VANDERBURGH COUNTY

DRAINAGE BOARD

JANUARY 25, 2005

The Vanderburgh County Drainage Board met in session this 25^th day of January, 2005 at 4:27 p.m. in room 301 of the Civic Center Complex.

Commissioner Crouch: Good afternoon. We will now open the Vanderburgh County Drainage Board meeting, Tuesday, January 25, 2005. Mr. Jeffers?

Bill Jeffers: I believe I distributed an agenda package, does everyone have that?

Commissioner Crouch: You really did a wonderful job. Thank you.

Commissioner Musgrave: Bill, can you e-mail those to me from now on?

Bill Jeffers: Yes, ma’am.

Commissioner Musgrave: Thank you.

Bill Jeffers: They’re also published on line, on the same day that they go to your office, hard copy. Your first action item would be to reorganize your board in accordance with the statute, by electing a chairman, a vice chairman, or let’s call it a chair, a vice chair, and appointing a secretary at this time.

Commissioner Crouch: Traditionally, has the Vice President of the Commission been the chair?

Commissioner Musgrave: Now, hold on.

Bill Jeffers: Yes, ma’am.

Commissioner Crouch: I would like to nominate Commissioner Musgrave for chair please.

Commissioner Nix: I will second that nomination.

Commissioner Crouch: All in favor?

All Commissioners: Aye.

Commissioner Nix: Congratulations.

Commissioner Crouch: Now, we need to also elect a vice president, is that correct?

Bill Jeffers: Yes, ma’am.

Commissioner Crouch: I would like to nominate Commissioner Nix for Vice President.

Commissioner Musgrave: Second.

Commissioner Crouch: All in favor?

All Commissioners: Aye.

Commissioner Musgrave: And the secretary.

Commissioner Crouch: And the secretary, traditionally, who has been the secretary, Mr. Jeffers?

Bill Jeffers: The County Auditor, or a representative of the County Auditor.

Commissioner Crouch: I would like to nominate Madelyn Grayson for the Drainage Board secretary.

Commissioner Nix: I second that nomination.

Commissioner Crouch: All in favor?

All Commissioners: Aye.

Bill Jeffers: Your second action item is to, I might be incorrectly calling them action items, the second item on the agenda is to assign a meeting place and time, fix the time and dates for your regular drainage board meetings, which is a matter of course. I mean, you’ve already done that as Commissioners.

Commissioner Crouch: Right, I would like to make a motion that we set our meeting date and time as previously adopted on the 4^th Tuesday of each month, immediately following the Commission meeting.

Commissioner Nix: I’ll second that motion.

President Musgrave: All those in favor?

All Commissioners: Aye.

Bill Jeffers: Your third item is for Commissioner Crouch to approve the minutes of the previous December meeting, as the other two members were not present.

Commissioner Crouch: I will approve the minutes, and the Recording Secretary, can you attest to the veracity of those?

Madelyn Grayson: To the best of my ability, they are correct.

Commissioner Crouch: Alright. So ordered.

President Musgrave: So, at this point we move to the drainage plans that are on the agenda.

Bill Jeffers: Yes, ma’am.

President Musgrave: Could you lead us through those?

Bill Jeffers: Okay.

Bill Jeffers: Your first drainage plan for this evening is the William S. Hirsch Subdivision. It’s a preliminary drainage plan, which means that subsequent to this, if it’s approved, the subdivision plan will go before the Area Plan Commission on the first Wednesday of February. Then will return here, most likely in your March meeting for final approval of the drainage plan, giving any remonstrators opportunity to work with the developer to resolve any issues. The project is located at the southwest corner of Columbia Street and Burkhardt Road, north of Sam’s Club, to consist of approximately four acres, and is possibly going to be the location of a new branch bank. The project is part of a larger 47 or 48 acre rezoning between Columbia Street and Oak Grove Road, zoned C-4, on October of 2004 by the County Commissioners. The overall plan should consider and accommodate future infrastructure for the larger development. Meaning that this particular plan should not make it impossible for the other 45 acres to drain through this four acre parcel. The plan is preliminary, it substantially meets the requirement of the county drainage code, and the Surveyor recommends approval of the plan. Your board may wish to ask if there are any remonstrators present tonight to give comment before voting to approve the plan.

President Musgrave: Are there any remonstrators present for the William S. Hirsch Subdivision? I see none, so, I’ll entertain a motion.

Commissioner Crouch: I’ll move approval of the William S. Hirsch Subdivision, 5-S-2005 for first reading.

Commissioner Nix: I second that motion.

President Musgrave: Is there any discussion? Hearing none, I’ll call for the vote. All those in favor say aye.

All Commissioners: Aye.

President Musgrave: That is unanimous. We move to the next one.

Bill Jeffers: Your next plan is CMH Subdivision. It’s a commercial subdivision, a preliminary drainage plan. So, the same comments would apply regarding Area Plan and subsequent drainage board meetings. It’s located on the west side of U.S. 41 at Schroeder Road, directly across from the State Police post, just south of I-64. The plan substantially comports with the county’s drainage code and has the Surveyor’s recommendation for approval. I previously had made that recommendation in writing, conditioned on the revision of this drainage plan to discharge it’s drainage basin into the state right-of-way for U.S. 41, rather than discharging on to agricultural adjacent property, but I’ve been told by the plan designer that INDOT likely will not approve discharge into U.S. 41 drainage ditch, because it doesn’t currently discharge in that direction. So, that will be an item that I’ll have to work out with the design engineer between now and final approval next month. Again, the board may wish to ask if there are any remonstrators present. The County Surveyor recommends approval of the preliminary plan.

President Musgrave: Are there any remonstrators present for CMH Subdivision? I see none. I would entertain a motion.

Commissioner Crouch: I’ll move that we approve the CMH Subdivision preliminary drainage plan.

Commissioner Nix: I second the motion.

President Musgrave: Any discussion? Hearing none, I’ll call for the vote. All those in favor say aye.

All Commissioners: Aye.

President Musgrave: That passes unanimously. Next one.

Bill Jeffers: The next one is Metro Center East, section nine. It’s a final drainage plan, meaning that, if it’s approved this evening the developer will be able to record the subdivision plat that was approved by Area Plan Commission last month, and move ahead to acquire building permits to build out this commercial subdivision, which is located on the east side of Royal Avenue, north of Virginia Street, and along Metro Avenue, which is west of Burkhardt Road. The plan substantially complies with the county’s drainage code, has the Surveyor’s recommendation for approval, with the condition that a revision to this plan show a 30' wide drainage easement along the north line of the subdivision until a topographic survey and other engineering details can determine the exact width of that easement necessary to house the improved ditch. What that means is there’s a little bit of detail left to work out so that when they improve the ditch to it’s new condition, it all fits inside the drainage easement in accordance with the code. We anticipate the easement will be 25' to 30' wide, but I don’t want to oversize it and waste land. I believe the developer and his engineer have agreed to that condition and have reflected that on plans that they submitted Friday. The developer and his engineer are in the audience if they would like to address anything, and the board may wish to ask for remonstrators before voting. The Surveyor’s recommendation is to approve.

President Musgrave: Are you here to remonstrate on this? Do you have information on Metro Center East? Can you answer questions?

Unidentified: Yes.

President Musgrave: Okay, he says that he believes that you agree with this provision here in the drainage plan. For the record will you state whether that is so? State your name and address for the record.

Matthew Wallace: I am Matthew Wallace. I work for Morley and Associates, 600 S.E. Sixth Street here in Evansville. I’m the design engineer for the project, and I certified the plan. The easement in question is for a drainage ditch that currently does not meet the county standard for the geometric shape for the side slopes. The County Surveyor has asked that the developer correct that and put the ditch back to it’s, to meet the county’s standards, and to provide a 10' strip along the top of the future bank to allow the county to maintain that ditch. Is that correct, Bill?

Bill Jeffers: To allow room for the owners of the property to maintain the ditch.

Matthew Wallace: Yes, that is not a county–

Bill Jeffers: Since it crosses more than one lot.

Matthew Wallace: That is correct. That is not a county regulated drain.

Bill Jeffers: No, sir.

Matthew Wallace: It would not be maintained by the county. It will be maintained by the lot owners.

President Musgrave: So, you agree to this? State your name and address for the record.

Andy Spurling: I’m Andy Spurling, 2000 Waters Ridge Dr. in Newburgh. I represent the developer. Yes, we agree to that.

President Musgrave: Okay. So, there are no remonstrators here. I’ll entertain a motion.

Commissioner Nix: I make a motion that we approve Metro Center East, Section Nine.

Commissioner Crouch: Second.

President Musgrave: Any discussion? Hearing none, I’ll call for the vote. All those in favor say aye.

All Commissioners: Aye.

President Musgrave: It passes unanimously. Thank you for your testimony.

Matthew Wallace: Thank you.

Andy Spurling: Thank you.

Bill Jeffers: Your last plan tonight is Dayton Freight Line Terminal. It’s a final drainage plan, as was Metro Center. The project is located on the east side of Green River Road, just south of Boonville-New Harmony Road. It’s directly across the street from Daylight Industrial Park. The final plan substantially comports with the county’s drainage code. It has the County Surveyor’s recommendation for approval by your board.

President Musgrave: Are there any remonstrators?

Bill Jeffers: Let’s see, the condition on that one is that the construction drawings have been forwarded to the County Engineer’s office, and the County Surveyor makes his recommendation based on any recommendations from the County Engineer relevant to the County Commissioners approval of the street and drainage plans.

President Musgrave: Is it normal to approve a final drainage plan with things like this still outstanding?

Commissioner Nix: You mean conditions?

Bill Jeffers: Yes.

President Musgrave: Okay.

Commissioner Crouch: It’s not like rezoning.

President Musgrave: Okay.

Bill Jeffers: In other words, Mr. Stoll will be bringing a recommendation to the County Commissioners for some decel lanes, and ditches and so forth in the right-of-way for Green River Road.

President Musgrave: Okay.

Bill Jeffers: He may find something that his requirements cover that the county drainage code and the Surveyor’s recommendation doesn’t cover. His jurisdiction would overrule mine in that case.

President Musgrave: Okay. Well, I see no one in the audience, so, there are no remonstrators. In which case I’ll entertain a motion.

Commissioner Nix: I make a motion that we approve Dayton Freight Line Terminal, final drainage plan.

Commissioner Crouch: Second.

President Musgrave: Is there any discussion? Hearing none, I’ll call for the vote. All those in favor say aye.

All Commissioners: Aye.

President Musgrave: Are there other drainage plans?

Bill Jeffers: There are no other drainage plans to bring before the Drainage Board at this time.

President Musgrave: Is there other new business?

Bill Jeffers: Yes, ma’am. I have one claim, this is a standard blue claim for the board’s approval and signatures, so that this claim may be forwarded to the County Auditor to pay the contractor for work he or she has completed on the county’s regulated drain, in accordance with the specifications and bids that were approved and awarded by the board in 2004. The claim is accompanied by the required paperwork required by this board and the Auditor verifying that work has been inspected, and that the County Surveyor recommends payment of the claim.

President Musgrave: Is there a motion?

Commissioner Nix: I make a motion that we pay the claim.

Commissioner Crouch: Second.

President Musgrave: All those in favor say aye.

All Commissioners: Aye.

President Musgrave: It is unanimous.

President Musgrave: Is there a report, sir.

Bill Jeffers: Yes, ma’am. I have a copy of a preliminary report that I gave the previous board.

Commissioner Crouch: I even looked at it.

Bill Jeffers: This particular copy happens to be a copy of an e-mail I forwarded to Mr. Stoll, your County Engineer, because his inspectors go out and look at the installed drainage pipes in new subdivisions. Basically, what this report covers is an issue regarding flexible pipe. Flexible pipe is high density polyethylene pipe, which is plastic. Corrugated metal pipe, which is either aluminum or steel, and PVC pipe, which is smooth bore, smooth exterior, blue or white plastic pipe. These are all flexible pipes, which unlike reinforced concrete pipe, they are not rigid. The report covers all this very briefly, and in layman’s terms, I would like for you to read it at your leisure, not tonight.

Commissioner Crouch: Why not tonight?

Bill Jeffers: Unless you have nothing better to do.

President Musgrave: Is this for my edification?

Bill Jeffers: Yes, ma’am. What our concerns are is that we’ve found some plastic pipe, we have pictures of it in the previous report. I did not attach them to this report. I have them on CDROM, if you would like to view them, I can print them.

Commissioner Nix: Where did you find these?

Bill Jeffers: We’re finding that the plastic membrane, the, actually, the plastic components of this pipe tend to unwind like fishing line does. It has a membrane, it tends to unwind, and if there’s any stress points in the process of unwinding, it forms cracks and deformations. Also we’re finding that if it’s not installed properly, and in very strict conformance with manufacturer’s recommendations, or INDOT design standards, that it deflects, crushes, etcetera, unlike rigid, unlike concrete pipe. Then, it’s ability to convey storm water, as designed, is lessened. In some cases the cracks become so pronounced that the pipe should be taken out of the ground and replaced. What the county does is they collect $2 a lineal foot kind of as an insurance policy that sits in escrow to repair or replace failed structures in new subdivisions. But, we never anticipated that we would have wholesale failures. We only anticipated occasionally to come across defective installations or such, and that we would have to make limited replacements or repairs. What we’re afraid of now is that if there are large amounts of flexible pipe incorrectly installed or in need of repair that we would deplete all the county funds to do so. What we’re asking to do is to insert some amendments into the drainage code to require more stringent post construction inspections of storm water pipe, such as Lafayette, Indianapolis and Bloomington require. Basically, this would be either visual inspection, where you can’t crawl into a pipe, you would send a camera in, or you would draw a mandrel through the pipe to see if it has distorted to the point that it’s on the verge of failure. This would be done 30 to 60 days after installation, and again maybe 270 days, a half a year, after installation.

President Musgrave: So, are you wanting us to make a decision on this at a future time?

Bill Jeffers: Yes, ma’am. I would like for this to be a preliminary report. I would like to sometime in the very near future, in the next couple of months to bring you a final report with recommendations. Then if the Drainage Board finds it appropriate to address, to forward that to the County Commissioners for a hearing to determine amendment of the drainage code.

Commissioner Nix: You would also have input from Mr. Stoll on this?

Bill Jeffers: Yes, sir.

Commissioner Nix: Okay.

Bill Jeffers: Many of the pictures would be coming from Mr. Stoll’s department, because his department does the current visual inspections, and has found some of these problems.

President Musgrave: Is that the sole report that you have today?

Bill Jeffers: Yes, ma’am.

President Musgrave: Shall we move to encroachment agreements?

Bill Jeffers: I believe we have one encroachment agreement, and those are usually brought to you by your secretary. Did he send a new check?

Madelyn Grayson: He had sent a personal check, which the Recorder’s office will not accept. He e-mailed me last week that he will be sending a cashier’s check. So, I cannot record it until he sends that. You can approve it, but I can’t record it until he sends that check.

Bill Jeffers: Okay, what these encroachment agreements are, is we have drainage easements out in the county, in new subdivisions, that usually are intended to house drainage facilities; basins, pipes, etcetera, ditches. Occasionally, a commercial venture will need to extend parking, or dumpster pads, or such, usually it’s parking, out into these drainage easements to satisfy the requirements for parking, Area Plan’s requirements for parking. We don’t have any problem with that, so long as it doesn’t interfere with drainage, and so long as the applicant fully indemnifies the county against any loss or damages. That’s what this encroachment agreement was designed by the previous County Attorneys, Joe Harrison, Jr. and Kevin Winternheimer, and now comes to you possibly with comments from your current County Attorney. If everything is found to be in order, the County Surveyor recommends approval of this particular one, which is Gordon Food Service, Incorporated, on Burkhardt Road, who needs the space to locate his dumpster enclosure, and we find no problem with the request.

President Musgrave: Mr. Ziemer, are there comments?

Ted C. Ziemer, Jr.: I have already reviewed the agreement. I e-mailed the Commissioners this afternoon advising them that I think the agreement is satisfactory from the legal perspective.

President Musgrave: I will entertain a motion to accept the agreement.

Commissioner Nix: I make a motion we accept the agreement.

Commissioner Crouch: Second.

President Musgrave: Any discussion? Hearing none, I will call for the vote. All those in favor say aye.

All Commissioners: Aye.

President Musgrave: That is unanimous.

President Musgrave: We move to other persons wishing to address the board. I see no other person here.

President Musgrave: So, we will move to questions, comments or assignments from the board.

Commissioner Crouch: I just want to say that it’s been a pleasure working with Mr. Jeffers in the last four, well, ten years, I guess, as Auditor and Commissioner. I’m really looking forward to working with you this year and next, at least, to help realize some of the projects that we have, that we need to address.

Bill Jeffers: I appreciate that. As you know, and the other Commissioners are fully aware, Drainage Board basically facilitate economic development, particularly commercial and residential growth, and I certainly look forward to working with you, Ms. Crouch, and the other two newly elected Commissioners, because I know all three of you are progressive, and intend to conduct business in such a way to facilitate economic development.

Commissioner Nix: Thank you.

President Musgrave: I appreciated your report. Is it possible for you to insert the picture of the location in the body of your report? I’ll show you how to do that. That would be from the GIS.

Bill Jeffers: Oh, such as Area Plan Commission does? The aerial photograph of the–

Commissioner Nix: Up on the screen.

Bill Jeffers: You’re talking about for each of the drainage plans?

President Musgrave: Right. You can clip the picture, and plop it right in your document.

Bill Jeffers: I would love to be able to do that, and if you would be kind enough to show me–

President Musgrave: I will do so.

Bill Jeffers: – I’ll make sure that’s in your next report.

President Musgrave: Thank you, sir.

Bill Jeffers: Thank you.

President Musgrave: If there are no other questions, comments or assignments–

Commissioner Crouch: Motion to adjourn.

Commissioner Nix: Second.

President Musgrave: Thank you. We are adjourned.

(The meeting was adjourned at 4:50 p.m.)

         Those in Attendance:

         Cheryl Musgrave            Bill Nix                            Suzanne Crouch

         Bill Jeffers                       Ted C. Ziemer, Jr.          Madelyn Grayson

         Matthew Wallace            Andy Spurling                 Others Unidentified

         Members of Media

VANDERBURGH COUNTY

DRAINAGE BOARD

Cheryl A.W. Musgrave, President

Bill Nix, Vice President

Suzanne M. Crouch, Member

(Recorded and transcribed by Madelyn Grayson.)