The Kosciusko County Drainage Board voted at its meeting to set the Logan Kimes maintenance rate at $5 per acre with a $50 minimum and a four-year maximum balance, a change the board said will restore working funds for routine maintenance.

The rate was proposed at a public hearing and was advertised at $5 per acre with a $50 minimum, which the county surveyor said would raise annual collections to just over $3,000. The surveyor told the board the watershed is a percentage ditch with a variable rate per acre and a $5 minimum and that the system’s current balance is “just under $2,000.” The surveyor also said recent tile repairs reduced the balance.

The Logan Kimes hearing record shows the watershed has not had a recent maintenance hearing: the transcript notes the drainage board previously addressed the ditch in December 1967 and raised rates in December 1980. Board discussion focused on using the additional funds to clean an open ditch stretch from Fox Farm Road to the river — about 600 feet — and on permit requirements for work in that area. The surveyor said the middle portion of the tile is in a wetland restoration project and the northern reaches affect commercial properties near U.S. 30.

Board member action: one board member moved to set the rate at $5 per acre with a $50 minimum and a four-year maximum balance; the motion was seconded and the chair announced the motion approved after a recorded “3 3” vote. The surveyor said, if funds are sufficient, he will apply for the permit required to clean the open ditch segment.

The board received no public comments at the hearing and no written correspondence for or against the proposal, the surveyor said. The board also noted the rate change would provide a “very good working balance” for planned cleaning and other maintenance work on the system.

The board did not provide a definitive schedule for the permit application or the cleaning work at the meeting; the surveyor said permit timing depends on available funds and regulatory approvals.