County accepts appraisal report and sets bid date for new Drainage District 61 open ditch

The Dickinson County Board of Supervisors accepted an appraisal report and set a bid letting date July 14 for a proposed new open ditch in Drainage District 61.

A presenter described a roughly 3,000‑foot open ditch alignment, explained right‑of‑way widths (55 feet on both sides of the centerline at the east end, 90 feet on the west side where the alignment adjoins the road), and reviewed spoil‑pile handling and surface drain allowances. The presenter said the appraisal methodology used a CSR‑2 based per‑acre valuation for the channel and 40% of market value for spoil pile damages.

"In the end, the appraisers, the 3 of us came up with a total recommended compensation between those 3 parcels of $110,485," the presenter said. No objections were raised during the hearing. The board voted to accept the appraisal report and to approve setting a bid letting date of August 7 at 10 a.m. for the project.

Board discussion noted tradeoffs between buying wide permanent right‑of‑way (which removes acreage from tax rolls and assessment calculations) versus keeping permanent easements narrower and compensating for crop damages only when future repairs require work. The presenter also described bid alternates for corrugated metal pipe versus reinforced concrete pipe for the pipeline crossing and proposed a contract completion date of July 30 of the following year.

Next steps: county staff will file plans and specifications, publish the bid letting and receive bids on the August 7 schedule; property owners were informed of appraisal recommendations and compensation calculations.