Johnsburg yacht club legal fight raises new questions about village’s $20K cost estimate

JOHNSBURG, Ill. - The legal fight between the Village of Johnsburg and the Pistakee Yacht Club may be over, but questions remain about the public cost of a dispute that stretched from 2023 through a September bench trial.

What we know:

FOX Chicago obtained legal invoices and other public records from the village as part of an effort to determine how much taxpayer money was spent on the case.

In a July 15 letter to residents, Village President Edwin Hettermann said Johnsburg had incurred approximately $20,000 in legal expenses tied to the dispute. He said nearly $6,000 of that amount was attributable to meetings and the preparation and revision of a settlement proposal.

In McHenry County court documents, the judge’s own ruling underscores just how drawn-out the dispute became.

"For the next 34 months the parties engaged in relentless litigation, filing 472 documents and making 65 court appearances, culminating in the recent trial," Judge Kevin Costello wrote.

The village’s legal-expense spreadsheet lists a combined total of $20,600.84 for litigation and negotiations. However, the spreadsheet contains inconsistencies in its expense figures, and the records reviewed do not independently establish the exact amount paid or confirm that the total includes all costs associated with the trial.

The distinction matters because the law-firm invoices include work on other village matters, as well as entries that combine Pistakee Yacht Club-related work with unrelated legal issues. The total billed across those broader invoices cannot be treated as the cost of the yacht club dispute.

The village has disputed claims circulating publicly that it spent between $100,000 and $300,000 on the case. In his July letter, Hettermann called those claims false and said the village had repeatedly tried to resolve the dispute outside of court.

The litigation centered on the club’s use of a backlot for boat storage and related activities. The village maintained that the property’s zoning did not permit the open storage operation it said had developed there. The yacht club argued that a 1970 McHenry County zoning variance allowed its use of the property.

The dispute reached trial in late August and early September. On Sept. 15, McHenry County Judge Kevin Costello issued a mixed ruling: the club can keep and park qualifying boats and trailers on the backlot during boating season, May 1 through Oct. 31, without a numerical limit, but cannot maintain boats or trailers in open outdoor storage on that backlot from Nov. 1 through April 30. The ruling also addressed the club’s longstanding use of its original lakefront property. [Source: FOX 32’s previous report and the court ruling.]

"This has been a very trying three years. I don't really know why the village did what they did. And I don't know why it went on as long as it went," said Mark Hoffman, Pistakee Yacht Club commodore.

Hoffman said the club viewed the ruling as a victory because it can continue storing boats on the backlot during the sailing season. However, he acknowledged the ruling limits off-season storage. Hoffman said the club would make arrangements for boats that cannot remain in open outdoor storage during the winter.

During a July village board meeting, some residents not only voiced displeasure about the lawsuit, but questioned the use of taxpayer dollars for this litigation. 

"I'm wondering if this litigation and all of these expenses is the best use of Johnsburg money," said Laura Mosely. "I'd like to see the money go towards infrastructure and other things that need to be done, cleaning up and other things, versus this, in my opinion, craziness." 

"So, I'm not understanding why our tax dollars are being spent on lawsuits," said Mary Beth Adams. "This should've been settled among adults in a very simple way."

The village’s position has been that it was enforcing local zoning rules after receiving complaints about the property. In his July letter, Hettermann said the village supported the yacht club and its sailing school but believed it had a responsibility to address what it considered improper property use.

Records obtained through a separate public records request also include an anonymous complaint from March 2023 concerning boat storage and alleged rental activity on the property. That document establishes that an anonymous complaint was recorded; by itself, it does not establish that it was the only complaint the village received.

What's next:

The remaining questions are whether the village’s approximately $20,600 spreadsheet total reflects all legal costs through trial, how much of that amount was actually paid and how the village calculated its litigation and settlement figures.

FOX Chicago  is seeking clarification from the village about the spreadsheet’s accounting, the scope of the total and any additional invoices covering the final stages of the case.

For now, the records support describing approximately $20,600 as the amount attributed to the dispute in the village’s spreadsheet — not as a fully reconciled final cost.

IllinoisNews