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Next week, Nevada Irrigation District's board of directors will square off in an attempt to fill the Division 4 seat left open when Paul Williams stepped down in April.
On May 27, the board came to a deadlock over two candidates vying for the position. Five were interviewed before the board narrowed their choices to rancher Jim Bachman and organic farmer Will Morebeck, both of whom reside on Garden Bar Road in the Lincoln area.
Directors Nancy Weber and Nick Wilcox support Morebeck, while board president John Drew and director Scott Miller favor Bachman.
“We arrived at a political crossroads,” Drew said.
Williams recommended Bachman before he left his seat of 27 years on the five-member panel.
NID serves about 25,000 homes, farms and businesses in five geographical divisions in Nevada and Placer counties, stretching from Lake Wildwood to Nevada Cityim, Banner Mountain Chicago Park and southern Nevada County nearly to Lincoln and Auburn in northwestern Placer County. Division 4 is entirely in Placer County.
Major issues facing the district in the near future are the federal relicensing of hydroelectric plants, growth pressures and competing demands on the water supply.
On Wednesday, three options to resolve the matter will go before the board: Come to an agreement on Williams' successor, declare a special election, or hand the matter over to the Placer County Board of Supervisors to decide.
Drew drafted a letter to the supervisors asking them to weigh in on the candidates and give an opinion on the their favored choice to represent NID's Division 4.
Placer County will discuss the water agency's dilemma at its board meeting on Tuesday and is expected to release their thoughts to NID in time for the water district's Wednesday meeting.
If a special election were to be held, it could cost the district as much as $40,000, said Drew, who favors this alternative.
The cost of the election likely would be passed on to taxpayers and rate payers.
“Democracy and freedom come with a price,” he said.
The election only would be open to rate payers living within Division 4, the largest among the district, stretching from Highway 49 to Highway 65, covering parts of Auburn and Lincoln.
In 2007, Lincoln was named the fastest growing city in the nation by Forbes.com.
A new water treatment plant scheduled for construction in Lincoln has been a source of controversy among water users in Nevada County who fear losing water to downstream users.
The meeting begins at 9 a.m. in the board room at 1036 W. Main St. in Grass Valley.
To contact Laura Brown, e-mail lbrown@theunion.com or call 477-4231.
On May 27, the board came to a deadlock over two candidates vying for the position. Five were interviewed before the board narrowed their choices to rancher Jim Bachman and organic farmer Will Morebeck, both of whom reside on Garden Bar Road in the Lincoln area.
Directors Nancy Weber and Nick Wilcox support Morebeck, while board president John Drew and director Scott Miller favor Bachman.
“We arrived at a political crossroads,” Drew said.
Williams recommended Bachman before he left his seat of 27 years on the five-member panel.
NID serves about 25,000 homes, farms and businesses in five geographical divisions in Nevada and Placer counties, stretching from Lake Wildwood to Nevada Cityim, Banner Mountain Chicago Park and southern Nevada County nearly to Lincoln and Auburn in northwestern Placer County. Division 4 is entirely in Placer County.
Major issues facing the district in the near future are the federal relicensing of hydroelectric plants, growth pressures and competing demands on the water supply.
On Wednesday, three options to resolve the matter will go before the board: Come to an agreement on Williams' successor, declare a special election, or hand the matter over to the Placer County Board of Supervisors to decide.
Drew drafted a letter to the supervisors asking them to weigh in on the candidates and give an opinion on the their favored choice to represent NID's Division 4.
Placer County will discuss the water agency's dilemma at its board meeting on Tuesday and is expected to release their thoughts to NID in time for the water district's Wednesday meeting.
If a special election were to be held, it could cost the district as much as $40,000, said Drew, who favors this alternative.
The cost of the election likely would be passed on to taxpayers and rate payers.
“Democracy and freedom come with a price,” he said.
The election only would be open to rate payers living within Division 4, the largest among the district, stretching from Highway 49 to Highway 65, covering parts of Auburn and Lincoln.
In 2007, Lincoln was named the fastest growing city in the nation by Forbes.com.
A new water treatment plant scheduled for construction in Lincoln has been a source of controversy among water users in Nevada County who fear losing water to downstream users.
The meeting begins at 9 a.m. in the board room at 1036 W. Main St. in Grass Valley.
To contact Laura Brown, e-mail lbrown@theunion.com or call 477-4231.
