About 170 property owners in St. Joseph Township will be getting money back from a drain project.
Berrien County Drain Commissioner Christopher Quattrin tells us the Pinebrook Drainage District was created a few years ago to address flooding in the area by Manitou Road, Eaton Park, Maiden Lane, Hollywood Road, and Lincoln Avenue.
“We built a rain garden and then we were able to liquidate that property at the end of that,” Quattrin said. “The project was very successfully run, a great design by Whiteman Associates. It came in under budget, we actually added two more branches there. But with the liquidation of the property, we had some additional revenue.”
Quattrin says because the project went so well, he had to decide what to do with the extra funds.
“Either I could let it sit in account for the term of the bond, or I could give a rebate back to those who paid the assessments in the drainage district. I chose to provide the rebate.”
Quattrin says the average property owner will get about $120 back, although larger properties will mean bigger rebates. He presented a check of $21,800 to the St. Joseph Township Board of Trustees Monday, recouping some of the township’s excess costs.
In all, about $70,000 is being repaid to property owners.
