OVERVIEW
In March 2010, a $ 620,000 bond was sold to pay for expenses incurred to establish the SSA, and to fund the preliminary design and permitting phase of lake restoration.  This phase is well underway and various field studies have been conducted and additional sediment samples gathered and lab tested.

Through the efforts of our Officers and Lake Manager, the MPOA also applied for and was awarded roughly four million dollars in bonding capacity by McHenry County under the American Recovery and Re-investment Act Stimulus Program.  This program will allow the lake restoration SSA bonds to be sold at a much lower rate of interest, which will benefit everyone within the SSA territory.  It has been estimated that the MPOA efforts to get this bonding will save the community over 1.2 million dollars in interest payments over the 20-year SSA lifespan.

With any large project, there are bumps in the road that must be overcome. A number of allegations have been charged and a lawsuit has been filed to try stopping lake restoration.  The suit is now making its way through the court system.  The major concern of the lawsuit is that it will prevent the sale of the rest of SSA bonds at the very low stimulus interest rates. Instead, if not settled in time to complete their sale by the County imposed Sept. 30, 2010 deadline, the bonds will be sold at a much higher interest rate. This would result in higher annual SSA payments.  Additionally, the expenses incurred by the MPOA in defending its actions will reduce the amount of money available for dredging as the SSA bonds cannot exceed $ 5,930,780.