Johnson Lake campground open despite cost dispute

Post date: May 28, 2010 11:14:14 PM

By JOE DUGGAN / Lincoln Journal Star | Thursday, May 27, 2010 | Journal-Star on line at: http://www.journalstar.com

GERING -- A popular lakeside campground near Lexington will remain open despite an impasse over payment for sewage treatment, the park's owner said Thursday.

Johnson Lake State Recreation Area is open and will stay that way, said Don Kraus, general manager of the Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District. The district owns the lake and leases the recreation area to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.

"As far as I'm concerned, the campground will remain open and running," Kraus said Thursday after appearing before the Game and Parks board in Gering.

The recreational area provides 207 campsites, restrooms, showers and other amenities. The area's annual visitation is about 120,000, but not all visitors use the campground, Game and Parks officials said earlier.

Central and Game and Parks have been in partnership on the recreational area since 1945.

The partnership has become strained over the cost of sewage treatment.

Central wants Game and Parks to pay the first installment on a bill for the park's share of a new sewage treatment plant at Johnson Lake. The lake is ringed by private homes, and two years ago residents completed the $18 million treatment plant.

The residents formed a sanitary improvement district, which initially assessed Game and Parks nearly $3 million for its share of the treatment plant. Game and Parks officials have disputed the figures and even sued the sanitary district over the matter. The commission withdrew the lawsuit earlier this year.

In the meantime, Central paid a nearly $46,000 bill for Game and Parks, which represents an installment on a greatly reduced $443,000 assessment for the plant, Kraus said. On Thursday, he requested Game and Parks repay Central.

But Game and Parks doesn't have the authority to make that payment, said Commission Director Rex Amack. The commission's legal counsel said because the sewage treatment plant is a capital improvement, the agency must get permission from the Legislature to pay for it.

The commission sought permission during the last legislative session, but lawmakers took no action on the request. Given the predicted budget shortfalls for next year, future approval seems unlikely, Amack said.

Kraus said he will take up the matter with the Central board of directors to decide their next step.

Central could opt to terminate the lease with the state and find another vendor to run the campground, Amack said.