Mill Creek Special Services Area Answers Several Frequently Asked Questions
February 7, 2010
I recently submitted a series of questions to the Mill Creek SSA. The answers are in italics below, followed by my non-italicized comments if any.
Financial Information
1. What was the beginning of the year 2009 cash balance in the Fund 520 Mill Creek Special Services Area account?
I will also send you the financial graph I hand out at the meetings.
(Here is the link to the graph provided to me): Calc Fund40 2009-1.
I also note that the SSA website still shows the 2008 Financial Report, even though the 2009 fiscal year ended at the end of November. Why isn’t this posted?
2. What was the beginning of the year 2009 cash balance in any reserve account that may exist for the Mill Creek Special Services Area?
Same as above. Only one account.
3 . How many homes and businesses are taxed by the Mill Creek SSA?
I sent the request to the Blackberry Township office for a number of tax paying properties in Mill Creek. They have a number of 2140 properties, both residential and commercial, in Blackberry Township that have the SSA as a line item on the taxes. This does also include vacant land, as the tax is levied even before a home goes in. I haven’t gotten a figure on the properties in Geneva Township yet.
4. Are all currently occupied homes and neighborhoods within Mill Creek being taxed by the Mill Creek SSA? If not, which neighborhoods/addresses are not and why not?
All homes are responsible for their portion of the SSA. There is a group of about 30 homes in the “W” neighborhood that have not been included up to now, but the Kane County attorney is working with the Shodeen attorney to have these included as soon as possible. These homes do not take an entire street, but the homes are located on Benton and Holland Lanes.
Asking for more detail on this, since the homes in the area of Benton and Holland Lane have been occupied for several years now, I got the following response.
As far a the homes that are in the W neighborhood, I have explained all that I know. The homes were never annexed into the SSA – I was not here at that time so I don’t have an explanation – but now the proceedings have begun to get them added to the SSA levy. The specific homes are listed as an attachment to the legal document – it’s about 30 homes. As far as the current status on the proceedings, that is completely in the attorney’s hands. As soon as it is ready, I understand there will be a public hearing and then they will be added to the SSA levy. I don’t have any information other than what I’ve told you. You would have to contact the attorneys for more detailed information.
5. Is there any type of Tax Increment Financing District or other special financial agreements regarding the Mill Creek Village Center?
No TIF districts exist around Mill Creek, as TIF districts are reserved for blighted areas.
6. How is taxation different for Mill Creek Village Center properties vs. non Village Center properties?
I don’t have that information – you can call the tax assessor’s office for Blackberry Township at 630-365-9109.
7. What is the current Mill Creek SSA tax assessment per $100 Equalized Assessed Value.
For tax year 2008, payable 2009, it was approximately $.26/$100 EAV. We can tax up to $.50/$100 EAV.
8. Can you provide details on the various Mill Creek Homeowners Associations and where they are located and functioning.
The Village Center area is the only area with an HOA. The three property management companies for that area are Caruso Management, Baum Properties and Shodeen Management. I don’t have a map of their responsibility.
9. In this tough economy, with tax revenue declining, what is the Mill Creek SSA doing to economize for 2010?
We always base our project load on the money in the SSA, taking in account for additional road repairs or other infrastructure costs. Staff, along with the Advisory Body take everything in consideration when planning for special or larger projects and will postpone if necessary. We have been very conscious to make sure everything looks great and functions properly while still being very aware of overall costs. We plan on continuing this through 2010.
Services
1. Why does the Mill Creek SSA pay to remove beavers and dams that have caused problems for a privately owned golf course?
The SSA is responsible for maintenance on all ponds within Mill Creek, which allows environmental consistency for the health of the ponds. If you would like further details about this, I will arrange a conference with our Water Resources Engineer and Director, who can properly detail the answer to your question.
I have been requesting that the SSA provide additional information on this topic for the last few weeks. My follow-up request has been that they provide a legally binding document that has committed this maintenance as an SSA expense, rather than an expense for the golf course owner or the MCWRD. So far, the SSA has not been able to produce any such document, nor a written response beyond that published above, as to why they believe the SSA is responsible. Here is the latest SSA response.
I have requested a statement from the Water Resources Director about the SSA’s obligation to the pond maintenance. The environmental health of the pond water is a collective responsibility as it travels towards the creek and the SSA’s responsibility is truly to the actual water within the pond and its health. Any ground around the ponds in the golf courses (or other private property) are still the responsibility of the owner. I will pass the statement to you as well when I receive it.
I can only assume at this point that there is no such legally binding document and that with on average nearly a million dollars sitting the the SSA account, the SSA is a deep pocket to tap. I’m still waiting for the response promised above. If I get one, I will post it.
2. Why does the Mill Creek SSA pay to aerate ponds on the privately owned golf courses?
Same as above.
3. Why does the Mill Creek SSA have responsibility for parking lots in the Village Center? Why isn’t this Blackberry Township or the Developer’s responsibility?
The parking lots are considered private property and Shodeen pays a contractor for maintenance. The only parking spaces we plow are the ones along Herrington Blvd because they are in the dedicated right-of-way.
4. In the last meeting minutes, a statement was made regarding snow removal at King and Chadsworth? Is the Mill Creek SSA removing snow from Developer owned unoccupied homes for sale at this location or anywhere else in Mill Creek?
No. All of our areas are open common space. The area at King and Chadsworth is on the NW corner and is common area. Snow removal in front of residential properties are the responsibility of the owners.
5. What is the agreement with the Kane County Sheriff’s office regarding additional patrols?
We contract them for additional dedicated patrol times throughout the month as permitted in the ordinance.
6. What is the cost of each hour of additional Sheriff’s patrols?
$43.00/hour. The officers receive a portion of that and the Sheriff’s Department collects the rest for administrative costs.
7. Are the Sheriff’s patrol cars on duty as additional shifts and required to restrict their patrols to areas within Mill Creek or are they on regular duty as Kane County Sheriff’s officers and responding to calls outside of Mill Creek?
The deputies sign up for the extra duties which are worked on their own time off. During the detail time, they are dedicated to the Mill Creek neighborhood. Regular patrol will handle outside calls during that time.
8. Do we have documented crime reduction from the additional police presence?
The deputies have reported that since the detail started, the numbers of ticket-able violations have declined and the reports of vandalism have decreased. The Sheriff’s Department should be able to provide a more detailed analysis or report. Many residents have commented on how the general police presence has also kept the speeding down.
Following up on the responses above, I obtained the monthly schedule for the additional patrols for January. We spent about $4,000 for the month, assuming all the shifts were manned. I have to wonder though whether having 11:00 PM to 4:00 AM patrols on various weeknights in January is doing anything to reduce crime in Mill Creek. I can see it in the warm weather months, but not from November through March.
9. Why do we spend so much money on tallgrass prairie restoration? For most of us, weeds are weeds and Mill Creek should not act like we are the Morton Arboretum.
The Mill Creek area has a very vast selection of wildflowers and other native plants. The development of the residential areas, as well as previous landscapers’ inexperience, created areas that were more weeds than wildflowers. Most of the homeowners who purchased lots along or adjacent to these native areas wanted to see more than just invasive weeds and unkempt areas. We hired Tallgrass Restoration to do a floristic study of the area at the request of the Advisory Body and staff. I have a copy of that study for anyone who wants to see it. They are licensed ecologists who are much more qualified than us to restore our natural areas and improve the overall look of the neighborhood, and have been working with each individual area as specifically needed. We, and the surrounding residents of the areas treated, are very pleased with the results. The SSA is not trying to make Mill Creek into something it’s not; just trying to restore it to what it should be.
I contracted Tall Grass Restoration and they provided me a copy of the 2007 Floristic Survey and other documents which I have posted in their entirety in this post. They indicated that since the 2007 baseline floristic survey, they have performed spot herbicide applications to weed such as thistle, reed canary grass, teasel, yarrow and cattails. They have also removed willows around a few ponds, and occasionally mowed weeds such a white and yellow sweet clover, and yellow mustard. They have also burned almost all of the areas at least once in the past three years. They also indicated that they will be recommending that a 2010 floristic survey be done to track changes from the 2007 baseline survey.
10. There is a common perception that the seasonal landscaping and holiday lights have gotten progressively more elaborate and costly each year. Why have we allowed this to happen?
The landscaping and holiday lighting costs increase because the areas we service increases. This year we added the Y neighborhood to the holiday lighting schedule. We also created some new landscaping beds at the entrance of the O neighborhood and took over maintenance along the Dobson Street bridge area. As the number of new areas acquired each year decreases, the pricing will appear more constant.
There is no doubt that the landscaping has gotten more elaborate over the years in areas that are not new. I noted it in this June, 2008 in this post. And for the best example of ridiculous SSA expenditures on landscaping, take a drive in season over to the fake windmill turnabout along Keslinger west of Friendship Way. I guess with the big budget noted above, we can afford to lansdscape things years before the area is completed.
11. There is also a common perception that the Mill Creek SSA pays for things that should be the responsibility of the golf courses and/or the developer. How can you assure residents that this is not the case?
We are bound by our ordinance to spend SSA levied funds on the common areas within Mill Creek. The SSA does not and will not own any of the property, but will maintain the common dedicated spaces. This does not include undeveloped lots, as those are still considered private property. If anyone has a question about where we maintain, they can certainly contact our office at 630-208-7643.
Or you can start by looking at the landscape map I have posted here.
12. When does the lease on the SSA office in the Village Center expire? And are there plans to extend this or will it lapse?
We have a 5-year lease on our office space, which will be up for renewal by September 2012. We will keep the office space as it is intended to be for all Special Service Areas. Currently, Mill Creek has the only active SSA, but as additional Special Service Areas are developed, such as Settlements of La Fox, they will share in the expenses of the office space, as they will also benefit from it.
Advisory Board
1. Please detail the process for a resident to join the advisory board.
If a resident is interested in serving on the Mill Creek SSA Advisory Body, I would first invite him/her to attend a meeting or two and get involved in some of the discussions. That person can then send me a resume and a letter of interest. Staff will pass along the information to the Chairman of the County Board, who then will call for an interview (more like a meet-and-greet) to get to know the potential Advisory Body member. Then the process goes before the County Board for approval of the resolution appointing the candidate for the term.
2. My understanding is that these are three year terms. Can you detail the end dates for each current member and when openings may occur.
The Advisory Body members serve 2-year terms and are typically reappointed at the end of the term. If desired or necessary, he/she may resign at any time by submitting a written request. We are currently considering opening an additional two positions to provide more opportunities for representation by some of the newer areas.
The names of the Advisory Body members are on the website, but here are their terms: Brian Grinstead (up for reappointment), Jackie Forbes (01/11), Ron Preston (06/11), Sandra Rolnicki (06/11), Carol Frey (up for reappointment), Carin Foote (up for reappointment), Mark Ruby (06/11), Karen Kosog (06/11) and one open position.
See my earlier post here for my comments on this. Some turnover on the Advisory Board would be a good thing in the absence of any other meaningful attempt to bring more transparency to the SSA.
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Hi, I was searching for the MCWRD and found this site…. My question is unrelated to this post, but I was wondering if anyone is experiencing the same problem I have been..
Because the MCWRD bill is a postcard, it often gets “lost in the mail”. This past bill came almost a month late (I received it yesterday, it was due Jan 28). One time it came 2 months after the due date. I find this frustrating because we rely on the bill to remind us when it is due since there is no auto debit or email bill option.
Anyone else find this frustrating?