Lake County Drainage Board Meeting – June 17, 2026

The Lake County Drainage Board met on June 17, 2026, with all three members present. The board conducted a public hearing on a mutual drain petition, approved most applications and change orders, and set plans for a culvert replacement. The meeting adjourned with the next regular meeting scheduled for July 15, 2026.

Consent Calendar

• Approved the agenda as amended and the minutes of the May 20, 2026 meeting.
• Received information items 5.1–5.4 and 5C1–5C2.
• Approved cease-and-desist letter reports (Item 5B5) for unauthorized activity in a regulated floodplain; two property owners are also in violation of floodplain regulations.
• Approved DNR certificate of approval for the City of Crown Point (5B6).
• Approved a Burke Engineering report on a NIPSCO utility pole replacement (5B7).
• Granted a two-year extension for the Spring Street Ditch share bill for the Kennedy Avenue overpass (5B8).
• Approved Little Calumet Ditch invoice of $5,950 and change order of $33,500 (5D3).
• Set a public hearing for the August 2026 drainage board meeting on the Hanover tile reconstruction report (Kankakee River watershed).
• Approved Schoon Ditch maintenance invoices totaling $546,263.40 rather than the requested $647,334.30, excluding work not satisfactorily completed (5D4).
• Approved change order credits for Redeem Lateral 14 at the Lake County Fairgrounds: $4,672.18, $4,387.50, and $19,955 (5D5).
• Approved Kankakee River watershed invoice 13266 for $51,000 for Brown Levy Ditch maintenance (5E2).
• Made applications 5A–5E a matter of public record.
• Approved applications: 510 (Dyer Ditch/Surf Air Wireless) with conditions, 511 (Hart Ditch/Town of Dyer), 512 (Spring Street Ditch driveway/garage), 513 (Greench Lateral 14/NIPSCO), 514 (Beaver Ditch Lateral 5/NIPSCO), 515 (Turkey Creek/NIPSCO), 517 (Turkey Creek/NIPSCO), and 518 (Greasel Ditch Lateral 7/NIPSCO). Applications 493 and 501 required no action; 516 (McConnell Ditch sewer line) was deferred; 519 (West Creek/Shilling Development) remains under review.
• Approved Juvenile Detention Center change order requests 1 and 2, including electrical work and unsuitable material disposal (7A1).
• Approved the easement agreement for fill removal at 11624 Woodmark Place (7B4).
• Approved $400 each for wildlife removal at Bricky Creek Lateral 5 and Foss Ditch, to Tom Larson (8A/8B).
• Approved Spring Street Ditch culvert replacement plans in Highland and authorized advertisement for bids at the July 15 meeting (9A1).

Public Hearing: Mutual Drain Petition (Item 6B)

• Surveyor Emerson presented a report on the failed storm sewer pipe at 1123 West 80th Court, St. John. The pipe is a deteriorated metal pipe with no public easement. Historical aerials from 1961 show overland drainage before the current house and pipe were built. He recommended declaring the pipe an obstructed mutual drain, replacing it at an estimated cost of $100,000, with 92% assigned to the Chupas and 8% to the county.
• Kevin Orner, attorney for the Chupas, argued the pipe is not a legal mutual drain because it lacked mutual consent of owners. He said a previous owner installed it, and the 2023 county swale/culvert work increased flow. An upstream neighbor pumps water into the swale, possibly septic discharge. He contended this was effectively condemnation without due process.
• Mike Chupa said the county added discharge from several houses, increasing water flow by 70%, without notifying him. He rejected a free 20-foot easement but was open to a temporary easement or moving the pipe closer to the property line.
• Surveyor Emerson countered that the pipe could instead be classified as an obstruction of a natural watercourse, which would place the full cost on the property owner. County work restored original subdivision roadside ditches.
• The board discussed stalled negotiations; the property owner objected to the easement width and location. The board closed the hearing and voted on the recommendation.

Key Outcomes

• The motion to accept the surveyor's recommendation on the mutual drain application carried 2-1, with one member opposed. The board declared the pipe an obstructed mutual drain and authorized the highway department to proceed with replacement, apportioning 92% of the cost to the Chupas and 8% to the county.
• All other motions and approvals listed in the Consent Calendar were passed, with no recorded dissenting votes.
• The next regular meeting is Wednesday, July 15, 2026, with the advisory meeting at 8:00 a.m. and the drainage board at 9:00 a.m.