Lake County advances ordinance to form Special Service Area 18 for Delmar Woods to fund sewer repairs

Lake County public works staff presented a proposal April 1 to create Special Service Area 18 for the Delmar Woods subdivision, a roughly 80‑home development that has struggled for years to staff and fund its sanitary district. The committee voted to advance the proposing ordinance and begin the statutory notice and public‑hearing process.

Deputy County Administrator Matt Myers and State’s Attorney Steve Rice told the committee that the county analyzed the subdivision’s sewer system and recommended a two‑phase plan: immediate maintenance and cleaning with root control followed by a longer lining program to extend pipe life by an estimated 50 years. Staff estimated the two phases would cost about $600,000 total and that an SSA levy would be structured over 10 years, producing an initial estimated cost of roughly $675 per household per year for repayment; after the repayment period the levy would drop to a smaller ongoing maintenance amount.

The presentation described alternatives considered (reconstitute the Delmar Woods Sanitary District governed by resident appointees versus a county‑managed SSA). Residents surveyed preferred the SSA option; staff noted the sanitary district held roughly $150,000 in reserves that would be applied to initial projects. The SSA ordinance as drafted would also allow limited use of funds for stormwater maintenance in coordination with West Deerfield Township, but staff and members emphasized that major stormwater projects would likely require separate grant funding or a different SSA and would not be undertaken by the SSA's initial sanitary focus.

Public comment included residents and neighbors who supported consolidation and raised questions about whether stormwater work could be funded through the SSA; staff said stormwater maintenance is an approved use in the proposed SSA but large stormwater projects would likely need different funding and coordination with the township and the Stormwater Management Commission. The committee approved the proposing ordinance by voice vote (motion by Hunter, second by Casvint); the process now moves to statutory notice, a public hearing conducted by the committee and a subsequent board decision to establish the SSA. Staff said the levy would first appear on tax bills in 2028 and that public works expects to begin maintenance work in 2027 and the lining project in 2029.