Village residents unhappy with assessment

HOWARDS GROVE – Village residents of Howards Grove residing at Conrad Court and Glen Avenue are unhappy with the village’s assessment of cul de sacs on the street for future road construction.

Tom Damrow wanted more answers on how the inconsistencies of cul de sacs were handled. He felt that he had already paid for some of the footage assessed.

Ralph and Joan Schwerin also explained that they were being charged for full frontage and front footage of all the lots combined.

Mary Zore and Scott Schramm explained that they were assessed for their full frontage and that the front footage of all the lots included in a project are added together and divided into the total cost of the project to get the front foot charge.

Dick Nack also felt that he is paying for all of the cost of cul de sac. Zore explained that the cost would be a lot higher and that it was a misunderstanding. The village spreads all of the cost evenly, based on the front footage of each of the lots.

Schramm stated that this is the way the village has handled assessments for over 20 years. All decisions have been made on past practice and public works looks at inconsistencies and compares them with past projects.

Damrow also wondered if Miller’s Glen Golf Course was assessed. Zore replied that he was not considered because he no access to any of the streets.

Damrow wanted to know what a corner lot credit was. Zore told him that was a condition made so a property owner wouldn’t get charged double.

Damrow had many other questions for the village board members and it was decided that the Public Works Committee take another look at the issues.

Village president James Scheiber reported that the plan commission met with the towns of Herman and Mosel to share transportation maps, landscaping, building and aesthetic requirements. The village will share a copy of the standards for them to incorporate into their code.

Scheiber thought that there were things the village could do to improve communications in the village. He gave examples of stakes placed in a yard on Millersville Avenue.

“We need to inform residents of what we are doing and that someone will be in their yard,” said Scheiber.

Also the Piggly Wiggly sign ordinance wasn’t followed through. “We can do a lot better on communicating,” Scheiber informed the board. He felt that maybe an action list of items being worked on could be started.

Scheiber said he received a call about the village Web site not being user-friendly. Discussion followed with some ideas to help improve the Web site.

A light outage in Forest Hills Subdivision was discussed, stating that a cable and pedestal will need replacing. It was handed to Public Safety and the property owners will be talked to.

A power point presentation was given on expected budgeting and financial difficulties for the village for 2010.

Zore reported that the lawsuit with St. Paul’s church was dismissed. The village will decide whether they will collect statutory cost associated with the case or waive collection of those costs if St. Paul’s waives the right of appeal. Board members voted 6-0 to waive the costs.

The Park Committee did a walk-thru before and after Silver Dollar days and found everything in good condition. Memorial Park’s announcing building needs repair or replacement. A schedule for building repairs needs to be worked on.

The Conrad Court and Glen Avenue milling has been started. Resolution 6-2009 was passed to transfer the sum of $4,100 from the Reserve for Contingencies to the Public Safety Outlay Account for concrete repair at the firehouse.