Good move with Ronnie.
Here are a few helpful hints, now that you have decided your approach.
Budget 25% more than what you expect to spend, for a "safety net." In 30 years of doing this stuff, I have never found a situation where all pitfalls and pratfalls can be reasonably predicted, simply because some of the "problems" are buried or haven't been identified, yet. Budgeting another $2,000 minimizes the emotions of "surprises."
One acre of dirt, one foot deep, is 1,667 cubic yards of material. Otto has told me many, many times that with a bulldozer the equivalent of a Caterpillar D-6, he can move about 2,000 cubic yards per day, as long as the soil is dry. An excavator can move much more.
Where are you planning to put the excavated dirt? If you didn't discuss this with Ronnie, you should. Earthmovers almost always want to move the dirt the shortest distance possible. That may be he intends to pile it up nearby and build you a ski slope. You probably talked with him about it, but if not, you should.
Regarding the dam, what it sounds like to me is that he sees how major the dam renovation would be and has figured out that you guys can excavated and make the pond bigger by leaving the leaky dam virtually alone and allowing the "leak down" elevation to become the new "full" and improve the pond by deepening it.
If that's good with you, it will be good with him.
Last, I do think it's a good idea to go look at some of his finished projects so you can visualize something similar. Often, an earthmover's idea of "finished" isn't always your idea of "finished." Looking at some of his projects is educational and he shouldn't be offended. He should be proud to show off his work.
You are tactful, we can tell. Just tell him you want to look at some of his work so you can see what he does.
