State considers $600,000 in cuts for basin authority

If that happens, Executive Director David Salyers said he expects some proposed projects will be delayed.

The announcement was made during the basin authority board of directors meeting last month in Humboldt. Dyer County Mayor Richard Hill presided at the meeting in the absence of the board's officers.

Salyers said he was notified that the financially strapped state might cut $50,000 from the basin authority's operating budget and another $550,000 from its capital maintenance fund. The capital maintenance fund pays for projects, such as riverbank stabilization and river restoration.

The basin authority is responsible for preserving the natural flow and function of the Hatchie, Obion and Forked Deer river basins through environmentally sensitive stream maintenance. The basin authority's territory covers 20 counties - including Dyer County - along and between the Mississippi and Tennessee rivers.

Counties within the basin authority territories contribute funds to the agency, supplying at least 29 percent of the agency's annual budget.

"They assured me they would do everything in their power not to cut our budget," he said. "And, if they had to cut our budget, they would try to bring some other dollars back into it.

"I take them at their word. They've been really good to us, but the state's in a tough situation like many of the counties are.

"So this is what we're looking at and I would anticipate we'll have to delay a couple of projects next year," he said.

While the state considers budget cuts, Salyers is looking for ways to increase grant funding.

The basin authority and The Nature Conservancy have worked together to obtain significant grants in recent years.

"The Nature Conservancy has been a great, great partner for the basin authority," he said. "They had a position dedicated solely to West Tennessee and, in general, they got us probably $100,000 to $200,000 a year in grant projects that we partnered with them on."

Unfortunately, the woman working for The Nature Conservancy moved to Ohio and budgetary constraints have kept The Nature Conservancy from hiring a replacement.

The basin authority and The Nature Conservancy plan to work together to restore that position for two years. The basin authority will contribute about $55,000 and The Nature Conservancy will provide a pickup truck and office space. The employee will have a number of responsibilities:

√ Working with landowners to develop watershed stabilization projects in West Tennessee.

√ Helping the basin authority implement its program objectives.

√ Pursuing grants.

√ Measuring and monitoring the success of existing structures.

The board of directors approved the agreement.

In other business, the basin authority board:

* Learned that Salyers is talking to Ed Carter, the new Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency director, about the possibility of re-creating meanders on the lower reaches of Stokes Creek. The project crosses into the Tigrett Wildlife Management Area in southeastern Dyer County. TWRA must sign timber easements before the work can begin.

* Authorized the basin authority plans to bid for a riverbank stabilization project on the South Fork Forked Deer River at Owl City Road in Lauderdale County. The road has been moved away from the riverbank and now the basin authority plans to use riprap and woody vegetation to hold the slope in place. The basin authority had planned to do the work itself, but weather delays and equipment issues have forced the agency to consider other options.

* Appointed a team to evaluate and recommend proposals from engineering companies. The team includes board members Dr. Jim Byford of the University of Tennessee at Martin, Chester County Mayor Troy Kilzer and Dan Eagar of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation; Salyers; and Robert Qualey of the Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration.

The proposals are due Dec. 3. The team will base 70 percent of the score on engineering qualifications and the company's technical approach. The remaining 30 percent will be based on costs.

The current engineering contract will expire on Jan. 1.

* Learned that the basin authority has completed the first of four phases on the Baxter Bottoms river restoration project in Tipton County. Salyers said the project has been going on for 20 to 25 years, but the basin authority just got involved. Phase I included acquiring a permit and easements and some woody debris removal. Salyers said he planned to meet with landowners, get survey data and finalize plans. He said he hoped to take bids on the project by the end of January so construction could begin next summer.

* Scheduled the next board meeting for 2 p.m. Jan. 13 in the basin authority office, 3628 East End Drive in Humboldt.