Henry Julius Franz v. East Columbia Basin Irrigation District, a Municipal Corporation
Opinion
Opinion
Chambers, J.
Appellant Franz owns land located within the boundaries of the East Columbia Basin Irrigation District. East Columbia, organized under the laws of the State of Washington, contracted in 1945 with the United States Department of the Interior (Bureau of Reclamation) for the construction of certain irrigation and drainage facilities as part of the then developing Columbia Basin Project. This contract called for the repayment of a portion of the construction costs by East Columbia.
On December 18, 1962, East Columbia submitted to the electors of the irrigation district for approval an amendatory repayment contract with the United States which called for the capitalization of certain drainage costs which were to be paid annually as operation and maintenance charges under the 1945 contract. The net result of the change was to increase the maximum amount payable to the United States for construction purposes from $37,800,000 to $71,752,846. The election resulted in approval of the new contract as required by Revised Code of Washington (RCW) 87.03.200. Subsequently additional minor changes were approved in a second election held on April 16,1963.