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Lyon County advances $300,000 loan and $75,000 grant to finish Lake Pahoja nature center
Summary
After months of bids and fundraising shortfalls, the Board approved a $300,000 repayable advance from the county sub‑fund and a $75,000 direct transfer to help complete the Lake Pahoja nature center. The Conservation Board must continue private fundraising and use other grants first.
The Lyon County Board of Supervisors on Dec. 8 approved emergency funding to cover a shortfall in the Lake Pahoja nature center project, voting to advance $300,000 to the Conservation fund that must be repaid by June 30, 2024, and to provide a $75,000 non‑repayable transfer from the general sub‑fund.
Conservation Director Craig Van Otterloo told the board earlier in the year that completed bids exceeded available commitments and that private fundraising was slow during the pandemic. The project team has secured multiple sources — county hotel/motel allocations, REAP, a $250,000 LCRF grant and private commitments — but still reported a remaining funding gap as construction reached active phases.
“We are asking the county to help carry the work in the short term while we continue to solicit private donors and grant dollars,” Van Otterloo said in presentations earlier in 2020; the Board agreed the project was a community asset but pressed Conservation to accelerate fundraising.
The Board approved a structured repayment: $300,000 loaned from the county sub‑fund to the land/acquisition account and moved into capital projects, with the loan repaid in three equal $100,000 annual installments beginning June 30, 2022. Separately, the Board approved a $75,000 transfer that will not be repaid.
Conservation leaders told the board the contractor (Peska Construction) has completed major post‑and‑beam work and that the contract schedule targets completion of construction elements this winter with an operational shift planned for spring. The Board said it expects the Conservation Board and the project foundation to intensify private fundraising and report progress quarterly.
The board’s funding action was cast as short‑term cash flow support rather than an ongoing subsidy. Supervisors said they would hold Conservation accountable for fundraising milestones and for exhausting other available public grants before additional county advances.
What happens next: Conservation will continue construction and donor outreach; the county will record the internal loan and track repayment. Public accounting of expenditures and pledged matching funds will be expected at upcoming board meetings.
