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Elm River Joint Water Resource District <br />PO Box 10 <br />Hillsboro, ND 58045 <br /> <br />November 13, 2023 <br /> <br />Chad Peterson, Chairman <br />Cass County Commission <br />P.O. Box 2806 <br />Fargo, ND 58108-2806 <br /> <br />Dear Chairman Peterson: <br /> <br />Re: Elm River Dam No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 Improvements <br />Cass, Steele & Traill County, ND <br /> <br />The Elm River Joint Water Resource District (WRD) has two projects that have been previously approved <br />for cost-share by the Cass County Flood Sales Tax Committee. Below is a summary of the projects. As a <br />reminder, the WRD owns and maintains three dams in Cass, Steele and Traill Counties, and the existing <br />federal project maintenance district for all three dams only provides a maximum of $41,880 each year for <br />operation and maintenance costs. <br />It’s anticipated that a single construction contract for all three dams will be awarded in February 2024 <br />after both the State Water Commission (SWC) and the Red River Joint Water Resource District (RRJWRD) <br />approve amended cost-share agreements at their February and January 2024 meetings, respectively. All <br />cost-share agreements and approvals are needed so that the WRD can go to the bond market for financing <br />of the construction contract, and closing on the bond is anticipated to occur in March 2024. So, an <br />amended approval from the Cass County Flood Sales Tax Committee is needed on November 20 since the <br />next Cass County Flood Sales Tax Committee meeting would likely not be until April 2024, unless a special <br />meeting is held sometime between these two meeting dates. <br />• Elm River Dam No. 1 and No. 2 Improvement Project <br />o These two dams are located in Steele and Traill County but shared assessment district <br />for all three Elm River Dams extend into Cass, Steele and Traill Counties <br />o Flood Sales Tax cost-share amount of $95,267 was approved at the April 18, 2022 Flood <br />Sales Tax Committee meeting at 2/3 of local share: <br />▪ State Water Commission cost-share – $1,671,000 <br />▪ Red River Joint Water Resource District cost-share – $1,286,100 <br />▪ Local cost-share – $142,900 <br />• Existing Cass County Flood Sales Tax cost-share – $95,267 <br />o State construction permit approvals took eleven months resulting in delay in <br />construction bidding <br />o Construction is planned for 2024 <br />o Total project cost-estimate increased from $3,100,000 to $5,300,000 due to significant <br />material and labor cost increases and a construction delay from 2023 to <br />2024. Updated cost-share split at 2/3 of local share: <br />▪ Updated State Water Commission cost-share – $3,114,000