Third party reviewing SSA petitions in Wonder Lake
By CRYSTAL LINDELL - clindell@nwherald.com
WONDER LAKE – An independent firm is reviewing anti-lake dredging petitions in Wonder Lake, and a decision is expected any day.
Hiring a third party to verify the signatures is in part an effort to avoid the pitfalls that another local community faced when trying to pass a special service area, said Randy Stowe, lake manager for the Master Property Owners Association, a group in favor of the dredging.
“Because of all the controversy with the Johnsburg SSA, the village just wants to make sure that whatever they announce is perfect in terms of its accuracy,” he said.
Johnsburg officials had proposed a costly sewer project in 2007. When residents submitted a petition in opposition to the special service area that Johnsburg implemented to pay for its project, village officials claimed that there weren’t enough signatures to stop it. However, residents since have successfully sued the village over the issue. Village trustees recently voted to appeal the court’s ruling.
Stowe said that was exactly the kind of process Wonder Lake wanted to avoid in its attempt to issue bonds to be paid for via a special service area, which adds to the property taxes of affected property owners. The village would facilitate the funding through bonds of up to $5.93 million to dredge the first million cubic yards of sediment from the lake. Residents then would repay the bonds through a fee on their property taxes for the next 20 years.
David Taussig & Associates Inc. of California has been hired to review the Wonder Lake anti-SSA petitions.
Wonder Lake Mayor Tony Topf said the bond agency also requested third-party verification of the signatures. He added that everyone anxiously awaits the decision.
“[The firm is] objective to the whole thing, so they’re going to take time and make sure it’s right,” he said.
The Stop Wonder Lake SSA group submitted the petitions in February. They must be signed by 51 percent of the registered voters within the SSA, and 51 percent of the landowners within the SSA to successfully halt the project.
Wonder Lake resident Rene Kleinhanzl, who opposes the SSA, said he was frustrated that it was taking so long for the petitions to be verified. He also said residents most likely would pursue legal action if it was decided that they did not have enough signatures.
“I don’t feel like it’s the right time [for the SSA] with the economy the way it is,” he said.
Paula Rose, another Wonder Lake resident who opposes the SSA, said she would rather give up her lake rights than pay. She lives off the lake and never uses it, she said.
“It just gets me so angry,” she said. “The timing is way off. When people are losing their homes, the last thing you want to think of is dredging a lake.”
Under the proposed special service area, all residents with lake rights would be included – or about 3,900 property owners.
According to information from the MPOA, a homeowner with property worth about $180,000 is expected to have to pay about $165 a year for 20 years.
Two million cubic yards of sediment still would need to be dredged, Stowe said, and officials hope to sell some of the sediment to soil contractors to fund that.
The lake dredging is needed because sediment has built up during the years to the point that boats cannot pass through some areas, SSA proponents said. Stowe has said that if something isn’t done now, it would be more costly to fix in the future.
“We’re hoping that things will move forward,” he said. “There’s a lot of people looking forward to it.”
Some residents opposed to the lake dredging have sent letters to government officials questioning how much the MPOA has spent pursuing the SSA. The organization is not a government agency and is not required to release documents under the Freedom of Information Act.
However, Stowe said he estimates that between legal fees and legal notices, the group has spent more than $20,000. He added that if the SSA were to move forward, money from the project would be used to pay back the MPOA.
