Local News

County to look into pond causing waves with neighbors

 

A pond that disrupted a drainage tile apparently has created a ripple effect with nearby landowners in the western part of the county.

 

The matter is a case study on the many drainage issues faced by the Shelby County Commissioners.

 

On Monday, the commissioners, convened as the County Drainage Board (file photo), heard from Mark Stevens about flooding on his property.

 

Stevens lives on County Road 250 West, south of State Road 44 near the Johnson County line.

 

This was his second trip to the Drainage Board about the problem.

 

“I come here a year ago; I have a drainage issue there, and, uh, I'm not sure if it's the ditch or the lake that was built next to me improperly, but there is an issue there, and I need it addressed somehow. Every year that, that, my yard is, is more and more of a lake, and somehow it needs to be addressed,” Stevens said.

 

The Glen Denning county legal drain runs southwest through Stevens' property, and his neighbor's land along with other properties. The drain is several miles long and empties into Sugar Creek.

 

When the neighbor's pond was dug about 10 years ago, it disrupted the tile, and though another tile was put in around the pond, it hasn't done the job, Stevens said.

 

An assessment attached to property tax bills would need to be placed on the landowners served by the drain to generate funds to make repairs.

 

Legal drains like the Glen Denning are created when landowners ask the commissioners to do so and agree to be assessed payments for the cost and maintenance incurred by the county.

 

Payments are calculated based on the amount of land each person owns.

 

Members of the Drainage Board acknowledged Stevens' problem, but noted that one person owns the majority of the land in the watershed served by the Glen Denning legal drain.

 

The owners of the majority of land in the watershed, in this case, one person, would have to agree to the assessment for repairs.

 

Drainage Board members, and Stevens, noted that, with the price of corn as low as it is, farmers like the watershed's majority landowner would be hard pressed right now to pay an assessment.

 

The board will try to resolve the issue as soon as possible.

 

In other matters, the County Commissioners set July 15 as the date to open bids on tearing down a condemned house in Flat Rock.

 

The commissioners heard from County Sanitarian Robert Lewis who said the owner of the house at 3144 E. Vandalia Road has not made requested repairs.

 

Lewis will notify the owner of the pending demolition. The cost of removing the house will be passed on to the owner if there's no response to the notice.

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