Tippecanoe County drainage board approves phase 3 of Research Village; pond maintenance funding questioned

The Tippecanoe County Drainage Board on an administrative voice vote approved phase 3 of the Research Village development on Long Yeager Road, adopting the construction approval memo dated July 1.

Staff described the phase as "approximately 13 acres" with a mix of townhomes and single-family homes and said "the detention is being provided by the existing pond that was built with phase" earlier in the project. A staff member recommended approval, saying the plan "does drain into the Simeon Jaeger County regulated drain, watershed" and that the project is in compliance with the impact resolution.

A board member asked whether the development would be subject to a county ditch or maintenance fee to help maintain the ponds. A staff member and the project representative said the original maintenance agreement for the pond remains in place and that the multifamily portions historically have not pursued a county-regulated drain or a maintenance fund. As a staff participant put it, "they would not pursue that avenue because it is, the majority of its multifamily," and the owners currently plan to keep the same ownership for the pond area. The board member pressed that selling single-family lots later could complicate long-term maintenance.

A motion to approve phase 3 as presented in the Burke memo dated 07/01 was moved and seconded and passed by voice vote. The board did not record named vote tallies in the transcript.

The approval permits construction to proceed under the plan presented to the board; no additional conditions or a requirement to establish a county-maintained ditch fee were recorded in the meeting minutes.

Next steps noted in discussion included confirming whether the ownership and maintenance arrangement would change if single-family lots are later sold; staff said they would check with the applicant and could return the matter to a future drainage board meeting if needed.