The City of Kewanee plans to take action against the bank that owns the four mobile home properties in Kewanee. The last known water bill was over $497,000. Robert Dawidiuk, a lawyer for the First Secure Community Bank in Sugar Grove, Illinois, which holds the note on the four mobile home parks, presented to the council at the March 24th council meeting. The bank financed the four properties for $975,000 in 2018. Mr. Dawidiuk said, “There is a tipping point for us” regarding how much the bank can spend on the water bill and cleanup for the properties. Mr. Dawidiuk said the bank could pay $100,000 of the water bill and the City of Kewanee could forgive the remainder, including water usage and late fees. Mr. Dawidiuk said they expect an appraisal of the properties to be hundreds of dollars less than the amount they financed the properties for. However, at the April 14th council meeting, City Attorney Zac Lessard said the appraisal was for $910,000.
With the water bill likely over $500,000 as of the April 14th meeting, Mayor Moore and the council agreed that the City of Kewanee needs to take action against First Secure Community Bank, especially since they haven’t attempted to pay the water bill. Mayor Gary Moore said, “We need to turn the water off; that is my opinion.” Mayor Moore indicated that he wants a resolution to vote to shut off the water at all four mobile home parks at the April 28th city council meeting. If approved, the bank would have 48 hours to pay the bill. Ron Lund from Project Now requested the city give him time to arrange for new housing for the current tenants. Mr. Lund wants to have a meeting with the city and his team to figure out where the families can go before becoming homeless. The city agreed to work with Project Now to ensure the current tenants, which could be as many as 48, have a place to go. The Kewanee Police will assist with the door-to-door because they don’t know who is renting and who is squatting. Mr. Lund said Project Now can access additional funds and options for the tenants if the city condemns the mobile home parks. Keith Edwards will reach out to his peers about condemning a mobile home park, but he thinks the current state of the properties will allow them to be declared condemned, especially after the water is disconnected.
A new leak started over the weekend when a squatter dug a trench to tap into the water from the mobile home parks to feed his camper illegally parked out there and without permission. He dug the trench across multiple lots without a rental agreement, and the trench is filling with water. Keith Edwards said that if there is a water main break and without a backflow preventer on the trench, “it could endanger the water supply.”
You can watch the discussions in the videos below. The earliest the city could disconnect water is 48 hours after the April 28th council meeting. The city said they would work with Project Now and give them time to make contact with all renters and squatters. Officials from Project Now will join Wake Up Tri-Counties later this week to discuss the process and what the next steps are to rehome tenants or move trailers that are movable.
Kewanee City Council Meeting from March 24, 2025
