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Local News

Changes in drain district boundaries and in percentages in cost sharing told

The Little Thornapple River Drain District and the Coldwater River Drain District boundaries have been updated using the latest in technology. Previously drawn along property lines, the lines are now based on topography.. The last time the outlines were drawn on the Little Thornapple District was in 1916; the Coldwater District in 1898.

 

The new technology, LiDAR or Light Detection and Ranging, uses pulsed laser light to measure distances to the earth. The difference in return times and wavelengths of the laser are used to make digital 3-D pictures of the targets. Airplanes with LiDAR fly over an area and gather information that is backed up by field work.

 

Paul Forton, project manager for the Spicer Group, brought the updated information and maps to the Little Thornapple River Intercounty Drainage Board Monday.


There will be some surprises for residents in the newly defined drain districts which will change the amount some are assessed for drain repair and maintenance, Forton said. It’s possible that part of a property will be assessed and other parts of the same property may not be in the drain district and will not be assessed, he said.

 

The percentage of the amount residents in each county pay in special assessments for repair and maintenance of drains has also changed.

 

Barry County residents, who had been paying 85 percent of the costs in the Little Thornapple River Drain District,  will in the future pay 63.48 percent; Ionia County residents were paying 15 percent will now be responsible for 36.31 percent; Kent County formerly paid nothing, will now pay 0.37 percent of the assessments. Eaton County, at 0.4 was dropped from the roles because the cost of collecting the assessment was more than the total collected.

 

The Coldwater River Drain boundaries and cost percentages also changed. Barry County residents were paying eight percent; that will go to 36.06 percent; Ionia County residents were responsible for 27 percent; they will now pay 46.92 percent; Kent County residents did pay 65 percent, they will see that drop to 17 percent.

Again, Eaton County was dropped from the assessment roll because the cost of collecting it was more than its 0.2 percentage

 

In Barry County, Deputy Drain Commissioner Tammy Berdecia and tri-county board Attorney Stacy Hissong will determine the total cost of the work on the Little Thornapple River Drain this year.

The drain commissioner in each county, using a number of factors, sets the individual assessments for the assessment roll that is subject to public review.

 

May 7, 8 and 9 are set aside for the public to inspect the assessment rolls, make comments and corrections if needed. If a person disputes an assessment, they can file an appeal with the probate court within 10 days of the review.

 

Barry County residents are scheduled for the review meeting on the 8th, Ionia County residents on the 7th and Kent County, the 9th. Everyone affected will be notified by letter of the dates, meeting place and times. The final special assessments will be levied on the 2019 winter tax bill.

No assessments were levied last year for the Little Thornapple River Drain.

 

 

 

 

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