VANDERBURGH COUNTY

DRAINAGE BOARD

AUGUST 28, 2007

The Vanderburgh County Drainage Board met in session this 28^th day of August, 2007 at 3:55 p.m. in room 301 of the Civic Center Complex with Vice President Troy Tornatta presiding.

Commissioner Tornatta: Alright. Looks like it’s five till four, and it’s Tuesday, August 28^th, and we’re ready for the Vanderburgh County Drainage Board.

Commissioner Tornatta: Approval of the minutes of the previous meeting.

Commissioner Nix: So moved.

Commissioner Tornatta: Second.

Commissioner Nix: All in fa–

Commissioner Tornatta: All in favor?

Commissioner Nix: Aye.

Commissioner Tornatta: Aye.

Commissioner Tornatta: Mr. Jeffers? We’re going to get this right.

Bill Jeffers: Good afternoon, Drainage Board. This afternoon, I guess, we’ll try to get finished by 4:00 so WNIN can shut us down on the half hour. But, I do have a visitor here that’s going to speak to the notice to bidders on the ditch bank stabilization, Harper Ditch, which is a regulated drain in Vanderburgh County, as it passes through Wesselman Nature Preserve on the west side of Stockwell Road. There is some severe bank destabilization that this project will fix. I have your notice to bidders on your desk, attached to a set of specifications that will go to the bidders. Very simple, and the bidders will meet in the field with Mr. Blair Borries from the Wessleman Nature Preserve for any consultation that they may require on the particulars of the design. Mr. Borries did design this project. I would like for him to step forward and tell you a little bit of something about it, and how he was able to acquire a grant to act as partial payment that they’re going to forward that grant to the Drainage Board to subsidize the project, so that we don’t have to pay all of it. Mr. Borries?

Blair Borries: Okay, well, I’m not going to–

Commissioner Tornatta: Just, state your name.

Blair Borries: Oh, I’m sorry. It’s Blair Borries.

Commissioner Tornatta: Okay.

Blair Borries: With Wesselman Nature Society. I’m not going to go too much into the history. It seemed to be some sort of embankment that was created back when they were doing work on the preserve in the ‘60's. It wasn’t really done properly at the time, and it’s just degraded over time. It’s supposed to be an emergency access for emergency vehicles and so forth, but it’s no longer wide enough. Really, where I came in is, of course, the Nature Preserve has critical habitat with the salamanders that are present, and it was causing a water quality problem. In order to sort of give the Nature Society the chance to decide what sort of seed and what sort of technique to use to stabilize that, to focus more on the habitat, we got this grant to pay for some of the maintenance of this. The grant was in the amount of $5,000. I imagine towards the excavation it may be up to $1,000 left over, after all the rock and equipment and so forth is purchased. As you can see in the bid, we’re offering to provide volunteer labor for things that don’t require heavy equipment. As the Nature Society is used to doing, they will put that under their insurance. If the excavators choose not to use that help, they can do so, but then they would be required to fund that in whatever way that is. That pretty much tells about this. Do you want me to go into the specifics?

Bill Jeffers: No, that’s okay.

Blair Borries: Do you have any questions?

Commissioner Tornatta: Not at this point. Any other things that you would like to talk about, about the project? Or anything else that you have is fine. If not, we will definitely use that grant.

Blair Borries: Yeah, I think the main difference that we’re doing is that we’re using native seed. Most of the seeding is cool season grasses that goes on a legal drain. Those are usually from Europe or Asia. They’re specifically used because they establish real quickly, and that could be a problem, because they would establish in a place where the salamanders would be laying their eggs, and that would mess up the habitat that they’re used to having native plants there. So, we’re using native plants so we don’t risk that, losing the resource that is Wesselman Woods.

Commissioner Tornatta: Okay. Super. Any questions?

Commissioner Nix: No, I would like to go ahead and make a motion. Do you have anything else, Mr. Jeffers?

Bill Jeffers: No, I just wanted to say that the County Surveyor, and I’m sure the Drainage Board, was very happy to have Wesselman Nature Preserve participate in this, not only because the $5,000 will offset our responsibility to pay for a project like this, but because we don’t really like to go into the Nature Preserve without having their counsel and their expertise on protecting the habitat there and enhancing the habitat that they have for, through their programs. So, it was kind of a blessing to have them participate to the degree that they did on this.

Commissioner Tornatta: We do appreciate going the extra effort to develop the concept and then to get the grant for it. So, that’s a great opportunity. Thanks.

Blair Borries: Some of that should go to Alice Rademacher too, who is the director there. She actually wrote the grant. It was from Alcoa. I just kind of gave her a lot of the ideas.

Commissioner Tornatta: Okay, great. Tell her thanks.

Commissioner Nix: Thank you.

Bill Jeffers: So, at this time the County Surveyor would recommend that the Drainage Board approve the notice to bidders, and allow your recording secretary to advertise in the newspaper and move forward with that. I believe the bid opening date is September 18^th. I hope you have a meeting on that day.

Commissioner Nix: Move approval.

Commissioner Tornatta: Second. All in favor?

Commissioner Nix: Aye.

Commissioner Tornatta: Aye.

Bill Jeffers: Why don’t I table the report on William Weinsheimer Ditch. It’s just a joint project between Vanderburgh and Warrick County to repair a county line ditch. Nothing exciting there. Then, I do have some claims for services that have been rendered to the County Drainage Board on our regulated drains, various contracts that you had signed for 2007. The paperwork is attached and the ditches have been inspected and the work is completed.

Commissioner Nix: Move approval.

Commissioner Tornatta: Second. All in favor?

Commissioner Nix: Aye.

Commissioner Tornatta: Aye.

Bill Jeffers: Thank you.

Commissioner Tornatta: Alright, any other business? I take that as a no.

Commissioner Nix: I make a motion that we adjourn.

Commissioner Tornatta: So moved.

(The meeting was adjourned at 4:02 p.m.)

Those in Attendance:

Troy Tornatta                                      Bill Nix                                      Bill Jeffers

Ted C. Ziemer, Jr.                    Madelyn Grayson                     Blair Borries

Others Unidentified                             Members of Media

VANDERBURGH COUNTY

DRAINAGE BOARD

Troy Tornatta, Vice President

Bill Nix, Member

(Recorded and transcribed by Madelyn Grayson.)