County Drainage Board Forced To Appoint Member To Hurricane Creek Joint Board

Sometimes you don't get a choice.

Thursday, the Kosciusko County Drainage Board appointed board member Maurice McDaniel to the Hurricane Creek joint board after Kosciusko County Surveyor Richard Kemper told the board they had no choice but to appoint someone to the board.

"Our drainage board attorney (Richard) Helm said in this case we had no choice and we can't waive, you must appoint one member since Wabash (County) did not waive," Kemper said.

Landowners petitioned the Whitley County Drainage Board for Hurricane Creek to become a county-regulated drain. Because Whitley, Kosciusko and Wabash counties will be affected, to various degrees, a joint board among the three counties is needed.

Wabash, Kemper said, verbally did not waive their rights to have a representative on the joint board and appointed one person to serve on the joint board.

The majority of the ditch and watershed is in Whitley County.

"The bottom line is," said Kemper, "you need to appoint one member to serve on that board." He said in three-county boards, if one of the lesser members appoints a member to the joint board, the other lesser member also must appoint a member.

"There's no way this board can stop this?" asked Brad Jackson, drainage board president.

"Correct," said Kemper. "Our board doesn't have the authority to stop the proceeding." He said the special circumstance with Hurricane Creek is that it is a natural stream being petitioned to be a county-regulated drain.

Dorris Harrold, board member, said, "One county could say no and the other two could say yes and it would go ahead."

Kemper told remonstrators against the petition, "You need to look at the overall picture - benefits versus cost." He said the joint board will first have to approve making the stream a county-regulated drain before any cost can be assessed.

Dee Moore, a remonstrator, said, "My value of the creek has nothing to do with the crops, it has to do with the beauty."

According to remonstrator Stan Moore, an attorney in Fort Wayne told him the board has three choices: to waive their rights, to join the joint board or to refuse the petition, which would prevent it from coming into the county. He suggested the board check with their attorney on the third option.

John Westrick, remonstrator, said he was glad to hear the drain did not necessarily have to go all the way into Kosciusko or Wabash counties and that the joint board will decide how far it will go if at all. "I'm the one person in Wabash affected," he said.

Remonstrators presented the board with petitions last month against the creek becoming a regulated drain and presented more to the board Thursday. "Eighty-seven percent of the people (surveyed) in Kosciusko County don't want this," Westrick said.

Jackson told the remonstrators he thought it was important that they tell their concerns to the joint board.

"I want to slow this creek down," said remonstrator Phil Kripe on why he was against the petition.

The joint board will meet Feb. 1 at 10 a.m. in the Whitley County commissioners meeting room in the county courthouse.

On Feb. 22, the Kosciusko County Drainage Board will hear a petition from more than 50 property owners to set a maintenance fund on Silver Creek. More signatures are expected for the petition.

In December, the drainage board approved hearing the petition and set a proposed minimum rate of 20 cents per acre with a $5 minimum assessment. The petitioners, Kemper said, are mostly landowners who have flooding problems on their properties.

Kemper said he's talked to the town of Silver Lake and let them know what was going on. Wabash County, which will be somewhat affected, had no objection and unofficially, no interest in forming a joint board on the drain.

"Even the landowners have indicated to me ... they just want to have the means ... to keep the river flowing without a lot of deadfall," said Kemper.

"There is evidence," added Kemper, "to show we could assume jurisdiction to CR 1200S." The last mile, from CR 1200S to the county line, has never been county maintained.

The meeting on Silver Creek will be at 9:30 a.m. Feb. 22 in the Kosciusko County courthouse.

"It's going to be a basic question of needs versus benefits," said Kemper.

The drainage board also approved for J.F. New Excavating to stabilize part of the Peterson Ditch, Winona Lake, on behalf of the Winona Lake Preservation Association at their cost.

"I recommend you approve this," Kemper told the board, as it will improve the quality of Winona Lake and the area.

Members of the drainage board include: president Brad Jackson, Donald Goon, Eldon Watkins, Maurice McDaniel and Dorris Harrold.