The Shell Rock River Watershed District Board of Managers Tuesday approved re-evaluating soils on the site where sediment will be stored after being removed from Fountain Lake during dredging this summer.

The board approved a contract not to exceed $20,000 with OBG Co.

Watershed District Administrator Andy Henschel said the decision came after soil not suited for the site — organic peat, an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter — was found on the first cell of the confined disposal facility, a 40-acre basin with 25- to 28-foot side beams north of Interstate 90 and 1 1/2 miles north of Fountain Lake.

“What we are doing here is actually looking at re-evaluating that due to the possible cost to remove all that unsuitable soil,” Henschel said. “We’re having a slope stability study done to look at a different way to handle that material, and basically what we’re doing is looking at filling the top of those unsuitable (soils).”

Henschel said the contract means work on the second and third cells at the CDF could start this year.

The district also approved a $250,000 contract with OBG Co. for dredge oversight work. Approximately $125,000 is expected to be spent each year of the two-year contract period.

The finalization of the contracts came more than a month after the district approved a nearly $5.1 million contract with LaCrosse, Wisconsin-based J.F. Brennan Co. Inc. for the first phase of Fountain Lake dredging.

The company’s dredge could enter Fountain Lake by the end of this month.

In other action:

Managers approved applying for a grant to take part in the One Watershed, One Plan program. The goal of the initiative is to align local water planning on watershed boundaries with state strategies toward privatized and measurable implementation plans.

Managers approved applying for a Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council grant for the eighth phase of the Shell Rock River habitat restoration program. The district has received $6.8 million in grant funding from the council in the past.

Conservation Technician Courtney Christensen announced a full-time staffer will come in September through Minnesota GreenCorps, an AmeriCorps project that allows the district to play host to the staffer paid by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. The Watershed District is responsible for providing an office space, computer, phone, mileage compensation and other necessary equipment for the volunteer to complete the job. Henschel has estimated the district would be a host for roughly 11 months.

Announced a celebration for the beginning of the Fountain Lake restoration project is planned for June 6 with hot dogs, pop and water.