Long Grove homeowners seek help on private road repairs

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Updated: March 3, 2012 8:09AM

The residents of some of Long Grove’s subdivisions are looking to Village Hall to help make repairs to the roads they own privately.

In turn, Long Grove’s officials have told them they would be glad to help — if they had any money to share.

“There are a few ways of doing this,” Trustee Charlie Wachs said, “but they’re all going to involve you paying, because we can’t pay for it.”

The Village Board spoke Tuesday, Jan. 24 with Al Spinoso, who lives in the Rosos subdivision with self-maintained streets. Spinoso said his and some of the other neighborhoods have no formal homeowners associations, and residents have been caught by surprise with road repairs coming due during a severe recession.

“With today’s problems, that no one foresaw 20 years ago, what do we do?” Spinoso asked. “We’ve been putting it off, putting it off, and the road’s getting dangerous.”

Village President Maria Rodriguez said an answer will take time, and teamwork.

“Looking for an easy solution, there isn’t one,” she said.

The village owns and maintains some residential streets. Long Grove Attorney Vic Filippini said the board might consider consolidation — either take all residential streets in as publicly maintained, have a plan ready for how to finance all the new expenses, or push all public streets back into the care of the people living on them.

“Those are two options, neither of which are easy,” he said.

Trustee Angie Underwood noted that neighborhoods with roads to maintain and no homeowners associations may run into a touchy situation: families who say they cannot afford to contribute to repairs, but will benefit from them.

Spinoso and the trustees discussed roles special service areas might play, but made no decisions. Special service areas are taxing districts established in particular neighborhoods. They tax property owners in those neighborhoods for specific purposes or projects.

Rodriguez said she wanted to hear more from other homeowners.

“We expect to have a discussion,” she said. “Any resident who has an idea, we’re all ears.”

Spinoso said he hoped those discussions would lead to action soon.

“Whatever you can do, we’d appreciate it, by this summer,” he said.