Confusion over objections stalls drainage project hearing

By: 
Erin Sommers Graphic-Advocate Editor

A joint board of Calhoun and Pocahontas supervisors delayed their decision on a proposed $774,000 drainage improvement project until March.

The postponement, officials said after a two-hour hearing Dec. 9 at the Calhoun County Courthouse, was to allow landowners affected by the proposed project time to properly file any objections. If owners representing at least 70 percent of the land along the two drainage ditch districts included in the project area file objections, it will not go forward.

The majority of the project is located in northern Calhoun County, but properties in Pocahontas County would also be affected. The ditch is south of Fonda.

Objections voiced at the hearing included the location of the planned ditch extension, as well as concerns about the cost, which could range from about $460 to more than $1,000 per acre that benefits from the ditches. Payments could be made on a 10- or 20-year schedule.

Drainage attorneys representing the two counties were at odds over whether enough objections had already been filed to halt the project. David Wollenzien, who works for Calhoun County on drainage issues, questioned whether objections filed before the joint supervisors board voted to move ahead with the project were valid.

“If you take an objection before the report is filed, the question becomes, is the objection effective forever?” Wollenzien asked.

And if this particular improvement petition were to be dismissed because of the objections, would those same objections remain on file to protest any similar future project, he asked.

Furthermore, many of the objections were on file before the joint board decided Aug. 5 to order an engineering report on the project and set a public hearing to discuss the proposal. In that case, Wollenzien said, knowing the objections existed, the boards perhaps should have voted not to move ahead at all.

Pocahontas County’s drainage attorney, Jim Hudson, disagreed. Those objections were filed specifically to protest this project, he said. Most of them came in after an informal public meeting in July called just to discuss the work on those tiles.

Supervisors opted to allow engineers with I+S Group to present the report, so the farmers and landowners who attended the hearing could understand the reasons behind the proposals. Engineer Brian Blomme said their study showed the two drainage tiles, 173 67 and 37 35, were operating at about 33 percent of their total capacity, because of problems with the main tiles. The best and most cost-effective solution, Blomme said, would be to extend the open ditch more than a mile. The cost of that work is borne by the landowners who benefit from the improved drainage, and the exact cost is determined by the amount their land benefits. The land that benefits the most has the highest assessment.

The assessments for these particular lots haven’t been updated since the original tiles were installed in 1914. The engineers’ report also includes a recommendation to reclassify the land, updating the assessments of which land benefits most.

According to an online Iowa State University estimation tool, farmers would see a 20 percent increase in production if the tile improvements are completed, engineer Ivan Droessler said.

With that figure in mind, farmers who are considering objecting to the project should calculate “how long does it take to pay back” the cost of the improvement assessments, he added. The drainage situation isn’t going to change without a project, and the costs for doing the work aren’t going to decrease, he added.

Droessler warned landowners that other things, such as federal regulations governing wetland restoration, may change and make such projects harder in the future. 

Objections to the project may be filed before the next hearing, set for 1:30 p.m. March 3 at the Calhoun County Courthouse. Landowners may also object or withdraw their objections during the hearing. 

The Graphic-Advocate

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