VANDERBURGH COUNTY

DRAINAGE BOARD

JANUARY 26, 2004

The Vanderburgh County Drainage Board met in session this 26^th day of January, 2004 at 6:03 p.m. in Room 307 of the Civic Center Complex.

Commissioner Mosby: Call to order Drainage Board meeting of Vanderburgh County for...what is it? I lost my paper. Did you give us an agenda, Bill?

Bill Jeffers: (Inaudible. Not at mic.)

Commissioner Mosby: I was going to say, I was looking for an agenda.

Bill Jeffers: I thought Linda brought down ten copies, I don’t see them though. It’s not very long.

Commissioner Mosby: Okay.

Bill Jeffers: First item is approve minutes.

Commissioner Crouch: So moved.

Commissioner Mosby: Second and so ordered.

Bill Jeffers: That was from December 23^rd, I believe.

Bill Jeffers: Your next order of business, I believe, would be to reorganize the board, and appoint new officers for 2004.

Commissioner Crouch: Typically, the Vice–

Commissioner Mosby: Yeah.

Commissioner Crouch: I’ll make a motion that David Mosby serve as President of the Drainage Board.

President Mosby: If I don’t vote for myself, do I lose? Second and so ordered.

Bill Jeffers: Then you need a Vice Chair...a Vice Chairperson.

Commissioner Crouch: I’ll move that Commissioner Fanello be Vice Chairperson.

President Mosby: Second and so ordered.

Bill Jeffers: And set the meeting dates, which probably has been advertised.

Kevin Winternheimer: We included it with our general advertisement already.

Bill Jeffers: Okay, so that’s as advertised with your other meetings.

Bill Jeffers: Under old business you are to receive an update on Inland Marina, Incorporated as “agent” for Eagle Slough. Your recording secretary, Madelyn Grayson, sent a letter to Steve Lucas, the administrative law judge, Indiana DNR Division of Hearings, and received a return certificate indicating the receipt of the package. If you’ll receive, at this time, this notification that a letter and a certified mailing receipt has been transmitted back and forth to the administrative law judge and enter it in your record, it will serve as a record that all of that has been taken care of.

Commissioner Crouch: I’ll make a motion to accept it into the record.

President Mosby: Second and so ordered.

Bill Jeffers: Under drainage plans, none were received or reviewed for January that require board action.

Bill Jeffers: Under ditch maintenance claims, we have this folder full of claims with the required paperwork and a recommendation from the Surveyor that the claims be signed and paid to the individual contractors on our ditches.

Commissioner Crouch: Motion to sign the claims.

President Mosby: Second and so ordered.

Bill Jeffers: We have an encroachment agreement received, again, by your recording secretary, Ms. Madelyn Grayson, ready for your signature from Spurling Development, Incorporated asking that a drainage easement agreement for encroachment be entered into between this board and Spurling Development LLC for a lot on Vogel Road Commercial Park, Section Two, as shown on exhibits A, B, and C, with a recommendation from the County Surveyor that the encroachment be allowed and this agreement be entered into by the board.

Commissioner Crouch: So moved.

President Mosby: Second and so ordered.

Bill Jeffers: I’m not aware of any petitions for the removal of obstructions to drains or watercourses at this time.

Bill Jeffers: That puts us down at other persons wishing to address the board.

President Mosby: Do we have any–

Bill Jeffers: Mr. Rucker, did you have–

President Mosby: Do you want to come forward at this time and state your name and address please.

Myron Rucker: Myron Rucker, 5800 Oakridge Drive, Evansville, Indiana. I would like to come down here and ask for some help. You might look at this as old business, I look at it as continuing business. I live in the Oakridge Subdivision, which is east of Melody Hills between, it’s just off St. George and Oak Hill Road. The reason I’m coming down here is for a problem that has plagued me for years and years. I realize money has been spent uphill on Ward Road in the past to alleviate some drainage problems uphill, but everything that comes downhill to my property from Anthony Drive and Dusseldorf and all the other properties east of Melody Hills comes my way to a 60' ditch that goes into a drainage system, which is an open ditch. It’s more than 85 acres, I don’t know the exact measurement, but everything comes down my way to a 12" ditch. The property sits on a pretty flat surface, and the rear of the yard is really flat, but in the meantime, when the water comes down the hill, it just stages there. It can’t get into the 30" pipe going, which is Licking Creek, originally, that goes behind my house, through the subdivision, over to Oak Hill Road. The water comes through there at a rapid rate, any heavy rainfall is a big problem for me. There has been discussion in the past about a pipe in there, they decided that an open ditch is the best way to go with this route. I’ve even had people come out, I’ve talked to Keith Poff of Sitecon. I had Staub come out and shoot elevations on my yard, trying to run pipe to, just to get a chance to get the water off my property so it could keep up with the ditch. The ditch can’t keep up. It’s got jags in it, it’s not exactly straight, and in the past we’ve been criticized for trees growing in the back in that area, the ditch not being maintained and cleaned, which is not the case all along where I live. The trees have been removed. There’s no trees back there. I try to keep all the trash out of there, but there is no way this ditch can keep up. It keeps flooding my yard. In the past I’ve tried to make improvements in the back yard, but there’s no way you can improve a back yard, add on to your property when it’s basically used as a staging area for a massive amount of water. There is no way this thing can work any longer. I mean, I can’t sell my home the way it is now, if I wanted to. I’ve tried to think about making improvements, but there’s no way I can make improvements with all the water coming down there and doing excessive damage to the property. Basically, I’m coming down here to ask you guys to have somebody look at this thing one more time, and see if there is anything that can be done, you know. The elevation of the property is not feasible to run pipe. I’ve had Staub out there the other day, right before Christmas, and then I’d talked to Mr. Jeffers, you know, over the telephone about it, and that’s why I’m here. I need some help with the property. What they did in the past has never helped me, you know. Any heavy rainfall or heavy thunderstorm that rolls through there, I’m in trouble. Twelve inches is not enough. There’s no pipe, you go from one end with a 15" pipe to an open area going into a 24" pipe, then it goes around past the sanitation sewer to a 30" pipe. My water can’t get in there because of all the water coming down the other direction. It just sits there and stands. It can’t get into the pipe and make the turn. It never has made that turn. Anytime it rains, I mean, I’ve had to move the dogs out of the backyard, I mean, the yard, you can’t use the backyard. You know, basically, that’s why I’m down here appealing to somebody to look at this thing, because I need some help with it, you know, because any drainage water that comes from

Anthony Drive, traveling east, I’m in trouble. In fact, if Anthony Drive had all of his drainage culverts hooked, on both sides of the road, it would be twice as bad. They’re not all hooked up. They’re not all connected, you know. The two subdivisions coming down to my house, you know, there’s no way, you know, I’ve only got one side coming down at me, plus 85 plus acres of just drainage water after it gets saturated, and it goes to this one ditch.

President Mosby: Have you had the County Engineer out there?

Myron Rucker: Everybody’s been out there. They’ve tried to stop water up on Ward Road and send it in another direction. That hasn’t really helped me at all. All that does is give me about 20 minutes to say, help.

President Mosby: Okay. Let me talk to him, because I’m not familiar with it right off hand, but let me talk with the County Engineer and Bill and see what, if at all, any solution that this Commission can come up with.

Myron Rucker: Believe me, sir, I’ve tried. I mean, I’ve had Keith Poff out there–

President Mosby: I would be more than glad to meet Bill or John out there.

Myron Rucker: The elevation of the lot is too small–

President Mosby: Okay.

Myron Rucker: –to run water down through this 12" ditch.

President Mosby: Well, I understand what you’re saying, so let me talk with Bill and John, and before the next meeting I’ll meet them out there, and we’ll get together and talk, and we can discuss it, and I’ll fill the other two in.

Myron Rucker: You know, if you look at that, look at the ditch system as a whole.

President Mosby: Okay.

Myron Rucker: Please, because–

President Mosby: I’ll ask John to bring the master plan.

Myron Rucker: – the part where I’m at there was trees and everything out there. Those have all been removed. I mean, I don’t know what else you can do other than the rock coming down from Knob Hill Road that used to be a road that was going to go through there, and they never finished it, rock retard the ditch. But, even at that, sir, there is no way that water is going to make that turn and get past my house. It’s just a staging area.

President Mosby: Well, I’m not going to tell you tonight what we can do, but I’ll be honest with you next month.

Myron Rucker: I just want somebody to look at it.

President Mosby: Okay, that’s fine.

Myron Rucker: I need some help. I mean, I’ve had people out there looking at it and they’re telling me, I mean, you’re going to put a 12" pipe, you know, with the drop in your yard, the elevation of your yard, it’s not going to work. Staub was out there, and it’s not like I haven’t tried to do something about it, but the advice I’ve been given hasn’t really helped me.

President Mosby: Okay, well I’ll get–

Myron Rucker: There’s just too much coming down there.

President Mosby: I’ll get a hold of the County Engineer and let him advise us on what we can do.

Myron Rucker: Thank you, sir.

President Mosby: Thank you very much, Mr. Rucker. Is there anybody else that wants to address the board?

Bill Jeffers: Okay, in that case we would be at comments, questions, or directions from the board, if you have any.

President Mosby: How about I get with you and John and we’ll go out and look at Mr. Rucker’s problem.

Bill Jeffers: Alright, there’s a large amount of information available on file, and a great deal of work was done to address the conditions in the neighborhood, and there’s a great deal on record to explain exactly what’s happening at that location.

President Mosby: Okay. I’ll get with you so that you, and if John’s got any information, he can fill me in, and we’ll look at it.

Bill Jeffers: The County Surveyor has no other business to come before the board at this time.

President Mosby: Any member have any other business?

Commissioner Crouch: Motion to adjourn.

President Mosby: I have a motion and a second, I will second that. So ordered.

(The meeting was adjourned at 6:17 p.m.)

         Those in Attendance:

         David W. Mosby             Suzanne M. Crouch                  Bill Jeffers

         Kevin Winternheimer      Madelyn Grayson                     Myron Rucker

         Others Unidentified         Members of Media

VANDERBURGH COUNTY

DRAINAGE BOARD

David W. Mosby, President

Suzanne M. Crouch, Member

Recorded and transcribed by Madelyn Grayson.