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Osceola County board approves contractor payment, sets $1,000/acre for 2024 crop damages on Branch 152 project
Summary
Board received a construction update on the Branch 152 pipeline, approved pay application No. 7 for $112,693.20, approved a construction completion notice to the contractor, and set a standard $1,000 per-acre rate for 2024 crop damages (about 33 acres).
The Osceola County Board of Supervisors received a construction update on the Branch 152 (152178) pipeline project, approved payment for recent work and adopted a single rate to compensate landowners for 2024 crop damages.
County staff told the board the contractor installed nearly all pipe for the project, with roughly 100 feet remaining where utilities and frost prevented completion. Staff said about two-thirds of the new pipe has been televised for defects; the televised sections show a few minor issues — a handful of lateral connections that had shifted, a small number of pipe deflections just above the 7% cutoff and some sand/gravel deposits — all slated for repair and inclusion on the contractor’s punch list.
Board members approved pay application No. 7, moved by Schulte and supported by Helmers, for $112,693.20. Staff said the contract retains 10% retainage and estimated that, if the payment were approved, district retainage would be about $124,000 to cover potential damages or corrective work.
The board also approved a construction completion notice letter, drafted by Brian Young and revised by staff, that states remaining work to be finished before substantial completion and sets an April 4 target date. Spencer McCall, who presented the construction update, said grading and site cleanup are delayed by frost and that the contractor expects to return in spring to finish cleanup, final pipe connections and remaining televising.
On crop damages from the 2024 growing season, staff said the project originally budgeted $37,000 (based on roughly 37 acres at $1,000 per acre). Presenters said documented damages total about 33 acres; all but one small area would be paid by the district because one area was documented as work outside the contractor’s limits. The board discussed how to value ‘fallow’ areas — land that was not planted after the district marked work limits last spring — and options for differing rates for corn, soybeans and fallow ground. Staff cited Iowa State University’s HAG Decision Maker as a source of typical production and input-cost figures: roughly $1,000/acre for corn and $700/acre for soybeans in 2024, and roughly $350–$450/acre estimates for fallow or grassland damages.
After discussion, Schulte moved and Helmers supported a motion to set all 2024 crop damages for this project at $1,000 per acre; the motion carried on voice vote. Staff said the board would notify landowners of the adopted per-acre amounts and that landowners could submit documented claims for additional damages (for example, documented weed-control failures) that staff would pursue against the contractor if appropriate.
The board also discussed next steps: staff will finish televising the most recently installed stretch in early March, finalize the punch list, send the approved completion notice to the contractor and mail damage-notification letters to landowners within about a week.
