Landowners press board for larger crop and bank-seeding payments after contractors' work rut fields

Multiple landowners addressed the completion hearing asking the board to revisit specific compensation amounts listed in the engineer's damage tables. Brian (a landowner) said contractor traffic left deep ruts and that he spent about $7,500 of his own money on repairs; he also asked the board to account for lost alfalfa cuttings and seed establishment costs. "I paid $7,500 of my own money to Reitzel to fix it correctly," Brian said, and he requested a total of $1,869.40 for his parcels after calculating lost cuttings and expenses.

Colin and board members discussed valuation methods: the engineer's schedule used county five-year yield averages and current commodity prices to compute per-acre crop losses, and suggested grass buffers be valued at $500/acre. Board members suggested flexibility where landowners provide receipts and recommended "splitting the difference" on disputed items (for example, adjusting a $168 alfalfa recommendation up to $336). The auditor's office will reconcile submitted receipts and finalize payments per board direction.

Other claimants, including Ron Kolash, submitted small reimbursement claims (Kolash asked for $250 for soybeans) and asked how reimbursement credits can be applied against future assessments; staff said credits can be used to offset district levies, but timing depends on when collections occur.