Pingree Grove gets its money from developer

Pingree Grove became more than $766,000 richer on Tuesday night.

Cambridge Homes, the biggest developer in the town, presented Village President Wyman "Clint" Carey with a check for $766,400, money the developer had owed the village for two months.

"I don't have anything to speak to you about tonight, I have a package - basically the check you've been waiting for," Jerry Conrad senior vice president of DRH Cambridge Homes said as he hand-delivered the money to Carey.

It is not known what was behind the delay, as Conrad politely declined to answer any questions surrounding the issue, saying he didn't want to wage a fight against the village in the media.

Pingree Grove plans on using the money - impact fees from the Cambridge North development - for day-to-day operations.

"I saw the check was in there - I'm happy about that," Carey said after the meeting. "Now, we can move to the next phase of this."

The next phase involves restarting negotiations with Cambridge that the developer terminated last fall while it evaluated how the declining housing market would affect its future.

For more than two years, talks between the village and Cambridge have plowed on over an existing annexation agreement.

Ongoing issues involve sewer and water recapture fees, intersection improvements for routes 47, 20 and 72 and scaling back on the age-restricted Carillon development.

Cambridge was interested in restarting the conversation, but Pingree Grove refused until the developer ponied up the money it owed - village officials speculated that the developer held out on the money as a tactic to force Pingree Grove to wrap up the negotiations, a claim Conrad has flatly denied.

But now that the money has finally changed hands, Pingree Grove is looking forward to reaching an "amicable resolution" with the developer on other issues.

"We're all hopeful that this will be the start of positive movement on both sides," said Village Attorney Dean Frieders.