Board updates: Deeds Creek erosion-control work complete; drainage fund to cover part of invoice

The Kosciusko County Drainage Board received an update that the Deeds Creek erosion-control project overseen by the Watershed Foundation is complete and that the foundation billed the drainage board $28,620 under a previously approved contribution of up to $40,000.

The county surveyor said the Watershed Foundation’s overall project cost was roughly $128,000 and that a large portion of funding came from a Department of Natural Resources grant. The surveyor told the board that, during construction, an existing tile that the contractor’s plans showed as a Whitley County responsibility remained buried under silt; because the tile connected into Deeds Creek, the county removed two to three feet of silt downstream from the project to restore flow. The surveyor said that additional county work cost “a little over $14,000,” bringing the county’s total outlay for the site to about $43,000 when paired with the $28,620 invoice submitted for payment.

Board members said they saw value in the project’s leverage of state grant dollars and discussed monitoring the stabilization next spring when vegetation re-establishes. No formal motion was required at the meeting for this update; the invoice and related work were included in the claims presented for approval to the board.