Sugar Grove group fights flooding bills

A new government watchdog group is offering to help residents of Sugar Grove's Mallard Point subdivision make an organized case for why they shouldn't have to pay for flooding fixes.

More than 50 residents attended a meeting Wednesday organized by Simply Honest in Sugar Grove. Mallard Point resident Mary Podschweit is one of Simply Honest's co-founders. Another is Walnut Woods subdivision resident J.R. Mooney, who led the meeting.

They asked residents to give them copies of any documents, such as receipts for repairs, excessive electrical bills and written narratives of yard and basement flooding.

The information, Mooney said, will be added to information Simply Honest has gathered, such as county maps depicting the area's elevation, and compiled into what he called a "case study."

"The way to get something done with this is to collect the data," he said.

Residents could then decide to have it reviewed by an engineer, and possibly by a private attorney or Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, to see if residents had what Mooney called an "actionable claim" against the village.

The village board is considering establishing a special service area tax, with a maximum rate of $1.50 per $100 equalized assessed valuation, for Mallard Point and the Rolling Oaks subdivisions.

More than 100 residents showed up at a September hearing on the issue. They questioned the village's contention it is stormwater drainage causing the flooding, given that for some, their sump pumps are running 24 hours a day whether or not there is rain.

Some believe there is an underground spring through the property. Others recalled seeing foundation holes filling up with water immediately after excavation.

Engineers hired by the village have found some storm sewer overflows called for in construction plans are missing and some drain pipes are too small. Broken field tiles in farmland near the subdivision also affect the drainage. Residents criticized the village's oversight of the construction.

"You depended on the city and the city engineer and building department to maintain safe, habitable environments for your homes," Mooney said.

The special service area tax could cost the owner of a $200,000 home about $1,000 a year. The term length has not been determined.

The money would be used to put in the required overflows and properly sized drain pipes.

It would also be used to maintain a private retention pond on a farm south of the subdivision, which is designated to handle the water from the subdivision. Last year, the village removed sediment from the pond and the water capacity increased by 10 inches.

One of Mallard Point's developers owned the retention pond, but now Sugar Grove Police Chief Brad Sauer owns it. He is also president of the Rob Roy Drainage District, which oversees drainage throughout Sugar Grove and also is investigating the flooding issues, along with Kane County officials.

The original subdivision annexation agreement called for the developer to establish a homeowners association to take care of drainage. That never happened. In other Sugar Grove subdivisions, homeowner associations charge residents for maintaining stormwater drainage.

Under Mallard Point's initial annexation agreement, the village is authorized to establish an SSA as a backup, and homeowners are bound by that agreement.

Further village board discussion on the special service area tax has been tabled until March 2.

To send information to Simply Honest, or to be put on a mailing list for other meetings, e-mail Mooney at walnuts@mchsi.com or Podschweit at 5-0wife217@sbcglobal.net.

Flood: Village may institute tax