Pool builder sues Hawthorn Woods

A builder says he filed a lawsuit against Hawthorn Woods Wednesday after not being paid for work his company did on the new village aquatic center.

The Hawthorn Woods Aquatic Center opened June 24, and Ken Schaefges of Schaefges Brothers Inc. says in his suit the village hasn't been paid the more than $506,000 it owes the pool contractor.

"We have been more than patient," Schaefges said, adding the village stopped paying his company in June.

Mayor Keith Hunt said the village withheld money from Schaefges' $1.97 million contract because of the aquatic center's late opening date.

Hunt, who said he had not seen the lawsuit, stressed the contractor was responsible for the pool not opening by June 1, the date originally publicized.

When the village then offered a free year of passes to residents who had already purchased them, or half off to those who had not yet bought one, it was an extra expense the village had not budgeted, Hunt said.

"The village had to take certain steps to protect the (aquatic center) members and to ensure that we would be able to minimize whatever damage they had caused us," Hunt said. "The amount that we withheld from Schaefges was all of the money that they cost us, which includes those incentives that we had to offer."

Hunt also said the village withheld money from Schaefges to help pay a $65,000 Illinois Department of Public Health fine for starting construction without a permit and to pay other contractors who charged the village for work that was Schaefges' responsibility.

Schaefges said he is willing to pay the portion of the fine that is his company's responsibility. But he argued the village has not provided documentation to prove its other monetary damages.

"(Hunt has) never provided a detailed breakdown of how or why they arrived at the amount," Schaefges said. "If you can't even substantiate (it) … we're certainly not going to acquiesce."

Schaefges said he believes the village withheld the money as a negotiating tactic to "cut a better deal."

Hunt said that's clearly not true as the village offered to provide documentation for the damages at a meeting, which he said Schaefges declined to attend.

"They never sat down; there's never been a meeting," Hunt said. "We've offered to provide (documentation) on a number of occasions."

Schaefges said talks have stalled and though he would rather not settle the matter in court, he felt he had no choice.

"We'd prefer them to accept our offer, our fair offer, and move on with our lives," he said.