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County drainage board seeks access to clean Pigeon Creek; sewer-plant fence raises cost and expansion concerns
Summary
Gibson County Commissioner Chuck Lewis told the meeting the county plans a fall cleanout of Pigeon Creek and needs temporary removal of a fence at the town's sewage treatment plant to access the bank; the fence sits within the 75-foot statutory right-of-way and officials discussed cooperative cost-sharing and future plant expansion implications.
Chuck Lewis, a Gibson County Commissioner representing the Gibson County Drainage Board, briefed the meeting on a planned fall maintenance project along Pigeon Creek intended to remove trees and obstructions that the county says impede flow and contribute to local flooding.
Lewis said the county needs access to both sides of the regulated drain to complete the work and that a fence at the sewage treatment plant currently sits within the 75-foot statutory outlet/right-of-way. 'There is a statute about that and the statute pretty clearly states that it would be the town's responsibility to move that fence unless there is an agreement,' he said, and asked whether the town would consider a cooperative agreement to temporarily remove and later reinstall the fence or share some of the expense.
Town representatives raised concerns about long-term implications if the sewage plant needs to expand into the same corner and about who would pay to replace fence materials. Lewis said the ditch board hires private contractors to do the work and that he expects the initial project to be limited to bank clearing and tree removal rather than permanent land take.
Lewis invited town officials to a ditch-board meeting on June 17 immediately following the county commissioners meeting to discuss scope, property access and possible cooperative arrangements. He cautioned that the project would not resolve all flooding issues in low-lying Coine Road areas and said larger mitigation would require substantial funds to raise grades.
No formal agreement was reached during the meeting; Lewis said the ditch board would return with a scope and potentially bids once survey and site work determine the precise access needs.
