FOR YOUR INFORMATION:

The Ericson Lake Corporation Board of Directors offers the following update on Ericson Lake happenings:

The engineering firm of JEO Consulting Group of Lincoln, NE has been hired, and their estimates on the repairs of the dam, emergency spillway, and geotube/berm area of the Lake are $1.1 milion. So far, over $80,000 has been spent on research and repairs.

The Board is waiting for contact from governmental agencies for funding, and will need to provide 25% of the total dollars needed to contribute to the repairs. A grant application will soon be submitted to the Nebraska Environmental Trust for improvements costing $550,000 in the upper wetlands area of the Lake. If awarded, the Ericson Lake Corporation will need to provide 10% of the cost of these improvements.

Updates will be posted on this site as needed.

DONATIONS ARE BEING ACCEPTED AT:
 

 OR AT YOUR LOCAL CORNERSTONE BANK

The Ericson Lake Corporation is a 501(3)C corporation-all donations are tax deductible.

ALL DONATIONS ARE APPRECIATED!
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Ericson Lake Corporation
Informative Meeting
Saturday, September 4, 2010
10:30 a.m.

Present: Claus, Kortus, Oseka, Buhl, Laughlin, Smith, Wadas, Haase, Krohn, and Lantis

Absent: Armstrong, Belz

The meeting opened with Oseka reminding everyone to pay their Lake dues of $200, and to encourage non-members to join the Ericson Lake Corporation. Currently, there are 84 members whose dues are paid out of approximately 161 property owners. Being a member of the ELC entitles you to:
· use the ELC dumpster and tree dump
· lease dock space and duck blinds

Dues (along with campsite donations) also support:
· trash pickup ($650/month in summer, $300/month in winter)
· lawn mower for mowing Lake property
· gas for the mower
· monthly electric service for lighting in several Lake areas
· $5800 for insurance for the Lake and Board of Directors
· gravel for the Boulevard
· mosquito spraying for the Fourth of July
· accounting services

All of the work done around the Lake is done by volunteers; no board members are paid. Campsite donations for 2010 are $6,500; in 2009, they were over $8,000.

President Joe Wadas introduced the board members present.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS: DAM/SPILLWAY AND GEOTUBE REPAIRS:

What groups has the ELC Board contacted for help? Wadas has been in contact with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Nebraska Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Lower Loup Natural Resources District (LLNRD), Nebraska Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the Small Business Administration (SBA), the TransCanada- Keystone Pipeline project (Western Energy Planning), the Loup Basin Resource Conservation and Development Project (RC&D), the Cedar River Bank Stabilization group, and Ducks Unlimited regarding monetary help for repairs.

Why was an engineering firm hired? The engineering firm of JEO Consulting Group was hired by the ELC Board because no repairs can be completed without having an engineering design in place, cost estimates figured, and also for their expertise in securing grant monies for funding the repairs. All sources of grant funding for repairs require engineering designs and the associated costs.

What has JEO done so far? Representatives of JEO have visited the Lake and have provided an estimate of costs associated with Lake restoration, including the dam/spillway and geotube. The current estimates are over $1.1M. FEMA funding requires the Lake to be restored to its previous state with no changes. No further repairs will be done until FEMA representatives visit the Lake to look over the flood damage and make their decision about funding the repairs. FEMA will fund 75% of the repairs, and the ELC needs to fund 25%. The current temporary repair of the spillway will remain. How much will JEO cost for its services? For work already completed, the bill to JEO is $5,000. The amount owed for the whole restoration is a percentage of the total cost, and will be around $38,000 if completed as proposed.

Will the Corps of Engineers need to grant a permit for repairs? No permits will be needed from the Corps of Engineers if the Lake is restored just like it was, but they will need to approve the restoration.

How much money has been spent so far on the repairs of the spillway? In June, the Board authorized Roger Frahm to temporarily repair the spillway at a cost of around $80,000-a payment of $10,932 has been made towards the repair which necessitated securing a $15,000 loan from Ericson State Bank. There is an outstanding bill to Frahm of $64,000.

Will the generation of electricity at the dam be pursued at this time? NPPD has been contacted and has expressed interest in generating power through the ELC dam. Their representatives have been in contact with JEO. Grant money from NPPD is available for help if the idea is feasible.

Are there any changes that will be made if the emergency spillway is restored like it was? A tree guard or trash rack in front of the dam needs to be added. The emergency spillway will need to have cement, soil cement, geofabric or interlocking rock on both sides of it to prevent it washing out again, and also sheet piling is recommended for some length. The plans also include installing sheet piling by the geotube since the river has moved at least 50 feet into the berm area. It needs to be prevented from washing through into the Lake.

Will all of the material be replaced below the emergency spillway? Wayne Buller is the property owner where the river cut through the spillway. He will be content with the banks sloped and reseeded on his property where the river washed through. The cost for those repairs is between $5,000 and $10,000.

Will there be any water in the Lake this winter? There are no plans to have water in the Lake for the winter. Water is seeping through the temporary dam; if more water is added, it may cause the spillway area to fail again. The Lake has been left as it was following the flood because FEMA needs to see the flood damage. There is currently no time-line in place for the Lake restoration.

Has the dam been inspected? The dam is inspected annually, and the results are forwarded to our insurance company.

Are these the final plans? The restoration of the Lake is still in the planning stages; the preliminary work has been done so there is an engineering plan and cost estimate in place to allow funding requests to be submitted to all applicable sources.

With the Ericson Lake property valuation larger than both Ericson and Bartlett, will Wheeler County help with any funding? The County has looked at the flood damages, and talks are in place about help with funding.

Are there other plans being considered? Ideas from ELC members will be considered, and several were presented:
· moving the emergency spillway closer to the dam
· shoring up the area in front of the spillway to prevent it washing away
· getting the word out about the plight of Lake Ericson to as many people as possible, telling them that all work done is volunteer labor only

Will dues need to be raised to help pay for the restoration? The dues will remain at $200 per year. However, the Board would like your input about how much money above your yearly dues that you would be willing to pledge over a 5-year time period to help fund the restoration of the Lake. (For Example: a pledge of $50 per month for 5 years generates $3,000, times 80 ELC members generates $240,000) We need matching funds if any grant monies are awarded. The meeting generated unofficial pledges of over $52,000.

How will we know what is going on as far as repairs being done at the Lake? Major updates will be posted on our web page under the FYI tab (www.lakeericson.com). Members with email capabilities could be updated with future Lake mailings online, saving the Lake about $140 with each post office mailing. Please notify the board of your email address.

NEBRASKA ENVIRONMENTAL TRUST GRANT APPLICATION:

The grant that will be presented to the Nebraska Environmental Trust for around $550,000 will require 10% of the total grant be provided by the ELC. The work being proposed over a 3-year time period will include fixing the geotube/berm area. The sand displaced from the project could be used for fill material in the washed out spillway area. The project could potentially save money that is needed for the dam/spillway restoration.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES AT THE LAKE:

Annual Fall Clean-up day is October 16, 2010 AT 9:00 A.M. (rain date October 23). Work that needs done includes:
· repair the washed out area under the boat ramp
· fill in the washouts along the road above the Dam Campsite on the way to the tree dump
· fill in the washouts on the way down to the Tent Campsite
· trees burned
· clean and grease the dam gates
· clean bathrooms and firepits-donations of toilet paper needed
· cans collected from the campsites

ALL VOLUNTEERS ARE WELCOME TO HELP!

Submitted by,
Cheryl Krohn, Recording Secretary

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Below are pictures of the spillway at the lake. The Dam didn't break, but the spill gave away and now the lake is gone and we have a river.