Minutes of the December 9th Mill Creek SSA Meeting
December 17, 2009
Minutes of the Mill Creek Special Services Advisory Body
December 9, 2009
The meeting of the Mill Creek Special Services Advisory Body was held on Wednesday,
December 9, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. in the Kane County SSA Offices at 39W250 Herrington
Boulevard in the Mill Creek Village Center. The following members were in attendance:
Sandra Rolnicki Karen Kosog Jackie Forbes
Brian Grinstead
Also, in attendance:
Mark VanKerkhoff, Director, Development Department
Jennie Gatske, Program Manager, Staff Coordinator
Mary Anne Hoye, Administrative Officer
Mill Creek Residents in Attendance:
Chris Evert, Tanna Neighborhood
Ms. Gatske introduced Mark VanKerkhoff to the Advisory Body. With Phil Bus’
retirement, Mr. VanKerkhoff will be assuming his duties as Director of the Development
and Community Services Department. The Advisory Body welcomed Mark to the
meeting.
1. Minutes (October 14, 2009)
The minutes of the October 14, 2009 meeting were approved unanimously.
2. Public Comment
Chris Evert stated that the snow hadn’t been removed from the sidewalk on Chadsworth
and King Drives. Ms. Gatske stated she would relay the information to the contractor.
3. Holiday Lighting
The Advisory Body concurred that the holiday lights and garland look very good this
year. One question was asked about the random trees picked at Fabyan Parkway and
South Mill Creek Drive. Ms. Gatske stated that it looks as though those trees were
chosen as accent trees to lead drivers into Mill Creek along S. Mill Creek Drive. The
Advisory Body also stated it was nice to see the lights on the week of Thanksgiving.
Chris Evert stated there were available outlets at the bridge on Friendship Way that could
be an option for electrical access for holiday lighting next year. Ms. Gatske stated she
would contact the electrical contractor and see what would be necessary to get electrical
power to the monument sign for holiday lights and will mention the outlets as an option.
4. Landscaping and Maintenance
Member Kosog stated that the mums did look good this fall, but asked if there was a
reason for the timing of the planting. She stated that they seemed to go in late, but still
faded early. Ms. Gatske explained that the variety of mum and its blooming time have a
big impact of the life of the plant, as well as the amount of rainfall received at that time.
October was a very wet month and mums prefer drier weather; this may have been a
contributor to the short life of the blooms. Ms. Gatske stated that if a later bloom is
selected, sometimes it results in the planting beds looking like plain green plants until
they flower. She also stated that the standard for planting of the mums is the last week of
September to the first week of October. Ms. Gatske stated that staff can look into other
varieties of flowers in the fall with different blooming times.
Ms. Gatske stated that the landscaping bids had been received and staff is currently
reviewing references and submittals for the contractors. She stated that a final decision
will be reported at the February meeting.
5. Traffic Detail
Jennie Gatske distributed the traffic detail calendar for December.
6. Financials
Jennie Gatske distributed the financial report for the period ending October 2009. She
stated that the November report has not been sent because it is also the end-of-year report
for the fiscal year-end 2009. She stated that she will post the final 2009 financials on the
website which will also include additional revenue transferred from the reserve amount
for the additional costs related to infrastructure improvements, such as sidewalk repair,
snow plowing and pond aeration.
7. Other Business
Jennie Gatske stated that the gazebo at Hubbard Place and South Mill Creek Drive had
been vandalized again last month. She stated that she had contacted The Deck Yard
earlier in the year who informed her that the manufacturer had gone out of business and
they were currently researching where they could acquire the replacement spindles. Ms.
Gatske stated that will keep working with them on the replacement parts; otherwise, she
will see if another contractor can fabricate similar spindles for the gazebo.
8. Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m. The next meeting will be on Wednesday,
February 10, 2010 at the Kane County Government Center, Building A at 7:00 pm.
__________________________________
Jennie Gatske
Staff Coordinator
Mill Creek SSA
Comments
11 Responses to “Minutes of the December 9th Mill Creek SSA Meeting”
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Hey Evert: i shovel my own sidewalk, whay am I paying for shoveling yours?
is that really what the SSA is for?
think about it for a minute: is that REALLY what the SSA is about?
we are in a serious economic depression
people are losing their home values, their 401k, and their jobs, and these elitists worry about plantings and lights and gazebos! wtf!?!?!
the $$ i contribute to the SSA every year is not going to break my bank, but let’s put it to good use:
pick your charity:
feed the homeless
help the sick and elderly
take care of the kids
just STOP with the NONSENSE!!!
wtf?
I took a look at King and Chadsworth yesterday. I saw nothing there that I’d consider to be the SSA’s responsibility regarding snow removal. In fact, there is a vacant, brand new house for sale, that was completely plowed, even though it was still snowing. Interesting……………………..
not interesting…
re-donk-u-lous!
criminal
laughable
obscene
ignorant
typical
depressing
OK, if you actually attended the meeting or were even the remotest bit familiar with the SSA, you would know that the statement “Ms. Gatske stated she would relay the information to the contractor.” means that it is NOT the SSA’s responsibility to remove the snow but Ms. Gatske will talk to the contractor BUILDING that home and remind the CONTRACTOR that is their responsibility to remove the snow from the sidewalk. The SSA also functions as a point person so that all you homeowners (me included) do not have to keep track of all the different contractors, service companies, etc when something goes awry. Geez, attend a meeting once in awhile and you’d learn this kind of stuff.
Good point. The meeting minutes said:
“Ms. Gatske stated she would relay the information to the contractor.”
It was not an unreasonable assumption to think that she would relay the information to the SSA’ contractor for snow removal services.
As you point out, there are numerous contractors working in Mill Creek.
If it was clear from attending the meeting that she was referring this to the developer or property owner or Shodeen, then the minutes should have clearly stated that.
robertloggia, you are incorrect.
The SSA is not the liason between the builder and the contractors.
That is not their function and it shouldn’t be.
Are you familiar with the 22 services listed on the website?
None of them indicate they are the liason or extension of the builder or the contractors.
That would be just another case of the builder off-loading private costs to someone else.
A more accurate understanding of the statement would be that the SSA paid someone to do something (aka “contracting out”). They would then have authority to contact the person paid (aka “the contractor”) and find out why it wasn’t done.
The SSA is functioning as a tool of the builder.
Wake up.
WTF – Re-read what I wrote. I did not say that the SSA is a liaison “between the builder and the contractors”. I said “The SSA also functions as a point person so that all you HOMEOWNERS (me included) do not have to keep track of all the different contractors, service companies, etc when something goes awry.” They are a good source to go to when WE (HOMEOWNERS) have an issue with something going on in the neighborhood. Sometimes, it is something the SSA takes care of, lots of times they just simply know who to tell you to call (or will call themselves) to have the proper person/company/contractor fix the issue. Call the SSA yourself and find out exactly what Ms. Gatske did regarding the snow removal. I’m sure she will state as I’m sure she did at the meeting that she called the contractor responsible for that piece of land to remind them they need to keep their sidewalks plowed during the building of the new home. I did not attend that particular meeting, but I was at a meeting back last winter where the exact same issue came up. It comes up every winter. I’m thankful that we can just call the SSA to have sidewalks cleared or sidewalks repaired or dead trees removed, rather than call Shodeen Corp. or Blackberry Township or Havlecek Build. or Geneva Township.
Again, it is very apparent that you have never attended a meeting. I have attended many, and have never, ever felt that the SSA is “functioning as a tool of the builder.” Occasionally, some ideas are explored that I do not agree with (i.e. developing the traffic circle by Rejoice Church), but the SSA advisory body did not love that idea either and it did not happen. The advisory body are homeowners just like yourselves and appear to be a good representation of Mill Creek as a whole. It functions very similarly to Homeowners Associations that my former home was part of in the past, but I find it preferable because the “dues” are on our property taxes instead of being a separate payment that, too often, homeowners choose not to pay. It is much more difficult to NOT pay your property tax.
If you are unhappy with the choices being made by the SSA, I challenge you to be an Advisory Body member, they seem to be always looking for new members and would welcome your input. Plus it would be very interesting to have the perspective here of someone actually on the Advisory Body. Walkin’ the walk instead of just talkin’ the talk.
WTF has the right idea…. ABOLISH THE SSA
This mention of the SSA paying to remove snow in front of a vacant, newly constructed home is consistent with other ridiculous spending that has been going on here. Why does the SSA pay to aerate the ponds on the golf courses? Why does the SSA pay to remove beaver dams that are causing flooding on the golf course fairways? The list goes on and on.
Until someone from the County, or the SSA can tell us exactly WHICH properties the SSA maintains, What the bylaws of the SSA are, how taxation is different on “Village Center” and “non-Village Center” properties, it is unlikely that any qualified candidate will seek membership on this advisory committee.
The term of committee members are to be for three years. Many, if not most current members have been on the committee for much longer. Do these terms expire? And who at the County determines which of us peon taxpayers is “qualified” to serve on this committee?
Come on people, wake up! This is your money! Until we get the SSA to answer the above questions, we will be stuck with an advisory committee that is most concerned with Christmas decorations and the planting of the mums.
The voters of Mill Creek came out in strong support of Drew Frasz last year, as we were tired of the status quo. We can’t let him let us down.
itsme – Get your facts right. None of what you said above is true. Again, OBVIOUS you have never attended a meeting. The SSA does not remove snow from vacant newly constructed homes – the contractor building the home does that. SSA does not pay for ANYTHING on the golf course properties. Having attended many meetings, residents will often come to the meetings and bring up some issue and the SSA will respond “that’s not our property – it’s the golf course’s, but we will contact them FOR YOU and let them know their ponds are stagnant”. If you don’t believe me, call up the SSA yourself and ASK!
The reason so many Advisory Body members have served so long on the SSA is because NO ONE else volunteers to do this position (and I guess they don’t mind serving for so long.) Personally, I have considered it, but I can’t commit to every meeting and am busy with other volunteer duties. And in the end, I am happy with most of the Body’s decisions.
Pull out your Covenants (if you don’t have one, get it from the SSA), it tells you EXACTLY which land the SSA maintains. If you need a more visual view, go to a meeting and they can show you on a map. I’m sure if you called the SSA office, Ms. Gatske would arrange a time for you to come in and she’ll show you on the map.
Any “peon taxpayer” of Mill Creek is qualified to serve on this Advisory Body, just ask Ms.Gatske if you would like to serve on this volunteer Advisory Body. There is a limit to how many people total can be on the Body, but they are not usually at max.
Until the people of Mill Creek start attending THEIR SSA meetings, become EDUCATED about THEIR SSA, and getting involved with THEIR SSA, it seems as if they will continue to spread rumors and lies without any facts behind them.
I spoke extensively with Jennie Gatske this morning and submitted a written series of questions to her for an official response. Once I receive them, I will post them.
For the record, I am not in the “abolish the SSA” camp. It serves a useful purpose and has a big impact on quality of life and maintaining resale value of our homes. I do however want the dollars spent responsibly.
From my conversation this morning, regarding the King and Chadsworth snow removal question, the SSA does not remove snow from the Shodeen home for sale at the SW corner of the intersection. There is an estimated 30 feet of sidewalk on the NW corner that is common area and is the SSA’s responsibility.
This is the sidewalk in question.
We also spoke about the pond aeration issue. Turns out that the SSA is responsible for all ponds, including any on the golf courses within Mill Creek. Since the SSA does not own any property, I questioned why the SSA is responsible for any pond maintenance on someone else’s property, especially a private, for profit enterprise. She is researching the history and ordinances etc to get me an answer. Once I get that, I will post it.
Finally… some fact-based comments…
Makes sense about the 30 feet of sidewalk on the NW corner – if it’s common area, then it is SSA maintained and if there is a good reason for the sidewalk to be plowed (i.e. kids use that sidewalk to walk to a bus stop or to school), then by all means the SSA should be plowing it since they are responsible for maintaining that land. We happen to live next door to a common area that has a sidewalk, but we always just plow it ourselves – its not that big of a deal, but I guess technically the SSA should do it.
I will be interested in hearing why the SSA maintains the golf course ponds. Like I said in a previous post, usually the golf course issues are always deferred to the Golf Course owners, so I don’t know why the ponds are different.
Thanks for getting some real facts instead of perpetuating rumors.