County commissioners give solution to drainage problem

 Beth Rumsey
Staff Writer

The Land vs. Richmond drainage board hearing was held at the regular commissioners' meeting on Monday, June 14. The drainage issue was first presented to the commissioners at the November 2009 meeting.

According to Donna Land of Milan, property owned by her and her mother, Margaret, had standing water issues due to an obstructed ditch on land owned by Mike and Cindy Richmond. According to Land, this was caused by the construction of a building on the Richmond property that left a mound of dirt near a fence on the Land property resulting in the additional water runoff.

The commissioners visited the property in April and addressed the concerns presented by the Lands. Junior Heaton, Ripley County Highway Garage supervisor, noted that the water was flowing through the ditch on Saturday, June 12 when he stopped to look at the site.

According to Commissioner President Rob Reiners, since the ditch is open and flowing, the only thing for the Richmonds to do is to remove the earthen mound to natural grade. The commissioners gave the Richmonds 60 days to remove the obstruction and will re-inspect the property on August 16.

911 Communications Director Judy Schebler updated the commissioners on the loss of income from the land line account. According to Schebler, the current monthly fee charged by 911 for a land line phone is $1.75. These fees help to pay for expenses such as salaries.

More customers are giving up the land lines and going to only cell phone usage, according to Schebler. The monthly fee for cell phones is 50 cents and is collected by the state, which then provides a portion to each county communication center.

There is enough in the account for the current year, but Schebler said that next year’s budget will be affected by the loss. She said five salaries are paid by the county and five salaries are paid through the land line/cell phone accounts.

In other business:

• The motion to give annual support of $28,000 to LifeTime Resources was approved.

• The resignation of Ted Spurlock as commissioner representative to the Rising Sun Regional Foundation was approved.

• The motion to move voting in Johnson Township from the Masonic Lodge to the Versailles Baptist Church was approved.

• The motion to replace a camera in superior court was approved.

All commissioners were in attendance. The next meeting will be on Monday, June 28 beginning at 7 a.m. at the Ripley County Highway Garage and reconvening at 8 a.m. at the courthouse annex in Versailles.