As the Shell Rock River Watershed District moves closer to its intended start for dredging Fountain Lake, the board of managers on Tuesday approved a portion of recommended repairs for the district’s dredge purchased in 2012.

“Overall, the dredge is in good — great — shape, but to make it operable if somebody bids it to use our dredge, these are the things we feel we have to upgrade to make it viable for them to use our dredge,” Director of Field Operations Andy Henschel said.

The cost of recommended repairs should not be more than $21,000 for dredge maintenance and $5,000 for booster pump maintenance, which will help transport dredge discharge.

The repairs needed are in line with the level of use the dredge has had, he said. This is routine maintenance that has not been done because the dredge has not been in use, Henschel said.

Staff recommendations for dredge repairs were split based on part and task between moving forward with repairs from Ellicott Dredging Co. (which bought the company that manufactured the district’s dredge) and holding out for a second opinion from Kibble Equipment in Owatonna.

“We believe they can do this hopefully at a far cheaper rate,” Henschel said.

Some of the work, including some part replacements and an inspection, was approved to move forward with Ellicott. An assessment from Kibble Equipment will be requested relating to hydraulic system repairs.

There will be a project walk-through for the first dredging contract on Feb. 1. Henschel said if the dredge goes up to Ellicott after the walk-through, the Watershed District should have it back by mid- to late March.

“The reason we want to get this purchase order in is due to timing,” Henschel said.

In other action:

• The board removed Brett Behnke, Clayton Peterson and Art Ludtke as key executives to district accounts at Wells Fargo. Board secretary Mick Delger said Peterson and Ludtke are former board members who hadn’t been removed from the paperwork.

• The board approved an additional $89,000 for Natural Resources Technology, the group the Watershed District has hired during negotiations with the Department of Natural Resources and for computer-aided design work during dredge preparations. Henschel said this funding should see them through bid evaluations and accepting a contractor on the first dredging contract.

• The Watershed District is preparing for its annual meeting, which will happen in March.

• The board changed conservation technician Scott Christenson’s employment status from probationary to permanent and increased his hourly rate to $17.

“He’s done a good job,” Delger said.