November 15, 2007
1947 Flood Control District Reactivated

By Dave Maxwell

Created by special ordinance in 1947, but never deactivated, Lincoln County has reappointed a 3-man board known as the Lincoln County Flood Control District. The action was taken at the County Commissioners meeting on November 5, 2007.

Several members of the public were asked to consider serving on the board and from that group Commissioners selected Pioche Town Board Member Glenn Zelch, Caliente City Mayor Kevin Phillips and Alamo resident Vaughn Higbee, who had been a member of the board when it was last functioning in the mid-1980s.

Duties of the newly appointed board will be to cooperate and act in conjunction with State and Federal agencies in the investigation or construction of any work for the controlling of flood or storm waters in the District, for the protection of property therein, or for the purpose of conserving said waters for beneficial use within the District.

Current flood control laws require that the County must own the land before they can put any money into it. According to County Engineer Charles Brechler, “Under this act you can build something on private land and turn it over to private people to manage for you.” The 1947 Act also has the power to work with federal and state government, or the public, to obtain grant money.

Another advantage of the Flood Control District, Brechler said, is that it allows work to be done on the Mathews Canyon Dam structure.

During the meeting Commissioners learned that the Flood Control District has the legal authority to assess fees of up to $2,000 per year.

Commissioner Paul Mathews asked about the District’s liability or financial obligations to the County and how it would affect the Lincoln County side of Coyote Springs and the Lincoln County Land Act area. County Engineering consultant Chuck Brechler said the Flood Control District will be able to serve as an “Umbrella and pull all of the flood control problems within the entire county together so that we can see them in the relative programming of what needs to be done.”

At present, Brechler said, a number of independent studies that are being done have no connection between them. As it did in 1947 when first created, the District would act as a central board in dealing with flood control issues to be presented to the County Commissioners, eliminating the need for the Commissioners having to conduct a number of individual meetings. He said the Flood Control District was formed with the same boundaries as Lincoln County, and thus encompasses everything in the County.

The flood control master study in the Lincoln County Land Act area is being paid for by the developers, but even that Brechler said, should be under the oversight of a single countywide board that the developers report to. “They (the board) will take that plan and make sure that as the sub-divisions are developed within it (the Land Act), they will conform,” he said.

Doug Carriger of Coyote Springs said he favors the reactivated Flood Control District that will work with the current General Improvement District (GID) that already exists at Coyote, and is following the same standards as they do on the Clark County side of Coyote. He also suggested the countywide Flood Control District might be broken up into small areas responsible for their own area that report to the 3-man Flood Control authority.

Commissioner Mathews suggested the renewed 1947 District might consider adopting portions of more recent standards that are spelled out in Nevada Revised Statute 543. However, NRS 543 does not provide for assessing fees and collecting taxes that the 1947 act does.

County District Attorney Greg Barlow commented that by reactivating the Flood Control District, “basically you’ve got keys to a car that will start right now.” To enact NRS 543, he said, “Will take time and effort to put in place.” He also mentioned that the 1947 act can be updated and the board can decide to adopt certain more recent provisions, which may find their source in the NRS 543 statutes.

Commission Chairman Ronda Hornbeck said the 1947 act would give the County “the vehicle to get it moving.”