RANCHO MURIETA, CA (MPG) - Contract engineer Joe Domenichelli brought more unwelcome financial news when he met with the Rancho Murieta Community Services District Improvements Committee on Nov. 4, marking the second straight month of troubling cost news.

The district had asked him for an estimate to repair four stormwater drainage culverts beneath the road connecting the Murieta Equestrian Center to its hay barn. He estimated the cost of the preferred repair option at $467,000. 

The district is responsible for maintaining the drainage ditch and its connections because it holds an easement on the channel, which carries stormwater from Rancho Murieta North toward the Cosumnes River. If the culverts fail, nearby areas, including Murieta Village, could flood. In preparation for winter, the district has already cleared heavy vegetation from the ditch.

While the equestrian center’s project manager estimated the repair at no more than $105,000, Domenichelli’s figures ranged from $285,000 to $603,000. He and Utilities Supervisor Corey Carskaddon recommended replacing the culverts with a prefabricated bridge or railcar span.

The full board was scheduled to discuss the recommendation on Nov. 19. The committee also reviewed a possible site for a third water tank and the likely need to establish alternating lawn-watering days next summer. (See "Third Water Tank Site, Water Conservation Discussed")

The Improvements Committee includes Board President John Merchant, Director Randy Jenco, Interim General Manager Amelia Wilder, Chief Plant Operator Travis Bohannon, Carskaddon and district staff. The group reviews infrastructure issues and makes recommendations to the full board.

Domenichelli had already reported at the Oct. 2 meeting that repairing the Murieta Village water and sewer infrastructure could cost $9 million and a third water tank between $7.8 million and $9.8 million.

The culverts were first discussed at the Oct. 2 Improvements Committee meeting, which both Merchant and Carskaddon missed. Carskaddon submitted a PowerPoint presentation with his analysis. Bohannon told Jenco that Jeff Pearson, the equestrian center’s project manager, had warned that repairs were needed before the rainy season.

Bohannon said he and Carskaddon reviewed the easement Pearson provided and concluded that while the easement required maintaining the drainage ditch, the road over it was likely built after the easement was granted. They believed the district was not obligated to repair the road or the culverts. Their recommendation was to remove the road and the failed culverts entirely, because they were obstructing water flow, an approach that would not benefit the equestrian center.

“The way it is clogged up, if we have a big storm, it is going to flood over there,” Bohannon said. He added that he requested a preliminary estimate for repairing the crossing with concrete culverts and was told the cost would be close to $1 million.

Pearson disputed the district’s interpretation, saying the easement language was clear that the district was responsible for all drainage facilities within the ditch. He said he confirmed with Carol Anderson Ward that the road was already in place when the Anderson family dedicated the easement to the district in 1988.

Pearson told the committee he first raised the issue with Operations Manager Eric Houston in May and followed up several times because he believed the culverts were likely to fail in a major storm. 

“It’s going to flood the new property owners on the 203 acres between us and the river, and the Village probably won’t fare very well, either,” he said.

Pearson said he could make the repairs himself for about $80,000 but did not have the staff. If bid out, he estimated the cost to the district would be $100,000 to $105,000.

Mike Robertson of Baker-Williams Engineering Group confirmed that the easement language requires the district to maintain the drainage facility and related appurtenances. He said the culverts had simply reached the end of their service life – “Corrugated steel pipes usually have about a 50-year life” – and the ditch also needed cleaning. Robertson offered to help bring Carskaddon up to speed on the community’s drainage history.

Jenco said repairs “should have been completed yesterday” but wanted District Counsel Patrick Enright to review the easement to confirm the district’s responsibility. He asked staff to place an action item on the Oct. 15 board agenda in case emergency repairs costing about $100,000 were necessary.

Bohannon said the ditch had become completely overgrown and that Carskaddon was looking into bringing in an inmate crew from the Pine Grove Conservation Camp to clear it. 

“They could probably have it knocked out in a week, quicker than goats and a lot cheaper than goats.”

 Jenco said Wilder could approve that expenditure.

At the Oct. 15 board meeting, Carskaddon said the district should not assume responsibility for the culverts or the road because neither appeared to be part of the easement or supported by other documentation. He said the district was responsible for maintaining the ditch and that an inmate crew would be coming to clear it. He cited an estimated repair cost of approximately $500,000.

Pearson strongly disputed the district’s stance and expressed frustration that none of the materials he submitted had been included in the packet for either the Improvements Committee or the board meeting. 

“I provided all of the information to the district because the district could not locate that information,” he said. “I had to comment on a PowerPoint slide that was wholly inaccurate without having any of my material.”

Pearson said he followed up repeatedly after contacting Houston in May because he believed the culverts could fail during the next major storm. 

“I was assured the district was handling this,” he told the board.

After discussion, the board agreed with Jenco’s recommendation to table the matter until Enright could review the easement language.

Before the Nov. 4 meeting, Wilder confirmed that the district’s responsibility for repairs was no longer in question, as Enright had determined the district was obligated to do the work. The discussion instead focused on repair options. Both Domenichelli and Pearson expressed appreciation for the vegetation-clearing work, noting that the ditch should now perform better in winter.

Domenichelli presented four options, with estimates including permits, demolition, removal of the road and culverts and installation of necessary support structures. The least expensive option, at $285,000, would replace the failed corrugated metal pipes with new ones of the same material. Reinforced concrete pipe was estimated at $478,000, and reinforced concrete box culverts at $603,000.

The fourth option – replacing the culverts with a modular bridge or railcar span – came in at $467,000. Domenichelli and Carskaddon agreed the bridge offered the best long-term solution due to its flow capacity, durability and value compared to replacing culverts with pipes or box structures.

Pearson raised several questions about the bridge option and appeared satisfied with the responses. Jenco, who has experience building bridges including the wooden bridge in Rancho Murieta, believed Domenichelli was understating permit costs from the Department of Fish and Wildlife and possibly the Army Corps of Engineers.

 It was also noted that the season was too late to begin repair work.

Domenichelli and Pearson both praised the vegetation-clearing work in the ditch. 

“It’s a way better channel than it was a month ago,” Domenichelli said, though he added that more work is needed. Pearson said, “I believe that we’re in a better position because of the work that Corey and the crews have done.”

On Nov. 13, Carskaddon told the River Valley Times that district employees and a Pine Grove Conservation Camp crew had removed vegetation, rocks and debris and trimmed trees along roughly 4,885 feet of the channel to improve water flow and reduce erosion.