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Lebanon I-65 Corridor Master Drainage Plan
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Interlocal Agreement
The agenda for the December 15, 2014, meeting of the Boone County Drainage Board included the following agenda item: “Signing of Interlocal Agreement with Lebanon.” The proposed INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN BOONE COUNTY AND THE CITY OF LEBANON FOR DRAINAGE GOVERNANCE SERVICES is included below.
Agreement clause #5 protects county taxpayers by stating, “Any and all engineering fees associated with the development and administration of the stormwater management plan for the Upper Sanitary Ditch Designated Drainage Area shall be the responsibility of the Lebanon Stormwater Management Board.” Indeed, the Lebanon Stormwater Management Board has already paid Christopher B. Burke Engineering$143,000 to design a 28-acre detention pond in the Upper Sanitary Ditch Designated Drainage Area.
Agreement clause #6 provides that construction costs for stormwater infrastructure contained in the stormwater management plan shall be paid for by the implementation of an Infrastructure Development Fee. The Upper Sanitary Ditch Designated Drainage Area section below on this web page details how the currently proposed Infrastructure Development Fee is expected to be insufficient to meet all the construction costs. Will the Interlocal Agreement result in the county having to pay construction costs not covered by the Infrastructure Development Fee for stormwater infrastructure outside the Lebanon city limits?
The Boone County Drainage Board – Marc Applegate, Dave Chance, Don Lawson, Byron Loveless, Jeff Wolfe – voted unanimously to approve the Interlocal Agreement after public assurances from County Surveyor Ken Hedge that Boone County will not be held liable to pay any stormwater infrastructure construction costs within the Upper Sanitary Ditch Designated Drainage Area.
Upper Sanitary Ditch Designated Drainage Area
Information has emerged regarding the first component of the Drainage Plan
and how much it will cost taxpayers and utility ratepayers. The Lebanon Storm
Water Management Board and the Boone County Drainage Board are being asked to
approve the Upper Sanitary Ditch Designated Drainage Area, whose approximate
boundaries are Hall Baker Road, CR 250 S, SR 39, and I-65. The Upper Sanitary
Ditch Designated Drainage Area will include a 28-acre detention pond that will
require 227,000 cubic yards of excavation. This detention pond, which is
estimated to cost $3,651,000, is located within the existing Lebanon city
limits.
Developers within the Upper Sanitary Ditch Designated Drainage Area would pay an
Infrastructure Development Fee of $20,000 per acre-foot of the detention pond
storage volume. Since one acre-foot is equal to 1,613.33334976 cubic yards (see http://www.convertunits.com/from/cubic+yard/to/acre+foot),
the 227,000 cubic yards that will be excavated from the detention pond is
equivalent to 140.70247790 acre-feet (227,000 cubic yards divided by
1,613.33334976 cubic yards per acre-foot). The total Infrastructure Development
Fees paid by developers within the Upper Sanitary Ditch Designated Drainage Area
would be $2,814,050 ($20,000 per acre-foot multiplied by 140.70247790
acre-feet). Since the Upper Sanitary Ditch Designated Drainage Area detention
pond is estimated to cost $3,651,000, this means that Lebanon homeowners who pay
a $4.50 storm water fee on every month’s utility bill would pay $836,950 for
the detention pond – 23 percent of the detention pond cost would be subsidized
by Lebanon taxpayers for the benefit of developers.
It is readily apparent after every heavy rain that all storm water fees paid by
Lebanon homeowners need to go towards improving the current storm water system
rather than subsidizing the profits of Interchange Plan developers. An
Infrastructure Development Fee of at least $26,000 per acre-foot is needed to
make certain that Interchange Plan developers pay their way without taking any
more money away from needed city storm water projects. The Lebanon Storm Water
Management Board has already awarded a $143,000 no-bid contract to Christopher
B. Burke Engineering to design the Upper Sanitary Ditch Designated Drainage
Area. It is worth noting that Christopher B. Burke Engineering has donated
$1,300 to Mayor Lewis’ campaign fund the past four years: see http://www.finplaneducation.net/huck_lewis_contributions.htm.
Overview
The original version of the Lebanon I-65 Corridor Master Drainage Plan (MDP) was presented to the Lebanon Storm Water Management Board by Christopher B. Burke Engineering on July 1, 2013: see https://cbbel-in.sharefile.com/d/scc43851deac4b33a (please send an E-mail to taxless3@comcast.net and ask for E-mail attachments if you have difficulty opening the three documents on this web page).
An updated version of the MDP was presented to the Boone County Drainage
Board on October 21, 2013, and the Lebanon City Council on October 28, 2013: see
https://cbbel-in.sharefile.com/d/sd2a5724d0bb44afa
(please send an E-mail to taxless3@comcast.net
and ask for E-mail attachments if you have difficulty opening the two
documents on this web page).
The Upper Prairie Creek, Isenhour Ditch, Lower Prairie Creek, and Sanitary Ditch
drainage basins manage much of the stormwater runoff in Lebanon and Center
Township. These drainage basins are currently inadequate by themselves to
support increased flow rates from additional development in the I-65 and SR 39
corridors south of the currently developed areas in Lebanon. The potential for
more frequent and severe flooding, channel erosion, and reduced water quality
during significant rain events increases considerably if development in the I-65
and SR 39 corridors occurs without responsible stormwater management.
The May 12, 2008, Annexation Fiscal Plan for Lebanon’s I-65 Corridor Annexation includes the following statements: “Stormwater and drainage facilities throughout the Annexation Area will be consistent with the City’s current stormwater and drainage ditches throughout the City. This will be the responsibility of the developers in the area. It is not anticipated that there will be any additional cost to the City.”
On-site detention paid for by developers at each developed parcel is the typical stormwater control method. However, to reduce or eliminate the cost to developers, Lebanon officials have devised the MDP that eliminates on-site detention.
The map below shows which MDP components are located within the Lebanon city limits and which are located on Center Township unincorporated land. Please send an E-mail to taxless3@comcast.net if you would like to receive an easier-to-read JPEG version of this map attached to a return E-mail.
Projected Costs
The MDP components, which would be constructed over 13 years on Center Township and Lebanon farm land, are summarized next.
Year 1
PS-D: Replace CSX Culvert & PS-E: Replace SR 39 Bridge.
$1,617,000 Total Project Cost = $1,452,000 Construction Cost + $165,000
Professional Services Cost
PS-D Jurisdiction: Boone County Drainage Board.
PS-E Jurisdiction: Boone County Drainage Board.
PS-B2: Construct Open Channel Upstream of SR 39.
$1,767,000 Total Project Cost = $1,577,000 Construction Cost + $190,000
Professional Services Cost
PS-B2 Jurisdiction: Lebanon Storm Water Management Board.
Years 1 – 13
PS-F1, PS-F2 & PS-F3: Construct Regional Detention Facilities
along Sanitary Ditch.
$14,734,000 Total Project Cost = $13,529,000 Construction Cost + $1,205,000
Professional Services Cost
PS-F1 Jurisdiction: Lebanon Storm Water Management Board (about $3,651,000 of
the Total Project Cost).
PS-F2 Jurisdiction: Boone County Drainage Board (about $4,564,000 of the Total
Project Cost).
PS-F3 Jurisdiction: Boone County Drainage Board (about $6,519,000 of the Total
Project Cost).
Year 4
PS-C: Construct 2-Stage Ditch from Mt. Zion Road to SR 39.
$2,790,000 Total Project Cost = $2,490,000 Construction Cost + $300,000
Professional Services Cost
PS-C Jurisdiction: Boone County Drainage Board.
PS-H: Remove Farm Field Culvert.
Total Project Cost is negligible if paired with the construction of a 2-stage
ditch from Mt. Zion Road to SR 39
PS-H Jurisdiction: Boone County Drainage Board.
Years 7-13
The MDP includes 4 detention ponds covering 178 acres and 20,500 feet of Sanitary Ditch flood control channels. Of the $28,802,000 total MDP cost, the Boone County Drainage Board would have jurisdiction over $23,384,000 and the Lebanon Storm Water Management Board would would have jurisdiction over $5,418,000. The total MDP cost will be paid, in one form or another, by the residents of Lebanon.
Taxpayer Concerns
The Lebanon Utilities Wastewater Operations Manager presented the MDP to our Boone County Drainage Board – Marc Applegate, Dave Chance, Donnie Lawson, Byron Loveless, Jeff Wolfe – on October 21, 2013. Development advocates hope our Drainage Board will formally support the MDP at their November 18, 2013, meeting. Our Drainage Board should NOT support the MDP unless and until the questions listed next are answered.
How much, if any, of the MDP costs would be borne by developers?
Taxpayer supported funding options presented to the Lebanon City Council on October 28 included the imposition of a new county economic development income tax, municipal bonds, loans from a state revolving fund, and tax increment financing. Developers might be required to pay a new stormwater impact assessment fee; however, developers would likely get easement and site preparation credits against the impact assessment fees. Also, developers might be given 1,535,400 cubic yards of excavated material in return for impact assessment fees.What taxpayer protections would be in place if tax increment financing is used to pay the MDP costs?
TIF revenue has not been sufficient to make the annual Anson bond payments, but taxpayers are protected because Duke Realty is obligated to cover the shortfalls. No development partner has been revealed who will protect taxpayers from having to pay MDP bond payment shortfalls.What provisions will be included in the Lebanon MDP city ordinance?
Lebanon is preparing a city ordinance to adopt the MDP. Our Drainage Board should not consider supporting the MDP until the Lebanon ordinance can be scrutinized.Would the MDP reduce Lebanon flooding?
Some Lebanon officials have implied that Lebanon flooding will be lessened, but engineers have repeatedly stated the only intent of the MDP is to protect Lebanon from worse floods should there be significant commercial and industrial development. No engineer has shown that typical on-site detention provided by developers would be less effective than the taxpayer-subsidized MDP in controlling future Lebanon flooding.Would Lebanon be more likely to attempt an involuntary annexation of Center Township farm land?
Lebanon might be able to defeat an annexation remonstrance if a court finds that Drainage Board support of the MDP proves the annexation territory is needed for development in the reasonably near future.Would eminent domain be necessary to forcibly obtain the 178 acres needed for the 4 MDP detention ponds?
Is it practical to use MDP detention ponds for farmland irrigation?
It would likely be cost prohibitive for off-site farms to pump water from the MDP detention ponds.Our Drainage Board needs to be more Taxpayer Friendly than the Lebanon Utilities Service Board
(Dan Lamar, Tom Temple, Mike Thrine, James Urban, Allen Woods). About one-fourth of the Lebanon Utilities 13.40% electric rate increase last year was earmarked to pay for build-it-and-they-will-come electric infrastructure capital projects. One of the capital projects was $2,155,000 for transmission and distribution lines within the I-65 area. Without any concern expressed how a cost overrun will eventually lead to another rate increase, a $4,200,000 capital project has been approved to extend transmission and distribution lines to serve the undeveloped farm land along Tyre and John Shaw Roads as well the east side of SR 39 north of Tyre Road.Our Boone County Drainage Board should not rubber-stamp Lebanon’s costly and speculative MDP without performing the due diligence indicated by the unanswered questions.
There are too many thousands of undeveloped acres in Anson, the Lebanon Business Park, and elsewhere in the county where municipal utilities have already been provided for our Drainage Board to support Lebanon’s build-it-and-they-will-come MDP that would be heavily subsidized by taxpayers.Lebanon City Council Ordinance No. 2014-05
On March 24, 2014, Lebanon City Council members Keith Campbell, John Copeland, Mike Kincaid, Jeremy Lamar, and Preston Myers passed on second reading Ordinance No. 2014-05 (City Council members Lana Kruse and Steve Large were absent). Ordinance No 2014-05 amends Lebanon City Code Section 56.041 to include the provisions listed next. (Please send an E-mail to taxless3@comcast.net if you wish to receive a PDF copy of Ordinance No. 2014-05.)
(a) The Lebanon Storm Water Management Board (SWMB) is authorized to classify certain geographical areas as Designated Drainage Areas after considering such factors as topography, soil type, capacity of existing drains, and distance from an adequate drainage facility.
(b) The SWMB is allowed to designate as a Designated Drainage Area land that does not have an adequate outlet, taking into consideration the capacity and depth of the outlet.
(c) Special terms and conditions must be included in the stormwater management permit for development within any Designated Drainage Area.
(d) The SWMB is allowed to establish an Infrastructure Development Fee Rate for a Designated Drainage Area.
(e) The Lebanon City Council must approve an Infrastructure Development Fee Rate that is established by the SWMB.
(f) The SWMB is allowed to waive an established Infrastructure Development Fee for consideration of land rights, construction costs, or other agreeable interests.
(g) The magnitude of the Infrastructure Development Fee for a given parcel will be determined by the declared Infrastructure Development Fee Rate and the volume of detention storage necessary to prevent an increase in downstream flow rates and/or upstream flooding elevations.
(h) The SWMB must develop and maintain a master hydrologic and hydraulic model for a Designated Drainage Area.
(i) All developments and redevelopments must submit for the parcel(s) being developed a hydrologic model with accompanying hydrologic parameter calculations that the SWMB will incorporate into the master hydrologic and hydraulic models to determine the detention storage necessary to mitigate any detrimental effect of the development on stormwater drainage (the resulting detention volume will be multiplied by the Infrastructure Development Fee Rate to establish the Infrastructure Development Fee for the development).
Lebanon Mayor Huck Lewis currently appoints all three members of the SWMB – Carol Cunningham, Dick Robertson, Tom Temple – in accordance with Indiana Code 8-1.5-5-4 (c) and Lebanon Ordinance No. 2011-26. The mayor has complete control over the SWMB members because IC 8-1.5-5-4(e) provides that he may remove a member at any time if he decides it is for the best interest of the board. Ordinance No. 2014-05 gives the mayor, through his SWMB, control over whether an established Infrastructure Development Fee will be waived for “agreeable interests.”
Ordinance No. 2014-05 is designed to implement the MDP, which is
included in the Lebanon Interchange Land Use Plan (see http://www.finplaneducation.net/lebanon_interchange_plan.htm).
The Lebanon Interchange Land Use Plan supports taxpayer and utility ratepayer
subsidized build-it-and-they-will-come infrastructure improvements by
stipulating: (a) “The cost of the recommended infrastructure is intended to be
shared by Lebanon as well as the developer” and (b) “All infrastructure
developments will defray development costs associated with private developments
and make the study area more attractive for private investment, as well as
reduce the risk and time for development.”
Mayor Lewis will likely use his SWMB to maximize taxpayer and utility ratepayer
subsidies for favored development interests without imposing meaningful
Infrastructure Development Fees. Indeed, the subsidies have already begun. On
January 13, 2014, the SWMB awarded a $132,000 no-bid contract to Christopher B.
Burke Engineering to design a 28-acre detention pond north of the Sanitary Ditch
within the Lebanon Interchange Land Use Plan study area - the SWMB amended this
contract on September 8, 2014, to increase the contract price by $11,000. This
$143,000
expenditure of taxpayer funds means that less money is available to meet the
stormwater control needs of existing Lebanon residents.
The only way to inhibit Mayor Lewis from maximizing taxpayer and utility ratepayer subsidies for the MDP is to convince him that waiving Infrastructure Development Fees will hurt his reelection chances in 2015.
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This page was last updated on 06/08/15 .