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Record of Proceedings

Lake County Drainage Board 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 / 30:09

Original source
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0:00

Somehow it gets how many is it recorded in these little slivers?

0:05

Go to people and say, hey, when you go to site a property, you're just you keep going.

0:09

You know what I mean?

0:10

CJ.

0:15

And that's fine.

0:22

And then we're going to do that.

0:26

Yeah.

0:32

Good morning, please hand for the uh Pledge of the United States.

0:36

Pledge agents to the flag of the United States of America.

0:39

And to the Republic for which it says one nation under God individual with liberty and justice.

0:49

Emergency exit announcement.

0:51

In case of emergency, exit the commissioner's courtroom and proceed to the stairs and go to the second floor and exit the building.

0:57

Do not enter an elevator in an emergency.

1:00

If you require assistance, an employee will escort and or assist you.

1:04

Please silence any cellular telephones during this meeting.

1:07

If you receive a call or text during this meeting, please excuse yourself with as little disruption as possible.

1:14

Thanks, sir.

1:16

Um let the record show that all uh commissioners are present.

1:21

And also before we get too far into the agenda, we do have a nine o'clock public hearing.

1:27

Um so I would we don't have an do we have a change to the agenda?

1:32

I guess we should change an agenda if we need it.

1:34

Do we need to change anything?

1:37

Attorney uh Kate, don't you think we should change the agenda?

1:40

No, I think I know the I know the public hearing is on the agenda, but we should probably go straight to 3D amend the agenda.

1:49

You have those those changes are in here.

1:51

Can we approve the agenda as amended?

1:53

Yeah.

1:54

Okay.

1:55

Have a motion to approve the agenda as amended.

1:57

Move to approve the agenda as amended, Mr.

2:00

Chairman.

2:00

Second.

2:02

Okay, now we're uh approved the minutes.

2:06

Oh, oh, you wanted me to approve the amendments as well.

2:08

About permission open bids.

2:10

And there isn't any.

2:12

Okay.

2:13

So motion to approve the minutes from the April 15, 2026 meeting.

2:17

Move to approve the April 15th, 2026 minutes.

2:20

Second.

2:21

And there are no bids.

2:22

Well let the record show the motion carries 3.0.

2:25

We're good.

2:26

Okay.

2:26

Okay.

2:27

Now you're in 3D.

2:28

Now we're in 3B.

2:29

Okay.

2:30

Mr.

2:30

Chairman, uh it's been uh County Attorney Matt Fetch explained to me that they're not opposed to deferring the public hearing.

2:38

So I suggest that the chair yield to the surveyor's office.

2:45

Yeah, I talked to Matt uh and uh introduced yourself for the yeah.

2:48

Yeah, Kevin Warner, I'm sorry for the record.

2:50

Uh I talked to uh Matt and uh Kevin uh I think we talked Friday and uh we discussed I was gonna ask for a deferral, hopefully talk to uh Bill and uh uh rest of the staff and see if we can uh uh square circle here.

3:06

Okay.

3:07

Um I have a you know we uh have an advertised public hearing.

3:12

Correct.

3:13

We have to have a public hearing, whether we take action or not as is uh a subject for deferral, right?

3:18

You can't technically defer a public hearing.

3:21

That's been advertised.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural████████████████████████████████████36%
Engineering And Infrastructure██████████████████████████████30%
Pending Litigation███████████████████19%
Water And Wastewater Management███████████11%
Public Engagement████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Lake County Drainage Board Meeting - May 20, 2026

The Lake County Drainage Board met on May 20, 2026, at 9:00 AM in the Commissioners' Courtroom, with Chairman Michael C. Repay and members Jerry Tippy and Kyle W. Allen Sr. present. The meeting included a deferred hearing on a mutual drain petition, approval of multiple project payments, and a public comment regarding a proposed data center.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved the agenda as amended (motion carried 3-0).
  • Approved the minutes from the April 15, 2026 meeting (motion carried 3-0).
  • No bids were opened.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Written public comment from Nick and Katie Horst of 350 East 181st Avenue, Cedar Lake, Indiana, was submitted and accepted into the record. The Horsts expressed concerns about the proposed Upland data center, which was on the agenda for the Planning Commission that evening. They cited potential impacts on their 81-acre property (55 acres woodland) including increased upstream flooding, water backup, drainage bottlenecks, reduced conveyance, excessive drainage acceleration, groundwater table reduction, decreased soil moisture retention, and floodplain changes. They noted that no drainage plans had been reviewed by the Drainage Board at this time.

Discussion Items

  • Public Hearing Deferral (Agenda Item 3B – 134-04-26 Mutual Drain Petition): The advertised public hearing was recharacterized as a hearing on the issue for the parties involved (the petitioner and Lake County Highway). Kevin Warner, representing the petitioner, requested a deferral to allow time for settlement discussions, stating that proceeding to an order would escalate the matter. The Board discussed the propriety of deferring a public hearing; Chairman Repay expressed frustration that parties had waited until the hearing date to seek resolution. The Board agreed to defer the hearing to the next Drainage Board meeting on June 17, 2026, at 9:00 AM, with no re-advertisement required since only two parties were involved. The motion carried 3-0.
  • Schererville Ditch Maintenance Project (Agenda Item 5D3): The Board approved a change order ($7,000) and Pay App #4 ($66,668.05) for Delta III. Discussion arose regarding the HOA's share of the cost (approximately $26,000). The HOA had not yet reimbursed the Board; the Board's attorney and the HOA's new counsel (Anderson & Anderson) were in correspondence. Board members expressed concern about the need for litigation to collect, but the Board voted to pay the contractor, with the expectation that the HOA would reimburse or face a lien on the properties. The motion to approve the change order and pay app carried 3-0.
  • Fairgrounds Emergency Erosion Control (Agenda Item 7A3): The Board discussed two invoices from Erosion & Control Solutions, Inc. ($10,665.77 and $15,795.00) for emergency measures after fairground employees improperly moved fill from the Drainage Board's project, causing sediment runoff into Venture Lake. The Fair Board committed to reimbursing 50% of the costs. The Board approved the invoices (motion carried 3-0).
  • Hanover Ditch Update: The Drainage Administrator reported that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (R4) had determined that a federal permit would not be required for the project, saving approximately $3 million in mitigation costs. The aim is to present options to the Board in July.

Key Outcomes

  • Deferred the mutual drain petition hearing to June 17, 2026, at 9:00 AM.
  • Approved final payment to Austgen Equipment for Hart Ditch Stabilization: $230,495.81 (motion carried 3-0).
  • Approved change order and Pay App #4 for Schererville Ditch: $7,000 + $66,668.05 (motion carried 3-0).
  • Approved pay application for Beaver Dam Lat 14 (LC Fairgrounds): $206,216.80 (motion carried 3-0).
  • Approved invoice for Juvenile Detention Center Restoration: $104,795.18 (motion carried 3-0).
  • Approved two invoices for Fairgrounds emergency erosion control: $10,665.77 and $15,795.00 (motion carried 3-0).
  • Approved payment to Tom Larson for beaver removal and dam removal at Johnson Ditch: $800.00 (motion carried 3-0).
  • Approved permit applications: 507-05-26-I-III (McConnell Ditch – NIPSCO pole replacement) and 509-05-26-I-III (Key Parts Ditch – culvert replacement) (motions carried 3-0).
  • Accepted written public comment into the record.
  • Next meeting scheduled for June 17, 2026, at 8:00 AM (Advisory Committee) and 9:00 AM (Drainage Board) in the Commissioners' Courtroom.

Meeting Transcript

Somehow it gets how many is it recorded in these little slivers? Go to people and say, hey, when you go to site a property, you're just you keep going. You know what I mean? CJ. And that's fine. And then we're going to do that. Yeah. Good morning, please hand for the uh Pledge of the United States. Pledge agents to the flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic for which it says one nation under God individual with liberty and justice. Emergency exit announcement. In case of emergency, exit the commissioner's courtroom and proceed to the stairs and go to the second floor and exit the building. Do not enter an elevator in an emergency. If you require assistance, an employee will escort and or assist you. Please silence any cellular telephones during this meeting. If you receive a call or text during this meeting, please excuse yourself with as little disruption as possible. Thanks, sir. Um let the record show that all uh commissioners are present. And also before we get too far into the agenda, we do have a nine o'clock public hearing. Um so I would we don't have an do we have a change to the agenda? I guess we should change an agenda if we need it. Do we need to change anything? Attorney uh Kate, don't you think we should change the agenda? No, I think I know the I know the public hearing is on the agenda, but we should probably go straight to 3D amend the agenda. You have those those changes are in here. Can we approve the agenda as amended? Yeah. Okay. Have a motion to approve the agenda as amended. Move to approve the agenda as amended, Mr. Chairman. Second. Okay, now we're uh approved the minutes. Oh, oh, you wanted me to approve the amendments as well. About permission open bids. And there isn't any. Okay. So motion to approve the minutes from the April 15, 2026 meeting. Move to approve the April 15th, 2026 minutes. Second. And there are no bids. Well let the record show the motion carries 3.0. We're good. Okay. Okay. Now you're in 3D. Now we're in 3B. Okay. Mr. Chairman, uh it's been uh County Attorney Matt Fetch explained to me that they're not opposed to deferring the public hearing.

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