1. Upper Maple River Dam ballot question

Page 2 If the benefitted landowners vote to approve the project, Maple-Steele and Barnes would assess any remaining local costs of the project against benefitted properties. If the vote is successful,the Boards will issue bonds to fund and finance the design and construction of the Upper Maple River Dam; for your information,the Boards would likely repay the improvement bonds over a period of 15 or 20 years. With regard to your individual assessment, the enclosed preliminary assessment list contains an estimate of the total assessments attributed to each benefitted property;you would pay only a portion of the principal ofyour total assessment each year over the 15 or 20 year period,with interest(interest rates on improvement bonds of these nature typically range between 4 and 6 percent). Of course, you could elect to pre-pay your assessments at any time. If additional cost-share funds are obtained they would not be secured until after a successful vote and those funds would be applied to the bond for the project; therefore, if the Boards successfully obtain additional cost-share,assessments for each benefitting parcel will be even less. With regard to the enclosed ballot, it is important that all property owners vote and sign their names. For example,if the tax rolls show two people jointly own a parcel,and only one signs the ballot,the Boards will only count half of the dollars identified on the ballot. If the ownership information shown on the ballot is not correct,please contact the Maple-Steele Joint Water Resource District by telephone at(701)298-2381 or by mail so the Boards can provide a corrected ballot form. The Boards are sending ballots only to the addresses listed on the tax rolls for each respective county,as shown on each ballot;the parties who receive the ballots are responsible for circulating the ballots to other landowners if they reside at different addresses. In addition, landowners who own more than one parcel within the benefitted area will receive multiple ballots. You must return all ballots if you want the Boards to consider all of your possible votes. For example, if you own four parcels within the proposed assessment district,and the tax rolls list your address, your enclosed materials should include four ballots. You must return all four ifyou want the Boards to count all of your votes; if you only return one of your four ballots,the Boards will only count the votes contained on that single ballot and will not count the dollars on the other three ballots. After all owners have voted who plan to vote,please return your ballot or ballots to the Maple-Steele Joint Water Resource District, 1201 Main Avenue West,West Fargo,North Dakota 58078. You must return all ballots by 5:00 p.m. on May 2, 2014; the Boards will not count or consider any late ballots. With regard to the hearing on April 2,Maple-Steele,Barnes,and their consultants will present and review the proposed creation and construction of the Upper Maple River Dam, as well as the proposed UPPER MAPLE FLOOD PROTECTION DISTRICTNO.l assessment district,in detail at the hearing. At that time you will be free to ask any questions you might have regarding the proposed project. Please note this hearing is to discuss the creation and construction of the project; if the vote passes, the Boards will later conduct a separate hearing specifically for purposes of discussing assessments. The intent of this initial public hearing is to discuss the mechanics of the proposed project, and not benefits or assessments. If you cannot attend this public hearing,you can certainly direct any questions you might have to the office ofthe Maple-Steele Joint Water Resource District at(701)298-2381,or you can contact the project engineer, Mr.Mike Opat,at Moore Engineering,Inc., at(701)282-4692. Dated this 3rd day of March,2014. MAPLE-STEELE JOINT WATER RESOURCE DISTRICT Jurgen Suhr Chair Enclosures