Story County trustees approve Warren 11 ditch-repair plans, set May bid dates for $1.1 million project

The Story County Board of Supervisors, acting as drainage district trustees, on April 7 approved design plans and specifications for major repairs to the Warren 11 open-ditch system and set a May 7 bid opening and a May 18 contract-award consideration date.

Engineer Tyler Connley presented the plans, describing maps, quantities and profile sheets that define the proposed work and the project’s 100-foot right-of-way. "These plans include quantities, details, overview, maps of the proposed ditch repair project," Connley said, and noted the plans have been reviewed by the Iowa DNR and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for construction.

Trustees were told the cleaning would start at 660th Avenue and end at 110th Street — roughly 45,000 feet of right-of-way, about 8–9 miles — and would include excavation, spoil leveling, tree removal and pipe replacement. The estimated project cost is $1,100,000, Connley said; bid security will be 5% and the project is sales-tax exempt. The tentative completion date shown in the plans is April 15, 2027.

At the trustees’ direction, staff proposed a bid opening on May 7 with consideration of bids to follow. Tyler Connley said notice to bidders must be published once a week for two consecutive weeks. The board discussed contractor appetite for the work and whether to include installment-payment and interest information for bidders; trustees agreed it was useful background for contractors but declined to formalize installment terms in the current motion.

The board approved the plans and specifications and separately approved the documents defining the 100-foot easement along the drainage district. A motion to approve the design plans passed; trustees also moved to approve the easement sheets included in the plans.

Trustees and staff discussed financing mechanics for the project. County staff noted code allows installment payments between 10 and 20 years; trustees indicated the county’s current interest rate would be used for warrants (staff noted a 6% figure during the discussion). That financing discussion was treated as informational for contractors and for later levy work rather than part of the plan-approval motion.

Next steps: the county will publish the bidder notice, open bids on May 7, and return to consider awarding the contract at a public meeting on May 18 at 6:00 p.m.