VANDERBURGH COUNTY

DRAINAGE BOARD

SEPTEMBER 26, 2006

The Vanderburgh County Drainage Board met in session this 26^th day of September, 2006, at 4:51 p.m. in room 301 of the Civic Center Complex with President Bill Nix presiding.

President Nix: Good afternoon. I would like to call to order the Vanderburgh County Drainage Board, Tuesday, September 26, 2006, at 4:51 p.m. Mr. Jeffers, good afternoon.

Bill Jeffers: Good afternoon, President Nix, and other members of the Drainage Board. I’m sorry to come before you today in dirty shoes and jeans, but Charlie Alvey and I have been out today looking at the pipe at Green River Road and Morgan Avenue with the consulting engineer and getting the details in order so that you may have a pipe sizing to take to the Indiana Department of Transportation to enlarge that pipe as part of that project. While the computer is warming up with your drainage plan orthographs you want to–

President Nix: Can I interrupt you just a second?

Bill Jeffers: Certainly.

President Nix: I need to go ahead and have the approval of the minutes of the previous meeting.

Commissioner Musgrave: Move approval.

Commissioner Shetler: Second.

President Nix: All in favor? Aye.

Commissioner Musgrave: Aye.

Commissioner Shetler: Aye.

President Nix: Excuse me, Mr. Jeffers.

Bill Jeffers: I’m sorry. I missed that myself.

President Nix: That’s quite alright.

Bill Jeffers: While the computer is warming up so you can see the orthographs of the two drainage plans we have, I have a letter here from Long Valley Landscape & Nursery, LLC, 15700 North St. Joe Avenue, Evansville, Indiana. This was previously known as Hoffherr’s Nursery. It’s located north of Darmstadt on St. Joe Avenue. Their property has run...it’s one of those heritage farms. It’s been there over 150 years. They’ve been farming along Maidlow Ditch all that time, which is a regulated drain in Vanderburgh County. They have operated a nursery there previously, but all those trees were removed and they returned it to crop land and now the Hoffherrs again are operating a wholesale tree farming operation consisting of row cropping of trees grown to a sellable size and then harvested. I suppose they go out to new homes and so forth as landscape improvements. They are growing the trees within the 75 foot right of entry along Maidlow Ditch which requires by statute the written permission of the Drainage Board and this letter in fact asks for the written permission of the Drainage Board to grow those trees inside the right of entry. With a sentence here that says:

“That the Hoffherrs realize that the remaining 40 feet of crop are in peril should the need arise for work to be performed along the ditch.”

I don’t anticipate any work at this time, but they do understand that if we have an emergency contract that goes out there they may lose 40 feet of row crop of landscape trees should we have to remove them. The County Surveyor recommends that you give written permission to Long Valley Landscape & Nursery, LLC to grow their landscape trees within the right of entry for Maidlow Ditch with the understanding that the trees may have be removed in the case of an emergency.

President Nix: Questions?

Commissioner Musgrave: Motion to adopt the recommendation of the Surveyor.

Commissioner Shetler: Second.

President Nix: All in favor? Aye.

Commissioner Musgrave: Aye.

Commissioner Shetler: Aye.

Bill Jeffers: We still aren’t warmed up over here. You have some ditch maintenance claims and some claims on behalf of various consulting engineers who are putting together the studies and evaluations of several regulated drains. All the paperwork is in order and the County Surveyor recommends payment of those claims that are before you on the desk.

President Nix: I’ll entertain a motion.

Commissioner Musgrave: Move to approve the claims.

Commissioner Shetler: Second.

President Nix: All in favor? Aye.

Commissioner Musgrave: Aye.

Commissioner Shetler: Aye.

Bill Jeffers: Okay, moving to Eagle Village Apartments, the additional parking, we’ll go there first because everyone knows where Eagle Village is on Schutte Road out by USI. It has been the subject of some concern by the neighbors. They built apartments there and now find that there is not sufficient parking as they were alerted during the development of that and they wish to create about 1.4 acres of additional parking for the students that occupy Eagle Village Apartments. The drainage plan is in order and the County Surveyor recommends approval of the final drainage plan for Eagle Village Apartments for additional parking and the mylar is on your desk for signature should you vote to approve.

Commissioner Musgrave: Motion to adopt the recommendation of the County Surveyor.

Commissioner Shetler: Second.

President Nix: All in favor? Aye.

Commissioner Musgrave: Aye.

Commissioner Shetler: Aye.

Bill Jeffers: Apparently our computer is not communicating with the projector so we’ll move to Evansville Self Storage which is a mini store complex at the corner of Diamond Avenue...it would be the northwest corner of Diamond Avenue and Mesker Park Drive. It has been occupied by various ventures known as Angel Construction, whatever. It has been a total mess. The neighbors have never liked it. I find it quite interesting to look at everything that is parked there myself. We’ve discussed this in Area Plan Commission and our fondest hopes is that this storage unit corporation that is coming from out of town and has brought pictures showing their units that they have developed out of town will actually beautify that corner. So it has been approved for zoning. They have a site plan pending. The drainage plan is adequate and it meets all the requirements of the drainage code and the County Surveyor encourages you to approve the final drainage plan for Evansville Self Storage at Diamond Avenue and Mesker Park Drive which I hope will be a vast improvement over what is there now.

Commissioner Musgrave: Motion to adopt the recommendation of the Surveyor.

Commissioner Shetler: Second.

President Nix: All in favor? Aye.

Commissioner Musgrave: Aye.

Commissioner Shetler: Aye.

Bill Jeffers: We’ve got three minutes if anyone has a public comment. That will become Evansville Self Storage. As you can see there is a lot of junk stored on there now. There was a log cabin construction company there. There is an old dilapidated farmhouse that is going to be torn down and other things that I think this needs to be improved and I think it has been represented to be an improvement.

Commissioner Musgrave: Motion to–

Bill Jeffers: And there is Eagle Valley. They took out that residence and they are going to put that parking in the area enclosed in the red outline. That construction site that you see, exposed dirt there, that’s all the apartments now. That has become the apartments and that will be the additional parking.

President Nix: Thank you Mr. Jeffers.

Bill Jeffers: Thank you. Did you all pass that last one?

President Nix: Yes.

Bill Jeffers: We’re done.

President Nix: Yes.

Bill Jeffers: Hallelujah.

Commissioner Musgrave: Motion to adjourn.

Commissioner Shetler: Second.

President Nix: All in favor? Aye.

Commissioner Musgrave: Aye.

Commissioner Shetler: Aye.

(The meeting was adjourned at 5:00 p.m.)

Those in Attendance:

Bill Nix                                      Cheryl Musgrave                      Tom Shetler, Jr.

Bill Jeffers                                 Kathryn Schymik                      Madelyn Grayson

Others Unidentified                   Members of Media

VANDERBURGH COUNTY

DRAINAGE BOARD

Bill Nix, President

Cheryl A.W. Musgrave, Vice President

Tom Shetler, Jr., Member

Recorded by Madelyn Grayson. Transcribed by Charlene Timmons.