Residents demand action to fix Sugar Grove flooding

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Updated: March 24, 2012 11:24PM

SUGAR GROVE — A group of Mallard Point residents are demanding the village take immediate action to preserve a flooding fix deal already in place.

For 25 minutes at this week’s Village Board meeting, Mallard Point residents addressed the trustees, with some presenting pictures of their flooded homes.

Resident Laurie Geary, wife of village Trustee Kevin Geary, brought pictures of her flooded basement, porch and what she said was mold growing around her furnace.

“I have standing water. It never goes away,” she said.

She also passed around a jar of what she said was mold from her house and urged them to open the jar and smell inside.

“We have to live and breathe (mold) daily,” she said. “It’s killing my health. I hope you know that.”

In an e-mail to some residents in January, Village President Sean Michels wrote that the planned Mallard Point/Rolling Oaks drainage improvement project was not viable at this time. Michels said landwners had not granted easements to the village.

The village then sent a letter to all subdivision residents after receiving complaints about the e-mail.

Resident Michael Schoenberger said one of his sump pumps runs 24 hours a day and the other kicks on every 10 minutes.

“I had a $400 electric bill (one month) this summer,” he said. “You’ve got to be getting pretty damn tired of looking at all of us.”

Kevin Geary echoed his wife’s words.

“We’ve come so far. To abandon it now would be a slap in the face to the people of Mallard Point,” he said.

Trustee Mari Johnson said that the village’s attorney needs time to review recent documents from the Rob Roy Drainage District and landowners.

Trustee Rick Montalto, who also lives in the subdivision, said the village has spent $300,0000, more than any other entity involved, trying to get the deal done.

“We have never stopped working on it. We thought we were at impasses, but ... it looks like we’re going to be able to go forward,” he said.

Rob Roy Drainage District President Mike Fagel said the Rob Roy board approved an intergovernmental agreement that waived all permit fees related to the project.

In December 2010, the village and Kane County agreed to pay for about half of a $1.45 million to $1.75 million project to address flooding in the two subdivisions, both east of Route 47.

Under that plan, the residents in the subdivisions would pay for the other half over a period of 20 years.