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Landowners withdraw BD District drainage petition; supervisors halt preclassification
Summary
Owners representing a BD drainage district asked the board to withdraw a planned drainage improvement petition citing prohibitive costs (approx. $1.27 million). The board voted to not proceed with preclassification and to accept the withdrawal, avoiding further immediate assessment costs to the owners.
Landowners represented at Tuesday's meeting asked the Kossuth County Board of Supervisors to withdraw a previously filed petition for a drainage improvement in the BD district, saying construction costs would place an unreasonable assessment burden on benefited properties.
A representative told the board the current project estimate is about $1,270,000 and that per-acre assessments could reach roughly $1,540 per acre (worst-case scenario), making the project unaffordable for owners under current estimates. "We're just asking the petition be withdrawn," the representative said, reporting consensus among the affected owners.
Supervisors discussed options including completing a preclassification study to refine scope and cost, holding the scheduled hearing, or formally accepting the written withdrawal to avoid further publication and notice expenses. The board voted to not move forward with the preclassification process in light of the landowners' request and to treat the petition as withdrawn; the motion carried.
The board discussed communication steps to notify affected landowners of the formal withdrawal and agreed to accept a written request signed by the authorized landowner representative. Publication and notice costs already incurred were acknowledged as sunk expenses. The board left open the option for owners to refile a pared-back project in the future if circumstances change.
