A near-capacity crowd at the Grass Valley Veterans Memorial Building last night, with Centennial Dam opponents getting their first chance all year to debate the project with the Nevada Irrigation District Board of Directors. The Board held a meeting on a resolution proposed six months ago by the South Yuba River Citizens League that would suspend all work activities on the proposal until an update on the Raw Water Master Plan was completed in a few years. But NID Board director Nick Wilcox made it clear early on that approving the resolution would show a lack of due diligence on the project to the state, and could result in losing the water right…

click to listen to Nick Wilcox

The NID Board did not even vote on the resolution, with the lack of a motion. But they did approve, on a split 3-2 vote, a resolution that was added, at the last minute, to the agenda, that would cap annual spending on Centennial to two-million dollars, instead of four-million. Longtime opponent, and farmer, Mike Pazner was among the vast majority in the audience who did not see the action as a compromise and was hoping the SYCRL resolution might kill the project…

click to listen to Mike Pazner

Meanwhile, a few Centennial supporters were also there, including Steve Steele…

click to listen to Steve Steele

Steele is president of the Nevada County Fair Board. The meeting was held at the Veterans Building, to accomodate more people.