Mallard Point

The intent of this blog is not to promote Mallard Point, I already know the advantages of Mallard Point. There are wonderful neighbors here, big lots, and open, airy homes. I don't see this blog as demeaning to this subdivision at all.

The intent of this blog is to see what can be done to "right the wrong" that the homeowners have been dealing with. It is not a normal or average homeowner maintenance issue. This problem could and should have NEVER happened. If the village had been more diligent all along the way (instead of using MP as a learning experience), and specifically if the village had made sure the drainage issues were handled correctly, this would have never happened. If they made sure that the people responsible for our drainage system did their jobs correctly and used the right size materials and the proper numbers of materials and that everything was up to code, this would not have happened. IF they took measures to ensure that a HOA was in place all along the way-through the different developers that took over at various stages, there would not be an issue today. And maybe the drainage tiles should have been connected all the way to the Rob Roy Creek. (Bear with me now and please read the entire blog before posting a comment.)

Most of us are not experts on drainage and that is why design, permits and inspections are the responsibility of the local government. It is a public area just like our parks. We as homeowners did everything we should have to ensure we were making an educated purchase. Our elected officials let us down. We trusted that the village did their job.

But they didn’t……

Here are some of the issues that have been uncovered during this controversy:

• Drainage structures, pond and wetlands were sold to a private individual with no mandates for the owner to take care of maintenance.
• Problem with drainage was known to the village since at least 2002, yet they did not do anything about it and have allowed the problem to grow.
• The ability to impose an SSA apparently existed since the subdivision was created. Why did the village not impose it years ago and solve the problem before residents were injured?
• The village did not enforce that an HOA was created in Mallard Point (yes, many builders came and went, but ultimately the village held the power to ensure an HOA was created and they never did.)
• The environmental engineering company that the village used is owned by a member of the village board’s father. This firm was involved with the village when drainage structures were built contrary to the approved building plans.
• The trustees admitted that mistakes were made and that they learned from them. It is now their responsibility to take reasonable steps to correct their errors.

An interesting fact that may or may not have any impact on our issue is that another Sugar Grove neighborhood (Stafford Woods) had ONE homeowner who had a water issue. It was that of a broken pipe. The village approved over $50,000 for that repair without ANY discussion. (minutes can be found on the Sugar Grove website) And that was for ONE resident. Maybe there are different rules based on the value of a home. Yes, the pipe did break and maybe it is a no-brainer that the village should fix it. Then by the same token, shouldn’t it be a no-brainer that the village should also take care of Mallard Point?

Many of the trustees were reluctant to reassure the residents of Mallard Point. They told us that they learned a great deal from the mistakes that were made here. Some even attempted sympathy by telling of their own water issues. (Does that mean they were not going to help us until their issues were handled first??)

Thomas Renk is one of the few who was reassuring and sympathetic. He said that his idea of "government" was a body that would intervene when an individual could not accomplish something on their own. I think the case of Mallard Point is exactly a case of what he is talking about. Personally, he is the type of person that the village should have as a trustee.

Keep in mind, this is all only my opinion. This blog is mine alone. Representing my thoughts. I have tried to keep it as "fair" as possible. I think the village could stand a few new faces and some new thoughts. I am also hoping the village will continue to monitor the pond.

In ending this post, I do thank the village for the good that they have done. They HAVE helped. They have had Public Works employees out there, cleaning up the pond. And we've been told the pond is TEN INCHES LOWER than it was. This is great. But it did take a lot of effort to get them to do that. I hope they don't just clean it and run. Cuz we’ll be right back to the same problem.

UPDATED AGAIN:

My intention is to continue to post comments that add value. They can be of a contrarian nature as long as they are not slanderous and have facts to back them up. I welcome all candidates to send me their platform or the link to their website so it can be posted. I will personally be voting for Paluch and Montalto because I think they offer fresh ideas for the village. In my view, we are well on the way to having our drainage problem fixed. I also really like what Thomas Renk has said at board meetings, so he has my vote as well. This blog started because of one issue but I expect it to live long after the issue is resolved.

-------
UPDATED:

More thoughts in regards to some of the anonymous posters. Some comments from anonymous visitors to the site have expressed that they are not interested in voting for Montalto or Paluch. That is fine and that is certainly your right as a voter. I personally have several concerns about our current group of trustees. While being on the board for many years is not necessarily a bad thing, it is also not a bad thing to get fresh ideas and perspective. To not consider someone just because they have held office for many years or on the flip side have never held office is pretty narrow minded. We elect officials that we feel most closely represent us and our values. I for one feel that some long time members have become too comfortable and are more concerned about conducting business with “connected” firms.

(By the way, Paluch does not live in Mallard Point). Montalto and Paluch both feel that putting village meeting on the web would help with governmental transparency. Anonymous, are you against that? The technology has been available for years that would allow for inexpensive posting of board meetings. The current officials have not made the effort to provide transparency. Why? What could possibly be wrong with holding our elected officials accountable for their decisions and the process they follow when coming to those decisions. I for one can not make it to every board meeting and would find it convenient to view them from the comfort of my own home.

The incumbents are nervous and they should be. They need to be held to a high standard particularly in these troubling economic times. No bid contracts to family members need to be reviewed. $50,000 fixes for single homeowners in affluent neighborhoods need to be reviewed in the light of day. Political power and family connections should not be tainting our wonderful little village. We all need to be vigilant and make sure our elected leaders know that we are engaged and interested in what they are doing. The Mallard Point drainage issue is just one problem that faces the village. They are now addressing it and we are grateful. At the same time, the drainage issue is not over. I hope the village continues to fix the wrong.

---------
ORIGINAL POST:

I am amazed (sometimes highly amused) at some of the anonymous comments. Suffice it to say, many have not been fit to publish. I will not be bullied into posting anything that does not add value to the issues here. If you do not want your name published, I am totally okay with that, but you will have to provide your name to me as the moderator. I will keep your name confidential.

Just please keep the comments clean and productive. Humor, even sarcasm is fine within reason. But let's keep this blog somewhat productive....

Stay tuned for more thoughts.

Rick Montalto has been working closely with Dave Paluk from Chelsea Meadows. Paluk is also running for one of the Village of Sugar Grove Trustee positions. It appears that the two share a lot of the same ideas and that Paluk would be a good person to have with Montalto on the board. The two have been trying to pool their resources together and encourage people to vote for them. While the addition of one of them to the board would be nice, the addition of both would have a much bigger impact. They have spent many hours recently walking through neighborhoods, knocking on doors and encouraging people to vote for BOTH of them.

Now’s the time to vote early! The mobile voting van will at the Jewel in Sugar Grove on Saturday, March 28 and Sunday, March 29 from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. this coming weekend

If you were not able to attend the candidate night on Thursday, be sure to check out TV17 on mediacom cable. Terry Wido videotaped the event. It could be on as soon as saturday at 1 p.m. according to the chamber e-news, he hopes to cycle this at 1p.m. and 7 p.m. until the election. Thanks Terry!

At the Community House. Does anyone know the time this is?

(A letter from the village)

Mallard Point Residents:

At the March 3rd Board meeting the Village Board directed staff to begin working on the outflow of the detention basin in Mallard Point.  The Public Works Staff began this work on March 4th and continues on a daily basis to clear the flow area and monitor the basin level, as well as monitoring the increased flow affect on downstream areas.   

Since March 4th the level of the detention basis has decreased approximately 1-1/2 inches.  Please keep in mind that the work is being performed gradually so that the basin level and the down stream areas can be monitored.  Staff continues to clear and monitor on a daily basis. At this time no action is needed nor scheduled at the Board meeting of March 17th as the process of outflow clearing and basin level monitoring remains ongoing.
-----------

If they are only going to lower the level of the pond by 1 1/2 inches every couple of weeks then we could certainly argue that it could be done faster. Didn't they say it was 18" too deep? At that rate it would be months before they get it back to the correct level. Is this the end of their help? What kind of monitoring system is in place? It says on a daily basis. What EXACTLY are they doing daily? As someone who lives near the pond, I can honestly say (though I do not watch the area 24/7) that I have not seen village vehicles DAILY.

This was a comment left by "Observing" after the last article on the Daily Herald website.

Is that really how Sugar Grove residents feel? Basically, too bad/so sad?

What should we have been aware of? Where did we go wrong? We had a home inspection. He did a very thorough job. The home inspector said our sump pump was "bone dry." The house passed the inspection with few items needing repair. The original owners fixed the minor repairs and we thought we had a solid house in our hands. This house was about 3 years old at the time. No sign of any kind of water issues inside or out. And at the time, no neighbors that we knew had any water issues either.

What should we have done or what did we need to consider? What did we need to BEWARE of?

And the people who bought their homes brand new? Wasn't the village supposed to ensure that everything here in Mallard Point was built to code? What should an individual home owner have done to make sure the village was doing their job? To make sure that their brand new house, assumedly approved of by the village, was "good to go?"

If the drainage system was, in fact, built to code, then maybe we would not be having these problems. If the pond was consistently maintained, maybe we would not be having these problems.

What good does saying "caveat emptor" do now? I guess, too bad/so sad. The trustees have to make sure the other residents are taken care of. Is Mallard Point, like another poster once said, the "red headed step child" of Sugar Grove?

The original article and the link is in the post below. Feel free to read the comments posted there.

Drainage still touchy issue in Sugar Grove
Mallard Point residents say village should take control
By Nancy Gier | Daily Herald Staff

A presentation of a preliminary engineering study on stormwater drainage problems in the Mallard Point subdivision led to a contentious 45-minute debate between some 30 Mallard Point residents and Sugar Grove village officials Tuesday.

The exchange took place at the committee of the whole meeting after a report from Mark Bushnell, a senior project engineer for Trotter and Associates.

Bushnell reported that effective drainage around the retention pond and wetlands in Mallard Point was blocked by overgrowths of vegetation and mud that were probably the work of beavers and muskrats.

"Many areas need maintenance," Bushnell concluded. The study was done over three days in February. The village held a special meeting for residents Jan. 27.

Residents of the Mallard Point subdivision, which is within the village, have complained of standing water in backyards, waterlogged basements and sky high electric bills due to having to run two or more sump pumps constantly. The original developer has filed for bankruptcy.

"What I want to know is, why wasn't this area maintained?" asked Blair Peters, who lives on Brookhaven Circle in the subdivision.

"Because you don't have a homeowner's association," village President Sean Michels responded.

"A mistake was made and the village needs to take ownership," Peters said. "There are many areas of the village that don't have a homeowner's association. The village should show support. That's where the disconnect is."

"The pond was there before the development," said Rick Montalto of Mallard Drive. "There's a general feeling that the village should take ownership."

Trustee Mary Heineman told the residents that the board had gained a "tremendous learning experience" in hearing their concerns and trying to solve the problem, but she cautioned those present that the village could not take over maintenance of all retention ponds.

"As much as I can sympathize, we can't commit to anything we don't have the numbers for," said Trustee Mari Johnson. "Don't walk away thinking this can all be fixed."

"We need to fix the problem, but we can't write a blank check," said Trustee Thomas Renk.

Michels told the residents that the village would have a contractor or public works employees clean up the area. He said further studies would be done to develop specific recommendations.

link: http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=276527

March 5th, 2009 by Susan O’Neill
http://elburnherald.com/2009/03/05/residents-seek-flooding-resolution/

Mallard Point residents still had questions for the village on Tuesday night after project engineer Mark Bushnell explained the findings of his inspection of their storm water management system.

Bushnell, a project engineer with Trotter and Associates, said he found mud and overgrown vegetation blocking the water flow from the subdivision, causing the neighborhood’s drainage problems and flooding. Bushnell said the blockages are likely the work of beavers and muskrats.

Blockages of the structures created to allow the storm water to drain has increased the level of the subdivision’s retention pond two feet higher and the wetlands to the south two-and-a-half feet higher than they should be. Bushnell estimated that there are 17 acres of excess storm water in the area.

The Village Board agreed to hire a contractor or have public works employees remove six inches of the vegetation blocking the structure at the southern edge of the development to allow the water to drain slowly to the south.

Village President Sean Michels said he was reluctant to clear out the entire blockage at once, because this would flood the property to the south. This property, which includes the retention pond, belongs to long-time area resident and Police Chief Brad Sauer.

But Mallard Point residents present at Tuesday’s Committee of the Whole meeting wanted to know why the village did not do more to protect the homeowners when the development was initially built.

When construction began on the Mallard Point Subdivision in the early 1990s, the developer improved an existing wetland for use as a storm water management facility. The first developer went bankrupt, and construction was completed by another developer who took over the project.

Typically, a homeowners association regulates maintenance in the common areas of a subdivision and collects fees with which to pay for it. Although there was a clause in the annexation agreement for the creation of a homeowners association, one was never formed.

During previous meetings with the village, Mallard Point residents have complained of standing water, flooded basements and excessive electric bills to continually run two and sometimes three sump pumps.

“Mistakes were made, and the village needs to take ownership,” said Blair Peters, who lives on Brookhaven Circle within the subdivision.

Trustee Mary Heineman said that unfortunately, the village is now learning from mistakes that were made at the time the subdivision was built.

Michels said that once the debris is removed, the next step would be to identify a list of items necessary for ongoing maintenance of the property.

“This would give us the ability to price that out,” he said. “Then, we’ll see what is involved.”

Village attorney Steven Andersson said there is a clause in the annexation agreement, which includes the Rolling Oaks Subdivision, that would allow the formation of a Special Services Area. Through the SSA, the village could charge residents an annual fee for the ongoing maintenance of the storm water system.

Trustee Mari Johnson said that although she sympathized with the Mallard Point residents, she wanted to make sure they understood that the trustees were not making a commitment for the village to fix the problem. She said there were a number of neighborhoods with drainage and flooding issues, and the village has to be fiscally responsible to the entire community.

Trustee Tom Renk said he believes it is the role of government to step in and take care of things that the residents cannot. Although he added that the homeowners have some responsibility for fixing the problems, he said he felt a commitment to work with them.

“A whole bunch of things have fallen through the cracks,” he said. “I think it’s our duty to follow through on this process.”

However, he added that the village could not write a blank check.

After the meeting, trustee Kevin Geary, also a Mallard Point resident, said he did not think that anything was resolved. He said that during the most recent rain, he had three inches of water in his own basement, and he did not think that dropping the height of the blockage by six inches would take care of the problem.

“Right now, we’ve got residents whose basements are flooding,” he said. “It’s a life-safety issue.”

There are approximately 250 residences in Mallard Point and Rolling Oaks combined.

"What I want to know is, why wasn't this area maintained?" asked Blair Peters, who lives on Brookhaven Circle in the subdivision.

"Because you don't have a homeowner's association," village President Sean Michels responded.

Well whose fault is that? Shouldn't the village have INSISTED that Mallard Point have one?? At least two or three different builders were involved. Why didn't that become mandatory as each new builder came along?

It's kind of late now. How would we be able to collect dues from everyone after the fact?
---------------

Mallard Point was built on the lowest point in all of Kane County. Why didn't the village make sure that a proper drainage plan was built. The retention area was not built properly. That is a fact confirmed by the Trotter Study. Why did the village NOT make sure that it was? Since they did not, aren't they responsible to help the residents? Shouldn't a resident be able to move into a house and not have to worry that his house will flood?
---------------

For those people who do not feel that all the residents of Sugar Grove should have to pay for this problem, do they then feel that the OWNER of the pond should? The residents of Mallard Point do NOT own this pond.

Mallard Point residents say village should take control
By Nancy Gier | Daily Herald Staff

A presentation of a preliminary engineering study on stormwater drainage problems in the Mallard Point subdivision led to a contentious 45-minute debate between some 30 Mallard Point residents and Sugar Grove village officials Tuesday.

The exchange took place at the committee of the whole meeting after a report from Mark Bushnell, a senior project engineer for Trotter and Associates.

Bushnell reported that effective drainage around the retention pond and wetlands in Mallard Point was blocked by overgrowths of vegetation and mud that were probably the work of beavers and muskrats.

"Many areas need maintenance," Bushnell concluded. The study was done over three days in February. The village held a special meeting for residents Jan. 27.

Residents of the Mallard Point subdivision, which is within the village, have complained of standing water in backyards, waterlogged basements and sky high electric bills due to having to run two or more sump pumps constantly. The original developer has filed for bankruptcy.

"What I want to know is, why wasn't this area maintained?" asked Blair Peters, who lives on Brookhaven Circle in the subdivision.

"Because you don't have a homeowner's association," village President Sean Michels responded.

"A mistake was made and the village needs to take ownership," Peters said. "There are many areas of the village that don't have a homeowner's association. The village should show support. That's where the disconnect is."

"The pond was there before the development," said Rick Montalto of Mallard Drive. "There's a general feeling that the village should take ownership."

Trustee Mary Heineman told the residents that the board had gained a "tremendous learning experience" in hearing their concerns and trying to solve the problem, but she cautioned those present that the village could not take over maintenance of all retention ponds.

"As much as I can sympathize, we can't commit to anything we don't have the numbers for," said Trustee Mari Johnson. "Don't walk away thinking this can all be fixed."

"We need to fix the problem, but we can't write a blank check," said Trustee Thomas Renk.

Michels told the residents that the village would have a contractor or public works employees clean up the area. He said further studies would be done to develop specific recommendations.

link: http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=276527

Does Mallard Point have to keep on fighting?
If so, who do we have to fight?
Whose responsibility is it to clean up the "pond?"
Whose responsibility is it to keep it clean?
Is the pond the ONLY problem?
Do drain tiles (or pipes) need to be connected all the way to the Rob Roy Creek?
Could that even happen?
Does the solution involve an HOA or an SSA? (And by the way, if you thought that if the residents of Mallard Point voted against an SSA-that would keep one away? Well, you would have been wrong. The right for the village to impose an SSA is there legally. And apparently you signed off on it when you bought your house.)

But I really don't want to get ahead of myself here.

Trotter's first phase was revealed at the meeting tonight.
BOTTOM LINE: The pond needs a lot of maintenance.

Looks like the village will be out helping to clean this up. Will a one-time clean up be enough? No way. This is going to have to be maintained regularly. An annual burn would help as well.

Several board members seemed very sympathetic to our plight. At least one wanted to make sure we knew that the board has to keep in mind that they have to be fiscally responsible to all of Sugar Grove.

All I know is when we bought this house, we had no idea that Mallard Point was like the lowest land in all of Kane County. We did not know that there was an unmaintained pond nearby. We were told they were protected wetlands. We did not know that those same wetlands would get clogged up and end up costing us our basement. Bringing us much stress. We lost a lot of money when the basement flooded. We lost the carpet as well as some furniture. We lost the funnest (is funnest a word??) room in our house. A place where our kids would play. A place my husband and son would play videos games. Gone. Likely to never be redone like it was. We are too gun-shy to put carpet back and currently too poor to pay the couple thousand it would take to replace.

What is this whole water situation doing to our already plummeting home value? Why would anyone want to buy a house in Mallard Point knowing that there is this water problem? A water problem that we don't even know the solution to. And a water problem that at least one board member is quick to remind us that is not the highest priority in Sugar Grove.