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Board schedules ditch‑abandonment hearing, discusses large watershed redetermination costs
Summary
As drainage authority the board set an April 21 public hearing for a partial abandonment petition on County Ditch 62 and reviewed proposals for a countywide redetermination of drainage benefits; staff reported one firm’s watershed pricing would total roughly $425,000 while local viewers’ hourly rates would be substantially less, prompting commissioners to consider a phased approach.
When meeting as the Kandiyohi County Drainage Authority, staff reported a petition for partial abandonment submitted by Howard and Ron Pierce Farms for a portion of County Ditch 62 in Arctur Township; the petition meets Minnesota Statute requirements and a public hearing was scheduled for April 21 at 9 a.m. during the county board meeting.
Drainage Manager Austin Hillbrand also briefed commissioners on proposals to redetermine benefits for roughly 100,000 watershed acres that include Diamond Lake, New London and outlets to the middle fork of the Crow River. One vendor (H2O Overviewers) priced the full watershed at $3.99 per acre (~$425,000) because it charges by watershed acre and includes parcel maps and mailing; local viewing teams charge hourly rates and earlier work in the western county equated to about $1.69 per watershed acre in staff calculations. Commissioners expressed concern about the cost differential and asked staff to seek estimates to complete smaller, priority work (for example, County Ditch 37) using local viewers while collecting more information on per‑acre and per‑task pricing for larger watershed work.
The board adopted a resolution reconfirming the joint ditch authority for Joint Ditch 17 (Resolution 2026-18) and appointed a commissioner for future vacancies. Staff said drainage systems would pay their share of any redetermination cost; commissioners asked staff to return with hourly or partial‑project estimates before committing to the larger watershed contract.
