VANDERBURGH COUNTY

DRAINAGE BOARD

JANUARY 8, 2008

The Vanderburgh County Drainage Board met in session this 8^th day of January, 2008 at 5:16 p.m. in room 301 of the Civic Center Complex with President Troy Tornatta presiding.

President Tornatta: Good evening. Mr. Jeffers, welcome to the Vanderburgh County Drainage Board, Tuesday, January 8^th about 16 after five.

President Tornatta: I would like to approve the previous meetings’ minutes.

Commissioner Nix: So moved.

Commissioner Korb: Second.

President Tornatta: All in favor?

All Commissioners: Aye.

President Tornatta: I think we’ll need to have a nomination for officers.

Commissioner Nix: I would like to nominate Commissioner Tornatta as President of the Drainage Board.

Commissioner Korb: Second.

President Tornatta: All in favor?

All Commissioners: Aye.

President Tornatta: Nomination of Vice President?

Commissioner Nix: I would like to nominate–

Commissioner Korb: Commissioner Nix.

President Tornatta: Second.

Commissioner Korb: Sorry.

Commissioner Nix: Wait, no, wait, wait, wait. You didn’t do that.

Commissioner Korb: I did too.

Commissioner Nix: Somebody else has to do it.

Commissioner Korb: Why?

Commissioner Nix: No, go ahead. I’m sorry.

President Tornatta: All in favor?

All Commissioners: Aye.

President Tornatta: Okay, great.

Commissioner Korb: A little love, bro.

President Tornatta: Mr. Jeffers?

Commissioner Korb: No love, no love?

Bill Jeffers: Congratulations on your newly re-organized board.

President Tornatta: We’ve been campaigning months and months and months.

Bill Jeffers: I know you have.

Madelyn Grayson: Bill, your microphone is not on.

Bill Jeffers: Was that a caucus, or was that a primary?

President Tornatta: I went up to New Hampshire.

Bill Jeffers: Okay. I look forward to working with you. Let’s see, you’ve already set by ordinance your meeting dates, I suppose. That’s already been done.

Bill Jeffers:Today, your first drainage plan is the Reserve Apartments and Townhouses. It’s located on Virginia Street behind Sam’s Club, off Burkhardt Road. This is a final plan. Actually, it’s a reaffirming of the previous plan. It’s already been approved. It’s already pretty much in working order, they just kind of re-organized the layout so they could have a clubhouse and some central gathering place, and a gazebo and a lake, and some garages, instead of carports that type of thing. Everything else essentially remains the same. The County Surveyor recommends approval of the plan, as it comports with the drainage code.

Commissioner Nix: Move approval.

Commissioner Korb: Second.

President Tornatta: All in favor?

All Commissioners: Aye.

Bill Jeffers: Okay, the other drainage plan today is Northgate Subdivision. I laid that on your desk. It’s a simple, three lot subdivision. However, because of Area Plan code, three lots is a major sub, and therefore requires a drainage plan approval before it goes to Area Plan Commission Thursday night. Because it’s comprised of three very large lots, about two, two and a half acres each, it doesn’t require detention. There’s only going to be one house on each lot. Consequently, there will be less than 10,000 square feet of new, hard surface established, therefore the code does not require detention. So, what’s happening here? He’s showing you the layout. Each house has a driveway entering on to three of the separate county roads that surround the subdivision on three sides. The water will take its natural drainage path at a sheet flow away from the homes and through the grass lawns, which as I said, are like two, two and a half acres in size. This is a preliminary plan. What I’m asking him to do is to incorporate it into the erosion and sediment control plan that goes to the MS4 operator. Because when you have three houses, you have one and a half acres of land disturbance, it requires a Rule Five plan. This plan will be reflected as a final drainage plan in that Rule Five plan that goes to the State. Otherwise, it comports with the drainage code, and the County Surveyor recommends approval of the preliminary plan for Northgate Subdivision.

Commissioner Nix: So moved.

Commissioner Korb: Second.

President Tornatta: All in favor?

All Commissioners: Aye.

Bill Jeffers: My last piece of business, and I apologize our GIS photographs are down on account of the storm, apparently.

Brenda Jeffers: It’s the software. It’s not working.

Bill Jeffers: The software is not working. I didn’t want to blame it on the software. I really didn’t want to blame it on our software.

President Tornatta: Brenda, team player?

Commissioner Korb: Did you just rat him out? That’s terrible.

Bill Jeffers: Okay, we have one claim for Morley and Associates for some work completed on the east side drainage study. No, excuse me, on the Sonntag Stevens and Keil Ditch drainage study along Lynch Road. Everything is in order, the paperwork is attached. The County Surveyor recommends payment of that claim.

Commissioner Nix: Move approval.

Commissioner Korb: Second.

President Tornatta: All in favor?

All Commissioners: Aye.

Bill Jeffers: I’m sure I speak for all the Commissioners and the County Attorney when I reaffirm what Mr. Tornatta said, please be careful, anyone that’s watching this, just stay home tonight until they get the roads cleared and the ditches drain out.

President Tornatta: And this will air–

Bill Jeffers: Don’t drive through–

President Tornatta: –again, so, we’re calling this on January 8^th at about 20 after five.

Bill Jeffers: Right. Do not drive through water over the road. It could be deep, and it could be moving fast. Thank you.

President Tornatta: Any other business to the board?

Commissioner Korb: The only thing I’ve got is, Mr. Jeffers, if I can, I had a Commissioner from Warrick County call, and at first I thought she was kidding, it was Nova Conner, asking us, or asking me to ask you, or as a board together, to talk to them about cleaning up Pigeon Creek a little bit, so they could have better drainage. I didn’t get it all.

Bill Jeffers: Okay, several years ago your board, Vanderburgh County Board and the Warrick County Board, is that who you’re speaking of?

Commissioner Korb: Yes.

Bill Jeffers: Both Drainage Boards joined together, as a Joint Drainage Board–

Commissioner Korb: Okay.

Bill Jeffers: –so there is a two county Drainage Board that meets specifically for the purpose of drains that pass through or serve both counties.

Commissioner Korb: Right.

Bill Jeffers: In that case it was specifically for Pigeon Creek. There was some funds from a, each of the legislators that represent the two counties had some sort of proprietary funds from the legislature that they could assign to projects, and they had assigned like $11,000 together to snag out some logjams in Pigeon Creek between Stevenson’s Station Road and Green River Road. Then, this was a couple of administrations ago, I believe, O’Bannon, or someone, they ran into a budget crunch, the Governor withdrew the funds from that pot to try to balance the budget, and that project, we had already designed it, we had a permit from the Corp of Engineers and a permit from DNR and we were ready to go, and the money went away. So, the project died. I’m sure that the farmers that would have been served by that clearing are probably knocking on the door of the County Commissioners once again. You can, at any time, have a Joint Board meeting by simply announcing one and assigning a meeting place. Warrick County Board was the lead agency on that, because, I believe, something like nine of the eleven logjams were in their county.

Commissioner Korb: Okay. Well, with your permission–

Madelyn Grayson: I think they came here, because I did the minutes. I’ve got the minutes from that meeting.

Bill Jeffers: Yes, they came here because you had a better meeting place at that time, and you’re broadcast live and that type of thing.

Commissioner Korb: Okay.

President Tornatta: We might work on getting a joint meeting set up.

Commissioner Korb: Yeah, with your permission, I’ll have Commissioner Conner call you?

Bill Jeffers: Sure.

Commissioner Korb: That way you can set it up.

Bill Jeffers: Yeah.

Commissioner Korb: I just promised her I would address it with you.

Bill Jeffers: Okay.

Commissioner Korb: Great.

Bill Jeffers: Yes, sir.

President Tornatta: And the logistics of attorneys and all that other business, can that be worked out at some point? I mean, I don’t know who serves as, the host of the board would provide the attorney, I guess?

Ted C. Ziemer, Jr.: You know, I would be happy to come, if that’s what you want me to do.

President Tornatta: Okay. Alright, fine.

Bill Jeffers: I think we should go with the cheapest one. What do you think?

President Tornatta: Yeah.

Bill Jeffers: That leaves you out.

Ted C. Ziemer, Jr.: You want the Warrick County guy.

President Tornatta: Could you submit a proposal? Okay, in lieu of going any farther with that note–

President Tornatta: –any public comment? Seeing none. Motion to adjourn?

Commissioner Nix: So moved.

Commissioner Korb: Second.

President Tornatta: All in favor?

All Commissioners: Aye.

(The meeting was adjourned at 5:24 p.m.)

Those in Attendance:

Troy Tornatta                            Bill Nix                                      Jeff Korb

Bill Jeffers                                 Ted C. Ziemer, Jr.          Madelyn Grayson

Brenda Jeffers                          Others Unidentified                   Members of Media

VANDERBURGH COUNTY

DRAINAGE BOARD

Troy Tornatta, President

Bill Nix, Vice President

Jeff Korb, Member

(Recorded and transcribed by Madelyn Grayson.)