Developer says he's unfairly bashed

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BY MARISA KWIATKOWSKI
mkwiatkowski@nwitimes.com
219.662.5333 | Thursday, March 29, 2007 | (No comments posted.)

CROWN POINT | Developer Bob Stiglich said he's tired of playing the villain.

Stiglich said he, developer Jack Kovich and Intercon Engineering Corp. have been unfairly bashed by residents and the city for their work on three roads in the Stillwater subdivision.

The streets have been declared illegal by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

"They're painting a picture of me as being evasive and deceitful," Stiglich said. "I don't appreciate it, or what's happened to my name."

The board of works will consider a request by City Engineer Bill Meeks on Friday to file claims against the $150,000 performance bond Stiglich's company, Stillwater Properties LLC, posted for its installation of Crooked Creek Trail Crossing.

The DNR has delayed permit approval for this crossing, pending the submission of detailed designs for the road.

Meeks said Stillwater Properties LLC has made no effort to rectify the problem and he wants the city to use money from the developer's bond to hire a firm to prepare construction documents, gain DNR approval and design and build the crossing.

Stiglich contends he and his company followed the city's direction on construction of Crooked Creek, Stillwater Parkway and Greenview Place, and were told the Army Corps of Engineers approval was enough.

DNR officials discovered the lack of state permits for Greenview Place and Stillwater Parkway when they reviewed the request for state approval of Crooked Creek.

Greenview Place and Stillwater Parkway are functioning roads that bridge the Smith Ditch, which drains wetlands near the subdivision. Crooked Creek has been closed off to through traffic, but it already has two culverts and packed dirt.

Mayor Dan Klein made it clear his intention is to go after the developers for the cost of a $28,500 hydrologic study of Greenview Place and Stillwater Parkway that the city's board of works approved last month.

The city hired Short Elliot Hendrickson to conduct the study, secure DNR permits and design a solution to fix any problems. Both streets need retroactive state approval.

Stiglich said his responsibility for the streets ended two years after they were built. "They can't (force me to pay for it)," he said. "There's no way. It's been inspected, approved and accepted (by the city), and it's way too late."

Stiglich said the city's latest "villainizing" of him is just political grandstanding in an election year.

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