1.      2010 OPERATIONS & BUDGET

The Site Maintenance Contract 10-859-11 will provide labor, equipment, and materials to support various ongoing studies of the R&D Department, such as the Phosphorous Runoff Study in Field 63SE. Other Site Maintenance activities will include installation of 8,000 feet of new pasture fence and replacement of about 7,000 feet of fence and mowing and weed control on about 1430 acres along roadsides and in other unused areas of the property. Approximately 2.2 miles of roads will be seal coated, and about 85 sq. yards of pavement will be patched under Contract 10-864-11.

There will be no deliveries of biosolids to Fulton County in 2010.

Excluding salaries and personal service contracts, the 2010 Prairie Plan budget contains contracts and purchase orders with an approximate value of $899,900.00. Of that total approximately $35,000.00 is for gasoline or diesel fuels; approximately $26,000.00 is for utilities; and, approximately $774,600.00 is for service contracts such as Road Seal Coat and Patching, Fencing, Site Maintenance, Security patrols, Janitorial services, lease management, and the purchase of two mowers.  The remaining $64,300.00 is for purchase orders with local vendors for various materials, supplies, tools and parts.

2.   2010 AGRICULTURAL PROGRAM

Since December of 2008, the management of the District’s agricultural fields on the property is under a professional farm manager. MWRDGC has retained Heartland Bancorp, Inc., of Bloomington, Illinois under the terms of 07-RFP-27 to select suitable tenants and negotiate agricultural leases with them. In addition, the farm manager will determine optimal land uses, inspect the fields and tenant operations, suggest land improvements, prepare agricultural budget and cash flow reports and ensure tenant operator compliance with Federal and State agricultural programs.

The farm manager has installed seven local individuals as tenant operators for:

(a).    579.5 acres of hay fields;.

(b).    3301.4 of crop fields; and,

(c).    1197.5 acres of pasture

The value of these agricultural leases totals $729,633.96 for 2010.

Not included in the above are MWRDGC lease permits to Spoon River College (Field 155), and Cuba School District No. 3 (Fields 59, 63SE and 83).

3.    OTHER ACTIVITIES

The District granted a temporary construction easement to Buckheart Township to repair Oscar Linn Hwy.