Palatine Case Against Kostka Case Continues to Moves Forward

The Palatine court case against resident and former councilman Warren Kostka continues to move forward, though lawyers for the village said in court Friday dangers and hazards remain on the property. 

Still at issue are sandbags that Village Manager Reid Ottesen said are strewn about the property, and installation of gutters on the house at 108 N. Forest Avenue.

Judge Margarita Kulys Hoffman continued the case until March 22 to give Kostka time to move the sandbags 'to a more appropriate place' and to install the gutters. 

As steps toward compliance with the village's punchlist continue, Kostka is still considering whether to demolish a portion of the home, which according to him has experienced 25 years of water damage, or to rebuild from scratch. 

"The village spent money to stop the flooding in the future, they put in multiple inlets, installed 18-inch diameter pipes and put a ditch in my neighbor's yard," Kostka said. "I’m not sure what is going to happen. We need to have another 100-year storm to determine if this will work in the future." 

Estimates provided to Palatine Patch by Kostka state it would cost almost $165,000 to demolition the center section of the home and the garage, in addition to rebuilding both.

Another estimate for the cost of complete demolition and rebuilding a brand new home is just shy of $315,000. 

"The village could purchase my property and flip it; it would cost them $12,000 to demolish it," Kostka said. 

Meanwhile, siding on the front of the home has alreay been installed and Kostka said Friday he planned to move some of the sandbags.

On Sunday, none were visible on the property.

"We are satisfied, because progress continues to be made in this case," Ottesen said.