The Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District Board of Directors welcomed three new members and three returning incumbents at last night’s board meeting.
Left to right: Rodney Storm, Brian Adams, Larry Bradley, Anne Hubbard, Phil Davidson, and Rich Tesar
New Directors include:
Subdistrict 1: Rodney Storm, former City Manager of Blair
Subdistrict 7: Brian Adams, senior leader at OPPD
Subdistrict 9: Anne Hubbard, Omaha physician
Re-elected Directors include:
Subdistrict 3: Larry Bradley, Vice-Chairperson
Subdistrict 5: Rich Tesar, Secretary & NARD Director
Subdistrict 11: Phil Davidson
Additional members of the Papio NRD Board of Directors include, Fred Conley (Subdistrict 2), Tim McCormick (Subdistrict 4), Jim Thompson (Subdistrict 6), Tim Fowler (Subdistrict 8), and Zachary Irvine (Subdistrict 10).
Board members are elected from a subdistrict to serve a four-year term. The 11-member board sets policy for Papio NRD programs and projects and oversees a $118 million annual operating budget.
THIS is 70 collective years of service to constituents of the Papio NRD – working together to protect natural resources across the District!
Five employees and three departing board members were recognized for their service at last night’s board meeting.
With years of employment ranging from 10 to 25 years at the Papio NRD, it’s clear our team members are committed to fulfilling our mission and bring a wealth of knowledge in doing so. We thank and congratulate our employees and outgoing Directors for their dedication to the citizens we serve.
Papio NRD Employees
Tom Pleiss, Assistant Park Superintendent (25 years) – Not pictured
Lori Laster, Stormwater Management Engineer (15 years)
Eric Williams, Natural Resources Planner (10 years)
Joe Riebe, GIS Specialist (10 years)
Mark Wille, Medium Equipment Operator (10 years) – Not pictured
Left to right: Tim McCormick, board chairperson; Lori Laster; Joe Riebe; Eric Williams; John Winkler, general manager.
Departing Board Directors
Ted Japp, Subdistrict #1
Patrick Bonnett, Subdistrict #9
Josh Henningsen, Subdistrict #7, Not pictured
Left to right: Tedd Japp, Director; John Winkler, general manager; Tim McCormick, board chairperson; Patrick Bonnett, Director.
The Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District Board of Directors will see three new faces following the 2024 General Election.
Rodney Storm, former City Manager of Blair, will represent Subdistrict 1, replacing Ted Japp, who chose not to run for reelection.
Omaha physician, Anne Hubbard, defeated incumbent Patrick Bonnet, securing the Subdistrict 9 seat. Brian Adams, a senior leader at OPPD, will represent Subdistrict 7, replacing Josh Henningsen, who chose not to seek another term.
Incumbent Larry Bradley retains his seat in Subdistrict 3 after defeating challenger Grant Melotz. Incumbents Phil Davidson (Subdistrict 11) and Rich Tesar (Subdistrict 5) ran unopposed.
Additional members of the Papio NRD Board of Directors include Fred Conley (Subdistrict 2), Tim McCormick (Subdistrict 4), Jim Thompson (Subdistrict 6), Tim Fowler (Subdistrict 8), and Zachary Irvine (Subdistrict 10).
The Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District Board of Directors is an 11-member board that sets policy for Papio NRD programs and projects and oversees a $118 million annual operating budget.
At its September 12th meeting, the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District (Papio NRD) Board of Directors voted to approve the Fiscal Year 2025 general operating budget that includes a significant decrease in the Papio NRD property tax levy.
Papio NRD Board of Directors
“Again, the District has prepared a budget that reduces the tax levy to its lowest in 25 years while funding the increasing need for additional flood mitigation, water quality, recreation opportunities, maintenance of aging infrastructure, and erosion control,” said Tim McCormick, chairman of the Papio NRD Board of Directors. “The system was tested by this past year’s record storms and worked as designed but is at its capacity. As our region develops, additional capacity is required to provide adequate flood mitigation. I commend the District’s ability to do so much while holding tax requests in check,” said McCormick.
For 19 out of 20 years, the Papio NRD has either decreased or kept the property tax levy the same. This fiscal year’s total tax request is 2.5% above last year’s budget. The District will drop its property tax mill levy by 5.61% this fiscal year.
“The Papio NRD clearly understands that high property valuation assessments and taxes are negatively impacting many of our constituents’ finances,” said John Winkler, general manager of the Papio NRD. “Through consistent, methodical and conservative financial and operational management, as well as, securing hundreds of millions of dollars in grant funding and cost shares over the last twenty years, this budget allows the Papio NRD to once again lower its property tax levy while simultaneously funding critical public safety projects and programs,” said Winkler.
Winkler says over the last five years the Papio NRD’s actual tax request increase has been below inflation and averaged five to ten percent below the average assessed valuation increase.
The Papio NRD’s FY25 property tax levy would drop to 0.029568 per $100 of assessed valuation from the District’s FY24 property tax levy of 0.031324 per $100 of assessed valuation. Under this budget, a homeowner in the District with property valued at $150,000 would pay $44.36 a year or $3.70 a month in property taxes next year to support Papio NRD projects, programs, and services. The budget calls for an estimated $31.5 million in revenue from the Papio NRD’s property tax levy. The total operating budget is estimated at $118.3 million.
The property tax levy is based on an estimated 8.6% increase in valuations across the District, which includes all of Sarpy, Douglas, Washington, and Dakota counties, plus the eastern 60% of Burt and Thurston counties.
The Papio NRD receives less than 2% of all property taxes collected within the District’s six-county area. The remaining 98% goes to schools, cities, counties, and other taxing entities.
At its July 11, 2024, meeting, the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District Board of Directors elected officers to serve the District for the coming year (July 2024 – July 2025).
Tim McCormick in Subdistrict 4 was elected Papio NRD Board Chairperson. Larry Bradley in Subdistrict 3 will serve as Vice Chairperson.
Richard Tesar in Subdistrict 5 was re-elected as both Papio NRD Board Secretary and Nebraska Association of Resources District (NARD) Director. Tim Fowler in Subdistrict 8 was re-elected to serve as Papio NRD Board Treasurer and NARD Alternate Director. Patrick Bonnett in Subdistrict 9 was re-elected Assistant Treasurer.
The Papio NRD Board of Directors is an 11-member board that sets policy for Papio NRD programs and projects and oversees the District’s annual budget.
Left to right: Tim McCormick, Chairperson Jim Thompson, and Kevyn Sopinski
Two recently-elected members of the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District Board of Directors were sworn in at last night’s board meeting.
Tim McCormick, owner of a bridge and heavy civil construction company, now officially represents Subdistrict 4 following the retirement of long-time board member John Conley.
Kevyn Sopinski, a financial adviser, serves Subdistrict 10. Sopinski replaces David Klug who chose not to run for re-election to focus on election to the Sarpy County Board of Commissioners.
Another new face will join the Papio NRD Board of Directors in February, as the board announced the resignation of Director Patrick Leahy of Subdistrict 7 due to Leahy’s move to a residence located outside of Subdistrict 7. Those interested in applying to fill the remainder of Leahy’s term can find more information here.
McCormick and Sopinski join current members of the Papio NRD Board of Directors: Ted Japp (Subdistrict 1), Fred Conley (Subdistrict 2), Larry Bradley (Subdistrict 3), Richard Tesar (Subdistrict 5), Jim Thompson (Subdistrict 6), Mark Gruenwald (Subdistrict 9), and John B. Wiese (Subdistrict 11).
The Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District Board of Directors will see some new faces this year following the 2018 General Election.
Tim McCormick, owner of a bridge and heavy civil construction company, takes over John Conley’s seat in Subdistrict 4. Conley retired after serving 19 years on the board.
Kevyn Sopinski, a financial adviser, replaces David Klug in Subdistrict 10, who chose not to run for re-election to focus on election to the Sarpy County Board of Commissioners.
Longtime incumbent Tim Fowler, who has represented Subdistrict 8 since 2003, will hold onto his seat after defeating challenger Jim Kusek.
Incumbents Jim Thompson in Subdistrict 6 and Fred Conley in Subdistrict 2 ran unopposed.
Additional members of the Papio NRD Board of Directors include Ted Japp (Subdistrict 1), Larry Bradley (Subdistrict 3), Richard Tesar (Subdistrict 5), Patrick Leahy (Subdistrict 7), Mark Gruenwald (Subdistrict 8), and John B. Wiese (Subdistrict 11).
The Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District Board of Directors is an 11-member board that sets policy for Papio NRD programs and projects and oversees a $72 million annual operating budget.
