Village funds ditch liners in Cottonwood Estates after resident complaints about drainage

Trustees agreed to use stormwater funds to install ditch liners along Mount Ash Lane in the Cottonwood Estate subdivision after public commenters described persistent wet ditches and safety concerns for children near Canterbury Elementary.

Phyllis Reeder told the board that the ditches became unworkable after road work in 2023 and that neighbors could not maintain them. She said cattails grew as high as five to six feet and that a $2,700 per-household charge would be a substantial hardship for some residents. Staff reported that bidders provided an installation estimate of $11,600 and that the village has old ditch-liner materials in storage which could be used to reduce cost.

Staff outlined options including homeowner invoicing, adding unpaid invoices as tax-roll assessments, or the village covering the installation cost and invoicing homeowners. After technical comments from an engineer about culvert resetting and slope (one trustee noted ditches now approach Wisconsin DOT minimums and that upstream sump pumps and changes to culvert elevations changed drainage patterns), trustees voted to pay the $11,760 from the stormwater budget and not bill homeowners for the installation in this instance.

Manager Chad said the decision was made with an eye toward fairness and the fact that the village had previously provided ditch liners on adjacent properties. The board asked staff and the village attorney to document the process for similar future requests.

The motion passed on a board vote; staff will coordinate contractor scheduling and confirm whether residents want the village to proceed.