Wetland project will be costly

I would like to take a moment to bring all the residents of Mallard Point and Rolling Oaks and the residents of the village of Sugar Grove up to date as to what has been going on and what is in the future for us. Because our stormwater runs into the pond and thus into the wetlands, we are responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of both - not the owner. This backup of water in the pond to the wetlands and the surface water is what is causing the majority of the flooding problems.

According to what the village board tells us, this Special Service Area is only for the maintenance and upkeep of the pond and the wetlands, and yet the actual wording in the written SSA is as follows: "The purpose of the formation of SSA No. 16 in general is to authorize the improvement, expansion, maintenance, repair and replacement of wetlands, stormwater detention basins, storm sewers and related areas and appurtenances, culverts, drains, ditches and tiles of the area of the Special Service Areas. And the proposed municipal services are unique and are in addition to the improvements provided and/or maintained by the Village generally."

So one can clearly see that we are going to be held liable for much more that just the maintenance and upkeep as we have been told.

What is next? Well, the fix for the main problem of flooding is to install a pipe, which will run from the pond area down to Jericho Road. What is the cost of the fix? Somewhere between 1 to 2.5 million dollars. This repayment amount for the 250 residents would be placed on the taxes each year for 10 years. So the fix (bypass) could cost all the residents of Mallard Point and Rolling Oaks an amount of $883.33 for a $2 million job or $1,104 for a $2.5 million job. The last two costs are the yearly amount that will be added to our tax bill for the next 10 years, wherein the costs are assigned to the SSA is forever.

Barry L. Gardner

Sugar Grove