is moved to September 4th to allow time for the required public notice.) The July board meeting will begin at 2:00 p.m. at the CPNRD office, 215 Kaufman Avenue in Grand Island.

AGENDA/ACTION ITEMS

Building Committee 
The Building Committee will review the progress of the NRD’s new office and education center construction.

Board Search Committee 
The Board Search Committee—Marvion Reichert, Tom Downey, Brian Keiser, and Deb VanMatre—is currently seeking candidates to fill a vacancy in Subdistrict 3. The committee will provide an update on the search process at the upcoming board meeting.

Subdistrict 3 includes southwestern Buffalo County and the southeastern corner of Dawson County. The appointed director will serve until December 2026. Interested candidates must submit a letter of intent by July 23, 2025. Letters can be mailed to: CPNRD, 215 Kaufman Avenue, Grand Island, NE 68803 or emailed to: vogt [at] cpnrd.org. For assistance in determining if you reside within Subdistrict 3, contact the Central Platte NRD at (308) 385-6282.

Programs Committee
The Programs Committee will review applications for the CPNRD-Ron Bishop Memorial College Scholarship Program for the 2025-2026 academic year. The program awards $1,000 scholarships to college sophomores, juniors, seniors, and graduate students who reside within the district and are pursuing a natural resources-related degree. The committee will present their recommendations to the Board.

Water Utilization Committee  
The Water Utilization Committee will review a contract with Seim Ag Technology for the Flowmeter, Telemetry, and Data Management System Project. The project will install telemetry-enabled flow meters at 100 wells to autonomously measure, report, and analyze daily groundwater pumping. The system is expected to save 1,162 acre-feet of water annually by reducing over-irrigation, keeping more water in the local aquifer. The committee will present their recommendation to the Board.

Manager’s Report  
Lyndon Vogt, General Manager, will report.

Staff Reports 
Courtney Olson, Office Assistant, and Dean Krull, UNL/CPNRD Demonstration Project Coordinator, will present an overview of their roles and responsibilities to the Board.

Natural Resources Conservation Service Report  
Carrie Thompson, Resource Conservationist, Lexington Field Office, and Joe Krolikowski, District Conservationist, will report.

Nebraska Association of Resources District  
Deb VanMatre, CPNRD Representative, will report.

Nebraska Natural Resources Commission  
Doug Reeves, Middle Platte Basin Representative, will report.

Financial Report
The July financial report will be considered.

Cost-Share  
Applications for the Nebraska Soil and Water Conservation Program and Central Platte NRD cost-share programs will be considered.

Upcoming Board Meetings   
September 3 (August meeting), September 25, October 23, November 13, December 18