The village of Cary is developing a storm water retention project because of the spring 2013 flood, which severely impacted the Chain O’ Lakes-Fox River corridor, along with McHenry County lakes and tributaries.

The Village of Cary has purchased two properties, with a third parcel in process, to create a storm water retention area at the intersection of Sunset and Crest drives.

Homes, situated on the three lots, will be demolished for open space with a subsequent engineering plan created and aimed at flood relief during future severe rain events.

The properties were purchased through a hazard mitigation program grant, supplied by the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, in the amount of approximately $971,000. All of the funds were not expended on the parcel purchases. The owner of a fourth home declined to participate in the purchase plan.

“The IEMA, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, qualified the area of the four homes as flood-prone,” said Chris Clark, Cary village administrator. “The grant funds to purchase the three homes will eventually hold space for storm water to prevent damage from flooding. The prices were fixed through appraisals for the volunteer purchases, and not eminent domain.

“The water retention pond is a grassy area that will likely have some landscaping to hold water, and the site will be open space for perpetuity, and unable to be built upon.”

The residences are in a flood plain area, with the property at 301 Crest Drive costing an estimated $123,850 and $210,000 for one at 57 Sunset Drive. They will be demolished within the next two months by the Markham-based firm of KLF Enterprises, Inc. on a $48,500 bid contract approved by the full board of trustees. Negotiation particulars for the third home at 65 Sunset Drive were not available.

“The next phase of work is separate from the home demolition, but will be happening at the same time as the engineering for the storm-water management project,” said Clark. “Designing the pond will be Christopher Burke Engineering, which competitively bids on the list for qualified engineering work.”

Clark also indicated the overall cost would be near $1 million, with local funds as well as federal funds being applied. The property purchases and demolition will be reimbursed through FEMA funds at 75 percent.

“We look at projects submitted for the Hazard Mitigation Program, and when there is a federally declared disaster area in Illinois, we get a percentage of the allotted amount,” said Patti Thompson, the IEMA’s press information officer. “There are more project proposals submitted than available funds, so we target those with objectives to prevent hazards.

“In this case, the purchase of homes to create a retention area and mitigate flooding in the future … these homes were previously flooded,” she said. “By removing not only the houses hit, the flooding in the area is relieved by giving it a place to go.”

The driving factor in pursuing the project stemmed from the spring 2013 flood, which severely impacted the Chain O’ Lakes-Fox River corridor, along with McHenry County lakes and tributaries. Labeled as the “100-Year Flood,” due to the record levels not experienced since 1960, FEMA was dispatched to inventory the residential and commercial damage for grant and loan programs.

“Flooding events at the Sunset and Crest sites occurred for many years, and the game-changing storm was April of 2013, which hit Cary and Crystal Lake very hard,” said Clark. “A separate storm, later that June, hit the intersection hard. There are a lot of sub-grade garages downhill, with a low spot.

“Creating a space where water can go won’t solve all the problems, but will provide better conditions than when the project was undertaken. Down the road, we will look at options for additional properties that have a similar level of disruption, and acquire more vacant properties in the next three to five years.”

One site under consideration is the former Oak Knoll School property, adjacent to the neighborhood. The Village Board may consider working with the Cary School Board, Clark said, on a purchase agreement.

Work on the demolition and retention pond is substantially slated for completion by the end of the year, with additional landscaping restoration finished in the spring of 2016.