$1,000 HOA increase proposed for Wonder Lake, Illinois, residents for lake, dam upkeep
A $1,000 Homeowners Association fee hike could be coming to a McHenry County village.
While some residents say it's too much, others say it's necessary.
In Wonder Lake, people live there for all kinds of reasons, whether they were born there, are close to everything they need, or the affordability.
But whether they live right on the water or miles from it, there's one thing these 5,500 lots have in common — they all pay a Master Property Owners Association fee — or MPOA — which helps maintain the lake and its dam.
Right now, that fee is $44 a year. The new proposal? Nearly $1,000.
For some homeowners, especially those who don't live on the water, that's a hard number to swallow.
Sue Rose and Melinda Boyle live blocks from the lake.
"And I have two lots, so it's per lot. So it would cost me $2,000 for the privilege of being on a lake that I have no access to," Rose said.
"It would cause us probably to move," Boyle said.
Ann Freeman with the MPOA says this increase is long overdue.
"And shame on us, with the MPOA, with charging $44 all these years and not saying, 'you know, that's a mistake,'" she said. "We want them to understand that they live on a private lake in a beautiful area of Illinois and they haven't been paying anything for it."
She says the association should have been building up its reserves for years. The money would go toward things like dredging and eventually replacing the dam.
The MPOA says the life expectancy of the dam is 50 to 100 years. Theirs is 97 years old. They fear it could break down any day and they would have no money to pay for it and it costs a lot.
"We have rough estimates of $90 million truly to replace the entire thing," Freeman said.
She says they only have $60,000 in reserves right now.
"I don't want to force anything on these people in my subdivision," said David Crook.
Crook has the luxury of living on the private lake. He says he could front $1,000, but others in his subdivision don't have that view and should pay less.
That's the problem for Rose.
"I'll do whatever I can to try and fight this. If we have to take it to court, that's what we are going to do," she said.
She, along with others, wonders whether they'll be able to afford to stay.
The MPOA will vote on the proposal in two weeks.
