Joint Drainage Authority approves partial abandonment of branch in Stephen Swift Judicial Ditch No. 2, contingent on recorded private easement

The Stephen Swift Joint County Drainage Authority voted to approve a petition to partially abandon a branch of Stephen Swift Judicial Ditch No. 2, adopting draft findings and an order contingent on the petitioners recording a private drainage easement.

Cale, legal counsel to the drainage authority, opened the hearing by saying, "The reason we're here today is for a petition that was filed with the drainage authority, to partially abandon a portion of Stephen Swift Judicial Ditch 2." He told the board the petitioners — Randall and Shirley Cole; Patrick and Danita Ashman; RSK Triple LP; Clay Bend Farms Inc.; Outback 5 Inc.; and Gary and Rosella Marquardt — seek to remove the public right-of-way and maintenance obligation for the open ditch and instead install and maintain private tile connections.

The draft findings summarized the procedural record, attached exhibit A (a map showing the branch and a fork to the northeast), and recorded a staff note that original establishment records identify the branch as "Branch 3" while online, digitized maps since 2014 mistakenly label it "Branch 2." Counsel said the exhibit and a new footnote will make the discrepancy clear in the record.

Counsel told the board that, under the drainage code (Minnesota Statute Chapter 103E), an owner of benefited property may petition the drainage authority to abandon any system portion that no longer serves a substantial useful purpose or public benefit to remaining properties. He said the petitioners represent "100% of all of the landowners in the benefited area of that branch," and that they have agreed to negotiate and record a private drainage easement governing the new private tile connections.

Stevens County staff introduced an affidavit of publication showing the hearing notice ran in the Stevens County Times for three weeks. Cody Fossum, Swift County’s drainage inspector, confirmed posting in the Swift County courthouse and the legal publication dates and said he would provide his affidavit of publication to the record when available. Fossum also said he did not mail notices to two petitioners on his side of the system; the board placed a waiver of mailed notice into the record after making contact with a petitioner on the phone.

Scott, the presenter of the maps, reviewed the area to be abandoned and the proposed private tile layout, describing multiple pipe sizes and run lengths that will serve as separate private systems for petitioning landowners. A nearby resident, John Beyer, asked whether the branch continues into Swift County; presenters confirmed the branch crosses the county line and is covered by the legal descriptions attached to the petition.

After deliberation, counsel walked the board through two required statutory findings: that the portion petitioned does not serve a substantial useful purpose to any property remaining in the system, and that it is not of substantial public benefit and utility. With no objections raised, a motion to approve the draft findings and order (including a contingency requiring recording of the private drainage easement) was made, seconded, and approved by roll-call vote.

The order states that, upon recording of the private easement, the drainage authority's obligation to inspect and repair the abandoned portion of JD 2 is released; the order also notes that nothing in the order alters benefits, assessments, liens, or obligations to pay costs associated with the JD 2 drainage system.

The board also approved June 25 meeting minutes and adjourned the session at 12:33.

What happens next: the petitioners must record the agreed private drainage easement to trigger the release of the drainage authority's maintenance obligations; staff indicated they will follow up to confirm the contingency is met.