Kelly Zimmer Drain Fees Increased
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Yearly maintenance assessments for property owners on Kelly Zimmer drain will see an increase in their rates.
The drainage board voted Thursday to approve the increase from $1.25 per acre to $9 per acre beginning in 2000.
Approximately 166.95 acres and 27 property owners are affected. Property owners will get to choose if they want to pay it all off in one year or in five years. Those who pay in five years will see a 10 percent interest charge after the first year.
The work will begin immediately.
Needed improvements that the increase will benefit include brush and sediment removal, leveling, tile repairs and brush control for summer 1999. The estimated annual maintenance costs will be $1,405 a year for a total of $5,620 for 2000 to 2003.
Property owner Helen Cox said, "It really hits us harder than anyone else on the list." Helen and Royce Cox own about 54 acres.
Another property owner, Herbert Creamer, questioned where the money from previous years went.
"I'd like to know where the money went over the last 20 years if they haven't done anything to (the drain)," Creamer said.
Kosciusko County Surveyor Richard Kemper said, "By statute, it can't collect more than a four-year balance."
Kemper also said brush was removed in the early '90s.
One of the most affected areas is property owned by Gill Salvage Yard.
"Gill Salvage Yard has stood with water in it all summer and we've basically had a drought," Kemper said.
Mike Gill said, "Whatever you can do to solve it, I'd like to get it done."
A video of the drainage was shown at the board meeting. Ditches were becoming sandbars and brush was growing in the ditches. Sediment was a foot deep in the pipes, holding water back.
"If that drain fails completely, you'll see a significant change in your property," Kemper told property owners at the meeting.
Kelly Zimmer drain starts near Crystal Lake Road and Ind. 25 and drains into Walnut Creek. It passes Center Street, Pennsylvania Railroad and the city street department.
The previous rates were $6 an acre in 1976 and $7.50 per acre in 1980. The $1.25 per acre charge was established in 1983.
The current balance for the drain is $471. [[In-content Ad]]
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Yearly maintenance assessments for property owners on Kelly Zimmer drain will see an increase in their rates.
The drainage board voted Thursday to approve the increase from $1.25 per acre to $9 per acre beginning in 2000.
Approximately 166.95 acres and 27 property owners are affected. Property owners will get to choose if they want to pay it all off in one year or in five years. Those who pay in five years will see a 10 percent interest charge after the first year.
The work will begin immediately.
Needed improvements that the increase will benefit include brush and sediment removal, leveling, tile repairs and brush control for summer 1999. The estimated annual maintenance costs will be $1,405 a year for a total of $5,620 for 2000 to 2003.
Property owner Helen Cox said, "It really hits us harder than anyone else on the list." Helen and Royce Cox own about 54 acres.
Another property owner, Herbert Creamer, questioned where the money from previous years went.
"I'd like to know where the money went over the last 20 years if they haven't done anything to (the drain)," Creamer said.
Kosciusko County Surveyor Richard Kemper said, "By statute, it can't collect more than a four-year balance."
Kemper also said brush was removed in the early '90s.
One of the most affected areas is property owned by Gill Salvage Yard.
"Gill Salvage Yard has stood with water in it all summer and we've basically had a drought," Kemper said.
Mike Gill said, "Whatever you can do to solve it, I'd like to get it done."
A video of the drainage was shown at the board meeting. Ditches were becoming sandbars and brush was growing in the ditches. Sediment was a foot deep in the pipes, holding water back.
"If that drain fails completely, you'll see a significant change in your property," Kemper told property owners at the meeting.
Kelly Zimmer drain starts near Crystal Lake Road and Ind. 25 and drains into Walnut Creek. It passes Center Street, Pennsylvania Railroad and the city street department.
The previous rates were $6 an acre in 1976 and $7.50 per acre in 1980. The $1.25 per acre charge was established in 1983.
The current balance for the drain is $471. [[In-content Ad]]