President’s Letter

By Mike Moran | Email

FOX POINT CHOSEN AS the NICEST PLACE in ILLINOIS

What an honor for Fox Point to receive a National accolade in The Readers Digest “Nicest place in America 2019” award program.  We are one of 50 communities within the US (one per state) that was chosen as a finalist for this National honor. This designation increases the national visibility of Barrington as a whole and Fox Point!

We now we have the opportunity to compete to be named as National winner –If you have not already voted for our community, please do so by going to the following link:  https://www.rd.com/nicest-places-contest/ or searching for “readers digest nicest place to live 2019” online.  You can vote once a day until July 21^st – so please vote and vote often! This honor is a testament to the community that we have built in Fox Point and to the true sense of family, support, and community that makes up the core of our neighborhood. We have incredible surroundings, a beautiful neighborhood, plenty of resources but it is the commitment, dedication, and caring that we have as a community that really sets us apart.  Just to be named as a finalist is an incredible honor to us all.

As we have been mentioning, we will be renovating the pool house this coming fall/spring, so the project is complete by the start of the 2020 pool season.  We will be having a town hall meeting just prior to our July board meeting to show interested neighbors the plans and to answer any questions regarding the next capitol project.  We invite you to attend if you questions regarding the pending project.

I really want to take the opportunity to thank all the current board members for the help and support of our community this year.  Spring starts the time of the year when we each get busy within our respective roles.  There are hundreds of volunteer hours each month that go into the operation of Fox Point and this could not be managed with the help and dedication of our extremely dedicated board.  If you get the chance to see them out, please thank them for their efforts.

Enjoy the summer months!!!!   

Social

By Stephanie Paine| Vice President | Email

Social Update

July is always a fun social month around Fox Point!  The Annual Pool Games on July 4^th make for fun family memories and the adult pool party is back this year with a new twist!  Details are below.  Please reach out to me at stephpaine@gmail.com if you’d like to volunteer for these events – the coordinators can always use an extra set of hands!

July 4^th Pool Games

After the parade in downtown Barrington, stop by the pool to celebrate Independence Day – Fox Point style!  Fox Point dads will be grilling hot dogs for the crowd – bring your own drinks and side dishes and join us for the annual Pool Games! Pool Games start at 3 pm and include a soda dive in the main pool (juice boxes in the baby pool), family relay, and belly flop/cannonball contest.  After the pool games, we will have an ice cream sundae bar.  This is a FREE event!

Fox Point “Best of the Best” Tennis Tournament & Pool Party – July 20

Join your (adult) neighbors for the annual adult summer party!  This year will feature the Best of Fox Point’s Best – round robin tennis tournament, followed by a party on the pool deck, all in our BEST WHITES.  The cost is $50 per person.  See timeline below.

• 5 – 7 PM:   Round Robin Tennis Tournament…wear your tennis whites!
• 7 – 11 PM: Adult Pool Party – DJ Jesse Burkhead will spin some tunes and we will have a taco bar from Tacos El Norte and an open bar with beer/wine/cocktails.  White attire is mandatory (shoestrings don’t count).  This year we are ordering custom yetis for purchase – be sure to pre-order these via the SUG as the cutoff is July 5^th!

Please RSVP & order cups via SignUpGenius:  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080c48a8a92fa4fa7-foxpoint19

Note: there will not be lifeguards on duty and swimming is not allowed at the party.

Summer Campout at the Boat Docks – Save the date for August 17, 2019!

The Fleming, Dimucci and Paris family selected a date for the annual campout – Saturday, August 17.  School starts on a Tuesday this year, so your kids will have a few days to catch up on sleep after the campout.

Civic Affairs

By Margaret Graff | Email

Happy Summer! 

As you hopefully know by now, Fox Point was chosen as the Illinois finalist in the annual Reader’s Digest Nicest places in America contest. This recognition is truly a testament to this wonderful community that we all play a role in fostering, evolving and growing.

Now the work begins – as Fox Point is in competition for the National contest. As the Illinois state finalist, all we have to do is spread the word and VOTE for Fox Point

• The online polling is open until July 21 – everyone can vote 1x per day: https://www.rd.com/nicest-places-contest/
• Tell your Barrington & Illinois friends too – a vote for Fox Point is a vote for Barrington! #NicestPlacesinAmerica

I also wanted to take this opportunity to make everyone aware of a couple of items of interest that affect Barrington area residents:

• District 220 Referendum -At a recent Barrington Board of Education meeting the decision was made for another referendum vote to be held in March 2020. During the coming months, the School Board will work to finalize the dollar amount ask and prioritize projects
• The Village of Barrington will be hosting a presentation by the Lake County Stormwater Management Commission concerning local increased rainfall and stormwater on Wednesday, July 24 @ 10:00 am at the Barrington Village Hall
• Metra Summer Weekend Express Pilot Program – Good news for those wishing for an easier faster way to get downtown. Metra is piloting a summer schedule that includes weekend express trains between Barrington and the city – what a great way to enjoy all of the summer festivals and events going on in Chicago! For more info on weekend passes, kids ride free, etc visit metrarail.com

https://metrarail.com/tickets/ticket-options#$8-Weekend-Pass

Common Grounds

By Jay Roberts | Email

To say the least it’s been a wet start to the Summer but most of our projects are still moving along!  Hopefully, it will dry out soon so that some of these can be completed.  Below is a summary of those and where they currently stand.  If anyone has any questions, please let me know.

The 3 dead Austrian Pines that sit right by the tennis courts have been removed (by the time you read this) and I’m replacing them with some Norway Spruce.  Norway Spruce can only be transplanted at certain times of the year for the needles to mature.  For that reason, we should have them in the ground around the 4^th or so of July.

I’ve not forgotten about the mulch for the cul-de-sacs.  The wet weather earlier messed up the original schedule and my crew is still playing catch up.  I’ve been promised that when a day opens they will get back out to complete those areas.  The pool and the pool area were the priority when we were at the mercy of the rain.

A year or so ago we had the playground equipment repainted.  Starting last year there was some noticeable chipping that needs to be rectified.  The same group has agreed to come back out and look at those spots.  That should happen in July.

I’m sure most of have noticed the turf damage along Lake Cook by the pool entrance along the parkway.  It looks bad and the turf was beat up with some massive truck tire marks.  I have a landscaping restoration order ticket that will be completed by ComEd and their landscaping crew.  Their trucks were responsible for the damage when they replaced the power poles.  This may take a few weeks, but the area should be fully repaired.

The monument walls, to be honest, is a project I’m still researching and looking at different options to present to the board.  I’ve spoken to several different groups and have gathered several different quotes and ideas.  As I’ve mentioned the walls and the black decorative fence that sits on top are not in good shape.  In fact, the fence on the south side has almost completely fallen off.  Trust that I’m aware of the situation but am trying to do my due diligence.  I want to make sure that whatever we spend is the proper amount but for the proper fix and ensures longevity.  I’ll give you an update on this each month as this project moves along.

Hope to see everyone out and about!

Lake

By David Jobes | Email

Hello everyone,

First of all, I want to thank Jeff Dahnke for being the author of this month’s newsletter update on our lake.

We are at the beginning of our summer season which also means we will have an algae dominant lake over the next few months. I want to share with you what causes the algae and what the Lake Committee is working on to improve the Lake.

Lake Louise water turns over an average of once every 30 days. The high lake turnover means our watershed, the 500+ acres of land mostly to our south is where the Lake water initiates.  On its way to the lake, it comes off yards, streets, and roofs and driveways into the creek or directly into the lake.  A big contributor to our algae problem starts in the watershed.  This runoff is high in nutrients and soil (rich organic) erosion. 

The second big contributor is the mud at the lake bottom. Wind/waves and carp to stir up the bottom organic material that is very high in nutrients.  The stirred-up muck absorbs sunlight and starts to turn green as the water warms.  This starts the algae bloom, which blocks the sunlight, which keeps the plants at bay and the algae stay in control.  This cycle cannot be broken by nature.  Once algae are in control, the lake will always stay that way without major interventions.

We want a plant dominant lake because the water will be healthier, the water quality will be better.  Plants soak up the high nutrients we have coming from runoff and in the nutrient-rich muck already in our lake. The zooplankton will eat the plants, the small fish eat the zooplankton, the larger predator fish keep the small fish under control.  There is a balance to the plant dominant lake. So what actions are being taken? In the short term, we are reactive. We spray chemicals on the water surface to knock down the algae.  We install aerators in the spring and take them out in the fall. We harvest carp, we stock small panfish. We harvest goose eggs via a permitting process with IL DNR, to reduce high nutrients that come from goose droppings. We maintain and keep natives along the creek as it flows from pond to Lake Louise.  Some homeowners are letting the shoreline plants grow or planting native plants to help the lake. We are active with many other HOA’s and learning best practice from the experts.

We also have projects in the early concept phase with a long-range view:

1. Our watershed – We need to do a better job of educating, not just lakefront owners, but everyone who lives in our watershed of the simple things they can do to make a big impact.  If we can reduce chemicals on lawns and get more buffer zones planted, the nutrient load coming into the lake can be reduced dramatically.
2. Our in-water plants and animals – increasing the good animals and plants will absorb more of the nutrients.  The animals (fish/turtles/clams/birds) and plants work together. We are starting to see more native plants in our lake.  A few years ago, there was virtually zero.
3. Our nutrient rich lake bottom – we have such a large nutrient bank stored in our lake bottom that we can do a great job with 1 and 2 above, but never get away from algae domination without mechanically removing some of this nutrient bank.  The island is falling into the lake and is a big contributor to the nutrient load.  We are reviewing the feasibility on a plan to put dredged material back on the island.  The island can be ‘rebuilt’ and replanted with good natives, so it is attractive in all seasons. We have similar plans to remove muck from the pond. If you have been around Fox Point for a while you know that ‘where to put the dredged material’ is the difficult and expensive part of the dredge.  If we can use the island our costs are a fraction of offsite storage. Keep your fingers crossed as this is just in the early concept phase.  Items 1, 2, 3 are co-dependent on each other.  We must do all three to move away from an algae-controlled lake.

Breaking the algae dominance can be done. Stay tuned for more information about our longer-range projects.    

Boat Dock/Racks Initiative

The Lake committee continues to work on this project but have experienced some timing delays.  We will continue to provide updates as we have them to share.

Pool

By Horace  Seely-Brown | Email

Summer Finally feels like Summer! Soak in those rays and enjoy the pool as we all know the season will be over in the blink of an eye!

Pool House Renovation! Please join us for an informational meeting on July 15^th, 6:30 pm at the Village Church of Barrington to hear the latest update.  We will share the current plans, estimated costs, and projected timeline. We will also continue to post updates in the newsletter as well as on NextDoor.

Come out and cheer on the Fox Point Water Polo team. We have two home matches in the month of July! The home season for the Fox Point Swim team has come and gone after three meets in June. A big Kudos to the swim team committee for all their efforts as the transition proved nearly seamless!

Last, a few reminders of the current policy. Rafts are not allowed in the pool unless they are used as flotation devices for infants. In terms of the guest policy, we still charge $5/swimming guest and $50 for the season for nannies. Checks can be made out to FPHA or cash can be delivered to the pool house for either of these fees.  Finally, absolutely No GLASS containers are allowed on the pool deck.

The pool is one of the greatest assets in the neighborhood, and I look forward to seeing you all there in the days to come. As always, if you have ideas, suggestions on ways to improve the overall pool experience, please let me know!

Tennis

By Christine Mickey | Email

We are off to a great start on the Fox Point tennis courts this summer!  First Serve has had a record number of enrollments for the adult and junior tennis clinics for Fox Point residents. 

Please remember that the tennis courts are for tennis only. No biking, rollerblading, skateboarding, hockey, dog walking, etc. Please help to keep our new courts in great shape!

Sign up now for The Fox Point Best of the Best Adult Tennis/Pool Party on July 20, 2019.  The festivities will kick off with a round robin format tennis games and then move over to the pool deck for food, drinks and live music.  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080c48a8a92fa4fa7-foxpoint19

Please stay tuned for more details on the annual Fox Point vs. Biltmore tennis event. The Tennis Committee is currently working with Biltmore to get a date on the calendar.

See you on the courts!