McHenry County Blog

Friends and fellow Lakewood residents:

I waited until after January 1st to send you this latest village board meeting update. Due to the holidays there was only one meeting and it occurred on December 14th. Several key issues were on the agenda.

• The replacement of the “company” that runs the Lakewood fire department,
• the tax levy for the entire village, and
• your individual SSA [Special Service Area] tax levies.

I also wanted to see what was going to happen with the sportsplex bond sale.

Well, the general tax levy was voted on. Due to the way the taxes are computed for each town, the general levy must be voted upon in advance.

While the levy passed was a 10.94% increase Lakewood is bound by the tax cap which will/should be around 2.7%.

While we passed the higher amount we can only levy what the county allows us to, so we pass what we want/need but can only collect what is allowed.

Confused yet?

It is our government at its finest.

Yes, your taxes will go up.

Yes your home is worth less.

No, it doesn’t make sense.

Depending on the area you live in, you might have a SSA. Most SSA’s are of minimal money taxed and collected. (Check your tax bill for your own SSA)

The most controversial SSA is #1. It covers the lakes.

Once again the committee recommended a lower amount of $105,000. Staff went against the committee and recommended higher amounts ($105,000 to $157,000) with varying reasons.

The biggest objection I raised was the replacement of the Weedo boat, which was purchased mid-summer last year.

I believe I used the word “preposterous” when asked about the request to allocate $5340 to replace a boat that was only 6 months old. I pointed to the fact that the boat was doing a great job of harvesting the algae.

If it kept doing the job it is supposed to do, we would not need the boat in 5-7 years when its life expectancy runs out. So why would we even think about replacing something that is only 6 months old?

They also wanted to add additional reserves to make repairs to the dam and spillway.

The belief is that the lakes, dam and spillway are important to the property values of ALL of the surrounding homes that are in SSA #1.

I personally do not believe that the lakes affect my home value.

I cannot prove that the lakes affect my home value negatively in the same way that certain people cannot prove they affect my homes value positively.

Not everything in Lakewood is on a doomsday collision course, as we are led to believe.

SSA#1 is set to expire in 2015 and will have to be resurrected by the homeowners once again.

Enough is enough with reaching into the pockets of many to satisfy a few. When the SSA expires we shall see how many people want to pay for the lakes and their maintenance.

At midnight New Years Eve, Woodstock Fire and Rescue took over operations at the Lakewood Fire Department.

American Emergency Services relinquished control to them in a friendly buyout. AES has done a great job of providing fire service to Lakewood for the past 4 years and Chief Jensen should be commended and thanked.

New Chief Webster and his crew will eventually combine manpower and equipment to provide Lakewood with fire and ambulance service at the lowest cost possible.

Hopefully this rings true in the coming years and we don’t get into another “problem” like we had with a certain town to the east. Lakewood Fire Department will still exist as it has in the past.

As you have seen in the papers the sportsplex failed to sell the tax free bonds by the 12/31 date.

In subsequent articles on subsequent days the sportsplex people reiterated that the project will still go forward.

I initially did vote “yes” on this project allowing the sportsplex people to go ahead and sell this project to investors and the public.

Well they failed to “sell” the project.

What does this mean?

We shall see over the next few days when several other key issues expire. Will they act on them, get extensions or simply let the project die?

A member of the audience asked if the gas station and fast food restaurant could still be built without the sportsplex.

Unfortunately, those projects are tied together. We lose one we lose them all.

I still believe the project has merit. I think on a much smaller scale it could be built and be profitable. But I am not a sportsplex expert. Perhaps someone else is.

You also saw that Redtail might run out of money if it continues on its same path. Over the next few months we shall go over that budget as well as all of the budgets for all departments.

Deep cuts will have to be made, and feelings will get hurt.

I am sure every one of us has already felt the economic downturn in our own homes.

Not every job and every salary can be saved.

Lastly, I recently completed and turned in my petition to run for this office again. Thanks to all who signed my petition during the blizzard.

Julie Richardson and Jeff Iden are running against each other for the 2 year term; there is only 1 seat.

Myself, Carl Davis, Blake Hobson and Gary Sexson are running for the 4 year terms; there are only 3 seats. The election is in April so you should start to see some campaigning in late February.

I have tried to do my best to represent you in my elected position. I have tried to listen to each and every one of you. I and you do not agree all of the time but I feel that as long as we can respect each other then we are heading in the right direction.

I was asked by a fellow trustee why I did not vote the same way the rest of the board did.

I told him I vote the way the people ask me to vote.

I told him that was my job

Your trustee and hopefully your friend

Kenneth M Santowski

Lakewood Village Trustee Ken Santowski writes up his thoughts on village board meetings and shares them with constituents who are interested.

His thoughts on the last village board meeting follow:

Board update from November 9th, 2010

The meeting this week was about several key issues. The meeting covered

• Bonds for “a construction project” in Lakewood,
• repairs to the dam,
• utilities out to Route 47 and
• the estimated Tax levy.

Sometimes when I am preparing for these meetings I simply open up the top of my skull, pull out what little brains I have left, fill back up with oatmeal and pretend to know that I know what the heck I am doing.

Tax Levy Considerations

Let’s start with the easy one; the tax levy.

As we all know even in death, we are responsible for taxes. The EAV (equalized assessed value) of the village is not known until March of 2011.

But the estimated tax must be decided prior to that date. So, the village has to provide the county an EAV not to exceed 105% of the previous year.

With the annexations and a few homes built this past year, the village has experienced a growth in its total value, but is expected to experience a 7-10% DECREASE in the EAV, but an inflow of about $25,000 due to the new properties.

Confused yet?

I have been a part of these proceedings for the last 4 years and only have just started to understand those numbers.

Special Service Area Considerations  – Dam Repairs

Along with the tax levy, we had a discussion about the Special Service Areas (SSA’s).

As in the past, SSA#1 has had the most discussion. If you are not sure if you are in an SSA, check your tax bill and look in the line items. SSA#1 covers the lakes area.

Last year the levy for SSA#1 (in Turnberry) as $142,000 which included about $27,000 to buy the Weedo Boat and trailer.

Last year I imagined that this year’s levy would be about $115,000 which included money for dam repairs and lake maintenance, but excluded the money spent for the boat.

The Lakes committee recommended $105,000, staff wanted $125,000.

Several board members want to raise the levy back up to $140,000.

I do not agree with them.

Their justification is that the difference between the $105,000 and the $140,000.00 is only a few dollars.

My question is how many times can we continue to force open our wallets for a few dollars?

Sooner or later, the wallet is empty.

Recently the board had allocated money to get an inspection of the dam, spillway and pad.

t this point the “pad” took front attention.

Two alternatives were presented.

• Replacement at a cost of $145,000 or
• repairs for $113,000.

One resident questioned whether either was needed at this point since the spillway and pad are only utilized during heavy rain events. Also he was concerned about the economic impact to residents who would be paying for it. Further discussion to take place during budget talks.

More tomorrow.

Ken Santowski’s best paragraph in his report to constituents below is the last one.

I’m putting it up top because it is so good:

Fell free to rant, yell or simply come by for a drink. I am thinking about having “cocktails with Ken” with residents to get us all through what appears to be a potentially long winter (according to the forecasts).

My fellow residents-

I once again apologize for the delay in my update(s). I wish I had a great excuse like I was traveling around the world, or was in a world poker tournament, but neither would be the truth.

For those who did not hear of the public incident, the village and fire department recently honored 2 citizens for their efforts in aiding a fellow citizen who suffered a heart attack. The resident Michael Ahem survived and was there again to thank Jessica Etten and John Wall.  [Dr. Wall was one of my physicians.]

The parks and recreation committee presented the board with several options to replace the entry way signs into Lakewood.

Of the options presented, most of the board and audience seemed to like the brick and composite material design. They estimated that each sign would cost about $2000 each. Unfortunately their fundraising efforts have not raised the funds they had hoped for, so at this point they are asking the village to pay for these signs out of the general funds.

Based on the number of signs built and installed we could be looking at spending as little as $2000 up to $10,000 to replace all the signs and install new ones where they would be needed. Future meetings by the committee will help establish a budget for the project as well as placement of signs. Since the addition of property along Route 47 we probably should be putting some type of signs letting travelers know that they are passing (and hopefully stopping) thru Lakewood.

Engineering for the water tower was approved in the amount of $38,800.  This is part of the $2.5 million bond issued to rebuild the tower in Turnberry.

Inspection services were also approved for the new tower in the amount of $18,594. I did question the contracts other potential costs that could happen, but most likely will not. Their base rate for inspection is $75 per man hour, but they also listed travel time at $72 per hour plus wanted mileage and per diems. Based on today’s economy I thought that was a little excessive. I asked Public Works Director Paul Ruscko permission to call Dixon engineering to discuss those “options” and their related costs. Hopefully we won’t have to make that call.

There was also a request to spend $3,500 out of the SSA#1 fund to do some actual inspection of the concrete spillway on Lake #2.

As you may recall there was a significant tax increase to the residents of SSA#1 to help fund the purchase of the Weedo boat and start saving for repairs to the dam.

SSA#1 expires in 2015 and those that live around the lakes (as well as others) are concerned that the SSA will not be renewed.

Apparently the committee did not want that amount spent and made that recommendation to the chairperson .

I questioned why we as a board put this committee together and once again are going against their recommendations.

President Smith stated that we go with most recommendations put forth by the committees.  I am not sure what recommendations she was referring to are. The spending was approved and hopefully it will allow us to have a better understanding of the integrity of the dam and spillway.

The bike path project seems to be rolling along. Apparently there were some questions about the project and we shall see what happens during the next part of the project.

I am not sure what significance the foreclosure of the Donald Swanson property will have upon the SportsComplex.

Apparently on September 14th, 2010 Harvard State Bank filed a foreclosure notice against the property at 11717 Pleasant Valley Road in the amount of $1,172.497.73 The case # 10CH212. The sale date is listed as 10/14/2010. We will have to see is this is just a mere formality.

Election packets are now available for pickup at Village Hall and the County building. If you are interested in running for one of the 4 open seats please do so.

The village newsletter and fall cleanup letter went out electronically to residents. If you did not receive one please let me know and I will send it to you. [This Lakewood resident didn't receive one.]

The Styrofoam bins are in place throughout the village. There is one at my home. Please do not throw your white Styrofoam in the garbage. Save it up, and place it in the bins throughout the village, including my home. It is there to use.

Lastly, as you know I send this update to you personally to keep you informed about what is happening within the village board meetings.

Whether you agree with me or want to see me strung up from the water tower, I encourage you to let me know how you feel about things going on in the village.

Fell free to rant, yell or simply come by for a drink. I am thinking about having “cocktails with Ken” with residents to get us all through what appears to be a potentially long winter (according to the forecasts).

Thanks for reading this,
Ken Santowski
Cell 847-910-2985
Work 847-429-1926

From the White Oaks Bay Newsletter:

LAKE DREDGING PLAN is back to square one after one year of waiting for the County Assessors Office to figure out who lives where and in what PIN Number. 

All bids for dredging are now over one year old and will have to be rebid again. 

A hearing is scheduled for Dec 17 at the Greenwood School. 

One year ago a vote was passed at the MPOA monthly meeting to proceed with plans to dredge Wonder Lake.  A Special Service Area will help pay for the initial phase at a cost of $5.9 million.  The final vote for approval was 39 for and 27 against with one abstention. 

Wonder Lake was created in 1929 and has accumulated 3 million cubic yards of sediment according to the M.P.O.A.  In order to improve water quality, boat access and fishing, dredging of the lake has been discussed since 1964. 

Dredging would focus on the South Bay, the West Bay south of the islands, and White Oaks Bay as well as restoration of the islands.  We should have more information on lake dredging in the December MPOA Newsletter.

I think there should be the ability for property owners to raise money for projects that would benefit their properties, but SSA procedures are not friendly to democracy.

Instead of requiring a positive petition favoring a project, those who don’t want it have to get an ungodly percentage of voters and property owners to sign a petition objecting to the proposal.

If the governmental entity making the proposal were democracy-friendly, it would make any such tax hiking proposal during the summer when the maximum number of property owners are around on weekends.

Forcing people to seek objectors’ signatures in the middle of winter just adds to the speculation that something unfair is being done.

Logic seems to be taking a hit, according to those who are long-time residents.

If one of the main purposes is “boat access,” why dredge South and West Bay? The old timers can’t remember when they have been navigable.

As far as improving fishing goes, some ask if shallows are good spawning grounds.

From the White Oaks Bay Newsletter:

LAKE DREDGING PLAN is back to square one after one year of waiting for the County Assessors Office to figure out who lives where and in what PIN Number. 

All bids for dredging are now over one year old and will have to be rebid again. 

A hearing is scheduled for Dec 17 at the Greenwood School. 

One year ago a vote was passed at the MPOA monthly meeting to proceed with plans to dredge Wonder Lake.  A Special Service Area will help pay for the initial phase at a cost of $5.9 million.  The final vote for approval was 39 for and 27 against with one abstention. 

Wonder Lake was created in 1929 and has accumulated 3 million cubic yards of sediment according to the M.P.O.A.  In order to improve water quality, boat access and fishing, dredging of the lake has been discussed since 1964. 

Dredging would focus on the South Bay, the West Bay south of the islands, and White Oaks Bay as well as restoration of the islands.  We should have more information on lake dredging in the December MPOA Newsletter.

I think there should be the ability for property owners to raise money for projects that would benefit their properties, but SSA procedures are not friendly to democracy.

Instead of requiring a positive petition favoring a project, those who don’t want it have to get an ungodly percentage of voters and property owners to sign a petition objecting to the proposal.

If the governmental entity making the proposal were democracy-friendly, it would make any such tax hiking proposal during the summer when the maximum number of property owners are around on weekends.

Forcing people to seek objectors’ signatures in the middle of winter just adds to the speculation that something unfair is being done.

Logic seems to be taking a hit, according to those who are long-time residents.

If one of the main purposes is “boat access,” why dredge South and West Bay? The old timers can’t remember when they have been navigable.

As far as improving fishing goes, some ask if shallows are good spawning grounds.