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Record of Proceedings

Lake County Drainage Board Advisory Committee Meeting - May 20, 2026

County Boards & Commissions — Wednesday, May 20, 2026
BodyLake County, Indiana
SessionCounty Boards & Commissions
DateWednesday, May 20, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 29:44

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
0:00

Down there that had been with the hurricane.

0:02

They cleaned it out, but they she says, I don't know if they got rid of the mold or not that was in it.

0:06

And she says, I got something.

0:08

So she says, I'm not going.

0:09

Yeah.

0:10

So that's why I thought I had your cell phone number, but I'm not.

0:14

I've got the office and and and then I go.

0:18

I said with everybody talking.

0:26

Oh, yeah, I know.

0:29

Okay.

0:30

And that was just the small ones, but I wouldn't sure that I got on it.

0:34

So I'm almost got it.

0:36

I don't have all each other rubber band.

0:41

Yeah, yeah.

0:42

Take it Thomas's place.

0:46

That was what I'm gonna mess about.

0:49

But she would walk and take an easy up this nice.

0:52

Well we're a little early yet.

0:55

That's strange.

0:57

Don't move with that one.

0:59

You have the technology.

1:00

Yeah, the tech lab we did eight o'clock.

1:02

We're good.

1:03

We're good to go.

1:05

All the meeting order to the food deleted.

1:08

Yeah.

1:09

I finally did through the flag into the republic.

1:17

One individual team justice is in case of the emergency, exit the commissioner's court, we can proceed to the stairs and go to the second floor and exit the building.

1:38

Do you have an extra on elevator in an emergency?

1:41

If you require assistance, an employee will escort and or assist you, please file with any salary telephones with this meeting.

1:48

If you receive a false text on his meeting, please excuse yourself with a little disruption as possible.

1:54

Okay.

1:54

Roll call.

2:02

Here.

2:05

Eagle Creek Township John Turrus.

2:07

Here.

2:07

Hanover Township, Kent Hughesman.

2:10

Howvert Township High Cannon?

2:12

Here.

2:13

North Township David Medina.

2:16

Ross Township and Sequel Austin.

2:18

Here.

2:19

St.

2:20

John Township, Director Viewett.

2:21

Here.

2:22

West Creek Township Hiding Law here.

2:25

Winfield Township Committee Reynolds.

2:27

We have seven presidents, four and out.

2:30

We do have a formal.

2:31

Okay.

2:32

All right.

2:34

Additions and deletions.

2:35

Yes, Mr.

2:36

Chairman.

2:36

We do have a couple of additions.

2:43

And then a uh written uh public comment that was submitted.

2:46

Um I read it in the comment.

2:50

Okay.

2:51

I did notice there needs to be a change and stuff on the last right before applications.

2:56

Uh that should be instead of D1, it should be E.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Engineering And Infrastructure█████████████████████████████████████████████57%
Procedural██████████████████████████████38%
Water And Wastewater Management████5%
Summary of Proceedings

Lake County Drainage Board Advisory Committee Meeting - May 20, 2026

The advisory committee met to discuss routine reports, approve payments for ongoing drainage projects, and hear a public comment regarding a proposed data center. Several invoices and permit applications were approved, and the meeting concluded at approximately 8:55 AM.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved minutes from the April 15, 2026 meeting.
  • Approved all reports from 5A through 5E for the public record (township reports, correspondence, project updates).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • A written comment from a resident (7350 East 181st Avenue, Hebron) was read into the record by Chairman Repay. The resident expressed concerns about the proposed "Project Shirley" data center near State Road 2 and I-65, citing potential upstream flooding and groundwater impacts on their 81-acre property (including 55 acres of woodland, FEMA flood zone designation, and direct hydrological connection via Singleton Ditch). The resident requested that the Drainage Board formally document these concerns and consider them in future reviews. Chairman Repay noted that the ditches involved are private, not legal drains, and expressed concern that the development (including a concrete plant) could exacerbate flooding in the Singleton Ditch floodway.

Discussion Items

  • Township Reports: Eagle Creek reported erosion on the east branch of Stony Run north of 165th Avenue; Center, Hanover, and other townships had no issues.
  • Little Calumet River Watershed Correspondence: TMLDeals Building on Main Street was noted to have brought in fill within the floodplain; an after-the-fact permit will be required.
  • Kankakee River Watershed: Report from Chris Brown on clearing and snagging; discussion of Niles Ditch maintenance request (Vern Hein) – a relative (Kim Folk) had been granted authority to perform maintenance under NRCS coordination.
  • Hart Ditch Stabilization (5D2): Final payment of $230,495.81 to Austgen Equipment was briefly tabled due to missing documentation but later approved after copies were provided. The payment will be made by the Little Calumet River Basin Commission per interlocal agreement.
  • Schererville Ditch Maintenance (5D3): A change order for $7,000 for additional materials was approved, and Pay Application #4 for $66,668.05 was approved.
  • Beaver Dam Lateral 14 (5D5): Invoice from Delta III for $206,216.80 was approved; project is on track for completion before the fair.
  • Brown Levee Ditch: Noted that final inspection and payment are pending.
  • Applications/Permits:
    • 506 Bull Run Ditch (NIPSCO gas main installation) – recommended approval with no conditions. Approved.
    • 507 McConnell Ditch (NIPSCO pole replacement) – recommended approval. Approved.
    • 508 West Creek (Schilling Development, floodplain fill for development) – no action; additional information requested.
    • 509 (NIPSCO handout) – approved.
  • Public Hearing (6B): Petition 134-04-26 (mutual drain) was deferred at the petitioner's request.
  • MS4 Projects:
    • Juvenile Detention Center Restoration – Invoice from Delta III for $104,495.18 (corrected from $104,795.18) was approved (not final payment).
    • Fairgrounds Emergency Erosion Control – Two invoices from Erosion & Control Solutions ($10,665.77 and $15,795.00) were approved; 50% will be reimbursed by the Fair Board.
    • Johnson Ditch (beaver relocation/dam removal) – Payment of $800 to Larson was approved.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved payments: Hart Ditch final ($230,495.81), Schererville Ditch change order ($7,000) and pay app ($66,668.05), Beaver Dam Lateral 14 ($206,216.80), Juvenile Detention Center ($104,495.18), Fairgrounds erosion control ($10,665.77 and $15,795.00), and Johnson Ditch ($800).
  • Approved permit applications: Bull Run Ditch (506) and McConnell Ditch (507) with no conditions; additional handout (509).
  • Deferred: Public hearing on mutual drain petition (134-04-26).
  • Public comment recorded: Concerns about Project Shirley data center will be flagged for future drainage reviews if zoning is approved.
  • Next meeting: June 17, 2026 at 8:00 AM (Advisory Committee) and 9:00 AM (Drainage Board) in the Lake County Commissioners' Courtroom.

Meeting Transcript

Down there that had been with the hurricane. They cleaned it out, but they she says, I don't know if they got rid of the mold or not that was in it. And she says, I got something. So she says, I'm not going. Yeah. So that's why I thought I had your cell phone number, but I'm not. I've got the office and and and then I go. I said with everybody talking. Oh, yeah, I know. Okay. And that was just the small ones, but I wouldn't sure that I got on it. So I'm almost got it. I don't have all each other rubber band. Yeah, yeah. Take it Thomas's place. That was what I'm gonna mess about. But she would walk and take an easy up this nice. Well we're a little early yet. That's strange. Don't move with that one. You have the technology. Yeah, the tech lab we did eight o'clock. We're good. We're good to go. All the meeting order to the food deleted. Yeah. I finally did through the flag into the republic. One individual team justice is in case of the emergency, exit the commissioner's court, we can proceed to the stairs and go to the second floor and exit the building. Do you have an extra on elevator in an emergency? If you require assistance, an employee will escort and or assist you, please file with any salary telephones with this meeting. If you receive a false text on his meeting, please excuse yourself with a little disruption as possible. Okay. Roll call. Here. Eagle Creek Township John Turrus. Here. Hanover Township, Kent Hughesman. Howvert Township High Cannon? Here. North Township David Medina. Ross Township and Sequel Austin. Here. St. John Township, Director Viewett. Here. West Creek Township Hiding Law here. Winfield Township Committee Reynolds. We have seven presidents, four and out. We do have a formal. Okay.

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