BY JOE POTENTE
jpotente@kenoshanews.com

PADDOCK LAKE — A trio of failed subdivisions has left the village on the hook for more than $361,000 in special assessments, according to officials.

The charges were levied over the last few years, as the village began to lay pipe to provide water service to the housing developments platted for Paddock Lake’s west end.

But as the housing market began to decline about two years ago, the subdivisions went unbuilt and the assessments went unpaid.

Paddock Lake Clerk/Treasurer Emily Uhlenhake said the village has been been able to cover the debt service payments for the utility work through up-front payments received from the developers and by tapping into village reserves. Uhlenhake said she hoped that would continue through 2010.

But after that, officials acknowledged, it is possible the unpaid assessments will result in a tax levy hike for property owners.

Now-retired Village Administrator Ernest Mooney said in 2007 that the bonds were set up so that if the bonds are not paid off within 10 years, the developers would lose their properties, the county would sell them and the village would get its money.

Village President Marlene Goodson, who was then a trustee, voted against a 2007 budget that authorized some of the utility spending, citing skepticism that the deals would all go through as planned.

“I was very afraid of this happening,” Goodson said last week.

The three subdivisions that owe unpaid special assessments, according to Uhlenhake, are:

— Fox Hollow: 137 homes slated for development near Highway F, a half-mile south of Highway 50.

— Willow Wood: 71 single-family homes and possibly 88 condominium units off of Highway 75.

— Whitetail Ridge: 86 single-family homes and 20 multi-family units on Highway F, south of Highway 50.

Fox Hollow has been foreclosed upon, while Willow Wood and Whitetail Ridge have not, Uhlenhake said.

Two other proposed developments, Silver Lake Estates and the so-called LJK subdivision, were to have been tied into the water system as well, though they had not come as far along and were not levied special assessments.

Village Administrator John Burg said one of the developers has reached an agreement with the village to begin making the special assessment payments Jan. 1. Burg declined to name the company that reached that agreement, saying he did not want to compromise negotiations with others.

“It’s tough,” Burg said. “I’m obviously not laying any blame at anyone’s door. It’s just that the village tried to be proactive. They were figuring, honestly if three of five paid, we’d be OK. However, none of the five are paying right now.”

Meanwhile, the properties in question remain undeveloped, waiting for activity when the market picks up.

“There are nice water mains out there,” Burg said.