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Water district to retain services of its retiring legal counsel

By Daria Sokolova Pahrump Valley Times
July 27, 2016 - 6:42 am
 

The Nye County Water District will use the services of its retiring legal counsel, George Benesch, while officials are looking for a replacement.

At the meeting on Tuesday, members of the board voted to retain Benesch on an hourly basis for advise and counsel and to look for and to advertise for a replacement at the same time.

Benesch has provided legal services for Nye County on matters that involved performance of the professional legal service associated with consultation and evaluation of water-related matters that could impact the water district and other legal services as requested by the water district.

According to a contract, Benesch will continue to provide the county with legal advise but not litigation for a transition period.

“Mr. Benesch has provided legal services to Nye County since 1989 and legal services to the water district since it was created in 2007. This represents some 27 years of institutional knowledge relating to various water-related issues in Nye County,” officials said in the document.

Nye County Water District Governing Board Contractor Oz Wichman said he has been engaged in negotiations trying to figure out how to replace Benesch.

“So I’m looking for direction to staff to perhaps have some water attorneys in Nevada come and make presentations to the board showing interest, provide their qualifications and then, we can maybe get an agenda item on with a contract,” Wichman said.

According to the contract, NCWD will pay Benesch $215 per hour for each hour of legal service provided to NCWD.

In addition to the amount paid for legal services, NCWD will pay costs and expenses of Benesch, according to the agreement.

Benesch in turn has to provide a monthly itemized bill to NCWD.

“In the meantime, I think that operating this district without legal counsel for water issues is very serious,” Wichman said.

Benesch is licensed to practice law in the state of Nevada. He has experience in legal matters that involve water issues, specifically with Nye County, according to the documents.

Contact report Daria Sokolova at dsokolova@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @dariasokolova77

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