Trustees advance preliminary reclassification for Drainage District Warren 11 after engineer27s data-driven presentation

The Story County Board of Supervisors, acting as drainage district trustees, voted May 18 to proceed with a preliminary reclassification process for Drainage District Warren 11 after a technical presentation by county consultant Tyler Connley.

Connley, a professional engineer with Bolton & Menk, said the preliminary schedule and numbers rolled up from a data-driven process that uses a digital elevation model (DEM) and LiDAR to map flow paths, then calculates per-parcel units of benefit using area, proximity to the ditch, the portion of the facility a parcel uses, soil-wetness factors and land-use runoff adjustments.

"This is the process that we would go through for a modern classification of benefits or reclassification of benefits in this instance," Connley said. He added the numbers presented were preliminary and that the final classification requires vetting by three commissioners (disinterested landowners) and a formal hearing where landowners may comment.

Connley explained the factors in detail: proximity and use factors based on catchments and flow-path length; soil classes (high, low, wet, swamp) assigned numeric weights; and land-use adjustments (for roads and hard surfaces). He noted drainage-district right-of-way is excluded from assessments and that percent classifications are derived by comparing each parcel27s units to the highest unit in the district.

Several landowners spoke during public input. Chuck Wellman asked whether northeast-corner runoff ultimately reaches the district outlet and raised concerns about increased flood damage related to pattern tiling and undersized bridges. "How all of us along the open ditch our flood damage has increased I would say four or five times what it was 40 years ago," Wellman said, urging that flood consequences be considered.

A landowner identified as John asked whether a 50-foot easement on each side of the ditch had been defined; Connley confirmed a 50-foot right-of-way had been defined and that the right-of-way area is excluded from the assessment calculations.

County staff member Scott provided financial context: Warren 11 currently shows a negative balance of about $94,932.93, and the auditor's bookkeeping department estimated roughly $7,000 of interest would be added if the district levies this year. Scott said levying now would reduce overall district interest costs (saving an estimated $15,000 to $20,000 for the district as a whole) but would obligate current payers to that levy rather than letting reclassification redistribute costs.

Public commenters debated whether to levy now to limit interest or wait for reclassification to spread costs more equitably; several urged that costs incurred so far be included in the new assessment schedule. Trustees acknowledged the competing equities and said the levy decision is separate from the reclassification vote and could be considered at a subsequent meeting.

A motion to move forward with the reclassification process was made, seconded and approved by the trustees present. Trustees noted the reclassification remains preliminary until review by appointed commissioners and a formal hearing where landowners may challenge or comment on proposed values.

The board said it will consider levying districts that are in the red at an upcoming meeting; no final levy decision for Warren 11 was made at the May 18 session.