DRIGGS — Driggs relocated an irrigation ditch for its South 5th Street and Johnson Avenue road project, and on Sept. 28 the city council voted to have engineers look at other options for the project, working with the people who use the ditch. Mayor August Christensen broke a 2-2 tie to pass the motion.
The project is turning the corner of South 5th and Johnson from dirt into what the mayor called "a whole complete street with curb and sidewalk or pathway." The irrigation ditch serves what she called the Christensen family's "century-old farm on the south side of Johnson Avenue." Opening the special meeting, she told the council she is not related to the family, that "the ditch has been relocated," and that the meeting was needed because the road was scheduled to be paved, weather permitting, "later this week."
Ben Christensen told the council at its Sept. 15 meeting that the city "was supposed to get authorization from us as the ditch owners to move it ... which they didn't do." By his account, after he raised state law with the city, it sent the family a request, and "we denied it." A demand letter followed, and the city put the ditch back where it had been. Then the city "took our culverts out and filled in the ditch again," and he got a letter saying it was "just going to proceed as is and not honor our ditch rights."
