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Marshall County accepts petitions to investigate private tile and consider adding ditch to maintenance in Snyder–Carruthers watershed
Summary
The board accepted two petitions — one to assume jurisdiction over a private/mutual tile on Olive Trail and one to place part of the Carruthers Ditch on county maintenance — and authorized staff reconnaissance and future hearings on assessments.
Marshall County drainage officials on July 21 accepted two petitions related to the Snyder–Carruthers watershed and authorized staff to investigate the condition of a private tile that has caused local flooding.
Craig (staff member) told the board he had two petitions: one asking the county to assume jurisdiction over a private or mutual tile drain on Olive Trail in the Snyder–Carruthers watershed and a second asking that part of the Carruthers Ditch be placed on county maintenance. Craig said the petition drive was led locally by Councilman Nicole Cox and that the tile area has experienced flooding.
Craig asked the board for permission to perform reconnaissance to determine the tile’s condition and whether the county should accept the tile into the county drainage system. He said the reconnaissance would require contractor work paid from the watershed maintenance fund or the county’s general drain improvement (GDI) fund. Craig said the GDI fund has about $750,000 available to advance reconnaissance work and that, if the county accepted a tile or ditch into maintenance, the watershed’s assessment rate would need to be raised to cover future work.
Craig provided figures for the existing watershed finances: the current watershed balance is $930 and the watershed brings in about $1,163 annually; these are small amounts relative to anticipated maintenance needs. He said that if the county accepts the private tile and the white-outlined ditch area into maintenance, the county would have to raise the assessment rate and would schedule a public hearing to notify affected property owners.
A board member moved to accept the petitions and authorize Craig to inspect the tile; another member seconded. The board approved the motion on a voice vote. Craig said he will return with a reconnaissance report and recommendations at the next meeting.
Board members also discussed a separate larger watershed (Golandicar/Golancicar in transcript) where projected work could require raising rates; Craig said projected annual collections could range between roughly $30,000 and $40,000 depending on assessment choices and that recent 10-year expenditures on that watershed totaled about $305,000 (about 25 years of collection at prior assessment rates).
Separately, the board approved transferring a remaining balance from the Marion Schroeder Ditch account into the Robins Watershed. County staff reported there was a small balance remaining in the Schroeder account and recommended that the funds be deposited in Robins Watershed for use by the county now responsible for that ditch. The motion to transfer the funds was moved, seconded and approved on a voice vote; the transcript does not show a roll-call tally or an exact dollar amount that is clearly legible in the audio transcript.
