Filed under: Website News
Welcome to the Gossman Drain Information website.
The purpose of the web site is the exchange and dissemination of information concerning the $1.3 million Gossman Drain project in Fort Gratiot, St. Clair County MI. Click here for more information about this site.
When navigating the website, you can always return to the home page by clicking on the page header. Scroll down to see more posts.
Click here to e-mail the webmaster.
According to the Notice of Letting of Drain Contract mailed to residents of the Gossman Drain District along with the Notice of Review of Apportionment, the contract for the construction of the Gossman Drain was awarded November 1, 2011.
For details, click here to view the Notice of Letting of Drain Contract.
Here is one neighbor’s comment on the Supporting Documents page:
This project has grown from a 1 person complaint to a peripheral subdivision ditch clearing, to a peripheral ditch clearing and burial, to a Campbell road to Lake Huron drainage system complete reengineering project including forest removal, drain rerouting, ditch digging, ditch abandonment, ditch filling, property acquisition and flood plain creation.
This is not designed to and will not solve the drainage problems on the front of Vineyard, Surrey Lane and Guilford properties. The request of current property owners was only to clear and bury the culverts behind Old Forge, East Surrey Lane, Surrey Lane and Vineyard streets and clean out the culvert in front of the properties from 4145 Surrey Lane to the ditch behind East Surrey Lane.
This is a totally, out of hand, make work project for contractors. This pinata for contractors and government employees should be corrected. It has gone far beyond what any of the aggrieved parties had requested or envisioned. It is an assessment monstrosity and does great disservice to the community.
Comment by Chris Scholfield November 27, 2011 @ 3:20 pm
When: 7:00 pm Monday, November 28
Where:
Fort Gratiot Pointe Community Center
5085 Lakeshore Road
Get the latest news on this $1,250,000+ project, scheduled to be completed by September 2012.
On Wednesday, November 30, the Drain Commission will hold a review meeting at which your assessment will be announced. If you do not agree, you have 10 days to appeal.
This meeting is your chance to learn:
- Scope of Project
- Total Cost
- Your Assessment
Bob Wiley, St. Clair County Drain Commissioner, will be making an informational presentation and then will answer questions from the floor.
The latest plans will be available for your review.
Filed under: Cost
The $1.3 million Gossman Drain project is a go.
Learn what this project will cost you on November 30, 2011, between 9am and 5pm only, at:
The Office of the St. Clair County Drain Commissioner
21 Airport Drive
St. Clair Township MI 48079
Phone (810) 364-5369
If you do not agree with your assessment, you have 10 days after this meeting to appeal. After that it is final and you must pay it.
Drain assessments will be collected in the same manner as property taxes. You may pay your assessment in full when levied or you may pay over a number of years, with interest added each year on the remaining unpaid assessement.
Click here for the full Notice of Review of Apportionment.
Filed under: Drainage Problems
The expansion of the Gossman Drain district to include Old farm Subdivision occurred as a result of a Charter Township of Fort Gratiot official request to the Drain Commission, to deal with the drainage problems.
According to official Township records, there are a total of 4 properties reported with drainage problems within the geographic boundaries of the expanded Gossman Drain district encompassing Old Farm. It would be interesting to learn if the proposed project will address these 4 problems, and how. Surely there must be more than these four drainage problems to justify the $1.3 million dollar cost and the environmental impact. I have requested a list of all the reported drainage problems from the Drain Commission in my recent FOIA request (click here to view FOIA request).
To see Township records of all the drainage problems ever reported, go to the Supporting Documents page or click here.
- Mariani, 4272 Guilford Lane 6/25/97 and much subsequent correspondence
- Digiuseppe, 4298 Guilford Lane
- Nowak, 3679 old Farm Lane, first report 6/5/2003
- Slezinski, 3609 Sunset Lane 4/9/97 – not part of Gossman Drain project
- Coggins, 3625 Sunset Lane 4/9/97 – not part of Gossman Drain project
- Vincent, 4342 Old Forge 5/11/81
Filed under: Drainage Problems
In 2002 Huron Consultants, on behalf of the St. Clair County Drain Commission, completed the one and only “preliminary” study of Drainage problems in Old Farms. No further studies gave been published.
Click here to view their findings as they appeared in the report. The full report can be found on the Supporting Documents page.
Branch 2 behind Old Forge was reported as completely blocked in one place.
Branch 3 behind Surrey Lane was reported as partially blocked.
The only specifically reported flooding:
- Front yards on Quaker Hill Drive. Attributed to blocked culverts in the front yards (not part of Gossman Drain).
The report mentions that “in the North and Est portion of the Old Farm Subdivision…flooding problems have been reported.” No details as to where, when or how frequently. Nor does it mention to whom the flooding was reported.
The St. Clair County Drain Commission Office has not provided any specific reports of flooding to this writer, despite multiple Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.
Watch http://www.gossmandrain.com for an upcoming post that will provide all the reports of flooding on file at the Township of Fort Gratiot.
Filed under: Uncategorized
At this past Tuesday’s DNRE Gossman Drain Public Hearing, Mr. Eric Ostling of Huron Consultants, agents for the St. Clair County Drain Commission, announced that bids will be sought as soon as it is thought that DNRE approval is likely, with construction beginning in April or sooner.
The Drain Commission Public hearing will be an opportunity to learn more about the construction plans. Click here to learn more about the planned Drain Commission Public Hearing.
Filed under: Drainage Problems
At Tuesday’s DNRE Public Hearing, Mr. Robert Wiley, St. Clair County Drain Commissioner, announced that public hearing will be held regarding the Gossman Drain project.
Filed under: Drainage Problems
At the January 11 DNRE Public Hearing for the Drain Commission’s Permit Application, one of our neighbors raised a very important question:
- What are the specific problems that this $1.3 million project will solve?
I asked:
- What alternative solutions for these problems were evaluated?
Neither of these questions were answered at the hearing.
To get to the root of the first question, I have sent the Drain Commissioner a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request (click here to see it) asking for the specific “drainage problems” and “areas of concern” that the project will address.
My previous FOIA request to the Drain Commissioner, over a year old, has gone unanswered.
If you have any drainage problems or areas of concern, please click on the Leave a Comment link, below, to add your problem to the list that I will post. Be sure to describe your problem fully and give your address. I will forward your problem report to the Drain Commissioner.
I have obtained all the drainage problem reports that Fort Gratiot Township has on file and I will be posting these shortly.
Filed under: Website News
A Key Contact pages has been added to the website. This will list key persons involved in or affected by the Gossman Drain project.
Check this page from time-to-time as more contacts will be added.
Click here to visit the Key Contact page.
Gossman Drain Information Site 