Benton County seeks contractor estimates before choosing full repair or vegetation-only fix for clogged ditch

Benton County officials debated whether to proceed with a full-depth repair or a lower-impact vegetative-management alternative for a clogged drainage ditch between Station 84+00 and 86+00, and they agreed to get contractor cost estimates before making a final decision.

County staff presented a full-repair estimate of about $57,000 for the Station 84+00–86+00 reach and said that cost would be spread across benefited landowners while their 'benefited percent' would remain the same. Staff also reported the project would likely affect about 0.24 acres of wetland and that the county would need to purchase roughly 0.48 acres of wetland-bank credits; staff estimated wetland credits could cost up to about $100,000 per acre, depending on the bank price.

A county staff member (unnamed in the record) described an alternative approach as 'vegetation management'—scraping or removing rootballs to depths of 6 to 12 inches—rather than restoring the channel to its original constructed elevation. That option was presented as a lower-cost, potentially repeatable maintenance approach; staff said they would apply to TEP as a 'no-loss wetland application' for a vegetative-management method with rootballs up to 12 inches.

Several commissioners and participants emphasized long-term maintenance concerns. One participant warned that if cattail roots are not removed to sufficient depth 'they're coming back next year.' Board members contrasted the one-time higher cost of a full repair with the risk of repeated maintenance and possible TEP post-construction inspection obligations if water flow is altered.

Resident Mark Spitzka, who said the ditch runs through his property at 18353 90th Street Northeast, told the board that contractors previously removed several feet of material at one point and left 'a plug' on a neighboring parcel that 'is holding everything back,' causing water to back up on his land and undermining banks. 'That plug is holding everything back,' Spitzka said, pressing the board to address the obstruction as part of any remedy.

Board discussion centered on getting a contractor estimate that compares the vegetative-management alternative (estimated informally by participants at roughly $35,000–$40,000) with the full repair at about $57,000; one county participant said, 'If it's 35 or $40 to do the alternative, we're gonna repair it for 57.' Staff committed to contact contractor Hellman to request pricing and expected to have an estimate by next Tuesday so TEP could have the information needed for final approval.

Instead of taking immediate action, the board agreed by consensus to seek the contractor estimates and revisit the decision at the next meeting. If the vegetative alternative proves substantially cheaper and acceptable to TEP, the county may elect that approach; otherwise, members said they would favor the full repair to return the channel to its constructed elevation and avoid ongoing uncertainty about future inspections or repeated maintenance.

The meeting record does not show a final formal vote on repair method; the recorded next step is to obtain contractor cost comparisons and report back to the board for a final direction.