Mike and Mary Brod found themselves standing before the Glen Ellyn Village Board of Trustees on Nov. 16, as self-described experts on storm-water runoff.
Their troubles with storm water came when they noticed water from the gutters and sump pump of their neighbor’s home was pouring out of a discharge pipe near their property line.
Mary Brod said she and her husband approached the owner of the property on which the discharge pipe was located, to talk to him about the water flowing through their land. The property owner told the Brods the village would not allow him another alternative for getting rid of the water, Mary Brod told trustees. So the Brods took their case to the village.
“We were stonewalled,” said Mary Brod after Monday night’s village workshop meeting at village hall.
Speaking before village trustees, the couple said the village staff were not helpful. The Brods said staff told them that members of the village’s Planning and Development Department visited their property and found nothing wrong.
The Brods showed trustees video footage that depicts a stream of water running through their backyard and into a storm sewer on their property. The Brods had allowed the village to place the sewer there in 2004. Mike Brod had dyed the water pink to better see its path. Large areas of pink water can be seen flooding the yard.
Mary Brod said their attorney at one point was “in constant contact with various members of the department, trying to find a resolution to the matter.”
The Brods claim the water flowing through their yard required swift and positive action by village administration.
“We constantly heard, oh, there, this is OK, there’s nothing going on here,” Mike Brod told the trustees.
In a packet of documents handed to the Village Board, the Brods wrote, “This damage was completely unnecessary as a simple solution was available. This solution was blocked by a lack of understanding, disregard for private property and internal politics of the village.”
The problem eventually was solved, and it was a simple solution, the Brods said. Village Manager Steve Jones suggested the neighbor tie the sump pump and gutters directly to a different storm sewer.
“But the damage has been done to our property,” Mary Brod told the board.
Before the Brods spoke, Staci Hulseberg, the village’s director of planning and development, said her department has had much interaction with the Brods.
She said staff responded to numerous e-mails and calls from the Brods and had meetings with them both at their property and at Village Hall.
“We believe we’ve treated them professionally, we’ve conducted research and followed up on each of their concerns,” Hulseberg told trustees.
Village President Mark Pfefferman asked the Brods what they want from the village. Mike Brod said their property has suffered about $25,000 worth of damage, and he and his wife had been put through “incredible stress,” trying to resolve the situation with the village.
“My attorney hit the nail on the head when she used the word egregious,” Mike Brod said.
In a memorandum to trustees from the village’s Department of Planning and Zoning, Hulseberg writes, “We believe we face a threat of litigation with these individuals based on their past written correspondence and statements.”
