Shorewood to use bond funds to finish uncompleted subdivision work

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Updated: February 19, 2012 6:51PM

SHOREWOOD — The village’s efforts to finalize subdivisions abandoned during the housing bust continue to pay off.

The village board recently adopted a resolution authorizing a general release for the Fields of Shorewood Unit 2. The village will receive about $450,000 from a surety bond issued by Lexon Insurance Co. on behalf of Kennedy Homes.

Village staff initiated the bond claim in October 2010, wrote village planner Karen James in a memo to the board. It was a “long and slow process” to come to an agreement between staff and the surety company’s bond consultants on the outstanding subdivision improvements and their associated costs, she said.

The insurance company will pay the full bond amount in exchange for the release.

With the money, the village will coordinate outstanding improvements in both Units 1 and 2 in the Fields of Shorewood. Similar work, which included road surfacing, road repair and curb and gutter work, already has been completed in the Lake Forrest and Kipling Estates subdivisions as a result of bond payouts by their respective insurers.

The village board also approved a settlement agreement with the developer of Edgewater subdivision.

The village will pay $45,000 to William Ryan Homes from escrowed funds required of the developer between 2005 and 2008 when it constructed and sold homes in the village.

Village Administrator Jeff Fiegenschuh said the settlement amount is roughly $15,000 less than the nearly $60,000 William Ryan Homes had made claim on. Village staff negotiated the settlement amount based on work agreed to by the developer, but not completed.

In other subdivision-related business, the village board unanimously approved the appointments of residents Kim Anderson and Brandy Robbins to the Citizens Advisory Committee. They will serve one-year terms representing Saddlebrook Estates.

Trustee Steve Brockman, chair of the committee, said 16 subdivisions remain unrepresented on the committee, which provides a direct way for residents to stay up-to-date on village issues.