“Local Watershed Sets 2015 Levies”
In accordance with Minnesota Watershed Law, the Board of Managers, Buffalo-Red River Watershed District (BRRWD), set their 2015 levies at their annual budget hearing and regular meeting held on Monday, September 8, 2014, at their Barnesville office. The administrative levy was set at $250,000, although the Board reviewed an administrative budget totaling $320,000. Excess costs are assessed to the various projects/drainage systems on an annual basis. The Board also adopted an insurance premium levy of $20,000 in accordance with Minnesota Statutes Annotated 466.06. The Board also reviewed two levies for projects/programs with District-wide benefits. The use of this funding needs to be petitioned for by a political subdivision within the BRRWD. Historically, that has been the Clay County Board of Commissioners. The general levy, which totals $522,822, will be used for a variety of programs, including River Keepers, the Red River Basin Commission, a survey data acquisition fund, water quality monitoring, log jam removal, and Wolverton Creek/Comstock Coulee. The second general levy, totaling $450,000, will be used for possible projects in 2015, including the Hawley Buffalo River Restoration Project, the new office, and a Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources Clean Water Fund grant being submitted by the Clay and Becker Soil and Water Conservation Districts to work on the Hay Creek drainage area. The total proposed 2015 general levy for the BRRWD is $1,242,822, which compares with the 2014 budget of $1,108,665.
The Board also set levies for the project/drainage systems under their jurisdiction. The following levies were set for 2015:
Clay County
Ditch No. 3 – $15,000
Ditch No. 5 – $10,000
Ditch No. 9 – $50,000
Ditch No. 10 – $75,000
Ditch No. 11 – $40,000
Ditch No. 17 – $5,000
Ditch No. 20 – $10,000
Ditch No. 22 – $10,000
Ditch No. 28 – $10,000
Ditch No. 31 – $7,000
Ditch No. 32 – $50,000
Ditch No. 33 – $30,000
Ditch No. 36 – $10,000
Ditch No. 40 – $30,000
Ditch No. 41 – $50,000
Ditch No. 41 – Lateral 1 – $15,000
Ditch No. 47 – $75,000
Ditch No. 49 – $15,000
Ditch No. 50 – $25,000
Ditch No. 53 – $15,000
Ditch No. 55 – $20,000
Ditch No. 58 – $25,000
Ditch No. 59 – $50,000
Ditch No. 60 – $10,000
Ditch No. 65 – $20,000
Ditch No. 67 – $25,000
Ditch No. 69 – $20,000
Becker County
Ditch No. 5 – $10,000
Ditch No. 9 – $25,000
Ditch No. 10 – $17,000
Ditch No. 15 – $15,000
Ditch No. 19 – $35,000
Ditch No. 21 – $15,000
Wilkin County
Ditch No. 5A – $10,000
Ditch No. 22 – $40,000
Ditch No. 22-Lateral No. 3 Improvement – $15,000
Ditch No. 26 – $5,000
Ditch No. 40 – $15,000
Ditch No. 41 – $30,000
Ditch No. 42 – $10,000
Ditch No. 43 – $20,000
Projects
No. 30, Clay/Wilkin Judicial Ditch No. 1 – $40,000
No. 38, Kragnes Ringdike – $2,500
No. 38, Anderson Acres Ringdike – $5,000
No. 39, Georgetown 2012 Levee Improvements – $30,000
No. 46, Turtle Lake Outlet – $35,000
No. 49, Oakport Flood Mitigation – $100,000
No. 50, Cromwell Township Outlet – $10,000
No. 58, Riverton Retention – $20,000
No. 62, J.D. 1, Branch 4 – $12,000
No. 64, Labelle/Boyer Lakes Outlet – $25,000
No. 65, County Line Outlet – $15,000
No. 67, HRBP Outlets – $30,000
No. 68, Lake Jacobs Outlet – $25,000
No. 71, Moorhead 50th Ave S Flood Control – $40,000
Other business included:
· Administered the Oath of Office to the new Clay County Manager, Mark T. Anderson, Comstock. Mr. Anderson replaces Curtis M. Nelson. His term began on 09/01/14 and will run for a period of three years. Mr. Anderson was also elected the interim Treasurer.
· Continued discussion regarding flooding/erosion/drainage issues regarding the South Branch of the Buffalo River in Manston Township, Clay County. Erik S. Jones, Engineer, Houston Engineering Inc. (H.E.), presented a preliminary report regarding his review of breakouts in the NE¼, Section 6, Manston Township. The property owner is Caroline Swenson. It appears that some shallow diking on the east side of the channel might temporarily address this problem. The second report submitted by Jones dealt with a potential retention area in the SE¼, Section 11, Manston Township. Two alternatives were considered. The alternatives could hold between 345-452 acre-feet of storage. The BRRWD will continue to work with the affected landowners and the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Both areas are being looked at on an interim basis, as the BRRWD has proposed a more comprehensive project for the South Branch of the Buffalo River beginning at the Clay-Wilkin County line and proceeding upstream. However, that project is quite complex, and will take time to develop.
· Approval of a permits to Goltz Farms LLC, for pattern tiling in Section 2, Atherton Township, Wilkin County; Matt Jirava for the installation of tile mains in NW¼, Section 11, Riceville Township, Becker County; John Bohn for the installation of water and sediment control basins in NE¼, Section 29, Norwegian Grove Township, Otter Tail County; Charles Piekarski for approximately 60 acres of random tiling with a gravity flow outlet in the NW¼, Section 28, Carlisle Township, Otter Tail County; Bryan Kritzberger to lower two culverts along County Road (C.R.) No. 11 that drain in to Clay-Wilkin Judicial Ditch (J.D.) No. 1 in the SW¼, Section 29, Alliance Township, Clay County; Bruce Nelson to install water and sediment control basins in the NW¼, Section 12, Lake Park Township, Becker County; Barry Nelson to install water and sediment control basins the NE¼, Section 21, Lake Park Township, Becker County; Gary Villiard to install to install water and sediment control basins in the NW¼, Section 29, Cuba Township, Becker County; Curt Nelson to install water and sediment control basins in the NW¼, Section 13, Lake Park Township, Becker County; Cameron Ullrich to install water and sediment control basins in the SW¼, Section 12, Lake Park Township, Becker County; Jonathan Roehl to install pattern tiling and a pump in the SW¼, Section 5, Orwell Township, Otter Tail County; and Tang Farms for pattern tiling in the NW¼, Section 15, Morken Township, Clay County.
· Scheduled an informational meeting for September 19, 2014, at 9:00 AM, in the Barnesville Office, to discuss drainage issues/concerns involving land located in Sections 27 and 34, Skree Township, Clay County. Township officials, neighboring landowners, and affected agencies will be invited by letter.
· Discussed concerns with a landowner pertaining to Project No. 65, Clay-Wilkin County Line Outlet. The project was installed several years ago. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) wanted the project to be able to drain most of the water out of the basin so they could have a winter kill on the fish population. To date, that has not happened. The affected project landowner was concerned that water was being drained onto their property that did not have an outlet. The BRRWD had hoped that when the water was drained down, an analysis of the situation could be made. Contact has been made with the USFWS.
· Accepted a new petition for a lateral ditch and repair and improvement of a natural drainage way. The project is primarily located in Section 28, Kragnes Township, Clay County. The BRRWD’s attorney, Tami L. Norgard, Vogel Law Firm, will be asked for a legal opinion regarding the validity of the petition.
· Discussed the status of the Manston Slough Restoration Project. Gladen Construction, Inc. continues to make progress, given the wet weather conditions. They still have a goal of finishing the project before freeze up. The Board approved a change order that would include improvement of the ditch on the east side of Trunk Highway No. 9, along C.R. No. 26, to provide better drainage for Sections 32 and 33, Manston Township. They also approved the purchase of two swing gates to block the dam access in the SE¼, Section 13, Mitchell Township.
· Discussed the status of the Georgetown Levee Improvement Project. The BRRWD is currently waiting for a house mover to relocate a garage. Once that is completed, demolition work can be completed on the existing structures and the contractor can come back and finish the levee work. The City is getting anxious to have their dike completed before freeze up. If the garage is not moved in the next several days, the Board will turn the matter over to their attorney for additional action.
· Discussed the 09/04/14 informational meeting held regarding Clay-Wilkin J.D. No. 1. The Board authorized repairs per the H.E. survey in Clay County to remove sediment from the ditch bottom. The BRRWD office will also draft a petition that will look at installing a high water diversion on the Clay-Wilkin County line to take some of the excess water from the drainage system west into Wolverton Creek/Comstock Coulee. Landowner signatures will be required on the petition.
· Approved time extension requests to JBX LLC and William Nichol Excavating Inc. for their work associated with the repair of Clay County Ditch No. 10. The repair work on the drainage system is completed, the contractors are dealing with wet conditions in leveling the spoil and reseeding of the buffer strips. The time extensions were granted until 09/30/14.
· Noting that the next Mediation Project Team meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 25, 2014, at 7:00 PM, in the BRRWD office. The Board also plans on hosting a Fall Tour on October 9, 2014.
· Discussed drainage concerns from a landowner associated with the Whisky Creek Tributaries northwest of Barnesville. The landowner feels that his ditch needs to be cleaned, resloped, and seeded. H.E. will bring an investigative report to the next meeting.
· Authorized Edison V. D. Bridge Company to make repairs to a bridge on Clay C.D. No. 65 in Section 6, Moland Township.
· Approved the payment of bills, totaling $203,893.71.
The next meeting of the Board of Managers, BRRWD is scheduled for Monday, September 22, 2014, at 7:00 PM in the Barnesville office, located at 1303 4th AVE NE. All meetings are open to the public. For more information, please visit our website at www.brrwd.org.