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Residents on Stockford Drive resist signing culvert agreement as county offers one‑time $15,000 repair
Summary
Residents on North Stockford Drive objected to signing an acknowledgement that would make them responsible for a private culvert or driveway structure, while county officials offered a one‑time repair estimated at $15,000 split with the Muncie Sanitary District.
Residents near 1501 and 1315 North Stockford Drive told the drainage board they do not want to sign a document that would make them responsible for maintaining a private culvert or "driveway" structure that provides access across an open ditch.
"We are all older. We are all living . . . on fixed incomes," said a resident, expressing concern that any future major repair would leave homeowners unable to pay. Another resident said the neighborhood had relied on the city and other entities to maintain the ditch and was reluctant to accept personal liability.
Commissioner Steven Brand explained the county and the Muncie Sanitary District stepped in to help because large district and county vehicles use the crossing. Brand said the structure has a large hole and that if the crossing continues to fail, emergency vehicles may not cross. He said the estimated cost to remove the existing structure, install an over‑length culvert and replace fill would be about $15,000, and both the county and Muncie Sanitary District are willing to split that cost on a one‑time basis. He added that the involved residents would need to sign an acknowledgement that they accept responsibility for the driveway/structure going forward; if they refuse to sign, "it won't get fixed."
Surveyor staff confirmed the crossing is a private structure that ties into a regulated drain and that the drainage board previously approved the structure when it was installed. The surveyor said the board's jurisdiction is limited: the structure is "a private structure going into a regulated drain," and the remedy the board can offer is limited to ordering removal or clearing the open ditch where appropriate.
Residents asked whether the matter needed to go to city council; board members said the county and sanitary district had offered the one‑time fix and that the residents' signatures were the practical requirement for the county to proceed.
Board members and staff said they would relay residents’ concerns and await whether the residents will sign. No formal board vote to force repairs was recorded; commissioners and surveyor outlined the options and the estimated repair plan and cost.
