The Bartholomew County Commissioners are moving forward with plans to petition the drainage board to make a mutual drain in German Township just off U.S. 31 into a regulated drain.
The commissioners first mentioned they were going to do so when finalizing a rezoning last week for a future 200 to 300 unit combination multi-family residential and commercial development on the south side of Tannehill Road and County Road 650N.
The area is burgeoning with the development of the aforementioned project, as well as Grillo’s Pickles and King’s Hawaiian on the east side of U.S. 31, with more on the horizon. It has long had issues with standing stormwater and the latest proposed development presents a opportunity to resolve the issue, the commissioners said.
In particular, the subject area the commissioners are trying to make a regulated drain is approximately 1,520 feet, starting in the west ditch of U.S. 31, 100 feet northwest of the center line of a driveway at 9600 N. U.S. 31, near Larae Apartments and Wexford of Taylorsville Apartments, to the southern property line of the 31-acre Lawrence A. Fowler Revocable Trust property.
The area is very flat, with almost no drop and nowhere for water to go, the commissioners said. What ditches that remain haven’t been taken care of in 70 to 80 years and are silted in, according to Commissioner Larry Kleinhenz, R-District 1.
Tulsidas Narsinghani, who is seeking to develop the 32 acres on the south side of Tannehill Road and County Road 650N, had made an effort to increase the amount of water that could be retained on the property during the process of it being rezoned “but we’re looking to find a way for that water to leave that area and find its way to the creek two, three miles away,” said Commissioner Tony London, R-District 3.
Narsinghani initially indicated that he planned to develop the southern two-thirds of the property for between 370 to 400 market-rate units, but said with the improved water detention capacity on site they are now down to approximately 270 to 300 units. The northern third will be for commercial development, such as offices and retail spaces.
If the petition is approved by the drainage board, the commissioners plan to use about $100,000 to build out the regulated drain. In the future, costs to maintain it will be funded through a drainage assessment on benefiting properties.
London said it “would be helpful” if the state would dip their ditches along U.S. 31 as well, which hasn’t been done since U.S. 31 was built.
“We’re making this effort to really solve a long-simmering problem,” London said.
