Published: July 03, 2008 11:38 am            

Isgrigg suing Clark County drainage board

Clark County Surveyor Bob Isgrigg told the county’s Drainage Board on Wednesday that his attorneys had filed a lawsuit against the board, following conflict over resolving drainage problems at the Sunset Hills subdivision.

The issue has now gone beyond Sunset Hills, though, and is focused around the authority of the surveyor and the authority of the board to address drainage problems around the county.

Isgrigg said he had not seen a copy of the suit, but has been informed it was filed in court Wednesday.

Disagreements between the board, the board’s engineer Brian Dixon and Isgrigg over how to fix the problems at Sunset Hills — and how much to pay to fix them — led to the suit. Isgrigg met with Dixon and Clark County Commissioner Ed Meyer recently and formulated a plan to address drainage at three lots in the subdivision.

Dixon said at the meeting he did not believe Isgrigg’s solution — to regrade a lot — would fix the drainage to the homeowners’ satisfaction.

Sunset Hills resident Tammy Ross — the homeowner whose lot is to be rgraded, according to Isgrigg’s plan — said at the meeting Wednesday that she was doubtful she would go along with it.

“(Isgrigg’s plan) isn’t even going to fix it,” Ross said. “And I want the entire subdivision fixed, not just one lot.

“I haven’t fought this hard to get another Band-Aid thrown at me.”

The county will investigate other ways to fix the drainage problems in the subdivision. The court will decide what authority the board and Isgrigg are each empowered with in regards to drainage issues in the county.

In other business

• The board approved drainage plans for the Willows at Covered Bridge, a combination of residential homes and patio homes. The plan calls for 31 patio homes on 7.3 acres, and 53 residential homes on 26.9 acres.

• Dixon provided a copy of a $302,000 budget for the board for 2009, which includes work toward stormwater and sewer program compliance required by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.

The county must meet certain guidelines set up by IDEM and the federal Environmental Protection Agency for its stormwater and sewer system, including education and outreach to residents and mapping of the sewers.

Dixon said he expects IDEM to visit the county to inspect the system this fall, and fines could be levied against the county if the stormwater and sewer systems are not in compliance.

        

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