Meeting minutes, 09.13.2021

 

CCDD#6 Minutes 9.13.21

 

1.     Maintenance. Brandon said the ditches usually are choked with cattails. This year they have grass growing in them. Usually we hire an excavator to clean out the drains this time of year.

 

Bill asked if anyone walks the drain; if we know where the trouble spots are.

 

Brandon said he knows where the problems are. Most are between 1600 S and Bill’s land. Dirt has been sloughed off that needs to be pulled off the bank.

 

At 300 West or so, there is another spot that needs to be cleaned. More land has sloughed off at about 600 S main. Another place was near Paul King’s shop, north of the state highway.

 

Dennis said we need a thorough inventory and plan with the drain. We could be proactive instead of reactive.  Bill said he would like to see a survey. Dennis said that in addition to small problems that hold up the water there are some other problems, and we need a prioritized plan. Spraying, burning and backhoe work are all part of it.

 

Brandon asked if we had a detailed policy, if that would prevent all the problems. His priority is to respect private property but also to work with owners so they understand what needs to be done.

 

Dennis said a lot of people who live on the drain who have no idea that there are problems. 

 

Brandon said every culvert has been surveyed, and the trend shows that there is good fall, but the line goes up and down. Brandon said we don’t have the funding to do the road crossings, and private field crossings will require working with property owners.

 

Bill asked where we should start. Brandon said to use the survey and identify places to begin.

 

Brandon said he knew of a large section of the drain that needs attention.

 

Dennis said we have 8600 in general fund and 5000 in the capital projects fund. 

 

Dennis asked how the meeting with the city council went. JoLynne and Brandon said it seemed that they knew what we were talking about but did not want to discuss it. JoLynne said it seems that they don’t want the liability. Eric said they would have liability whether they want it or not. Bill said we need to go in with a plan. 

 

Dennis said that when Cub River Irrigation started looking into the project they had entities sign off on it. He was hoping that Lewiston was one of them. 

 

JoLynne said they were not listed as a partner but she thought they would have to sign off on it. Several board members agreed we should try again to engage the city.

 

Dennis said every entity that receives funds will have to account for them, and if we are not firmed up on our position there could be problems. If we are still trying to figure out whether we are one or four districts we run the risk of sharing that $12 million in ways we don’t want to. Their priorities might be different than ours. 

 

Dennis said we can’t resolve if we are working for District 6 or the whole community tonight, so we should work as District 6. 

 

Dennis and Brandon identified some trouble spots which were reflected in maps presented by Fransen Engineering in a meeting earlier this summer. A lot of them are close to the downtown area.

 

Brandon said there are some things that are going on uptown, and the city will need to cooperate.

 

Dennis said we need to decide whether we have a great enough need to go ahead with maintenance or if we back up and assign people on the board to become familiar with the needs, assign priorities to them and address them.

 

We don’t bring in an excavator in the next month but we do it in a month after we look at it. 

 

Brandon said he’d prioritize cleaning and fixing sloughed banks that he’s described and then taking care of property by Van Jorgensen. 

 

JoLynne said she’d like Bill and Brandon to work together to come up with a prioritized list. 

 

Bill proposed that by the 30^th they could drive the drain lines, go over the maps and come back with a list of projects.

 

Dennis moved that Bill and Brandon survey the drains and come up with a prioritized list. The board will meet again on October 4. Eric seconded, motion passed unanimously.

 

 

2.     Boundaries. JoLynne said the county would not prepare a plat for the boundaries without a survey. The county has agreed to use grant money to pay for it (this is after many conversations). Dennis said he went to the treasurer and told him to add in the parcels that were just annexed. 

 

 

Dennis said we have been warned that we need to write policies and procedures within 60 days. JoLynne will work on that and the other board members can send suggestions to her.

 

Dennis motioned we adjourn. JoLynne seconded.