September 13, 2007
County to Revive 1947 Flood Control District

By Dave Maxwell

The Flood Control District stopped functioning but has never been dissolved. So now, the current County Commissioners are going to reactivate it. Ken Dixon, Director of the County Building and Safety and Charles Brechler, county engineering consultant, presented to the Commissioners the idea of reviving the three-member Flood Control District at the meeting on September 4.

Brechler said that while the Flood Control District has “only very minor taxing power, it allows you to work on private land.” Current flood control laws, said Brechler, require that the county must own the land before they can put any money into it. “Under this act, he said, “you can build something on private land and turn it over to private people to maintain it for you.” The old act also has the power to work with federal and state government, or the public, to obtain grant money. Whereas the County has limited power on private property, explained Commissioner Wade Poulsen, “The Flood Control District has broader powers on private ground which would be able to go after a different style of funding to be able to solve the enactments.”

Brechler said the maximum taxing power of the Flood Control District under the 1947 act is only $2,000 per year which was mostly to be used for administrative costs.

The Commissioners decided they would reactivate the District and appoint a three-person panel that is to be “three residents of the county.” It was unclear to the Commissioners as to whether or not the “three residents” had to be from the public or could be current Lincoln County staff.

One of the advantages of the old district, Brechler said, is that it does allow for work to be done on the Mathews Canyon Dam structure. He said an account for flood control was established by the 1947 act; but there is no money in it now. Brechler thought money could be put back into the account by having the three-member panel apply for grant monies.

Commissioners passed a motion to place advertisements in the Lincoln County Record for a period of time to see if there might be any interest from members of the public in serving on the newly reactivated Flood Control District.