Soil and water staff urge early funding and community engagement for Lake Beltane feasibility study

Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) staff asked Hubbard County commissioners to consider setting aside funds in the 2026 budget to begin coordinated public engagement and scoping for a feasibility study addressing Lake Beltane's water‑level issues.

Shar and Crystal from the SWCD described recent watershed work and larger projects funded by state and federal competitive grants. Crystal said the SWCD has increased capacity for forestry, wetland and stream projects through grant hiring and has been using reimbursement‑only grants more frequently. She said that because many state grants reimburse only after work and invoicing, the SWCD needs reliable local funds for up‑front coordination work.

"I did put a page in here about what we have been doing and what I think the next steps are for Lake Beltane," Crystal said, recounting an AECOM scoping presentation staff previously received. She recommended coordinated community engagement, a public landing page for information sharing and an RFP process to hire an outside facilitator to run the stakeholder process and public meetings.

Board direction: Commissioners asked whether the project could be hosted through the county's local water management plan and discussed formation of a lake improvement district (LID) as a potential funding mechanism for long‑term maintenance. Crystal said the next practical step would be to include Lake Beltane in the county's local water plan revision and to budget modest seed funding for outreach and project scoping.

Funding request: Commissioners and staff discussed a modest budget for early steps. Several commissioners suggested $10,000–$20,000 to pay for community engagement, develop scope and position the effort for competitive grants to fund a multi‑year feasibility study. "If we could find that for next year's budget, I would be supportive," one commissioner said. Staff agreed to provide an updated budget request with a special project line of up to $20,000 for the board's next budget packet.

Why it matters: SWCD staff said unresolved water‑level problems at Lake Beltane could affect upstream and downstream lakes, septic systems and roads, and that a feasibility study could take up to two years from funding to completion. They emphasized the need to involve all affected communities in early planning to avoid unilateral measures that shift impacts downstream.

Ending: SWCD will provide an updated budget line showing a $20,000 special project amount for Lake Beltane scoping and engagement and will work with county staff on the local water plan revision and grant timing.