Delaware County commissioners dismiss Evans 354 drainage petition after contested hearing; order costs distributed to landowners

Delaware County commissioners on March 10, 2025 dismissed a petition to construct the Evans Number 354 Watershed Drainage Improvement Project in Harlem Township and ordered that costs already incurred be distributed to landowners, after a contested public hearing in which multiple property owners opposed the work and questioned individual assessments.

The petition covered the Evans Number 354 watershed, roughly 317 acres and 51 parcels, and proposed two construction sections (Main 1 and Main 2) of open-channel restoration, rock-lined channels, subsurface drain tile and related work. County and Soil and Water staff presented a final engineering report estimating a total project cost of about $370,524.93 and sample parcel assessments averaging roughly $7,000; commissioners said testimony at the hearing did not show that benefits exceeded costs and moved to dismiss the petition.

Why it matters: the project would have been funded by special assessments placed on benefited parcels or paid up front by landowners. Approving the petition would have initiated public bidding, construction and a perpetual drainage maintenance assessment; dismissing it leaves landowners responsible only for costs already incurred and stops further work unless a new petition is filed.

County and Soil and Water presentation

Brett Bacon, deputy administrator for the Delaware County Soil and Water Conservation District, summarized the petition’s scope and the engineer’s findings. He described Main 1 as open-channel and rock-lined channel work with surface drain and tile replacement and Main 2 as upstream subsurface tile and related work. Bacon said the petition, originally filed May 26, 2021 and amended July 19, 2021, followed prior view and hearing steps (view 08/16/2021; first hearing 10/28/2021). He told the board the watershed is roughly 317 acres (55% agricultural, 32% residential, 11% woods, 2% road/commercial) and that the engineer found the project technically feasible.

Bacon presented line-item estimates: Main 1 construction $166,713.62; administration, engineering and inspection $9,360.88; contingency $25,000; drainage maintenance pay-in $8,803.72 for a…