Fox Point Update: February 2021 Edition
- On February 8, 2021
President’s Letter
By Margaret Graff | Email
Greetings Fox Point Neighbors!
I’m pleased to have been elected to serve as the FPHA Board President for 2021. For those of you who don’t know me, my family and I moved to Fox Point in 2006 – in search of a family-oriented, social, welcoming community. We were not disappointed — and continue to believe that Fox Point is the best place to live in Barrington and the NW Suburbs. During my time as a Fox Point resident, I’ve served in many capacities including Newsletter Edit, Swim Team Parent Chair, Social Chair, Water Polo Parent Chair, and most recently, Civic Affairs. I look forward to serving the neighborhood in this capacity.
On January 18th, the FPHA successfully held its Annual Meeting, elected new board members, and held back-to-back meetings with the Outgoing and incoming board members. It was a busy night!
Despite the pandemic and cold weather, we exceeded the needed 10% quorum required to officially host the meetings and certify the election. Thank you to Tim Gall, Secretary, for his extra efforts in coordinating the in-person voting held at the FP Poolhouse; and to Steve Shanfeld and Jake Feit for serving as election clerks.
We also said farewell out-going board members, Bruce Kukowski and Jeff Barnum. And, to out-going President, Mike Moran – whom we thank for his many years on the FPHA board and for his incredible leadership. In that same vein, I’m pleased to welcome 3 new members to the board: Abe Ryder, Steve Kipferi and Mark Villalovos; and Jay Roberts for a second term.
As always, your FPHA Board is here to answer questions, provide guidance and serve as stewards for our homeowners’ association and the neighborhood we all care about. We look forward to a productive year. Please don’t hesitate to reach out!
Warmly,
Margaret Graff
Treasurer’s Report
By Lynn Douglas | Email
Your Board of Directors adopted the 2021 Budget, as proposed and published in December 2020. This includes an increase of $25 to the Annual Assessment to $1,075. The increase is in line with projected annual inflation and anticipated reduction of investment income due to interest rates.
Our CPA, Picker & Associates, will mail invoices to all owners of record before February, month-end. The Assessment is for the 2021 calendar year and will be due no later than March 31, 2021. If your mailing address has changed or if you do not receive an invoice by February month-end, please contact Linda Smith at Picker & Associates at 847-541-4000 for a duplicate copy of your invoice.
2020 Financial Statement
We are in solid financial condition while continuously replacing legacy infrastructure. Since 2015, we have reinvested about $2.8 million into capital projects, including:
- Replacing the 50-year-old pool, decking, fencing, and most mechanical equipment, and
- Replaced the 50-year-old tennis courts and fencing, and
- Executed a multi-year rejuvenation of all landscaping, and
- Completed a major interior and exterior Pool House renovation in 2020.
All these renewals and replacements were funded without incurring debt or imposing a Special Assessment.
2020 Review:
Carry-over of Delinquent Account Balances is at the lowest point it has been in decades.
All in, across all accounts, we have more than $700,000 in cash, of which $663,000 is in Capital Reserves.
Operating Expenses are mostly routine, recurring monthly, or seasonal expenses. Overall, we had a favorable variance, budget vs actual, primarily due to an abbreviated pool season.
Capital Reserves are funds set aside and accumulated for major repairs, renewal, and replacements of assets. We made a $237, 000 contribution to Reserves to fund future asset renewal and replacements, when necessary.
Overall, we had a favorable variance, budget vs. actual because some projects were deferred.
We did, however, experience some unplanned expenditures related to operating and safety issues. We replaced some Pool House contents that were destroyed in the late 2019 interior flood and make some major repairs to the boat rack for safety reasons.
The 2020 Financial Statement can be found here.
Common Grounds
By Jay Roberts | Email
Hope everyone is getting through the Winter grind!
My update for this month is about our snow removal policy. Currently, we have the pool parking lot, the boat docks, the sidewalks along Lake Cook Road, and the school path on the south side. The contract states that the plows will only come out for 1 inch of snow or more. This can get a bit tricky with the sidewalks when it’s less than 1 inch of snow but there is ice. We do not salt for each snow but can by request. I will use my judgement and salt whenever it’s needed. I do not want the sidewalks to be dangerous and they should be safe for everyone. My ask is that if you feel this has been missed for some reason, please let me know.
Jay Roberts
Civic Affairs
By Mark Villalovos | Email
I am pleased to be representing my neighbors as a member of the Board of Directors and the head of the Civic Affairs Committee. My family and I moved to Fox Point in 2017 and have been continually impressed by the courtesy and spirit of the helpfulness of our neighbors. My role is to help other new and existing residents feel the same way. Through social media efforts, the monthly newsletter, and keeping tabs on external activities that impact our community, my goal is to promote Fox Point as the top tier neighborhood that it is. If you have any photos, stories, videos, or other media content we might use to help promote our community as one of family, inclusivity, and natural beauty, please send me a note at m.villalovos@gmail.com and we can chat about how best to use it. A reminder that in addition to this newsletter, information is often shared on the Nextdoor app here: https://nextdoor.com/neighborhood_feed/. While scrolling social media, give us a follow at https://www.instagram.com/foxpoint_barrington/ and https://www.facebook.com/Fox-Point-Homeowners-Association-275108163407853
Safety & Welfare
By Abe Ryder | Email
Hello Fox Point neighbors. I am excited to have joined the Board and will be serving as your Vice President and Safety and Welfare Chair. For those who do not know me, my family and I have lived in the neighborhood since 2012. My wife, Jennifer, and I have three children (middle school and elementary schoolers). I work as a Finance Director at Discover Financial Services. Like a few residents in Fox Point, we have moved houses within the neighborhood during our nine years and appreciate getting to know more of our neighbors. We also enjoy all of the wonderful amenities and social activities (pre-COVID of course) that the neighborhood has to offer. Prior to Fox Point, we had lived in Chicago for nearly a decade.
Neighbor safety is important for all of us and is one of many reasons we all choose to live here. Some safety tips as we start out 2021 that will benefit our community:
1) Remember to have your gas or electric lamp illuminated. This is stated in Article 4, Section 6 of our declaration, and an agreement we all made moving into the neighborhood. Let’s collectively have a goal to decrease those unlit lamps by 50% this year. We need all of your help to do it. The Nextdoor app is a great place for vendor recommendations or ask your neighbors.
2) Lock your doors – all of your doors. That means front doors, back doors, car doors, garage doors, etc… Unlocked cars with access to garage door openers may invite unwelcome guests into your garage or home.
3) Be a good neighbor. If you see something, say something. Report suspicious activity to the Barrington Village Police Department. Also, if your neighbor left their garage door open past reasonable hours at night, send him/her a text as a reminder. Personally, I would welcome that text or notification from a neighbor as chances are life got busy coming back from the grocery store and I just forgot. I would rather get a reminder than risk leaving my garage door open all night because a neighbor thought I did not want to be bothered. Also, alert neighbors when you are going out of town to keep an eye on your home. As a community, we can all help each other here.
4) Facebook and other social media. Be thoughtful about when and how we post. If we are out of town, it may not be advisable to let the world know that we are out of town for a week and none are home.
I look forward to the opportunity to serve you. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to me at abe_ryder@yahoo.com. Lastly, I want to thank outgoing Chair Jeff Barnum for his service and leadership on the Board.
Architecture
By Steve Kipferl | Email
I am very excited to serve as the new Fox Point architecture chairperson! I look forward to working with everyone to keep Fox Point a beautiful place to live with fantastic properties. Our duty is not to discourage residents from updating their property but rather to help guide the residents in playing by the rules of the HOA and to ensure we are communicating with our neighbors in our renovation work. The architecture committee is for preventing headaches for residents after projects, not creating them.
It’s great to see the neighborhood so active this past year with many Fox Point homeowners doing exterior remodeling of their homes, replacing driveways, walkways, patios, and updating their landscaping. Some of these exterior construction and landscape projects may require approval by the Fox Point HOA board and some of these projects may not. Before starting any construction planning or work, it’s a great idea to take a look at the Fox Point website Architecture Guidelines to see if your exterior project requires approval from the Fox Point HOA board. Also, I encourage you to check with the Village of Barrington Development Services Department about permits and zoning ordinances as most exterior changes require Village permitting. We really appreciate all the homeowners that have submitted architecture applications for board review and approval.
So, when you’re ready to make some exterior changes or enhancements to your home and property, please read the information posted on our Fox Point website, read the Fox Point Bylaws, and reach out to the Village of Barrington’s Development Services Department.
As a resource, you can always contact me via email to discuss your exterior project!
Social
By Rena Slovick | Email
Class of 2021 Senior Parents Needed!
Cue the Pomp and Circumstance. I’m looking for at least 2 parents of Fox Point High School Seniors to help organize what I’m fairly certain will become an annual car parade through the neighborhood! Please contact me at foxpointbarringtonsocial@gmail.com if you are interested!
Fox Point Needs You
See the following Sign-up Genius for opportunities to be a local celebrity in planning Fox Point Fun. Some events are tentative and will be based on current Covid-19 Guidelines. All event descriptions are mentioned but please feel free to reach out to me with any questions!
New Year New Fox Point Swag!
Yeti Swag has returned! *New* this round will be a monogram option so please place your order carefully! I’d like to order by Valentine’s Day so we can distribute prior to spring break and be ready for 8 pm pizza & wine night at the pool come to Memorial Day (fingers crossed)
All drinkware is in Black & White (#barringtoncolors) etched with the Fox Point logo in Silver. Kids Water bottles are 12oz and are Red.
Monogram Rules: In the comment section please state your FULL NAME ie: Rena Marie Slovick = RSM in traditional monogram form and the script style. If you are just doing a single letter for your household – please state your FULL LAST NAME. All script styles are located on the Yeti website in the custom drinkware section.
https://www.yeti.com/en_US/custom-monogram-text-logo-drinkware
Please comment with your address and we will drop off your orders. I will send you a photo confirmation if you order a monogram before I place your order. Don’t want to let my 5 star Etsy rating down. Reach out to foxpointbarringonsocial@gmail.com with questions.
Please keep a lookout on the Website Events Calendar, Nextdoor, or via Email for continued Social Updates! A lot can happen in-between newsletters. Give us a follow on social media and send us some photos at foxpointbarringtonsocial@gmail.com
Pool
By Criss Chang | Email
Hello, Neighbors, and Happy New Year! The Fox Point Board is committed to serving this neighborhood and in my short time on the Board, I’ve seen this group work together as a unified team, capable of accepting diverse views and openly debating topics important to this neighborhood. I’m excited to continue to contribute to the good work that this Board is doing.
We are just 4 months away from the pool season opening. Despite the ongoing uncertainty with the COVID pandemic and the related guidelines forthcoming from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), as of now, we will be ready to open the pool in May. As we get closer to Spring, I will provide updates as to what pool use and schedules will look like. I will again ask for your patience and understanding as there is a good chance that some form of limitations will be present this pool season. More info in the coming months. In the meantime, please stay safe and warm.
Tennis
By Mark Johnson | Email
A happy new year and I hope everyone is having a good start to the new year, certainly under different and unique circumstances.
I’m pleased to serve in the role of tennis chair for another year. I look forward to the start of spring, getting the nets up and the expectation of another successful season of lessons and social play. I’m optimistic that we’ll be able to return to some annual transitions, such as our tennis event with Biltmore in the fall. Please stay safe and healthy and feel free to reach out to me at any time.