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Ditch Authority removes small parcel from CD12; Maywood Township granted 2‑year no‑interest payment plan
Summary
The Ditch Authority held a removal petition hearing and found a tiny corner parcel (about 0.05 acres of assessed benefit) does not regularly use County Ditch 12; the board removed it from the benefited area and required petitioners to pay proceeding costs. Separately, Maywood Township and the Drainage Authority agreed to a two‑year, no‑interest schedule to pay culvert repair invoices, and the board authorized RFQs to mow CD9 and CD14 buffer strips.
FOLEY, Minn. — The Benton County Ditch Authority met Tuesday to consider multiple drainage items, including a petition by local landowners to remove a fractional corner of their property from County Ditch 12 and payment arrangements for Maywood Township related to recent culvert repairs.
Removal petition: The public hearing focused on a very small portion of the Olson/Janssen parcel that, after a prior redetermination, was left with approximately 0.05 acres of benefit (equating to a tiny assessed amount — about $1.41 on a $100,000 assessment in the viewers’ example). Petitioners (Ernie Olson spoke) described earlier ditching activity on their land and argued the parcel does not meaningfully benefit from CD12. Drainage viewers and staff acknowledged the parcel sits inside the watershed and drains toward the system but concurred the fractional benefit is minimal and administratively burdensome to assess.
Applying the statutory standard (Minn. Stat. ch. 103E, as summarized by the drainage authority attorney), the board found the parcel does not regularly or significantly use CD12 as an outlet for beneficial drainage. The authority adopted findings and an order removing the parcel from CD12’s benefited area, effective on the date of the order; the petitioners will be responsible for costs of the proceedings credited to the CD12 account. The order also notes that future return to the system would require petition or statutory proceedings.
Maywood Township: commissioners considered Maywood Township’s request after culvert repairs on CD9 and CD14 produced invoices near $131,000 (the township had previously paid roughly $38,000 that represented assessment portions). At a ditch subcommittee meeting staff proposed a two‑year payment plan: half due by Dec. 31, 2026, and the balance due by Dec. 31, 2027. Board members discussed precedent and whether interest should apply when the county fronts general fund cash for another public body; given the short timeline and local impacts, the authority approved the two‑year, no‑interest plan while asking the township to formalize its commitment at its own meeting.
Ditch maintenance RFQs: Drainage staff recommended requesting quotes for mowing the buffer strips along County Ditch 9 and 14 to prevent woody vegetation from making future maintenance costlier; the authority authorized issuing RFQs for mowing (with separate RFQs later if open‑channel sloughage/repairs are identified). Staff will post drone footage and maps to the county website and work to notify landowners and avoid mowing parcels already used for hay.
The drainage authority’s actions were unanimous and included instructions to notify affected landowners and report back on RFQ results.
