In order to protect the public interest, the Village of Pleasant Prairie has initiated legal action against the developers of Whispering Knoll, LLC and NMDB, Inc. in response to a financial breach related to public improvements for the subdivision. The legal action was commenced in order to avoid the need for a special assessment against the existing lots in the subdivision.
Mike Pollocoff, Pleasant Prairie Village Administrator, explained, "We would like any potential buyers for the lots in Whispering Knoll to be aware that the Village has attached a claim to the sale of lots in the subdivision." Pollocoff went on to explain, "In Pleasant Prairie, we institute these Development Agreements to protect our taxpayers. It ensures that those who will profit from the development and sale of the land are the ones who finance the public improvements like grading, sanitary sewer, storm sewer, water, streets, street lights and so on. It helps protect existing taxpayers from the expense related to building a new subdivision."
As part of a 2005 Development Agreement, Whispering Knoll's developers were required to maintain adequate funds in a letter of credit to complete necessary public improvements related to the development of their land. In June, September and November of 2012 and again in 2013, the developers were notified that remaining funds in the letter of credit were insufficient to cover the costs of the remaining public improvements in the subdivision. Despite repeated requests from the Village and its counsel, the developers failed to provide a supplementary letter of credit or funds to cover the shortfall.