President’s Letter

By Mike Moran | Email

Happy Halloween to all Fox Point neighbors as we approach one of the most notable days of the year in our neighborhood. It is a great day to get out and socialize with your neighbors as Fox Point comes alive with the hundreds & hundreds of kids that will take over our streets.

Our busy season for 2018 is reaching the end as most of entities (pool, tennis, etc.) within Fox Point are closed or soon to close for the season. This is the time of year that we work on the budget for 2019 which will be published in the December 2018 newsletter and action taken at the Board Meeting in January.

The Board continues to be very diligent in the way we not only spend your money but also in the way we continue to reserve for future capital expenses. At the same time, we continue to make sure that we maintain our capital assets. Over the past few months there has been a committee that has been working on a plan to rejuvenate the pool house as the final part of the pool rebuilding project of a couple of years ago. The team is finalizing their proposal and budget, and both will be put in front of the neighborhood in the coming months at future town hall meetings. The proposed budget for 2019 will likely have funds allocated for such a “potential” project as the goal would be to initiate some or all work in 2019.

Please note that just because Reserve Funding is included in a budget, it doesn’t mean that anything has been approved or agreed to by the Board. We will hold town hall meetings as is customary for this type of capitol spend within Fox Point. It is quite amazing that we continue to be able to replace or rejuvenate our largest assets without having to borrow funds /impose special assessments to complete each of these projects. Kudos to past boards for being extremely fiscally sound in their approach to managing our finances.  

I would be remis if I didn’t remind everyone to please, please drive exceptionally slowly throughout Fox Point on Halloween as the kids run wild throughout Fox Point.

Safety and Welfare Report

By Jeff Barnum | Email

Halloween

Trick-or-treating hours have been set for 3 to 7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 31, according to a news release from the Village of Barrington.

Many kids and families come from neighborhoods all over Barrington to visit Fox Point during this time. As a neighborhood, we need to be extra cautious as the many others that visit may not be acclimated to a neighborhood without sidewalks. Same goes for our children. Remind them to be safe and to be aware of their surroundings

Because pedestrian injuries are the most common injuries to children on Halloween, remind Trick-or-Treaters:

• Stay in a group and communicate where they will be going.
• Remember reflective tape for costumes and trick-or-treat bags. Or carry a flashlight.
• Remain on well-lit streets and always use the sidewalk.
• If no sidewalk is available (Fox Point), walk at the far edge of the roadway facing traffic.
• Never cut across yards.
• Only cross the street as a group in established crosswalks (as recognized by local custom). Never cross between parked cars or out of driveways. (This is tricky within Fox Point)
• Don’t assume the right of way. Motorists may have trouble seeing Trick-or-Treaters. Just because one car stops, doesn’t mean others will

Make October 30^th your deadline to have your gas lamp (some electric now) fully illuminated and in working order. For those of you that have used the soft wick mantles – give the hard mantle wicks a try.

They can easily be found on Amazon – use “hard gas mantle” in your search

Stay Safe – Have fun.

Tennis

By Christine Mickey | Email

Thanks to everyone for a great 2018 Fox Point tennis season on our new tennis courts!

The Tennis Committee is currently looking for some new members to help plan and coordinate the tennis lessons and the tennis parties at Fox Point for summer 2019. If you are interested please contact Christine Mickey (christinemickey@gmail.com).

Nominating Committee

The Nominating Committee is looking for candidates to run for the 2019 Fox Point Board. Please consider volunteering your time to our neighborhood. The board meetings are the 3rd Monday of the month usually from 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM at the Village Church. Please send Christine Mickey (christinemickey@gmail.com) a message if you have any questions or are interested in running.

Thank you!

The 2018 Nominating Committee:

• Christine Mickey
• Julie Gwiasda
• Sue Schmitz
• John Tuerck
• Doug Zwiener

Common Grounds

By Jay Roberts | Email

Winter is fast approaching and with that our landscaping crew will be wrapping up the year by the end of this month. They will continue with the weekly maintenance and prepare the common grounds area with a final cleanup to get a head start for the Spring. A few weeks back they also put in a cluster of Mums at both main entrances. I think they look great and it was a nice way to welcome the Fall season. Hopefully, each season and/or holiday we will be able to highlight some type of annual planting or décor at both entrances.

I’ve also been in touch with our snow removal company to make sure they are ready to go once the bad weather hits. The main area of focus will be the sidewalks along Lake Cook road that lead up to the school and the path on Oak Ridge Circle. These should be cleared of ice and snow so that it’s safe for all pedestrians and the kids that are walking to school. Please feel free to reach out and let me know if you notice otherwise. I will do my best to monitor these areas as well.

A couple of newsletters back I introduced my intent to start on a cul-de-sac project for the neighborhood! Well this month, we are ready to get started. We’ve had a slight delay with the Village since they own the cul-de-sac land but now we’ve been granted approval. For the most part these are minor enhancements but should provide a nice clean look for each area. We will start with The Point, Oxbow Lane, & South Shore Court. Since we are at the end of the year you will not see the full effect and look until next Spring!

Social

By Stephanie Paine | Email

Santa will be making the rounds in Fox Point again this year! Jennifer Livingston is spearheading the effort once again and she has arranged for 4 nights of visits – December 16, 18, 21 and 24. Thanks to Jen and the other volunteers who make this neighborhood favorite happen each year!.

RSVP at the SignUpGenius link below – SignUp will go live on November 18.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080C48A8A92FA4FA7-foxpoint14

The cost is $10 per family. Grandparents are welcome to schedule visits with their grandchildren.  You may leave a gift for your child on your front porch so Santa can pull it out from his Santa bag. Please write your child’s name clearly and in large print on the gift. If you choose not to leave a gift, Santa will have a small item for each child he visits. Have your camera ready to take pictures as the visit goes by quickly.

This is a very popular event so we are unable to honor special requests for time slots. Once the schedule is sent out, no changes will be made.

Please contact Jennifer Livingston at 312-909-1451 or lifeatlivingstons@gmail.com with questions.

Lake Report

The Lake Committee has been active in managing our “in lake” environment.  Our fish population is dominated by 3 species, with 30% of the population being carp.  Carp are notorious bottom feeders that inhibit the water quality of the lake.  We are following DNR recommended procedures for fish management.  We use data collected from recent fish counts to determine quantity and size to add.  The following is a summary of some of our 2018 activity.

Summary:

Carp removed:  131 fish removed, 1050 lbs.

Blue gill added = 500 count 3-5” long

Large mouth bass added = 100 count 5-8” long

Maintaining the right kind and right size (breeding size) of fish helps in water animal populations from micro-plankton size to game fish size.  A healthy population will reproduce efficiently and help sustain some of the plant life we are starting to see in the lake.  

Also news . . . the carp fence in the creek outflow from the lake was removed last month. The 3 yr old fence was an attempt to reduce carp moving into the lake (carp migrate upstream).  The fence proved to be difficult to maintain and it was failing after a couple of large rainstorms.  We are back to the drawing board looking at new fence designs, and also whether the fence is truly cost effective in carp management.

Special thanks to Jeff Dahnke and Henri Kokke for their efforts these initiatives.