Board of Directors of the Horse Heaven Irrigation District v. Mineah

192 P. 997, 112 Wash. 325, 1920 Wash. LEXIS 786
CourtWashington Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 1, 1920
DocketNo. 15724
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 192 P. 997 (Board of Directors of the Horse Heaven Irrigation District v. Mineah) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Washington Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Board of Directors of the Horse Heaven Irrigation District v. Mineah, 192 P. 997, 112 Wash. 325, 1920 Wash. LEXIS 786 (Wash. 1920).

Opinion

Bridges, J.

The Horse Heaven Irrigation District was organized under the laws of the state of Washington concerning irrigation. The district comprises more than 300,000 acres, located in Benton, Klickitat and [327]*327Yakima counties, in the state of Washington. These lands occupy a plateau partly hounded by the Yakima and Columbia rivers. Prior to the organization of this district, the Klitckitat Irrigation & Power Company had made extensive researches with a view to irrigating at least a part of the lands within the present district. After receiving reports of its engineers, the board of directors of respondent district estimated and determined that it would cost $18,250,000 to carry out the project of bringing water to the district in quantities sufficient to irrigate the lands therein, and called an election for the purpose of determining whether the district should issue its bonds in the sum of $18,250,000 for the purpose mentioned. The vote at this election was favorable to the issuance of the bonds. Thereafter the district purchased, for the sum of $200,000, all of the maps, plats, surveys, water rights, etc., of the Klickitat Irrigation & Power Company, and delivered to that company its bonds of the par value of $222,200 in payment therefor. As we understand it, most, if not all, of the remainder of the authorized bonds are still unissued and unnegotiated. This action was brought by the irrigation district for the purpose of having the court confirm the regularity and legality of all these bonds. The trial court found the bonds already negotiated, and those authorized to be issued, to be valid, and entered a judgment to that effect. Prom this judgment, an appeal has been taken. A prior action had determined the regularity and legality of the formation of the district.

The appellants here do not contend that there was any fraud connected with the subject-matter of this action, nor do they contend that any of the proceedings concerning the election for the authorization of the bonds were irregular, but they do contend that the [328]*328bonds are invalid for several reasons, which we will now consider.

(1) Appellants contend that the adoption of a plan or system in intelligent form was a condition precedent to the right of the directors of the district to make any estimate of the amount of money to be raised, or to call an election to vote upon the bonds, and that such board had not so done. This contention is based upon that part of § 6430 of Rem. Code, which provides that, for the purpose of construction, reconstruction, betterment, extension or acquisition of the necessary property and rights, the board of directors of any such district must “estimate and determine the amount of money to be raised, and shall thereafter call a special election.” The irrigation district statutes of this state are very liberal and vest the board of directors of the district with large discretion. It seems to have been the intent of the legislature to bind such boards with as few technicalities and to surrohnd them with as few limitations and restrictions as possible. The statute does not require that the “estimate” shall be based on any exact information or on any full and complete plans and specifications. It does not mean that, before making such estimate, the board must know and be able to point out the exact cost of the various items to be included within the estimate. It contemplates that the board shall have before it such information as that it may make a fair, honest, intelligent and reasonably accurate estimate. Nothing more is necessary. Indeed, the statute makes provision for supplying additional funds in the event the amount estimated shall prove to be insufficient, and it anticipates that it may not be necessary to negotiate all the bonds which have been authorized.

Let us see if the estimate made by the board of directors meets the requirements thus stated.

[329]*329Many years prior to the making of such estimate, and, in fact, prior to the organization of this present district, the Klickitat Irrigation & Power Company made extensive surveys and investigations, through competent engineers, with a view to bringing water to the lands in question. It had many plats, plans and specifications, water measurements, water appropriations, water rights and surveys, and much more useful information. Upon its organization, respondent appointed an experienced and competent engineer to make surveys and investigations with a view to bringing waters to irrigate the lands within the district. After much intelligent investigation, this engineer reported that the water to irrigate these lands must come from the Klickitat river and could not come from any other source; that he had carefully checked the surveys and recommendations of the engineers of the Klickitat Irrigation & Power Company and found them substantially correct, and recommended the purchase of all the maps, plats, survey notes, property and rights of that company for the sum of $200,000. Thereafter the respondent, through its board of directors, appointed a board consisting of two prominent and experienced engineers and two attorneys at law for the purpose of checking the work of its previous engineer and reporting thereon to the board. After extensive investigation these gentlemen reported, confirming almost entirely the report of the board’s first engineer, including his recommendation concerning the purchase from the Klickitat Irrigation & Power Company. They estimated that $18,250,000 would be necessary to carry out the project. Thereafter, possessed of all the information so obtained, the board of directors estimated and determined that the cost of the project would be $18,250,000, and called an election to vote on bonds of the district in that amount.

[330]*330Unquestionably tbe board of directors had such information as that it could honestly and intelligently, and considering tbe magnitude of tbe proposition, quite accurately, estimate tbe cost of tbe project.

Appellants chiefly rely on tbe case of Cullen v. Glendora Water Co., 113 Cal. 503, 39 Pac. 769, 45 Pac. 822, 1047. That case involved what is called tbe Wright Irrigation Statute of California, from which our statute was originally largely copied. In that case tbe board of' directors bad made an estimate of tbe cost of irrigating tbe lands within tbe district. It appeared, however, that, when tbe board made this estimate, it bad made no surveys and almost no investigation; it did not know from what source it could procure water; did not know whether it would undertake to purchase water rights already in use, or undertake to obtain tbe water from other sources, and, in fact, bad no information upon which it could make an intelligent estimate. Tbe court held that tbe estimate made by tbe board of directors was not that contemplated by tbe statute. It is manifest that there is a great difference between tbe facts of that and tbe facts in this case. This question, however, is not an entirely new one in this court. In tbe case of Hanson v. Kittitas Reclamation Dist., 75 Wash. 297, 134 Pac. 1083, this court considered tbe provision of tbe statute which we are now discussing. We said:

“It

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Bluebook (online)
192 P. 997, 112 Wash. 325, 1920 Wash. LEXIS 786, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/board-of-directors-of-the-horse-heaven-irrigation-district-v-mineah-wash-1920.